Certifications in Utila

[Swamp_monster]

I really appreciate the help everyone!

 

[Lorenzoid]

@Kfay if you wouldn't mind, please post back here with your conclusions after you have looked into it some more. I still look fondly back on my six (?) weeks on Utila, and I would hate for someone who comes across this thread in the future to get the idea that Utila has become an undesirable place to get training.

 

[Swamp_monster]

From what I have heard from you guys, I think it is a legit place to dive. I will have to dive there and get my own feel for the place, I think I will just stay further away from the main stretch of town and that will resolve everything.

 

[Lorenzoid]

There's nothing wrong with the main part of "town," either. Walking across town late at night back to my room, as I did when I was not getting up early for a class the next day, you'd think it was a retirement community. Don't get the wrong idea about sleepy little Utila. Its "party" reputation seems to greatly exceed the reality.

 

[Swamp_monster]

There's nothing wrong with the main part of "town," either. Walking across town late at night back to my room, as I did when I was not getting up early for a class the next day, you'd think it was a retirement community. Don't get the wrong idea about sleepy little Utila. Its "party" reputation seems to greatly exceed the reality.

Thanks! This makes me way more confident in my decision!

 

[Oldbear]

There's nothing wrong with the main part of "town," either. Walking across town late at night back to my room, as I did when I was not getting up early for a class the next day, you'd think it was a retirement community. Don't get the wrong idea about sleepy little Utila. Its "party" reputation seems to greatly exceed the reality.

I fondly remember the kids at night all climbing onto a single ATV and "cruising" the main street. While there doesn't seem to be much for them to do on the island, they at least had that.

 

[Oldbear]

It's cheaper to do the training on Utila, where the cost of living is low, you don't need a car, etc.?

I can see that...I did a month there and two more weeks on Roatan at Anthoney's Key Resort. I stayed at the Lighthouse Inn. It was walking distant to Utila Dive Center...and the rest of the IDC Centers. There is less expensive places to stay, even sharing a room with other candidates.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I can see that...I did a month there and two more weeks on Roatan at Anthoney's Key Resort. I stayed at the Lighthouse Inn. It was walking distant to Utila Dive Center...and the rest of the IDC Centers. There is less expensive places to stay, even sharing a room with other candidates.

I stayed in a rented 1-room apartment in a large house, a 5-minute walk from UDC. It had cockroaches. But it was cheap, and all I needed. Great times. I wish I could take a "sabbatical" from life again and relive those days.

 

[Swamp_monster]

I can see that...I did a month there and two more weeks on Roatan at Anthoney's Key Resort. I stayed at the Lighthouse Inn. It was walking distant to Utila Dive Center...and the rest of the IDC Centers. There is less expensive places to stay, even sharing a room with other candidates.

Did you like Utila or Roaton better?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Hey, @Kfay, your question to Oldbear brings up an interesting point. During my stay on Utila I went over to Roatan for a week just for some fun (non-coursework) diving, but I did end up hanging out with the divemaster and divemaster-in-training crowd because I had known one of them from Utila. I stayed in some sort of bunkhouse with them. Anyway, one guy who did his course at AKR said that he felt the experience of working with, for lack of a better term, a higher class of customer than he would have on Utila at a place like UDC (where a lot of customers are backpacker types just passing through) gave him good experience in customer service. I suppose learning to handle customers with high expectations, customers who need extra attention, etc., is part of being a good DM.