New in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Area

[jbwrl]

I just moved to south Florida and am very interested in getting certified. I don't know very much about diving, only what I have read on this board and I've been snorkeling a few times. I have two questions that I hope someone here can help me with.

1.) What Dive shop would you recommend in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area for certification.

2.) I don't know enough about the equipment to know what to buy. I've been in a couple of dive shops and they all say that it will cost around $1000 to $1200 for certification, wetsuit, BC, Octopus, fins, mask, snorkel, gauges, etc. The price they say is average, not the cheapest and definitely not the most expensive.

Thanks for your advice in advance.
Jason

 

[Padipro]

Hay Jason,

Always glad to hear from another local. If you're looking to get certified I think this is the best place to live, at least in the US that is. The diving here is fantastic and you're choise of dive shops is in the hundreds so you certianly have a choise here unlike other places with one two or three shops. As for my recommendation on the best shop to get certified through I would have to say without a doubt that it would be Pro Dive here in Ft. Lauderdale. They train and certify more divers then anyone else in the area, the people that work there both the Instructors and the crew are some of the most professional I have ever met. I took my Instructors course with them and have been diving with them for years and I know most of the people there personally.

As for the equipment you'll need...

1. You'll need a mask, fins, booties and snorkel for the class. Everything else is provided for you.

2. Wait to buy your other gear until after you've been diving for a while. This gives you a better idea of what type of gear you should be looking for which can depend on the type of diving you like to do, and more importantly it keeps you from spending a big chunk of change on gear only to find out that you really don't like diving after all.

3. Diving is an equipment intensive sport and the equipment is expensive. The good thing is that SCUBA equipment can last for years if it's maintained properly so if you divide the cost of the gear by the number of years it lasts it can actually be quite cheap.

Drop me a PM if you have more questions and if you would like someone to go shopping with when you're ready to get that gear.

Scott

 

[Wendy]

Lesley at www.runawaylobster.com

 

[lucid]

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I have never taken a class from Leslie but have heard that she is a great instructor. I do know that she dives constantly in OW and in caves so her skills are top notch. Can't lose with her!!! Also checkout edivers.org if you would like to join a dive club. They have many members in South Florida and are constantly putting together dives.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

There's some great suggestions listed already. And lucid's right about the number of dive clubs down here. There's a number of places you can go for instruction and dive clubs - can you narrow down your geographical area a bit more?

Marc

 

[Rooster1]

welcome to the board Jason, you will find a treasure of information in here to help you make informed decisions