Average cost of specialty courses?

[dive_forever]

I signed up for a local dive trip, diving wrecks in Superior. The person at the dive shop mention that they are offering a wreck diving specialty course the same weekend, when I asked about the costs in taking the course I was told $240!

This got me wondering what the average costs of the specialty course are.

I recall paying about $75 for Nitrox
I recall paying about $100 for equipment specialist
I recall paying about $125 for drysuit

I tried searching the forum and didnÃÕ find anything. Is there a list of average specialty course costs? What did you pay for your specialty cards?

 

[tylerinflorida]

That's an excellent question. You remembered correctly about the price of your previous courses. Our more expensive courses ( stress & rescue ), cost more because there is more involved, more instructor time, etc. Find out what is included in the course and make your decision based on that. I checked out a 3 day wreck course that cost $1000. This included 3 days of wreck diving and was hosted by a somewhat "famous" wreck diver. I say go for it!

 

[Joe-Diver]

Richie's class?

I'd pay a grand for that......

 

[Reg Braithwaite]

My understanding is that the Wreck Diver specialty requires doing three or more wreck dives in the company of your instructor in addition to lectures, dive preparation, and review. You might want to ask how many dives are involved and whether your $240 includes any boat fees or other costs.

For comparison, an LDS up here in Toronto charges CDN$149 for a three-dive specialty, call it CDN$50 per dive. You need to pay charter fees on top of that.

 

[denniscloutier]

I paid $489 (Canadian $, about $1.75 US) for a combined PADI wreck/nitrox which included 4 dives, two of which were on a fairly deluxe charter boat. The course was in Vancouver, B.C.

 

[mike_s]

I signed up for a local dive trip, diving wrecks in Superior. The person at the dive shop mention that they are offering a wreck diving specialty course the same weekend, when I asked about the costs in taking the course I was told $240!

This got me wondering what the average costs of the specialty course are.

I recall paying about $75 for Nitrox
I recall paying about $100 for equipment specialist
I recall paying about $125 for drysuit

I tried searching the forum and didnÃÕ find anything. Is there a list of average specialty course costs? What did you pay for your specialty cards?

hard to compare apples to oranges here....

every shop prices differently based on their costs and what is included.

For example. are boat dives included? or are paying for them seperately.

are tanks or nitrox fills included?

some specialities require 2 dives, some 4, and some none (padi nitrox).

All kinds of variables

Richie's class?

I'd pay a grand for that......

yeah... in that case you have to help pay to fly in the instructor.

 

[captndale]

There is a wide range of prices for any particular course.
There is a much wider range in the quality of instruction offered.
Choose wisely.

 

[scubadude79]

I would think that pretty much every dive shop will have different prices for each course depending on the local special attraction and competition.
In the middle of the US (Kansas), I paid $250 for OW (Part 1 and 2), $150 for AOW, $100 for Nitrox, and $200 for Rescue. All were PADI and included all required materials, air, and dives.

 

[soberrobot]

I have a deal with my LDS for $60 per specialty dive which I'm happy with (only thing on top of that is the books and tips). For Wreck that means $180 (they are counting my Wreck dive for AOW as my first Wreck specialty dive so only 3 more to pay for instead of the full 4) so the $240 your LDS is offering looks like a good deal if everything is included!

I guess a lot does come down to competition in your local area...I may have to move to scubadude79's neighbourhood with the prices on offer there! p

 

[scubadiver888]

I would think that pretty much every dive shop will have different prices for each course depending on the local special attraction and competition.
In the middle of the US (Kansas), I paid $250 for OW (Part 1 and 2), $150 for AOW, $100 for Nitrox, and $200 for Rescue. All were PADI and included all required materials, air, and dives.

The OW is insanely cheap if that includes everything (class, pool, open water, gear rental, air, tanks, weights, etc.). Around here you are looking at $425-$500. If it is everything except the open water portion then not bad. That would be around $250 to $300 around here.

I think Nitrox is around the same price but that price for Rescue is pretty cheap. Rescue is class work, pool work and open water. I think in total it is something like 6 full days and costs around $500 here. Another $100 for the EFR/St. John's/Red Cross training.