Want to do the rescue diver in Pattaya
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It shouldn't be just the price that you are looking at; you should also take the after-sales service in consideration....
Well, right on smaller places....definitly true on my last holiday in Koh Lipe. But Pattaya is a diving industry. 1 week later noone remember you anymore. Zero after-sales service. Often the DM, Instructor just work 3 month at one company, so you never see them again. But if you know a good DC...let me know....
Bowmouth
Contributor
Yes I prefer small dive shops, where you dive with the owner and the owner dives because he loves to dive but I think you won't find that in Pattaya.
Unfortunatly I have seen the Khrams many times but not the Bremen or Hardeep. (I am always on the same day in Pat....going to the same wrack.....)
But the Khrams (or Krams, don't know) is a nice AND ugly place. Excellent for learning. Visibility depends on who dove before you. If there was a 45 degree diver before you, it is almost nothing.
So you have a feeling like in a movie, pretty scary the first time. A lot penetration to make, looking small and dark but they cut out big parts of the boat so after 2 meter it is open again.....
So really much to see, but for someone sitting in the office in Bangkok it is a quick adventure.....
The close reefs are not as bad as someone would think. I have the feeling that they got better, but that might be wrong, diving somewhere 50 meter beside it may look different. Last time I can recall several baby-muraene (spelling).
Not really that great, but close to Bangkok and everything you want to learn is there.
Unfortunatly I have seen the Khrams many times but not the Bremen or Hardeep. (I am always on the same day in Pat....going to the same wrack.....)
But the Khrams (or Krams, don't know) is a nice AND ugly place. Excellent for learning. Visibility depends on who dove before you. If there was a 45 degree diver before you, it is almost nothing.
So you have a feeling like in a movie, pretty scary the first time. A lot penetration to make, looking small and dark but they cut out big parts of the boat so after 2 meter it is open again.....
So really much to see, but for someone sitting in the office in Bangkok it is a quick adventure.....
The close reefs are not as bad as someone would think. I have the feeling that they got better, but that might be wrong, diving somewhere 50 meter beside it may look different. Last time I can recall several baby-muraene (spelling).
Not really that great, but close to Bangkok and everything you want to learn is there.
That's too bad.
I can only recommend you good dive-operators in Phuket, haven't been in Pattaya in a loooong time.
Is the diving at The Bremen and Hardeep still good? I remember lots of current and very little visibility but fairly good fishlife as well.
Chumphon Cabana is a really nice outfit. I highly recommend. All quality and great service. Nice beaches and much better diving then Pattaya. Why is it cheaper? Because most that dive there are Thai. They speak English though. Are things that much more expensive in Pattaya? No...the profits are just larger.
jdfmail,
Diving is a business, what's wrong with making a profit?
Diving is a hobby which turned into my job but at the end of the month I've still got bills to pay.
In my opinion, the fees quoted in PTY seem to be fair, and I'm in no way connected to any dive shop in PTY, however, if you can get better fees, good on you but on the other hand, as already pointed out by others, safety is important as well and I've just got a gut feeling that the cheapest possible rate won't get you the safety aspects required/needed, since somewhere along the line, money had to be saved in order to be so cheap in the first place and many times safety concerns are the first to suffer.
stevenl
Contributor
No, the minimum standards are the same. Some DC's cut corners and some exceed standards. So it really is not true that all courses are the same.
This is a course done in 2 days, IMO it is not possible to teach a good rescue course in 2 days. Plus: are certification and manual included or extra? All dives from the beach or are also boatdives included? Equipment rental?
This is in response to the original post:
Price is of course a consideration, but if you have been around Pattaya for while as the original poster (h90) appears to be from this post and others, you should go with someone you respect IMO. Did you chat with any of the instructors on the dive boats? A DM may also be an excellent source for a recommendation. I would rather pay a little more and go with someone I respect than chance my education to someone just meeting the standards. This is especially true with the rescue course.
I think most would agree, this is what is so scary about having an "insta buddy". At least if you take a quality rescue course you should be competent enough for self rescue.
