New to the forum and yet to start diving.

[Mustard Dave]

Thank you everyone. I will look at it all. I'll let you know what I decide. I am in Tamworth. Staffs Mustard Dave.


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In that case, you have Dosthill (Clicky link) right on your doorstep. Dozzi is a flooded quarry used as a dive centre, with bogs, butty van etc. on site. Personally I would recommend learning to dive in the UK, then you can dive here as well as abroad, plus, a decent dive school will teach you in a drysuit from day one.

BSAC is worth a look. There are many clubs throughout the UK so you should be able to find a decent one nearby. With BSAC you join a club and your training is included in the membership. Many of them will loan kit free of charge for 'Ocean Diver' trainees (similar qualification to a PADI Open Water). With Dozzi so close, you there should be plenty of club members diving regularly, which may speed the training process up.

Tippytoes12 says it will take many months to train - this is true in many clubs, but it is not always the case. Some clubs run regular training events for new members, and some will even run crash courses for a fee.

Some BSAC clubs can be a little political, with certain members trying to throw their weight about. Again, this is not true of all clubs - many are excellent - but it is worth visiting a few local clubs to see what they are like.

There is a PADI school in Solihull called Aquasport I have heard good things about. It may be worth a trip to Dozzi - look for the Owner, Ian Forster. He is a really nice bloke and he will probably be able to recommend somewhere. I'm not sure about this, but I think he may run courses himself.

There is some really great diving in the UK and it isn't as cold as you would think. You can dive all year round in a drysuit, and at the moment, water temperatures are quite pleasant.

 

[tothemoon]

That's brilliant. Thank you for the info Mustard Dave. Will start looking into it. I am planning on migrating to Australia in 2-3 years so will be doing mostly warm water diving then


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[victor]

A good option is to do your theory and pool sessions here and only your open water dives in Egypt. This will minimize the amount of time spent in classes and not diving.
If you decide on PADI for this trip still consider looking at BSAC as they can keep you interested between trips.

 

[tothemoon]

Thanks Victor. That sounds the best option for me at the moment but I am looking at BSAC clubs in my area for afterwards x


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[dbulmer]

While BSAC has been mentioned, there is an alternative club based agency called the Sub Aqua Association (SAA).

SAA

SAA is worth looking into also.

 

[tothemoon]

Thank you dbulmer. I will have a look.


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[folcofab]

Hello!
Have you ever considered to do all the "boring" part home before going on holiday and then just do the "fun" part while you are there?
I would suggest you log onto PADI website and do the course Open Water on line to save you some times during your holidays. then you pick a destination and go for the dives!
As a great destination, I would suggest Lanzarote! dives are beautiful, full of life and the island is great too!

Just suggestion!

 

[HJeffreyM]

My wife and I did our pool and classroom sessions in New York City, and our open water dives in Maui. Could not have been a better experience! Unless you plan to dive cold water (I don't!), this would be the best option for you. Remember, almost all the dive certification agencies recommend you learn to dive under the same or similar conditions in which you plan to dive. Also most of the cert agencies (PADI, NAUI, SSI, etc.) participate in the "universal referral" program in which you can do the pool and class sessions with one agency and the open water portion with another. You would need to check if this is possible with the agencies involved. But again, my wife and I did pool and class with NAUI and open water with PADI. This was an excellent choice for us...maybe for you as well. This made our first four dives (done in two days) skill checks AND real dives on a real reef...not in some cold dark quarry. Happy Diving!

 

[tothemoon]

Thank you. I think this is the way I'm going to go. Just got to decide where and who with I want to do my training. Any suggestions for Padi in Egypt would be appreciated. Thanks