Help With Organising A Diving Course Holiday

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If you consider Europe/Malta, check out RAID. I know the Training Director of UK and Malta and can testify that they are obsessed with the quality of their training.

BTW, I think, it is better to separate a training course from a holiday. It is not very rewarding to travel to a beautiful diving destination to have a course. During the course one is expected to focus on skills adn drills and will miss all the beauty that is around, or will be distracted from training.
 
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Do your referral course at home and finish in a tropical paradise. Cayman islands are ideal but other destinations work too. Good dive outfits with high standards and easy diving. Not cheap though.
 
Your profile lists your location as Jersey, presumably New Jersey. If you're not from America, where are you from? Might guide the answers.

Richard.

Richard,
Jersey is a Channel island located in the English channel :) the Channel Islands are off the coast of Northern France.

To the OP, the easiest way to book a diving holiday is to look for a diving holiday specialist such as RegalDive. Another option to consider would be the Red Sea which is easy to book independently and has plenty of operators who offer training courses.

One thing I should add is: Wherever you are thinking of going, do some research on the weather conditions that will apply when you are staying there.

I mentioned the Red Sea. It's the most northerly tropical sea and is 5 hours away by plane. You are almost guaranteed sunshine and decent diving.
The advice to do local training before you go is good advice and in an ideal world ..... well you're in Jersey :)

I learned to dive in Cancun and spent a few days reading OW manuals and the dive planner. I factored it into the holiday. What I'd do in your position is get the training done as soon as you can and then get your kids diving afterwards for the fun bits.
 
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Your profile lists your location as Jersey, presumably New Jersey. If you're not from America, where are you from? Might guide the answers.

The original Jersey is in the English Channel, known to some for their cows. I grew up on a small dairy farm.


Bob
 
Interesting. Another potential point of regional confusion; when talking Scuba in the U.S., the 'Channel Islands' tends to refer to a group of 8 islands off coastal California, which are grouped into Northern Channel Islands and Southern Channel Islands.

Richard.
 
First time I heard the term Channel Islands on SB I was really confused. When I heard you Yanks talking about Jersey I wanted to scream : Noooooooooooo! It's New Jersey ! Jersey is in the Channel Islands. :)
 
The original Jersey is in the English Channel, known to some for their cows. I grew up on a small dairy farm.

Off the topic a bit but 30 years ago I spent an idyllic 10 days on a liveaboard in Fiji piloted by an impressive older gentleman from Jersey, Eric. He had been captured by the Germans who occupied those islands and shipped off as slave labor. Went into British foreign service and fell in love with diving. Ran a small motor sail liveaboard that explored the Great Astrolab reef. Very pristine diving.


Bob
 
First time I heard the term Channel Islands on SB I was really confused. When I heard you Yanks talking about Jersey I wanted to scream : Noooooooooooo! It's New Jersey ! Jersey is in the Channel Islands. :)

I can appreciate that. In an international forum, a New Jerseyan would be well advised to stick with the full name of the state and not to use the colloquial "Jersey."

In international forums I list my location as Atlanta rather than Georgia for similar reasons. Hmm, is there any diving in Georgia? I know they make better wine than we do.
 
I have a few suggestions/comments. I know nothing about your side of the world, but I have played in the Caribbean. You seem to have a couple of problems/decisions.
1. Your husband will need something to do while you & your children are diving. Topside activities may play a role.
2. I believe your biggest problem involves flight and lodging, not as much finding a dive operation to take care of you. Referrals in scuba is an everyday event in vacation destinations. Some locations are more impacted than others, but generally, there will be room for a few more customers.
3. As others have said, you may wish to have your children start the training in Jersey for the following reasons:
a. Pool and class time won't cut into vacation time.
b. It will give you an opportunity to get a refresher.
c. It gives an opportunity to select mask, fins, boots, and snorkel that fits, can try in the pool and exchange if necessary before the trip.
4. Be aware of the cruise ship schedule. You can either be far away from the crowds or you can go down to that area if you need to shop for souvenirs. For example, when the cruise ship is at Grand Cayman, I go to the east end, or on St. Kitts, I dove in Nevis. You may have other preferences.
5. Azores will be about 20C to 23C water temperature, the Caribbean will be around 28C. The difference between wetsuit and lycra suit.

I took a quick glance at air fares from the London area to our side of the world and the prices were similar going to Bermuda, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Curacao and St. Kitts. You have a lot to choose from. The pricing on scuba is pretty similar in the region also. Some islands cater to a higher income crowd (Bermuda, BVI) but there are values to be had. You will pay more for lodging and meals depending on the island, so if cost is a determining factor, location plays a role and there are some ways to keep a budget.

I hope you have a fantastic vacation.
 
Your profile lists your location as Jersey, presumably New Jersey. If you're not from America, where are you from? Might guide the answers.

Richard.

Maybe the Baliwick of Jersey, which would be the old Jersey that New Jersey derives it's name from? Pretty much anything in the U.S. that starts with New can be traced back to an original location in Europe.
 

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