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Scuba Diving in Malmok
A calm, clear-water stretch on Aruba's sheltered north-west coast, north of the Palm Beach resorts. Its shallow, protected reef flats are a classic beginner and freediving site, and about 700 metres offshore lies the Antilla, the 1940 German freighter that is the largest wreck in the Caribbean.
Why here
Malmok is where Aruba's marquee dive sits, and it is one of the most accessible great wreck dives anywhere. The Antilla was a brand-new 121-metre German cargo ship in 1940 when her captain scuttled her off Malmok rather than surrender her to the Dutch after the invasion of the Netherlands, and she has rested on her port side in 18 metres of clear water ever since. Because she is so large and so shallow, with parts breaking the surface, snorkellers drift over the same wreck that divers swim through, past cavernous holds now grown over in coral and sponge and busy with fish, one of the reasons she is nicknamed the Ghost Ship. The leeward north-west coast that shelters her also gives Malmok itself calm, shallow, clear water that is ideal for a first Discover Scuba session, confined-water training or freediving, while certified divers add the reefs and a scatter of other wrecks along the coast. Warm water year round, little current on the lee side and a wreck this big and this shallow make Malmok a rare site that works for a complete beginner and a seasoned diver on the same boat.
Best months
Water is warm all year, around 27 to 29 degrees, so a shorty or 3mm suit is plenty. The north-west coast is the sheltered leeward side, usually calm and clear, and the Antilla sits at 18 metres with sections near the surface, so it suits everyone from snorkellers and first-timers to certified wreck divers. Trade winds can put a light chop on the surface but rarely stir the site. Book with the local PADI operators in Noord and Palm Beach, who run the Antilla, Malmok reef and other coastal wrecks.
Getting there & around
Malmok is on the north-west coast, about 15 minutes by road north of the Palm Beach high-rise hotels and 25 minutes from Queen Beatrix International Airport. The dive operators are based in Noord and on Palm Beach, offer hotel pickup, and reach the Antilla and Malmok reef in a short boat ride. No car is needed once you are in the Palm Beach or Noord area.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Happy Divers Aruba
SchoolHappy Divers Aruba is a PADI dive centre based in Noord in north-west Aruba, with its boat docked at the Hadicurari pier on Palm Beach. Run as a small operation that never carries more than six divers, it is a PADI Elite operator with over fourteen years on the island, teaching Discover Scuba, Open Water, Advanced and freediving courses. Its house dives include the Antilla, the 121-metre German freighter off Malmok that is the largest wreck in the Caribbean.
Palm Beach Divers
SchoolPalm Beach Divers is a locally owned dive shop in Aruba's Noord high-rise hotel district, established in 2009 and a PADI dive-resort centre since 2014. It specialises in wreck and reef boat dives, running its own fast custom dive boat and a tank-fill station, and guides divers over the Antilla wreck and the reefs of the leeward coast. Courses run from first Discover Scuba dives to advanced certifications, taught in Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamento.