Portland, OR; need PADI cert. info

[Adventureen]

Hi all!
Looking for recommendations on current PADI certification courses in Portland, Oregon.
I'm going to Australia (Mission Beach, 100 miles south of Cairns) in mid-February '05 (in 1 month!) and am wondering if I'll be able to get certified locally before my trip? I'll only be there for 1 week, so I won't have much time to do a course while there.
Also, wondering if anyone knows of local instructors who would possibly be interested in bartering the classes for airline passes?
Thanks for your time!

 

[Sonicvalley]

i dont know of much in portland but if you would want to take it in salem, i can HIGHLY recommend Salem Scuba (www.salemscuba.com). they are awesome!! and they have classes all the time with different schedules.

 

[geraldp]

Hi all!
Looking for recommendations on current PADI certification courses in Portland, Oregon.
I'm going to Australia (Mission Beach, 100 miles south of Cairns) in mid-February '05 (in 1 month!) and am wondering if I'll be able to get certified locally before my trip? I'll only be there for 1 week, so I won't have much time to do a course while there.
Also, wondering if anyone knows of local instructors who would possibly be interested in bartering the classes for airline passes?
Thanks for your time!

That's kind of short notice for getting fully certified including your Open Water dives, but most shops will fit you in if you don't mind paying a little extra for private lessons. Alternatively you could get your classroom / pool work done locally and do your Open Water in Australia (referral).

As for PADI shops, Try Under Water Works in Tigard, OR (503 620-6993). I've never been in there (I use an SSI shop, Aquatic Sports in SW Portland), but I've had two friends who were certified through them and both had extremely pleasant experiences. A co-worker of mine who dives 50+ times a year uses them and can't say enough about them. I believe they use the Tigard High School pool for their poolwork.

Jerry

p.s. I don't know if you're really stuck on PADI, but if you don't mind going through SSI the Aquatic Sports calendar shows that they have a class starting on January 19th and finishing up classroom/pool work on February 8th. They have their own pool, so you can go in anytime to practice your poolwork.

 

[Taupiz]

Go to Under Water Works in Tigard. A friend of mine highly recommend these guys. Good luck.

Hi all!
Looking for recommendations on current PADI certification courses in Portland, Oregon.
I'm going to Australia (Mission Beach, 100 miles south of Cairns) in mid-February '05 (in 1 month!) and am wondering if I'll be able to get certified locally before my trip? I'll only be there for 1 week, so I won't have much time to do a course while there.
Also, wondering if anyone knows of local instructors who would possibly be interested in bartering the classes for airline passes?
Thanks for your time!