Snorkeling Aruba!

Posted on January 5, 2014 by The Hummels

Snorkeling Aruba! What you can expect to find off the shore on this happy island…

We went on a catamaran snorkel cruise with Red Sail Sports during our stay in Aruba, which cost about $75 per person and included transport to/from our hotel, stops at three snorkel sites, lunch and unlimited Caribbean cocktails (note there’s no beer or wine on board for those who prefer “lighter” drinks).

The first stop they took us to was near Boca Catalina, which is supposed to be one of the best snorkeling spots in Aruba. Visibility wasn’t so great that day and there weren’t many fish compared to other areas we’ve snorkeled around the world, but we had fun swimming around in the Caribbean waters. Did we mention the boat also had a slide? Who doesn’t like a snorkel cruise with a slide?

There were several other snorkel boats nearby and we also got to watch people jumping off this boat, the MiDushi, which looked like a blast too…

The second stop was the Antilla shipwreck, one of the largest shipwrecks in the Caribbean. The Antilla was built for trade between Germany and the Caribbean and sank off the coast of Aruba in 1940. The ship has grown a pretty colorful and active reef over time – check out some of Todd’s photos from his dive at the Antilla shipwreck and view his video of diving Aruba here.

After that, we moved on to Pedernalis, a 35-foot oil tanker that was torpedoed during World War II by a German submarine.

Then the crew served up lunch, which included chicken, pasta, salad and fruit, as we cruised back to the boat dock.

Afterward, the driver from Red Sail Sports was nice enough to give us a ride to the local grocery store where he suggested we try an authentic Dutch treat called Oliebollen – otherwise known as an “oily ball” – bascially, a dangerously good Dutch donut with raisins inside and powdered sugar on top.

It definitely passed the test.

All in all, the Aruba snorkel cruise with Red Sail Sports was a great time and even though we’ve experienced better snorkeling elsewhere, we’d definitely do it again!