Advice Please on Basic Scuba Instruction

[xnavyss]

Hello

May I please ask for your advice or suggestions.

My wife and I are going down to South West Florida, i.e. Marco Island on a timeshare that was given to us the second week of September.

The timeshare is offering an approximate 1 hour group scuba instruction, by an instructor, in the pool for $20.00.

My wife wanted to do a little more, but we are told the Marco Island shop's charge ALOT more which would be out of our budget.

We live in the county by Wakulla Springs near Tallahassee Florida. There was a shop up here that offered a program that I was going to get for her, for about 100.00. But I did not.

Someone told me, some individuals offer instruction and 1 instructor guided dive for about 100.00 or so. Does anyone know if that is true or could be true?

Any advice? Any suggestions? I do not think she would every use it, but, she did want a little more than a group dive in a hotel swimming pool.

Anyone advice or suggestions would be appreciated. If not in the Marco Island area, perhaps the Naples.



Thanks

Joe Serpico

 

[crispos]

It is not clear who is looking for scuba instruction, you or your wife.

In any case, you (and she) should take the intro to scuba down in san marcos. If you (or she) like it, you can enroll in a full scuba certification course.

I wouldn't take the course in wakullah springs. It seems to me that is cave country and you would be best off trying scuba in the ocean first.

Not knowing all the details, I have been to naples and would recommend open water dives with a qualified instructor in a bona fide dive operation.

 

[Don Burke]

xnavyss once bubbled...
Hello

May I please ask for your advice or suggestions.

My wife and I are going down to South West Florida, i.e. Marco Island on a timeshare that was given to us the second week of September.

The timeshare is offering an approximate 1 hour group scuba instruction, by an instructor, in the pool for $20.00.

My wife wanted to do a little more, but we are told the Marco Island shop's charge ALOT more which would be out of our budget.

We live in the county by Wakulla Springs near Tallahassee Florida. There was a shop up here that offered a program that I was going to get for her, for about 100.00. But I did not.

Someone told me, some individuals offer instruction and 1 instructor guided dive for about 100.00 or so. Does anyone know if that is true or could be true?

Any advice? Any suggestions? I do not think she would every use it, but, she did want a little more than a group dive in a hotel swimming pool.

Anyone advice or suggestions would be appreciated. If not in the Marco Island area, perhaps the Naples.



Thanks

Joe Serpico

Joe,

I don't know much about your area, so this may not be feasible.

I'd grab the yellow pages and find a dive shop to get certified Open Water before you get down there. I wouldn't burn up vacation time while an instructor has to babysit a bunch of people who really don't want to learn to dive. Even under optimum conditions, you wouldn't learn anything useful.

If you are certified when you get there, you can hook up with a dive operation that will take you out to see some critters. Pools look pretty much the same no matter where they are.

My experience with timeshares (I own one) is that they take every opportunity to try to sell more units. This may be the case with the pool session. You'll enjoy your vacation more if you are polite, but pretty much ignore the resort staff as much as you can.

Have fun!
Don

 

[scubasean]

xnavyss once bubbled...


Someone told me, some individuals offer instruction and 1 instructor guided dive for about 100.00 or so. Does anyone know if that is true or could be true?

Go for the instructor and guided dive. My son and I did one in Hawaii, and he loved it so much he took the certification course and is now certified. (I've been certified for many years).

The Hawaii intro dive was $100, and included gear and the instructor, and actually was a pair of dives off of a boat. Total dive time was 1.5 hours or so....The instructor gave a quick course in the boat on what to do and what not to do, then worked for 15 min in the water at the surface (mask clearing, etc.) and then he and my son went to the bottom....Saw turtles, coral reef, etc.

 

[tssplash]

Make certain however that that $100. guided tour is for uncertified diver if you a not certified. There are some guided tours for certified divers available. I'd hate to see you waste $100. for something in which you cannot use. Good luck, and prepare yourself for a unique experience. (even if it's in a pool) "Splash"

 

[yoda4x4]

Joe,

I just recently (this past Sunday) returned from vacation from Naples, and did several dives from Marco Island. If you are interested in names and #s, PM me and I can provide you with whatever you need.

David

 

[o2scuba]

Check with the dive operator at the destination, the one offering the $20 pool sesh. They may have an add-on option of a guided ocean dive. The pool training portion is required only once, after that you can go on instructor guided tours without repeating the lesson (up to 14 days, assuming this is a PADI program). The ocean dives will be limited to a max depth of 40ft.

This is a good chance to try SCUBA for a minimal investment. If you enjoy it, you may wish to participate in the full certification course. This can be done during a vacation, however a lot can be said for getting the training near home where you are less pressured by a vacation time schedule.

The Open Water cert will introduce you to the sport, and get you started. Upon successful completion you will be qualified to plan and perform open water dives up to 60ft in depth, in similar conditions in which you were trained, during daylight hours.

You should understand up front that basic Open Water Certification is just the beginning. After that there are a number of specialty classes that can build on your knoledge making your diving both safer and more enjoyable. These classes are focused on your particular interest in SCUBA ie: Photography. There are also courses such as "Wreck Diver", deep diver, cavern diver that require an Advanced certification first.

Your dive instructor can explain the progression in more detail.

Good luck

Andrew

 

[DivemasterBob]

I'd grab the yellow pages and find a dive shop to get certified Open Water before you get down there. I wouldn't burn up vacation time while an instructor has to babysit a bunch of people who really don't want to learn to dive. Even under optimum conditions, you wouldn't learn anything useful.

I agree or at least do all the prep work (pool and text) and do your OW dives in Marco