jads dive center

My wife and I had never been scuba diving prior to our visit to Aruba. Prior to arriving I had several email interactions with Jean-Pierre who recommended that we complete the didactic part of the certification course online in order to save us time once we arrived in Aruba. Unfortunately we did not have the time to complete the course and figured that we would not be diving.Wrong.While driving around the island (from Noord) we ended up at Baby Beach where JADS is located. We went in, assuming just to have a conversation about how best to complete the certification course. However, Jean-Pierre mentioned that a group that was to dive the next day had not been able to make it to Aruba due to the weather, and asked whether we were interested in a one-day introductory dive; needless to say we jumped at the opportunity.Rudolph was our guide; he was absolutely fabulous and the dive experience was one of the highlights of our married life! Most importantly, besides his love of diving and teaching ability, was his ability to assess our anxieties and alleviate them as much as possible - a true gift.We spent about an hour reviewing the key safety material we were given that evening, and early the next morning Rudolph came by our hotel to pick us up. Thirty minutes of video and then we got into our wetsuits; one image that will never leave my mind was when my wife thought that her wetsuit was a little small; Rudolph suddenly picked her up (looked like pro wrestling) and suddenly the suit fit perfectly! We then drove out to a cove where we did our "practical" learning and then went diving. What a blast! After we were able to equilibrate, find our regulator, etc., we were able to dive around a wreck that was 40 - 45 feet deep. Can't recommend JADS enough.

We had a wonderful diving experience thanks to a great team of friendly, kind and patient instructors.Thank you Mike and Rodolfino for a GREAT time !

I really enjoyed the wreck dives.. Renaissance airplanes, the Antilla, and the variety of sponges on Sponge reef. There was a variety of beautiful fish and turtles. I especially enjoyed seeing a small whale shark off the side of the boat. My dive masters, Amwar(?), Mike, and Rudolf(?) helped adjust my weights and even provided me with a skin, when my wetsuit zipper broke. I was also very pleased that JADS were willing to re-schedule my Monday dive to Thursday when my flight on Sunday was cancelled.

It was our first time in Aruba. We have been in many places in the Caribbean. We went to an airplane wreck and Sponge Reef (sites ?). Diving there was beautiful. The crew at Jads was professional. The two sites were incredible. The staff made the day great. In addition, they provided transportation to and from Riu Palace.

Diving was great with JADS in Aruba! We had heard that diving wasn't great there but we clearly heard wrong. The staff was very pleasant and professional. We enjoyed great diving with a crew that clearly were diving enthusiasts and knew customer service.A little example: We stepped off the boat for our second dive with camera in hand (Nikon ~$325) and soon after, it was lost. We searched for a short time but figured it a lost cause due to the significant reef formations below. Little did we know, the JADS crew went into action and backed the boat up to the exact location, donned their gear and found our camera! It was amazing that they found it and we were so grateful that they recovered the camera that was full of our vacuum photos. Needless to say, we can't thank them enough for the great experiences, personal care, safety consciousness, professionalism, and good times we had. Please keep up the great work and will be back as loyal customers.Thank you! Brian and BJ

Super great diving with Jads Aruba, felt completely safe while diving with diver Joshua. We went for the underwater cross dive and it was a wonderful experience. Thumbs up!

First off, I want to apologize to JADS, I should have written this review much sooner. I was in Aruba for 7 days, I did my advanced open water here. It was everything they told me it would be and more. Susan was awesome and I was the only one that was in the class but that did not stop them from taking me. I followed up this class with 6 other dives and all of them were amazing. We did drift, wrecks, reef it was unbelievable. At intervals they told us diving stories, they showed us pictures and we really got to know them on a more personal level not just on a business level. They were so accommodating and professional. I have all my own gear and they kept it at the shop and had it set up for me each morning. On the last morning during my safety check I noticed that the tank was leaking. They had it fixed with a new O ring in seconds. They always asked where your air is and how your doing. We had 7 people almost everyday and two dive masters. One leading and one trailing. Both constantly pointing out different things and assisting with pictures. When I return to Aruba I will be going back to JADS for sure, and I will be returning to Aruba. I normally get a little home sick and am ready to return but I was very sad to leave Aruba, such a wonderful island with many wonderful people. Thank you JADS staff for making this one of the best trips I have ever been on.

