Total Nubie looking for information.

[jasno999]

Me and my girlfriend took an introduction to Scuba class while on vacation in the British Virgin Islands. We had a blast and found diving to be very exciting and something we wanted to look more into. For our introduction they taught us the basics in a pool and then took us on an open water dive to about 25 feet or so.

Now I want to look into the requirements involved in getting certified. I was hoping that you guys and girls could give me an idea on what it takes to get certified. I was also hoping you could direct me on what certifications I should look to get and in what order.

So here are the specific questions:

1) What is the first certification I need to get? How much time in class and in the water does it take? And what is a general cost for this? Can you use the gear the shop has or do you have to buy your own?

2) What is the best order of certifications to get? My goal at this point would be to do open water dives in warmer water to get up and close with corals and fish. I would like to get to deeper depths at some point but would want to be very comfortable in the 30-60 foot range before going any further.

I guess I am tryign to get a feel for the costs involved and time required to get these different certifications done. I am also tryign to find out more about the specific details on what it takes to get certified for each of the different areas. I want to make sure I have the proper time, effort and money to put into the sport to do it correctly. It is not something I would want to half ***.

By the way I live outside of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, PA and if there are any locals on the board I was hoping you might suggest good dive shops to use for getting certifications.

 

[dlndavid]

Hi jasno999, and welcome to :sblogo:

I started with warm water diving and certification, PADI Open Water. Costs are in the $150 to $250 range I would guess, you can usually use the shops gear for pool classes, but they may make you rent for you open water check out dives.
I hope this is a start to answering your questions, and please fill out your profile a little more, it helps others give better replies more directed at your location.
David

 

[glugo357]

Welcome to the :sblogo:

The first thing you want to get is the Open Water certification that can run from $250 and higher depending where you are. This will consist of some class work and pool skills. then you will do your check out dives to further test your skills. With these prices you are provided equipment to use but you can also use your own if you already have it. Some locations include Nitrox class as an add on ($50+) and if you are serious about the sport, might as well take that too.

From there you can go for the Advanced Open Water certification, this has some class but it's mostly diving. From there the venue is open to what ever you want to persue (deep diving, cave diving, night diving, etc). This class can be from $150 and up again depending on where you are.

As you can guess, scuba is a sport that is equipment oriented and it's usually expensive to get your gear, but once you have it you will not have to buy any more for some time, that is unless you win the lottery and go and get the best gear. Once you have your gear (or if you choose to rent) you will see that most of your local dive shops (LDS) have equipment and trips for reasonable pricess. If you are serious about the sport, this forum will provide you with great information on what equipment to consider for your first. Feel around, ask as many questions that you have, you will see that this is by far the best source of Scuba information you will find on the net.

Hope this helps you out some, but is not, I guarantee that someone with far more skills than me will provide you great feedback. This was just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Jasonmh]

Me and my girlfriend took an introduction to Scuba class while on vacation in the British Virgin Islands. We had a blast and found diving to be very exciting and something we wanted to look more into. For our introduction they taught us the basics in a pool and then took us on an open water dive to about 25 feet or so.

Now I want to look into the requirements involved in getting certified. I was hoping that you guys and girls could give me an idea on what it takes to get certified. I was also hoping you could direct me on what certifications I should look to get and in what order.

So here are the specific questions:

1) What is the first certification I need to get? How much time in class and in the water does it take? And what is a general cost for this? Can you use the gear the shop has or do you have to buy your own?

2) What is the best order of certifications to get? My goal at this point would be to do open water dives in warmer water to get up and close with corals and fish. I would like to get to deeper depths at some point but would want to be very comfortable in the 30-60 foot range before going any further.

I guess I am tryign to get a feel for the costs involved and time required to get these different certifications done. I am also tryign to find out more about the specific details on what it takes to get certified for each of the different areas. I want to make sure I have the proper time, effort and money to put into the sport to do it correctly. It is not something I would want to half ***.

By the way I live outside of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, PA and if there are any locals on the board I was hoping you might suggest good dive shops to use for getting certifications.

I just got back from diving in BVI, what a great place to do your first dives.
1- The first cert is Open Water. Time and cost seems to vary quite a bit depending on the shop and agency. Most shops provide rental scuba gear for the class, and it is usually included in the cost of the class. Most if not all places I have seen do require you to have your own mask, fins, booties, and snorkel.

2- Start with Open Water and progress from there. Once you get started you will see there are many options for more training. Going on to Advanced Open Water and taking the Rescue class (Stress and Rescue, etc) will help make you a more confident and less dependant diver. There are tons of "fun" classes in things like underwater photography, night diving, wreck diving, etc. There is no hurry and the water isn't going anywhere, so your plan to get real comfortable in 30-60 feet before going deeper is a good one.
It is equipment intensive, and it isn't cheap, but you can find good deals if you are looking, and work on building your gear as your time and money allows.

