report on my snorkeling in Aruba

[rsmith55]

I just returned from the Destiny Southern Carib. cruise (very nice). My wife and I are avid snorkelers (with our own equipment) and I had a hard time deciding what to do in Aruba. I decided that since the Aruba beaches looked so good that we wanted to spend some time walking on them as well as snorkeling (beaches are "deserts" and tend to be lousy for snorkeling). So we skipped the usual boat/tour and rented a car (cheap on aruba). Not knowing what to expect, we headed up the coast past the pricey hotels (easy driving) toward the end of the beaches which on a map seemed to be Ashiri Beach. When we saw the lighthouse we got distracted and immediately wanted to visit it which we did. Very cool. And there is a beautiful restaurant there with a view. Then quickly back on track to the snorkeling we returned to Ashiri beach (I think) where there was only a few patches of beach (perfect for entering the water) and coral rock with little parking lots (very convenient). The water was very clear, calm, seemed safe and there were tons of small fish (many varieties) and a great variety of small corals that seemed healthy. I really liked it there. We saw the Jolly Roger parked just offshore. They were snorkeling here also. Maybe there are better places on Aruba to snorkel but I really liked it here. We snorkeled, went for lunch, and returned to snorkel again. Next time in Aruba I will go to the Antilla wreck. A few photos are attached if I figured out how to do it.

[katef]

Thanks for the review. We're also trying to decide what to do when we're there since we want a nice beach but we also want good snorkeling. Did you reserve a car in advance? What car rental company did you use? You said it was cheap...how much should we expect to pay? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any information you can give.