cave course asia/ central america

[sonar]

Hi guys,

I am currently planning a trip and somehow it got in my mind to go dive in caves.

I am not sure if I go to indonesia or to costa rica/ belize area. I know cave diving in mexico is awesome (i dove in the half open caves near playa del carmen) but i don't intend to go to mexico. I wonder where to go in both areas for the finest caves.

Also wonder what's the average charge for the course. I am DM and think the padi 2 day course suits me well. If there are better courses I am interested as well

merry x-mass all

 

[DevonDiver]

Thailand has a thriving cave community now. Bruce Konefe is in Pattaya... runs excellent courses via ANDI and trips around Asia (Thailand/Philippines). He's a very knowledgable guy..and a great instructor.

 

[Peter Guy]

Why do you want to get a Cavern Cert? What is it you want to learn?

I think you have your planning strategy all wrong. IF you want to learn how to safely dive in a Cave, decide on what training you want (Cavern only, Cavern/Intro or Cavern/Intro/Full Cave) and what instructor (or type of instructor) with whom you want to train. Then you go where that instructor is.

Not all Cave training is equal! You mentioned

I am DM and think the padi 2 day course suits me well.

in what way does it "suit [you] well?" Do you never intend to go beyond Cavern? (Note, I have been told that the PADI Cavern Card may not be accepted by other agencies IF you decide to continue your Cave training so you'd have to retake the Cavern class.) Do you think it is "easier" than other Cavern Courses? Have you examined the Cavern Courses from other agencies?

Good luck on your training.

 

[sonar]

I have been to thailand a few times and love it but wanna see something new. Did my DM in philipinnes (divedojo with ethei), loved it as well, but prefer visiting another country. Might go back to philipinnes anyway cause its so beautifull.

I want to do an introduction to cave diving. A course for a few days seems fine for me. gotta admit I automatically checked PADI instead of the other courses though. I think I lack basic experience at the moment to go too quick into advanced cave diving

same reason I don't desire a well respected top instructor for now. Would love a place were you can follow a cave course, do some regular dives and have some nightlife as well. Its a budget matter as well

Hope to find some time soon to read deeper into everyhting

thank you so far

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Peter is correct. The PADI Cavern Diver certification is all but worthless if you wish to continue on to full cave diving.

Roger Smith at Aquanauts is a compatriot of Bruce K's and not only teaches the ANDI courses, but TDI courses up to full cave as well. He has, in fact, was the one who got Course Director Jonas S. of Ban's and others in Koh Tao into tech diving, allowing them to launch courses down there.

You can see photos and read courses reports of TDI and ANDI cavern and intro to cave courses on our website. There's a contact form there if you're interested in joining us.

Aquanauts Does ANDI Into to Cave Course for PADI Course Director, Koh Tao Tech Divers | THAILAND TECH DIVING: Aquanauts Technical Dive Centre Pattaya TDI DSAT ANDI PADI CDC Cave Rebreather Trimix CCR Wreck

Diving the Caverns of Thailand’s Thong Pha Phom (Feb. 2009) | THAILAND TECH DIVING: Aquanauts Technical Dive Centre Pattaya TDI DSAT ANDI PADI CDC Cave Rebreather Trimix CCR Wreck

Photo Log of Cavern Diver Course at Thong Pha Phom (2008) | THAILAND TECH DIVING: Aquanauts Technical Dive Centre Pattaya TDI DSAT ANDI PADI CDC Cave Rebreather Trimix CCR Wreck

Deep Exploration of Thom Song Hong Cave | THAILAND TECH DIVING: Aquanauts Technical Dive Centre Pattaya TDI DSAT ANDI PADI CDC Cave Rebreather Trimix CCR Wreck


Thailand offers very good cavern and cave diving.

 

[sonar]

thx aqua! gonna read into that. Pattaya aint my kinda place though

 

[sonar]

very nice site, good info as well.

If i understand it correctly I would have to take a cavern course followed by a cave course (woudnt go all the way somewhere for just 2 days of diving) Together it would be 50k. I dont have equipment; how much would that be? What are generally the extra costs (transport, accomodation, parc fees etc.) Gotta mind my budget

What are the standard locations for this 'package'. i assume the stories you linked to are kinda special trips and not your day-to-day routine

gonna return my empty bottles to save hehe

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

There's an important distinction that I and others haven't mentioned regarding cavern vs. cave.

The Cavern Diver course requires only an Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent certification, is done within recreational diving limits and with recreational gear (single-tanks).

The Intro to Cave and above, however, requires that you be tech certified. You'll be using a full tech rig. However, the depth is still relatively shallow for the courses.

Thus, the prices shown -- for Intro to Cave -- will be much higher if you are not tech certified, as you'll need to do the PADI Tec 50 course or 3 TDI courses to get to that pre-requisite level. (You also must have 100 dives and various amounts of deep and nitrox dives before you can start the tech courses.)

If you do meet the pre-reqs, the prices shown are all-inclusive, other than accommodations. These generally run about 200 baht a day, so it's not a major expense. Transport, gear rental (for the cavern course), books and certification are included. Tech gear rental for the ITC course is about 1,300 baht per day for a full rig.

Pattaya may not be your "thing," but the caves aren't here. You'll be going either a few hours north or quite a few hours south. Also, frankly, that's a bit judgmental, as Pattaya is what you make it. We get 4 million visitors a year and have six 5-star resorts catering to families and couples. Obviously there aren't here for the same reason as the relatively much smaller number of guys staying in 200 baht a night flop houses and only coming out after dark. If that's not what you're after, then there's plenty other here to keep you entertained.

We do these courses on demand, so you need not wait for a special occasion or a set schedule. IF you book it, we go.

The cavern course requires 2 days in Pattaya and 2 days away.

 

[DevonDiver]

Also, frankly, that's a bit judgmental, as Pattaya is what you make it. We get 4 million visitors a year.

I think you kind of defeated your own arguement there...

Exactly how would a visitor 'make' Pattaya into a secluded tropical location that doesn't get 4 million other visitors a year?

Sonar.... have you checked out Diver's Network in Manila yet? Tom Morato runs the cave training and is a very professional guy. He runs courses and expeditions around the Philippines. He teaches Cave through ANDI. (If you look at the photo on the website, you can also see Bruce Konefe in the background. )

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

DD -- I'm pretty sure "secluded tropical" wasn't what he was referring to, but point taken. Although if you go to the far-out Jomtien or Naklua resorts, it's very quiet.

Tom did some of the training for Roger so, yes, a good guy.