I'm sure some people from PA will chime in with some good info.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[pir8]

Lots of good dive shops in the area. Starting point is Open Water. Classes start at about $200-250 for class and pool sessions, then another $200 for the Cert dives. Anyone in this area will also want you to have your own mask, fins, snorkel & booties. PM me and I can get you more info about any local shops.

 

[jasno999]

Thank you for the responses. I guess I am still tryign to figuer out exactly what to do. I really did enjoy my first dive. But the problem is that I don't have unlimited cash and I don't go to the tropical areas of the world all that often. So I don't see myself visiting the carribian 2 times a year caus it is jsut too expensive and I do not have the vacation time avaliable.

At the same time my parents have a house on the Jersey shore and I am now wonderign about the possiabilities of diving off the Jersey coast. I know that it is done but I am not sure what the visability is like or how enjoyable it is as compared to diving in the carribian. I definitly don't htink I would enjoy it as much.

So the more I think abotu it the more I wonder what he best thign to do is. Meaning that if I really end up liking the warm water diver where you get to see coral and fish more than say a wreck dive in low vis off the Jersey shore then well- gettign certified is stil la great plan but purchsing all of my own equipment and all that might be a little much. Especially if I could rent equipment if I was on a vacation in the islands somewhere....

I am confused. I want to do it but want to use it if I am going to do it. I have a true love for corals and tropical saltwater fish. It is the reason why I have a saltwater reef style fish tank. I love to watch it. Just don't knwo if scuba in cold water woudl be as much fun for a uy liek me.

 

[carolrose]

I am a newly certified diver, got certified at Dutch Springs in PA at the end of October. I have always been a huge wuss about the cold, if it's below 85, I'm freezing. I figured I'd get certified here, and then probably only dive on vacation. But as soon as I did that first dive I was hooked. I mean yeah it was in a quarry, and it was raining out, and the water temp was in the 50's, but the second you get under the water, the only thing you are really thinking about is how friggin incredible it all is. It's like this whole other world is suddenly opened up to you. I'm sure Cozumel and all the other warm water places have a whole other world to offer, but the stuff that's right here in our own back yard is plenty cool too.

 

[*Floater*]

Thank you for the responses. I guess I am still tryign to figuer out exactly what to do. I really did enjoy my first dive. But the problem is that I don't have unlimited cash and I don't go to the tropical areas of the world all that often. So I don't see myself visiting the carribian 2 times a year caus it is jsut too expensive and I do not have the vacation time avaliable.

Just take the open water, either at home or on a trip. I took mine on vacation and it cost $300 with everything included. That's on the cheaper side.

As for equipment, just keep renting for now and build up your own equipment slowly. If you want to save money then buy used gear either here (classifieds section) or on ebay. Whatever you like renting the least you should buy first. But before you buy anything I suggest you ask for opinions about the piece of equipment you are about to buy because there's a lot of crap out there.

I would also recommend the book Dress for Success by Dan MacKay because it'll go over certain gear configurations that you often aren't exposed to at most dive shops or on vacations, but might want to know about before you buy your own gear.

 

[Fordan]

At the same time my parents have a house on the Jersey shore and I am now wonderign about the possiabilities of diving off the Jersey coast. I know that it is done but I am not sure what the visability is like or how enjoyable it is as compared to diving in the carribian. I definitly don't htink I would enjoy it as much.

Check out http://www.njscuba.net/ for info on the diving off the Jersey coast. Generally, if you're getting trained in this area, there's a decent chance after your pool work you'll do some of your open water dives up at Dutch Springs. I know where I got my training prefers to do 2 dives up at the quarry, and 2 dives out in the ocean.

So the more I think abotu it the more I wonder what he best thign to do is. Meaning that if I really end up liking the warm water diver where you get to see coral and fish more than say a wreck dive in low vis off the Jersey shore then well- gettign certified is stil la great plan but purchsing all of my own equipment and all that might be a little much. Especially if I could rent equipment if I was on a vacation in the islands somewhere....

You don't need to purchase all your own gear to dive locally. Most dive shops will also rent much of what you need. You can generally rent tanks, regulators, BCs, wetsuits, bottom timers/dive computers & weights/weight belts. You may be required to purchase your mask, snorkle, dive booties, gloves and fins as I was, although I have heard of shops renting some or all of those too.

 

[citykid]

You can go half and half in the begining. Take an OW course at a local dive shop. You'll pick up the book and spend a couple of weeks taking a class (once a week or quicker).

You'll have to pick up, like everyone else stated, boots and fins, a mask & snorkel. But you'd want to own that stuff anyway. A good mask that fits you will last a very long time.

Now all you have to do at the end is the OW tests out in the open water. If I remember correctly it's two days worth (four dives). Many dive operators in the islands will do the final OW certification. My fiance and I did just that. We got all the tests done in NY with all paperwork, then went on vacation a couple of moths later. A vacation that started out with our certification. Kind of like a working vacation. Ha ha.

Then start looking for more equipment to buy. Christmas and birthdays are GREAT for this. A fancier mask, bigger fins, bigger & better wetsuit, blah, blah, blah. The list just grows of more toys you'd want.