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Dive Review of S.E.Aruba Fly 'n Dive/Beach House Aruba in
Aruba

S.E.Aruba Fly 'n Dive/Beach House Aruba, Jun, 2012,

by Michael Schoenbaum, MD, US (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 6598 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations N/A Food 1 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments I dove with S.E. Aruba Fly 'n Dive on four consecutive days, three with friends and one on my own. All the staff, from the people who drove the pickup/dropoff van to the shop staff to the boat crew & dive guides, were friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The boat was clean and well equipped - head, life vests, fire extinguishers, oxygen, first aid kit. We dove in small groups, each with a dive guide. Guides did briefings before each dive, describing the site and our dive plan. Guides were attentive throughout the dives, pointing things out, checking on each diver, and helping as needed (one diver in my group needed to descend slowly, and the guide was very attentive about this). Boat crew also checked each diver's tank before they entered the water to confirm that the air was turned on. Crew did a roll call before setting out each morning; they only did a post-dive roll call on one of the 8 dives I did, but that may be because the overall number of divers was small and everyone dove with a guide.

I dove with nitrox; the shop made sure to analyze the mix with me for every tank before they put my tanks on the boat, and to confirm that the mix was suitable for that day's dive sites. (Mix was 32-34%; the deepest dive we did, the Jane Sea wreck, was to 90 feet.)

Each day we dove a wreck & then a reef. Profiles were suitable for divers of all experience levels. We particularly liked the Jane Sea wreck, & Sonesta airplanes. The Antilla wreck, probably Aruba's most famous site, was interesting too, but not as nice a dive as the Jane Sea. Reefs seemed generally healthy - at least, I didn't notice much bleaching. Guides directed divers not to touch anything, and there was no feeding (something I've experienced elsewhere, and am personally against). One guide speared lion fish, which we saw on about half the dives.

Boat crew did not set gear up for divers (I prefer to set up my own gear in any case, but I've been on boats where crew set up most people's gear...). Rental gear was in varying condition. On our first day, there were too few weight belts on the boat (and one belt was impractically short), so one diver was asked to carry weights in his BC pockets. This operator only rents shorty wetsuits (some with long sleeves); divers seemed ok with that, but I was glad to have my full 3 mm suit, and one guide dove with full 5 mm and another with full 7 mm. The boat provided water & juice, but no food. (2-tank trips departed around 9 am and got back around 1 pm.) One guide we do with carried a surface marker buoy and deployed it during our safety stop; another did not carry one.

The "fly" in Fly 'n Dive is because the owner has a small private plane with which he takes divers on day trips to Bonaire. Apparently they fly at low enough altitude that decompression is not an issue.
Websites S.E.Aruba Fly 'n Dive   Beach House Aruba

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving Belize, Bonaire, Bahamas, Florida, BVI, Phuket
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas choppy
Water Temp 77-79°F / 25-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions Divers were divided into small groups, & each group dove with a guide. Groups generally ascended together, based on air consumption.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals N/A Tropical Fish N/A
Small Critters N/A Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Boat had a single tank, for which cameras were given priority - divers were instructed that if there was a camera in the tank, nothing else should be rinsed there. The crew enforced this rule.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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