Suggestions for Open Water Certification Referrals?

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PADI OW is four water dives. To my knowledge has been so for decades

PS what Tom said. I did 4 dives,

March 30, 1998 - Grand Cayman: first 2 checkout dives were shore dives at Turtle Reef. Next day were 2 checkout boat dives. Don't remember paying for dives (which I may have just forgotten), just tipping.
 
PADI OW is four water dives. To my knowledge has been so for decades, including the 4 years I assisted on those checkouts. Unless they've changed things, which I guess is possible.
Goes like this:
Dive 1-- some skills.
Dive 2-- some more skills
Dive 3-- some more skills, maybe a bit of swimming around.
Dive 4-- the "mini dive" where students plan and execute it all with a pro just trailing & keeping an eye on them (this came in about 2015).
Prior to "mini dive", dive 4 was to finish skills and then a "tour" for maybe 20 minutes (?).
So, I presume dives 1-3 have more skills than they used to because there are none on the "mini dive" (dive 4).

This is an approximation-- if I'm off a bit an active instructor/DM can correct me.
Either way, you're spending 2 days of 2 dives each doing skills instead of just diving around.
I believe you can do 3 dives in one day and one the next day, but that's splitting hairs.

ChuckP, Are you saying you do all the OW skills on dive one and 2-5 are just regular boat dives with no skills? Can't be, but that's how I read it.
I can see where if it's one on one it could be possible to do all the skills on dive 1.
I'm certainly no PADI Standards expert, but it sounds like doing all skills in one dive is not within them.

No no no - you are absolutely right, I have AOW on the brain - OW referral is 5 confined (completed at home) along with all your knowledge review stuff. The FOUR open water dives get completed somewhere, but the instructor needs to review skills and readiness before starting open water skills.

Here, I see skill reviews done with shore dives or in the pool and dive 1 and 2 are either shore dives or shallow boat dives. Dives three and four are usually boat dives dives at shallower reefs (60' max). Dive flexible skills need completed (some need confirmed in the review) and YES each dive has it's own skills that get completed in order - all four dives use the words explore the dive site.

I think my point was that a freshly new OW student with four dives in a quarry or inland lake type setting then 30 days later showing up in Cozumel while yea they are technically OW, it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to have some guidance at hand. I have to believe that completing OW, the four dives then follow up with six more dives in the same setting helps a student settle in somewhat.
 
Which part? The one where you cannot go dive until you complete the whole thing? Or the part where they're not allowed to do more than 2 dives/day, so 5 dives makes 2.5 days before you can go diving?

I expect places where the fee plus your original instructor's referral fee will add up to less than your original shop's charge for the whole course exist on this planet. I'm not sure how easy they are to find though, or whether they exist where the OP is planning to go.

PS what Tom said. I did 4 dives, but that was locally.

The losing two days diving on a trip. If you only did your 4 OW dives then 30 days later show up at a vacation resort to dive, I'd be willing to bet your first day isn't the most comfortable one ever.

You're still diving, yes it's two days of learning but you're still diving. Then, after the two days of learning, you get three days in a row to apply what you learned.

I'm just of the opinion that five days in a row of diving makes you better than five weeks of one dive a week diving.

And yes, you'll pay more splitting the course up in the two sections like that..........
 
Thank you @wetb4igetinthewater, both Ryan and myself always appreciate recommendations for training with us.
 
The losing two days diving on a trip. If you only did your 4 OW dives then 30 days later show up at a vacation resort to dive, I'd be willing to bet your first day isn't the most comfortable one ever.

You're still diving, yes it's two days of learning but you're still diving. Then, after the two days of learning, you get three days in a row to apply what you learned.

I'm just of the opinion that five days in a row of diving makes you better than five weeks of one dive a week diving.

And yes, you'll pay more splitting the course up in the two sections like that..........
Yes, agree with all you say. My only point this whole thread is if I had only a week (or even 2) on an expensive vacation I wouldn't spend 2 days doing dive skills, I'd have it all done and certified locally. When we were in FL 3 months over winter that's a different story. I took 5 specialties one winter to get MSD. That's a week+ of time when you're actually living there.
 
I think a lot depends on the student. The skills should be in place before the open water dives. The student then shows that he/she is proficient at performing the skills. The rest of the dive on all 4 is fun while making sure the student is comfortable and has a chance to ask questions about skills, gear, environment etc. It is a great way for some to get in some experience just chilling with a pro within arms reach. For us doing the dives on holiday was a no brainer.
 
You're still diving, yes it's two days of learning but you're still diving. Then, after the two days of learning, you get three days in a row to apply what you learned.

YMMV and all that. We showed up at AllWest good 9 months after certification dives and had the keys to the tank room and a great house reef. No skills, no tests, just don't hold your breath and don't forget to check your instruments.
 
If you only did your 4 OW dives then 30 days later show up at a vacation resort to dive, I'd be willing to bet your first day isn't the most comfortable one ever.

I would have taken the bet! Agree with @dmaziuk . So much depends on comfort level though. After my 4 dives in '98, I didn't dive again until exactly 7 years to the day later. I admittedly needed a refresher with the rental gear setup but remembered to do buddy check with my wife and we both were totally comfy in the water.
 
Some prefer to do a referral for the checkout dives in nice warm water-- understandable. That's not me.
 

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