Open water certification on Cozumel, any cheap options ??
- Thread starter Frank23
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Tigerman
Contributor
In that case there will be a lot of "I told you so" answers to it
I tried to use the info from another well-known but not identified dive shop but the info was not there. Maybe that info has been presented in the thread...or not. Hint hint.
Check the elearning option closely. It may be more costly than getting a book and doing it the normal way.
Check the elearning option closely. It may be more costly than getting a book and doing it the normal way.
in too deep
Contributor
I think the OP meant, what are, if any the competitive prices for certification.
Sometimes the term cheap means inexpensive.
Nothing wrong with shopping/asking people what they have found.
It's like online shopping, we wouldn't have it unless people want to pay full price for items.
Sometimes the term cheap means inexpensive.
Nothing wrong with shopping/asking people what they have found.
It's like online shopping, we wouldn't have it unless people want to pay full price for items.
E learning is definitely more expensive - PADI takes $130 for the e-learning plus the PIC fee - so that's $150 before you've even gotten in the water. The OW diving portion of the course is where the most overhead comes in as well if doing the OW dives by boat. Some shops include this in the price (as I do) - others don't include it, but then charge you for each boat dive. Contrary to popular belief - courses are not profitable for most shops, but they are an important and valuable piece of the business to establish and retain new clients. So anyone complaining that $400 or $450 is too much for an OW course with private instruction and everything included - I'll provide a detail and show you just how little the shop makes off of that!
That is something that too few students think about. Let's say you are going with an operator that charges $85 for a two tank boat dive. (some charge more; some charge less.) Since it takes two such experiences to be certified, the student is getting $170 worth of diving PLUS an instructor included in the course price. That is money you would have had to spend anyway if you were already certified and just going for the experience.
Just for comparison, a single day lift ticket for skiing in most of the areas around here is $120. For not much more than that, you are getting all your certification materials, all your instruction, and a couple of days of diving. Even the most expensive scuba instruction is downright cheap in comparison to many other activities.
Tigerman
Contributor
OMG! I thought the $65 1-day lift cards around here was getting expensive
Something thats actually relatively cheap even to tourists here in Norway - this has to be a bad sign!
My wife and I used this website last year for our AOW and really liked our instructor, his name was Porfirio.
Get Certified in Cozumel - PADI Scuba Diving Certification
it is showing 279.00 US.
PIC and student kit aren't included either. After books/fees, it may be just as cheap to find one that includes everything. The PIC is 30.00 and I don't know how much books cost. The absolute least expensive price I have seen is Ricks Dive 'N Travel in North Little Rock, Arkansas. They run a Christmas special almost every year from 99.00 to 150.00, their instruction is top notch and they have a heated indoor 14' deep pool for confined water.
Rick's Dive 'N Travel Center | Christmas 99.95 this year, and it's still available!
Get Certified in Cozumel - PADI Scuba Diving Certification
it is showing 279.00 US.
PIC and student kit aren't included either. After books/fees, it may be just as cheap to find one that includes everything. The PIC is 30.00 and I don't know how much books cost. The absolute least expensive price I have seen is Ricks Dive 'N Travel in North Little Rock, Arkansas. They run a Christmas special almost every year from 99.00 to 150.00, their instruction is top notch and they have a heated indoor 14' deep pool for confined water.
Rick's Dive 'N Travel Center | Christmas 99.95 this year, and it's still available!
Mike
Contributor
Exactly!!! And we charge $300 for OW referral - but it includes two days of boat dives - that's $160 right there, then the instructor has to be paid, we have to pay for the PIC and then there are of course other expenses to us - so I am very firm with my course prices because I KNOW they are fair and a great value to the student. I'd rather package it all together for everything they need rather than nickel and dime them for the book cost, the PIC fee, and the boat dives.
---------- Post added January 7th, 2013 at 03:45 PM ----------
+ Books (student kit available for purchase) and + certification fee so you're REALLY looking at $350ish without guaranteed boat dives.
Then in the description it says that the student kit is included - that tells me he is using a LOANER copy of the student materials - which is a standards violation for starters and secondly, PADI won't process a c-card from this region without a hologram, which can ONLY be obtained by purchasing the student materials new!! Minimum of 4 OW dives - but does not specify boat dives, and a 3 days crash course - that tells me he is most likely doing all of the confined water dives on day one (5 required), then doing the OW dives on days 2 and 3 - No thanks!
This is a tour company run by a couple that does not live on the island that contracts out independent instructors - it is not a dive shop.
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