Aruba Diving -
King of the Wrecks
The best Aruba diving is its wreck diving. Aruba has been rated as one of the top places for wreck dives in the Caribbean, second only to Bermuda.
Below are some of the top wreck dive sites in Aruba. We dove the first two on the list, the Antilla and Pedernales.
- Antilla ("Ghost Ship")
- Pedernales
- Jane Sea
- Debbie II and Blue Reef
- Star Gerren
-
-
-
-
Happy New Year
Jan 01, 24 06:00 AM
Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is well and had a fun New Years Eve! May your new year be filled with lots of wonderful dives. All the best to you and yours in 2024! Let the dives begin. -
Happy Holidays
Dec 14, 23 05:05 AM
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I am always amazed at how fast time flies and another year is just around the corner. I wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone. I am doing some full ti… -
3 Common Scuba Diving Mistakes New Divers Make
Feb 23, 23 02:18 PM
In this video, I share 3 common scuba diving mistakes beginner divers make. Learn how to correct these for a better - and safer - dive. -
Scuba Diving Tipping Etiquette: How Much And When To Tip Scuba Crew
Feb 06, 23 03:34 PM
Not sure of scuba diving tipping etiquette? In this video I share who to tip, when to tip, how much to tip, tipping on liveaboards, tipping an instructor & more -
Scuba Diving Tips For First Time
Jan 29, 23 05:41 PM
These scuba diving tips for first time divers will help improve buoyancy control, air consumption, equalization and boat diving. Improve on your very next dive!
This is probably the most famous wreck dive in Aruba. The Antilla is a 400 foot German freighter which was scuttled in 1940 when Germany invaded Holland. The captain sunk his own ship rather than surrender it to the enemy. A small portion of the ship sticks out of the water and is also a popular spot for snorkelers. It lies about a mile offshore, just north of Palm Beach.
The Antilla is now covered with giant tube sponges and coral formations. You can also penetrate the ship's large holds. The wreck lies in 60 feet of water and has little to no current so it is accessible to all levels of divers. Visibility is usually between 50 and 70 feet. Unfortunately, when we dove the Antilla, visibility was poor with around 30 feet being the max. Maybe next time. It was still an interesting dive and one of the best wrecks we've seen.
Expect to see yellowtails, angelfish, grunts, lobster, silversides and eels.
Another wreck with an interesting story to add to your Aruba diving itinerary. The Pedernales is an oil tanker that was torpedoed by a German submarine during WWII. It was cut into 3 pieces by the US military. The bow and stern were salvaged while the center piece, damaged by the torpedo was left behind. The salved pieces were towed to the US and welded together. This smaller ship, formed by the 2 salvaged pieces, took part in the invasion of Normandy.
Divers can now see the center section which is spread out between coral formations. You'll see wash basins, sections of cabins as well as the tanker's pipeline system. It is a shallow site, lying in water between 25 to 40 feet deep and is good for beginning divers. Again, on this dive our max visibility was about 30 feet. Typically visibility is better than this. Boat ride is about 20 minutes from land.
Expect to see groupers, angelfish, parrotfish, grunts,
silversides and trumpetfish. When we dove this site, we swam into a
school of grunts so thick I couldn't see my husband (and dive buddy). It
was great.
This is a 250 foot English cement freighter which was jettisoned by local dive shops in 1988. It's located about a mile south of Barcadera Harbor and sits upright in 40 to 90 feet of water.
You are able to swim into a large hold and then through the bridge making for some good photo opportunities. Beautiful brain corals, sponges and sea fans around the site. visibility is usually good at this site since there is some current. Boat ride is fairly long at around 50 minutes.
Expect to see eels, creole wrasse, sergeant majors and angelfish.
Another wreck sunk intentionally to add to the list of Aruba diving sites. This is a 120 foot fuel barge sunk in 1992 as an additional attraction at this reef. You are able to swim in and out of the holds here.
The reef starts at about 50 feet descends down to about 90 feet. It is sandy around the reef and you'll find leaf, sponges and brain corals among other things. Visibility is usually pretty good at around 60-90 feet. It is a short 10 minute ride from land.
Expect to see grunts, morays, lobsters and schooling fish.
This is one of the newest wrecks added to the list for Aruba diving.
This 200 foot tanker was sunk in 2000 by the Aruba Watersports Association. It lies on its port side in about 40 feet of water in front of the high-rise strip by Hadicurari. Holes were cut into the ship to let divers easily penetrate the wreck. Even though it was sunk recently, the surge has started to break up the structure a bit.
Visibility is usually around 60-90 feet. Expect to see blue tang, yellowtails, silversides, spider crabs and goatfish.
These are just some of the top wreck dive sites in Aruba. There are plenty more to choose from so if you are a fan of wreck diving, Aruba diving is right up your alley.
You might also find our other pages on Aruba helpful when planning your trip:
Aruba Scuba Diving and General Aruba Info
Go to Main Caribbean Diving Page
You might also like these books and products about Aruba to help plan your dive vacation:
Have a great wreck dive!
Photos by shanestroud and ignis paries. Thanks!
Want to stay down longer and improve your buoyancy control and other diving skills? Our free report "Increase Your Bottom Time" along with our practical, weekly actionable tips will have you looking like a seasoned diver in no time. So come join us and see improvement on your very next dive!
(Click on the photo to join us now!)
What's New
Click below to grab our free report and weekly actionable tips:
Popular Pages
 |
 |
 |
 |
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.