Learning to dive in Toronto

[MichaelAngelo]

Hello everyone! I've always been interested in diving but never had time on my hands to get trained. Could anyone recommend a place in the greater Toronto area?

Thanks!

Michael

 

[knowone]

As well as paying heed to the information you recieve here, use your computer machine to find out how everything works in preparation for your forthcoming wonderous experience.

 

[elan]

Hello everyone! I've always been interested in diving but never had time on my hands to get trained. Could anyone recommend a place in the greater Toronto area?

Thanks!

Michael

Do you want a quality and more expensive training or fast and crappy but not so expensive ?

 

[scubassplayer]

I have taken courses from two shops around Toronto...Diveaqua.com in Mississauga which is NAUI and Scuba2000.com which is PADI.

Both are good. The thing I like about Scuba2000 is that they are very organized with upcoming events and courses and have a descent website that updates regularly.

Suggest you speak with a couple of different shops and get a feel for what they are about.

 

[SubMariner]

Hello everyone! I've always been interested in diving but never had time on my hands to get trained. Could anyone recommend a place in the greater Toronto area?

Thanks!

Michael

I suggest taking a look here: Ontario Fresh Water Freaks - ScubaBoard for threads on this subject.

Bonne chance,

 

[DCBC]

As an alternative to the shops, you might consider joining a diving club (there are many in the Toronto area). Notably there's Hart House SCUBA Club at the University of Toronto (Hart House) and the Etobicoke Underwater Club. There are others as well and they can be best found by contacting the Ontario Underwater Council at (416) 426-7033.

The club environment provides you with a social network of divers, and more experienced mentors to aid in your education. The training curve varies from club-to-club, but generally the courses are longer and more comprehensive than those taken at a shop (even though the same certifications are offered). Some clubs tend to also be less expensive, but again this can vary.

 

[elan]

I can recommend Ontario Underwater Explorers club. It has it's own instructors who can teach you well and they cross-train with DIR-agencies. One instructor who teaches PADI has GUE Tech 1 and his level of skills is amazing. Another one teaches PADI and has GUE Tech 2 so you can find a good instructor in the club

 

[MichaelAngelo]

Thanks for the help so far guys!

I visited Scuba2000 today and did their free intro session. It was really amazing.

Another big one seems to be "Aquarius". Has anyone tried that one?

I'm wondering what all the certs mean, is PADI "Open Water Diver" what I'm after?

Michael

 

[acwest]

As Wayne (DCBC) said, Toronto and environs is very well supplied with diving clubs which do training. I'm personally a Dive Master with the Etobicoke Underwater Club, which runs two 10 week courses per year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. I can also recommend the Hart House club, but I believe you need a Hart House membership to join that one, as well as the Ontario Underwater Explorers and the Scarborough Underwater Club. Club training has a few advantages, in that the training is very thorough, and tend to be quite cheap. The disadvantage, of course, is that it's not the way to go if you need to get certified in a hurry. A dive club is also a good place to find dive buddies, but most shops can generally supply that, too. After all, divers do tend to hang out there

 

[DCBC]

I'm wondering what all the certs mean, is PADI "Open Water Diver" what I'm after?

Michael, perhaps you might review Consider a Diving Club - ScubaBoard

Diving certification agencies are a lot like cars, if you own a Chev and have had no exposure to other manufacturers, you're likely to think that Chev is the best. This also extends to equipment. "I use brand X, so brand X is the greatest."

Like I've pointed out on the other thread, it depends what you want out of your training. Some just want to get certified quickly, others want a more comprehensive approach. Only you can choose what's right for you. If you want to be trained, compare the number of training hours for the price and you will have your answer, either way.

Like in anything, there are instructors from all agencies that put more into their training courses, while others are happy to teach to whatever is minimum. I encourage you to find out what you are getting into. Don't necessarily believe the hype and the marketing machine that some agencies / dive shops have in-place.

Regardless of the agency and all things being equal, you should be able to learn more in 30 hours than you can in 20. My basic OW programs are 50 hours, but are more in-line with people who want to be challenged, than just to obtain a certification card the easiest way possible. Each instructor has their own training philosophy. Compare and find which one is most suitable for you.