I plan to take an open water course in Cairns, Australia in July. I know, from reading other threads, that the most important factor is the instructor, not the certifying organization (NAUI, PADI, or SSI). However, since I need to book a course prior to my arrival in Cairns, how do I know who is reputable? Obviously, each dive shop's web site lists rave reviews, but what else would they publish? I don't know how to choose.
Australian Dive Course--How to Choose?
- Thread starter itscheri
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Why do you need to book before arriving? Cairns is my home town so I can assure you that there are heaps of dive shops around town. I'd say you'd be better off just getting there and having a look around. That way you can talk to your instructor before starting.
Dive shops in Cairns with massive internet presences tend to be "diver factories". I'd go for the course from the smaller school with small boats. I really can't think of anything worse than a massive dive ship stopping at a dive site and 50 divers all jump in the water. Uggh!
Hope this helps,
Morty
Dive shops in Cairns with massive internet presences tend to be "diver factories". I'd go for the course from the smaller school with small boats. I really can't think of anything worse than a massive dive ship stopping at a dive site and 50 divers all jump in the water. Uggh!
Hope this helps,
Morty
I arrive on June 29 at 12:30 p.m. and would need to start the course the following day because of some other travel arrangements I have several days later. All of the dive companies I contacted suggested that I book at least a week ahead of time rather than risk being left out. (I'll be in Sydney prior to my arrival in Cairns.) Obviously, I didn't know whether to trust that or not, but I didn't feel I could take the chance on not getting a spot in a class.
I know that I'll be arriving in winter so perhaps there's less of a chance of not getting a booking than there would be in the summer. What do you think? Will dive courses be that booked up during the winter?
I'd also appreciate any other information you have about Cairns that might be helpful--scuba or otherwise. I only know what I've read in Lonely Planet and on the Internet. A local's perspective would be wonderful. --Cheri
I know that I'll be arriving in winter so perhaps there's less of a chance of not getting a booking than there would be in the summer. What do you think? Will dive courses be that booked up during the winter?
I'd also appreciate any other information you have about Cairns that might be helpful--scuba or otherwise. I only know what I've read in Lonely Planet and on the Internet. A local's perspective would be wonderful. --Cheri
Hi Cheri,
Actually, Cairns only has two seasons - Wet and Dry. Therefore winter is actually our dry season and because of the clear skies and mild temperatures, it is also peak tourist season.
Regardless of this, I'd say the chance of every single dive course being booked out would be extremely remote, especially if it's only you (i.e. not you and group of family/friends) doing the course. I assume you'll be staying somewhere in the city centre? You'll find "downtown" Cairns to be quite a compact little area so you should be able to cover most of the dive schools in a few hours of walking. I had a similar experience with dive companies pushing me to book when I was returning to Cairns during the wet season for a week to visit my family and to do a liveabord dive trip. I contacted some companies about month before I was arriving and they all told me that everything is almost full so I'd better book immediately. As it was the wet season I was pretty skeptical of this and when I did actually get back home there was space on all the trips! However, you never know and I'd hate for this advice to stop you from doing your course if everything turned out to be full for one reason or another!
You've got to evaluate your own priorities and do what you feel comfortable with;
If you feel you MUST do a dive course on this trip at all costs then perhaps it'll be better if you book just in case.
If you feel that the quality of your course and the instructor teaching it is more important than the actual timing (i.e. maybe you won't get to do the course during this trip) then I'd definitely just arrive and look around.
If you do book the course then I'd definitely recommend going with one the smaller operators. As I mentioned in my previous post some of the "diver factory" operations are disgusting! Check out the boats they use and if they carry around ten divers or less you're going to get a lot more personal attention. Once you've narrowed down your options give each of them a call! A phone call can tell you a lot about how they like to run their business.
If you have any further questions or any specific questions relating to Cairns then please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.
Morty
Actually, Cairns only has two seasons - Wet and Dry. Therefore winter is actually our dry season and because of the clear skies and mild temperatures, it is also peak tourist season.
Regardless of this, I'd say the chance of every single dive course being booked out would be extremely remote, especially if it's only you (i.e. not you and group of family/friends) doing the course. I assume you'll be staying somewhere in the city centre? You'll find "downtown" Cairns to be quite a compact little area so you should be able to cover most of the dive schools in a few hours of walking. I had a similar experience with dive companies pushing me to book when I was returning to Cairns during the wet season for a week to visit my family and to do a liveabord dive trip. I contacted some companies about month before I was arriving and they all told me that everything is almost full so I'd better book immediately. As it was the wet season I was pretty skeptical of this and when I did actually get back home there was space on all the trips! However, you never know and I'd hate for this advice to stop you from doing your course if everything turned out to be full for one reason or another!
You've got to evaluate your own priorities and do what you feel comfortable with;
If you feel you MUST do a dive course on this trip at all costs then perhaps it'll be better if you book just in case.
If you feel that the quality of your course and the instructor teaching it is more important than the actual timing (i.e. maybe you won't get to do the course during this trip) then I'd definitely just arrive and look around.
If you do book the course then I'd definitely recommend going with one the smaller operators. As I mentioned in my previous post some of the "diver factory" operations are disgusting! Check out the boats they use and if they carry around ten divers or less you're going to get a lot more personal attention. Once you've narrowed down your options give each of them a call! A phone call can tell you a lot about how they like to run their business.
If you have any further questions or any specific questions relating to Cairns then please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.
Morty
Hi,
Although Morty gave you great advice, being from Cairns, I just thought I'd add to it being recently certified in Australia. I did my course on the outer reef ouside of Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, which doesn't help you, but I prebooked ages ahead of time only to have it cancelled the day prior to going out on the liveaboard. Pro Dive cancelled due to not enough people. They switched us to the Oceania the following day and I had a fabulous trip. Some people couldn't change their schedules however, and weren't so lucky. There were 20-something people on board, including certs, snorkeller and 2 classes of 4 and 5. It was an awesome trip and we were the only boat around for our 3 days out.
My advice would be if you pre-book, find out their cancellation policy, and minimum numbers and well as maximums. If you book when you are there you do have the advantages of possibly meeting your instructor ahead of time (if she/he is around), and asking how many people are already booked. Make sure to ask about the numbers for the boat and not just the class! Sometimes the boats are packed full of certs, discover scuba, and snorkellers. I also dove out of Cairns with Deep Sea Divers Den and was lucky the boat wasn't near capacity and had a great trip.
Good luck and I hope you have a fabulous time! (I'm jealous... I LOVE Australia
Although Morty gave you great advice, being from Cairns, I just thought I'd add to it being recently certified in Australia. I did my course on the outer reef ouside of Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, which doesn't help you, but I prebooked ages ahead of time only to have it cancelled the day prior to going out on the liveaboard. Pro Dive cancelled due to not enough people. They switched us to the Oceania the following day and I had a fabulous trip. Some people couldn't change their schedules however, and weren't so lucky. There were 20-something people on board, including certs, snorkeller and 2 classes of 4 and 5. It was an awesome trip and we were the only boat around for our 3 days out.
My advice would be if you pre-book, find out their cancellation policy, and minimum numbers and well as maximums. If you book when you are there you do have the advantages of possibly meeting your instructor ahead of time (if she/he is around), and asking how many people are already booked. Make sure to ask about the numbers for the boat and not just the class! Sometimes the boats are packed full of certs, discover scuba, and snorkellers. I also dove out of Cairns with Deep Sea Divers Den and was lucky the boat wasn't near capacity and had a great trip.
Good luck and I hope you have a fabulous time! (I'm jealous... I LOVE Australia
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