OW PADI recommendations in Ottawa?

[AzulProfundo]

Hey everybody.. cool board... wondering if there are any divers with anything good or bad to say about where to get (or not to get) my PADI OW certification here in Ottawa... the thing I care about the most is a good instructor referral... that makes a world of difference for sure.

Sharky's seems to have a solid operation... any experiences there?. What about The Dive Center @ Stittsville?

Thanks in advance , and see ya around !

 

[Kaos]

Sharkys is a good operation and it's owner, Mike (I think), is very friendly. Strange concept to have a shop in the basement of a hardware store though.

Any of the shops (Sharky's, Kanata, Dolphinos, Advantures, Burton's) is fine, just don't go Divers Wearhouse, the ultimate salespeople. I once went there to buy a computer, I left after 5 minutes, too much stress.

 

[rollins]

Dive Center in Stittsville is great, we just did our PDI OW there, great experience, fantastic instructors, small classes, lots of time to practice skills and get one-on-one instruction/feedback. The club dives on Wed and charters are alot of fun too. Have fun, dive safe!

 

[JimC]

I recomend against Sharky's. My wife and I purchased over $1000 worth of gear there. When we encountered a problem they were absolutly no help. The owner basicaly just blew us off telling us it was our fault and it would cost a few hundred to replace. The first stage was replaced under warenty after dealing with Mares directly.


Needless to say, we have never done any buisness with the shop since. While that does not reflect upon there teaching skills, it does say something about the shops atitude.


I prefer Buronts and Dolphinos.

 

[Fat_Tony]

Did my PADI OW at Sharkys. Had no problems and a great instructor.

Tony

 

[artw]

I did all of my training through Burtons Dive (NAUI), and for dive shops I prefer Burtons and Dolphinos. (note burtons does not provide PADI, only NAUI and ACUC.)

Art Williamson

 

[Tom R]

I would seek out Kanata Dive Center, they seemed to be the most active PADI center in Town

 

[tstiemerling]

I did my OW and AOW with Kanata Diving Supply. They were very good and I would recommend them. But, choose somewhere other than Prescott docks in October to do your checkout dives!

Tom

 

[YPink]

Saw this post and had to ask. Sorry if it is a bit off topic. My fiance and I just finished our PADI OW Cert and we spend about 2 weeks every summer in Ottawa. Where are some good diving sites in Ottawa for recently certified divers?

 

[watermonkey]

Although I like Burton's and I am still evaluating Dolphinos, don't just look at the stores, there are some great OW courses offered by some local clubs as well. I did my OW through the Ottawa Beavers (not related to scouts in any way , in fact it is the RCMP dive club but is open to members of the public ) at www.obsc.ca.

YPink once bubbled...
Saw this post and had to ask. Sorry if it is a bit off topic. My fiance and I just finished our PADI OW Cert and we spend about 2 weeks every summer in Ottawa. Where are some good diving sites in Ottawa for recently certified divers?

The St. Lawrence has some fabulous dives 30-60 minutes from town. For new divers you can look at wrecks like the Conestoga, Rothesay, etc. Thanks to the zebra mussels it is warm, good visibility diving, with no thermoclines. There are plenty of people on the OFWF forum who would be glad to give advice on places to go, and perhaps guide.

Right in town there are some dives but they don't tend to be as nice as the St. Lawrence with much poorer visibility.