DM certification brainstorming

[Bredman]

Hi folks,

My girlfriend and I are planning on doing our divemaster certifications in February/March of 2009, as well as some extensive touring around Central America. We have been spoiled with diversity in SE Asia, and are hoping that diving in Mexico/Central America will be similar.

What we're looking for is a very solid 4-6 week program that will also expose us to a variety of (challenging)diving conditions, equipment, and specialties.

We do have a bias toward seeing big stuff, so were considering Utila, Cozumel, or somewhere in Costa Rica.

Some suggestions from divers who have experienced or trained in central america would help us hammer out a more concise plan.



BTW we are Rescue Divers with complete gear and several hundred dives between us, and all the pre-reqs completed.

 

[vlkr]

i did dm long ago so it may have changed. there was lots of book work. much more than other levels. why pay to be in a nice place while you are doing that?

 

[Bredman]

We will have done a lot of the background reading before arriving, but I'd counter your argument with

"If you are going to have to read and do bookwork, why not do it in a nice place?"

 

[robint]

Hi folks,

My girlfriend and I are planning on doing our divemaster certifications in February/March of 2009, as well as some extensive touring around Central America. We have been spoiled with diversity in SE Asia, and are hoping that diving in Mexico/Central America will be similar.

What we're looking for is a very solid 4-6 week program that will also expose us to a variety of (challenging)diving conditions, equipment, and specialties.

We do have a bias toward seeing big stuff, so were considering Utila, Cozumel, or somewhere in Costa Rica.

Some suggestions from divers who have experienced or trained in central america would help us hammer out a more concise plan.



BTW we are Rescue Divers with complete gear and several hundred dives between us, and all the pre-reqs completed.

diving SE Asia is not going to be the same as diving in Caribbean. Not that it is bad, it is just very different. Some places, like the Bahamas, are known for their turtles and sharks but most other Caribbean destinations don't promise big life except certain times of year.

I haven't been to Costa Rica but a group from our LDS went 2 yrs ago and some liked it okay and some thought it sucked because they didn't see all the big life promised and the currents were strong on some dives. They also didn't think there was much variety there (this coming from divers in the group who have been diving all over the world for 20+ yrs). The boat trips were rough and only 2 dives per day were offered by the dive op. It may have been the time of year, but as a whole it got very mediocre reviews from the group.

I just returned from Roatan and thought the diving there was fantastic. Lots of reef diversity, healthy reefs, tons of small-medium sized fish. As far as reefs I would give it an A, for fishlife diversity I would give it a B. We did see lots of small stuff we haven't seen before, like pipefish and arrow blennies. There were lots of seahorses and squid, too. Overall I thought it was great diving. There are plenty of DM programs there and it would be good all-around experience for a DM in my opinion. Most dive ops do 3-4 dives per day, too.

Cozumel is a great place but I don't know about DM programs there. I would guess priority goes to locals from what I have seen. We have been to Coz 5 times over the past 8 yrs, diving is good and diverse, lots of life. Most dive ops only do 2 dives per day, sometimes a 3rd dive if enough people sign up. Most of the dive ops on island are very small but there are a few larger ones who might do a DM program.

Belize might be another place for you to check out. It might be a bettter choice than Cozumel.

robin