I would highly recommend diving with JADS. We are experienced divers and had a great time doing 3 days of diving with Mike and Annurd at the end of January 2015. We were staying at the Marriott and Chitcha was there promptly at 8:30am each morning to pick us up. It was a great perk to have transportation provided, along with the diver "happy meals" (sandwich, juice and a chocolate) between dives! The dive boat was comfortable, easy to get on and off of, and equipped with space to keep items dry, O2 and a first aid kit. Tank fills were 3000 to 3200. I was glad to have brought my 3mm wetsuit, beanie, and gloves, especially near the end of the dives, which were 60 minutes, as we were all good on air.My favorite sites were the Jane C and the airplane wrecks. Special thanks for going out with just the 2 of us on Tuesday! We will dive with you again when we come back to Aruba.

My wife and I did three dives with Jads last week: baby beach, Jade Sea and Airplanes site. The staff was very professional and fun. We are extremely thankful to Jair, Chitcha, and Rodolfo to make us feel right at home. We can't wait to go back to Aruba and dive again with JADS!

Very friendly, safe, good organization and the give a total package if you want to see Aruba underwater. And I love the lunch box the give between the dives.

I was very excited about the dives I had scheduled in advance of our Christmas vacation in Aruba this year. My son had recently finished all his scuba training and was doing his open water in Aruba to complete his certification. I chose JADS based on reviews here on Trip Advisor. The staff was very friendly and eager to meet our needs. My son did fine with his dives and really hit it of with his dive master Rudolph. So far, so good. We scheduled a day of diving for the day following his open water dives so he could have a day of fun. We were scheduled to dive the Jane Sea wreck and then onto Barcadera Reef. Here's where it all went south. There are very few buoy marked dive sites in Aruba. The dive plan was to be dropped down current from the wreck and dive against the current a short distance to the wreck which lay about 80' deep. Approach from the bow, scuba to the stern, around the end and back to the bow to enter the ship through a door close to the bow. Well, the boat dropped us way too far from the ship. It took us almost 25 minutes of swimming against the current to reach the Jane Sea. By the time i got there (not the most efficient breather yet, but I'm new and getting better) I'm down to 1000 pounds. By the time I reached the entry door I was at 500 and had to go up. One couple was already on their way up. We all ended up going up by ourselves even though the plan was for a dive master to take us to the safety stop depth. My son hit the surface about 2 minutes later and he was very freaked out. He couldn't locate the dive master to tell him he was running out of air and had go up alone. His first dive without and instructor and he's left to fend for himself. He was very upset at the dive masters and called it quits for the day. Several of the divers were upset that they had used most of their air just getting to the dive site. Just poor execution all around. So while we really like the people at JADS and my son really enjoyed his open water dives with Rudolph, we were not very impressed with the poor execution of the dive plan which resulted in our last dives for the week and a less than memorable experience.

JP (Jean Paul) is very helpful and knowledgeable. You can either go on a boat dive with them or just rent equipment to shore dive on your own. Always friendly and willing to help out in any way they can. We will return to Jads on every trip for our dive needs. They're wonderful!!

My daughter and I dove with JADS two days. Day one was a shore dive. We loved it and it was a great experience for us. We recently got certified so it was a perfect gateway. We dove in two separate areas and Anwar was our divemaster, he was terrific. We saw beautiful fish along a two reefs and checked out a small wreck. Day two was a boat dive. Our first dive was checking out a wreck and the second a reef dive. Again, we saw a lot of cool fish, even an octopus. Floating under water is the coolest thing ever. Rudolph ran the boat dive but Anwar was on that one two. We had a really great time. Very relaxing and we will definitely go with them again the next time we are in Aruba. Very professional and focused on you, your safety, and enjoyment. Thanks JADS!

From the moment you sign on to the last step off of the boat, JAD's treats you well. Diving in Aruba is not the best in the world, lots of wrecks to check out and some reef but the visibility is not great. There a lots of little things growing in this eco-rich water which is good for the fish but not great for vision. Still, the JAD group is engaging with the clientele, playing with some of the sea life and letting sea urchins stick to your hand. I think having a group young divers we have just the right amount of time in the water, kindness from the dive master and sights to see. Worth the trips? You bet! Do it again? Absolutely!

This dive shop is pretty good. They have a very relaxed approach and were very nice welcoming people. We did 4 dives with them and were very pleased.They pick you up at your place and take you to the boat dock where your tanks and everything are already loaded and your gear is all set up for you. The boat is a good size and has space for dry storage, but no toilet!The crew was knowledgeable, experienced and did not rush you once you were diving. They could improve, however buy spending more time pointing things out---I went with another dive crew and they didn't do this either, so perhaps this isn't something they do in Aruba.This shop will take you the more southern sites of the island which has lots of forests of soft corals that are really beautiful.I would definitely dive with them again!