I keep meaning to get certified, but kept putting it off because there was no impending trip to make it needed.
Found out I'm going to Australia in the end of March, and now definitely need to get certified.
However, since I'm in New York, I obviously can't do the certification here because of the weather. So I have to split it up, and do the class/pool work in New York and then fly down south for the certification before I go to Austrlia.
So, the questions:
1. How long do the open water dives take? I know they can be done over two days, so I'm thinking Saturday and Sunday, and then fly out on Monday (18-24 hours later)
2. How far south do I need to go? I'm basically just going to look for the cheapest flight/hotel arrangement to do the open water dive, since that's the only reason I'll be going anywhere.
3. I was told by a company here in New York, that I need to get the Open Water certification instead of the SCUBA certification because it would mean that I would have severely limited (and costly) dive options in Australia unless I had the Open Water certification. I'm assuming when I get out there, I'll be diving in a group of 5-10 with a professional, if I only got the SCUBA certification, would I have to pay someone just for each of us (I'll be there with a friend who also isn't certified yet)
4. There seem to be many options, but can I assume that PADI is the one I should choose to ensure my certification would be valid whereever I dive in the world?
Any other help would be appreciated.
Found out I'm going to Australia in the end of March, and now definitely need to get certified.
However, since I'm in New York, I obviously can't do the certification here because of the weather. So I have to split it up, and do the class/pool work in New York and then fly down south for the certification before I go to Austrlia.
So, the questions:
1. How long do the open water dives take? I know they can be done over two days, so I'm thinking Saturday and Sunday, and then fly out on Monday (18-24 hours later)
2. How far south do I need to go? I'm basically just going to look for the cheapest flight/hotel arrangement to do the open water dive, since that's the only reason I'll be going anywhere.
3. I was told by a company here in New York, that I need to get the Open Water certification instead of the SCUBA certification because it would mean that I would have severely limited (and costly) dive options in Australia unless I had the Open Water certification. I'm assuming when I get out there, I'll be diving in a group of 5-10 with a professional, if I only got the SCUBA certification, would I have to pay someone just for each of us (I'll be there with a friend who also isn't certified yet)
4. There seem to be many options, but can I assume that PADI is the one I should choose to ensure my certification would be valid whereever I dive in the world?
Any other help would be appreciated.