Doing my Divemaster in Central America?

[Rich Coast Diving]

Hi alex,

Here at Rich Coast Diving we have a great DMT program, the course is a 3 month internship in wich you will learn all ins and outs of a CDC center.
As a bonus we offer 2 free specialties to give you more experience.
Coco is a small town with many tourist and divers. Our interns and staff share some living areas and you can sign up to live in one of the community houses.
The diving is amazing the course enlighting and after hours are fun! Coco has a great and safe night life withladys night and live music.
After the dm course you can stick aoround and finish the IDC if you like to further your crreer.
Please do not hestiate to contact me and ask for more details about the internship
dive@richcoastdiving.com
have a great day
Brenda

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

Also in Costa Rica is Oceans Unlimited with Go Pro Costa Rica! Based out of Manuel Antonio on the central pacific coast, not only home to great scuba diving and training, sitting on the doorstep of an incredible national park, we also have lots of activities in the area and fun including surfing! Great training with packages including specialty training, check us out!

 

[AlexinWanderland]

Maybe Belize? Although there might be some sort of issue with non-residents taking advanced courses - IDK any details have just read about it somewhere.

Maybe stay on Ambergris - I think it's the "party" - you can ferry/puddle jump back to the mainland to do the Mayan Ruins, Eco-tours etc. Jaguar Preserve, Howler Monkeys, Cave tubing etc. A friend who lives there said Belize City is a good place to go through. (as fast as possible)

There's some really good diving off the atolls but no DM training afaik - most are just single resorts. Lighthouse, Elbow and the Blue Hole are supposed to be the best of the diving. In late spring there's also diving with the Whalesharks off Gladden Spit - but you'd need to base at one of the offshore resorts or pricier resorts near Hopkins or the Placencia area to dive it. I'm fairly certain Splash Dive does DM training - Placencia is pretty quiet though. It's a good operation some friends just dove with them last month.

I will look into Ambergris, thank you! I visited Placencia once when I was younger on a family vacation. It was definitely a sleepy town!

---------- Post Merged at 05:57 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:54 PM ----------

I think you know the answer to your question: The training hotspots in Central America that have a "balance of diving and a youthful, fun lifestyle" are Utila and Roatan. As far as I know, you're not going to find Thailand-style partying anywhere in Central America. I liked the balance on Utila and enjoyed a few months there--there was just enough camaraderie and partying but not too much. Then again, I'm no doubt older than you.

You know, I think you might be hitting the nail on the head! I guess I am searching for a Koh Tao with better diving... but perhaps that doesn't exist. Ah well, a 22 year old can dream, right?

---------- Post Merged at 05:58 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:54 PM ----------

I would seriously consider Bocas del Toro, Panama. Bocas Water Sports is a PADI 5-Star Dive Center offering training through instructor. There are other ops in Bocas, but BWS has the best reputation and excellent instructors.

Bocas is an international backpackers' mecca. Along with snorkeling and diving, it's also a surfing destination. Food and fun are plentiful and cheap with a great variety of inexpensive restaurants from traditional Panamanian buffet to excellent Indian and Thai.

I will definitely look into this, thank you! I would love to learn to surf...

---------- Post Merged at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:54 PM ----------

It's not Central America but given any thought to Curacao? Curacao Travel- Caribbean, Curacao, Dutch Caribbean

The diving is the same as Bonaire, except a little more spread out. Easier entries also. A lot more to do on the surface also including famous shopping, some clubs, casinos, nice beaches/w bars etc. Bonaire is also $50 one way during the week for short trips.

It's sort of South America also - 60mi. from Venezuela. Below the hurricane belt and there's a hospital with chamber if needed. Also a lot of dive operators to choose from. It's also the deepwater port for the area so things are readily available. Cruise ships dock downtown so there's activities around that also. You'd probably want a car to dive the more remote sites but there is reliable bus service also according to a friend who lived there. It even goes by a couple of the west side dive sites. Dollars are good and many people speak English.

I appreciate the suggestion, but I think that it would be out of my price range... and while I haven't been there, most places I've been in the Caribbean were a bit more "developed" than what I'm looking for at the moment!

 

[laurenceh]

i've dived in most of the destinations mentioned in this post but still decided on utila for my d.m., cheap, fun, lots of students so you'll get a lot of real world experience and great camaraderie amongst the d.m.'s and instructors.