Price competitive scuba instructor in PDC/Coz

[Griffo]

My 2c. $650 with a great instructor will save you thousands over your diving career vs saving $200 on the initial course.

 

[MrBigfins]

unpopular opinion: get certified locally in seattle. learning in cold water will make you a better diver.

Cold, low vis diving does seem to increase the skill level of most divers. But I personally feel better divers are well rounded divers. Experience in a variety of conditions increases most divers ability to handle more situations and issues.

 

[JackD342]

There are pros and cons for each and every scenario. Train completely at home / train completely away / start at home and finish on a referral.

I think those points for and against have been pretty well covered, so just choose what meets your own needs and preferences. I will say that there is something to be said for doing the whole course with the same instructor, rather than starting your comfort level over on a referral.

 

[ChuckP]

How seamless is this transition? Are there any points to note?

Complete all your online and pool stuff at home - they will issue you a referral form showing everything you've completed - if you had to have a doctor sign off, make sure you bring that with you. If you do it all here and need a doctor sign off, they do dive physicals across the street from the office.

The day you arrive you go to the office, fill some paperwork out, if you rent gear it is picked out and bagged up for you - I'd strongly suggest your own mask and snorkel. The office assigns you an instructor if you haven't requested one in particular.

If there are no concerns or uncompleted confined water skills, you go right on the boat with an instructor who will guide you thru your remaining open water dives -- about as seamless as it gets.

You can also do the elearning at home and do all the confined and open water stuff here - it adds two days, probably provides a bit more consistency as you do it in a shorter time frame and with just one instructor......

 

[ReefHound]

Doing the online studies at home is certainly the way to go, but doing the class & pool work on vacation is not that big of a waste. You have to do the four check-out dives on two different days anyway, so do the class & pool work mornings. It's two days, either way, so do it all in Cozumel.

That's not how it works. You do the class and pool *before* any of the open water dives.

 

[ReefHound]

I think those points for and against have been pretty well covered, so just choose what meets your own needs and preferences. I will say that there is something to be said for doing the whole course with the same instructor, rather than starting your comfort level over on a referral.

If you can't get comfortable working and diving with different people, you're diving is going to be a bit limited.

 

[ReefHound]

My 2c. $650 with a great instructor will save you thousands over your diving career vs saving $200 on the initial course.

I agree but paying $650 doesn't necessarily guarantee you a great instructor. You can't just pick the shop with the highest price tag and ensure you get the highest quality of instruction. That's why OP asked for "price competitive" and not "cheap".

 

[yle]

That's not how it works. You do the class and pool *before* any of the open water dives.

Hmmm... for the PADI OW course, only Confined Water 1,2,3 are required before Open Water dives 1 and 2. In fact, if the student bails from the course at this point they get the "Scuba Diver" cert.

Confined Water 4 and 5 must be completed before Open Water dives 3 and 4.

So a lot of "weekend" courses run a schedule of CW 1 2 3 Saturday morning, OW dives 1 & 2 Saturday afternoon. Then CW 4 & 5 Sunday morning, OW dives 3 & 4 Sunday afternoon.

 

[ReefHound]

Hmmm... for the PADI OW course, only Confined Water 1,2,3 are required before Open Water dives 1 and 2. In fact, if the student bails from the course at this point they get the "Scuba Diver" cert.

Confined Water 4 and 5 must be completed before Open Water dives 3 and 4.

So a lot of "weekend" courses run a schedule of CW 1 2 3 Saturday morning, OW dives 1 & 2 Saturday afternoon. Then CW 4 & 5 Sunday morning, OW dives 3 & 4 Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for the correction. Sounds like a long and tiring two days. Are we having fun yet?

 

[cvchief]

True boat dives look like premium stuff (in the sense cost more if part of OW certification). I am looking to have atleast 2 boat dives included in the certification (whoever I choose) to have that experience ticked off. Would that be a safe bet ?

Eh, my experience is, you have 4 check out dive. On each one you do some crap at the beginning then you enjoy the dive. Why not have four real boat dives?

That being said, I could get into a shore dive someplace with cool macros stuff to crawl over for a couple hours....

That wasn't as helpful as I started out thinking....

We did our class in a sat sun and then went for the check out dives. Now that shop runs like a 1 day to a referral. Study and test stuff on line and one day of pool stuff. We sent the sobrinos through the one day classes.