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Diving Aruba: Clear Waters, Cool Wrecks & New Challenges

Published 3 hours agoon May 8, 2026

If you’re new to this blog, then I am Mia DaPonte and I share my life underwater with you after I got certified as the youngest female Master Scuba Diver in the USA! I was also chosen to be a member of the 2025 PADI Jr. AmbassaDiver team. Our AmbassaDiver motto is “Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.” That means we want everyone to experience the amazing world beneath the waves — and take care of it at the same time.

You can also follow me and all my adventures on Instagram: @underwaterwithmia.

Hey guys!! I was back on the island of Aruba for my school vacation, and of course we went diving with Aj from Aruba Premier Boat and Dive. They are our favorite to dive with in Aruba because we get to have a private experience and go to places that are away from the touristy spots. The Gouda cheese and butter sandwiches we get in-between dives are also delicious! I love diving in Aruba because of the beautiful, clear waters and all of the underwater life. There are plenty of wrecks to check out too.

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This trip we scheduled seven dives. The first day we did three. The first site was the Jane C wreck. There was so much life on it, it was amazing to see that it has truly become a part of the ocean and a home for many animals. We dove to the deepest part and circled our way up the stern section. The propeller was really beautiful sitting on the sand, there is something really magical about seeing things underwater, especially when they are not supposed to be there. I used my flashlight to look into the portholes and explored all along the back of the ship.

The next dive this day was on a reef to see it in the daylight because the final dive that day was going to be at night on the same reef so that we could compare the changes that happen after nightfall. On the night dive we took a UV light with us, and all of the colors that lit up underwater were amazing! Neon blue and green and orange and pink too. The reef comes alive at night, and we got to see creatures that come out at night. I have done many night dives, but this was my first night dive in Aruba.

On our second day of diving we got to go lionfish hunting! Lionfish are an invasive species who kill a lot of the corals and other animals, plants, and habitats. So it’s actually good to kill them to save our reefs. Aj explained how to use a spear to stab them. It had prongs on the end and a rubber band on the top. We were taught how to hold the spear and use the rubber band to slingshot the spear into the lionfish. We saw a few lionfish, but I couldn’t quite get them onto the spear—I missed them every time. It was fun to learn how to do it, and I will practice when I go back next time. And we still got to see a lot of fish at the reef.

The last day we decided to try hunting again, so I brought the spear on my first dive and we didn’t see any lionfish, but we did visit the airplane wreck. Last time I was in Aruba I swam into the back of the airplane and up to the cockpit, which is a really cool experience. This time I was having a problem equalizing my ears, so I stayed up a bit and my mom swam through it. Next time we go I will try again.

On our last dive of the trip I left the spear behind to enjoy the reef. On this day there was another instructor also with us, and she saw a few lionfish when she was descending, so she went back up for the spear and she was able to capture 5 or 6 of them. Back at the dock we watched Aj fillet them, and he gave my mom a recipe for lionfish ceviche, which was really, really good. We ate it with tortilla chips, and then I put some on my sandwich the next day.

This vacation was very fun, and the diving there is amazing. On this trip we got really lucky with the weather, and the water was calm enough for us to visit sites that are sometimes too dangerous, like Pet Cemetery.

Aruba is such an extraordinary island to visit. I can’t wait to go back again in August. I will be there working with ScubbleBubbles to care for corals and farm them. I am going to document my adventure in a vlog with PADI, so watch for that to come!

It’s now becoming warmer in Rhode Island, where I am from, and we have quite a few fun plans to dive locally. Stay tuned!

aruba I am including Aj’s ceviche recipe for you to enjoy. Sea you later!