Antilla Shipwreck Snorkeling Tour: Which Boat, How Deep?

The short version: you need a boat, and the cheapest good one is the best one. The Antilla is a 400-foot WWII German freighter lying off Malmok on Aruba's west coast. Its highest point is about 5 metres (15 ft) under the surface and its deepest about 17 metres (55 ft), at the propeller. Nine tours in our catalog stop there. The Arusun catamaran at $63 has the strongest record of the big boats: 90% five-star from 2,649 reviews, stopping at the Antilla and Boca Catalina. Book a daytime sail; sunset sails don't snorkel the wreck.

The honest counter: every one of these nine trips requires that you can swim, and the water at the wreck is not a lagoon. Chop, wind and a current you have to swim against are common there (tropicalsnorkeling.com). If anyone in your group is a weak swimmer, the calm, free shore spots in our snorkeling guide are the better day.

How deep is the Antilla shipwreck?

The shallowest parts are about 5 metres (15 ft) down, and the deepest is 17 metres (55 ft) at the propeller, on a seabed of about 18 metres (60 ft). The ship lies on its port side, so its superstructure and masts reach up towards the surface while the hull sits on the sand.

What that means for a snorkeler: you see the shallow front third clearly, and the rest as a shape below you. A local who knows it told us "You can see the whole wreck from the surface. Unreal." That holds on a clear day, but the sources that measure it are more careful: the front third or so is shallow enough to enjoy from the surface, and the stern drops away to about 55 ft. Go expecting the bow, masts and superstructure up close, and the full length of the ship only when the water is at its clearest.

Which tours stop at the Antilla?

Nine tours in our catalog confirm the Antilla as a snorkel stop, in their title, their description or the operator's own site. Combined Viator and Tripadvisor figures, cheapest first.

Three things the table shows:

1. Price doesn't buy quality here. The three cheapest boats ($63–65) have the three best five-star shares among the sails, 88–90%. The $119 BBQ trips score 78–85%. You pay more for lunch and hours on board, not for a better wreck.
2. The Arusun and the Dolphin are the volume leaders, with over 5,400 reviews between them. At $63 against $69, and 90% against 85% five-star, the Arusun wins on both counts.
3. The Seabob tour is the one different product. A Seabob is a handheld underwater scooter that pulls you through the water, so you do less of the swimming yourself. It has the highest five-star share in the table, 92%, at nearly double the price, and it takes no one under eight.

"None stated" means the listing gives no minimum age. The swimming requirement applies to every trip in the table.

Can you snorkel the Antilla from shore?

No, not practically. The wreck lies off Malmok, too far out for a comfortable shore swim, and strong currents, rough water and boat traffic make swimming out a bad idea (tropicalsnorkeling.com). It is the one snorkel site on the island where paying for a boat is clearly the right call. Malmok itself is the best free shore snorkel on the island, so you can see the same coast from the beach for the price of a mask.

Morning or afternoon?

Both work: the Arusun, the Dolphin and the Banana boat each sail the same route morning and afternoon. What changes is the rest of your day. A 09:00 or 09:30 sail has you back by lunch; the 14:00 and 14:30 departures leave the morning free for a shore snorkel at Tres Trapi or Malmok first. The Seabob runs earliest, from 08:30.

Not every operator stops there on every trip. Flagship Aruba, for one, lists Boca Catalina and Malmok Reef for its morning tour and the Antilla only for its afternoon tour (flagshiparuba.com). If the wreck is the point, check that the departure you book actually lists it. All nine trips above name it in their title, their description or the operator's own site.

What is the Antilla?

A German cargo ship, launched in Hamburg on 31 March 1939. On 10 May 1940, the day Germany invaded the Netherlands, its captain had the ship set on fire and its valves opened so that the Dutch could not seize it (Pure Diving Aruba, PADI, antillashipwreckaruba.com). Over 86 years it has become a coral-encrusted reef, with brain corals, sea fans and sponges (Jolly Pirates).

It's often called the largest wreck in the Caribbean. It isn't clearly that: PADI calls it the third-biggest, one operator says second-largest, and a local dive shop says "one of the biggest". What every source agrees on is 400 feet.

Our pick

The Arusun morning sail at $63. It has the best five-star record of the high-volume boats (90% from 2,649 reviews), stops at the Antilla and Boca Catalina, and has you back before lunch. If you'd rather be pulled than swim, the Seabob tour at $120 is the one upgrade the reviews back (92% five-star).

Skip the sunset sails for this. They are the right boat for the evening, as our boat trips guide explains, but not for snorkeling the wreck.

Common questions

How deep is the Antilla shipwreck? The shallowest parts are about 5 metres (15 ft) below the surface, with the masts reaching to within about 5 ft. The deepest point is about 17 metres (55 ft), at the propeller.

Is the Antilla too deep for snorkeling? No. The shallowest parts sit about 5 metres (15 ft) down, with the masts within about 5 ft of the surface, so the bow and superstructure are clear from above. The stern drops to about 55 ft and shows only as a shape below you.

Can you snorkel the Antilla shipwreck without a tour? Not practically. It lies off Malmok, too far for a comfortable shore swim, with current and boat traffic in between. Every way to snorkel it is by boat.

Do you need to be a good swimmer to snorkel the Antilla? Yes. All nine tours we list require that you can swim, and chop and a current are common at the wreck. Weak swimmers are better off at a calm shore spot such as Tres Trapi or Baby Beach.

Which Antilla snorkel tour is best? The Arusun catamaran: $63, 90% five-star from 2,649 reviews, with morning and afternoon departures. The Seabob tour scores higher (92%) but costs $120.

Can children snorkel the Antilla? Three trips list no minimum age. The Dolphin and the Antilla & Catalina Bay sail take children from 5, the two BBQ trips from 6, and the brunch sail and Seabob from 8. The real limit is swimming: every trip requires it, so a child needs to be comfortable in open, choppy water.

Do sunset cruises stop at the Antilla? No. Sunset sails in Aruba are for the view, not snorkeling. Book a morning or afternoon snorkel sail for the wreck.

How long does it take to get to the Antilla? About 20 minutes of sailing, according to the Dolphin catamaran's own description of its trip.

Our pages for these trips: Arusun · Dolphin · Iconic Sail and Snorkel · Banana Adventure · Champagne Brunch sail · Turtles & BBQ (morning) · Turtles & BBQ (sunset)

More on this coast: the Antilla wreck · Malmok shore snorkel · Boca Catalina by catamaran · free vs paid snorkeling · things to do in Aruba

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Written 2026-09-28 · data updated 2026-09-30