Good luck,
AZ
Price is of course a consideration, but if you have been around Pattaya for while as the original poster (h90) appears to be from this post and others, you should go with someone you respect IMO. Did you chat with any of the instructors on the dive boats? A DM may also be an excellent source for a recommendation. I would rather pay a little more and go with someone I respect than chance my education to someone just meeting the standards. This is especially true with the rescue course.
I think most would agree, this is what is so scary about having an "insta buddy". At least if you take a quality rescue course you should be competent enough for self rescue.
Good luck,
AZ
I'm not saying to get the cheapest...I'm just commenting on Chumphon. I think it is a good setup and all people that I meet that have dove there or gotten certs there have nothing but praise for them.
I don't think you can always equate price with quality here in Thailand. That's not to say all are equal, I'm sure that some cheap ones should be avoided. Just that Chumphon shouldn't be overlooked.
All is included except the book. Also, the prices might have went up as their website hasn't been updated in awhile. You should ask if it includes boat dives. I'm 90% sure that it does.
I agree
I don't think you can always equate price with quality here in Thailand. That's not to say all are equal, I'm sure that some cheap ones should be avoided. Just that Chumphon shouldn't be overlooked.
All is included except the book. Also, the prices might have went up as their website hasn't been updated in awhile. You should ask if it includes boat dives. I'm 90% sure that it does.
I agree
Ex-Aquanaut
Contributor
As one of the principals in a Pattaya dive shop, I wanted to share my opinion regarding pricing and discounts. My partners' opinion might differ, but I don't think by much.
My first rule is that discounts are given when deserved, and that usually means they are given only to good customers. It's a two-way street. You help us, we help you.
That means if you come in with a couple of people, buy more than 1 course/trip, buy some gear to go with your diving, or have some sort of combo of courses/materials/trips/gear, then, sure, we're going to be pretty generous.
If you come in out of the blue, make it obvious the only commitment you have is to one purchase and only to the shop most willing to undercut others by the largest amount, then you're going to find me less than receptive to haggling.
Pattaya dive shops historically have worked together to stay away from the price wars elsewhere that have resulted in 6,000 baht, 2-day Open Water courses. Recently all the major shops here raised prices for day trips in unison to offset the incredible rise in fuel costs. It was the first increase in 3+ years, by the way.
Most shops also have comparable prices for courses. Open Water runs ranges from 14,000-16,500 baht including materials. Advanced ranges only from 12,000-14,500. I haven't surveyed Rescues recently, but I think most people here are disciplined enough to keep prices in a range where they are fair to the customer and help sustain a safe and competant dive center.
Slashing prices helps no one, INCLUDING the customer. In diving, as in anything else, you DO get what you pay for.
Here at Aquanauts, we charge 12,000 baht (and have for 3+ years). The book is 2,100 baht (below PADI recommended retail, by the way.) For that, you get 3 days of training, local pickup/return service, a freshly cooked, multi-course lunch, soft drinks (no extra charge, equipment rental (if needed) and your certification. You do the theory in a modern, well-equipped classroom with up-to-date materials. You dive on our own, non-shared boat with instructors we trained ourselves.
And, as for the training, we take Rescues very seriously, as they are a huge part of our instructor training program. Month in and month out, our IE candidates score 5/5 on rescue on the Instructor Exams. During DM training, we drill them repeatedly, having them perform rescues in an annotated fashiion, calling out each step to increase memory retention. On the just completed IE, in fact, the Mermaid's Course Director was evaluating our candidates for Rescue (examiner was short-staffed) and my partner told him that if any of our guys didn't have the pocket mask on the "victim" in 10 seconds they should be failed.
It was a joke, of course, but pretty much what we expect of all our rescue students.
So, sure, you can hammer on people and pit one shop against the other to get the ultimate low price. Or you can place the emphasis on where it properly belongs, being the quality of training and facilities, the customer service, the the boat, the upkeep of the tanks and gear, the number of Thai staff on hand to assist you and the overall enjoyment of the experience.
My first rule is that discounts are given when deserved, and that usually means they are given only to good customers. It's a two-way street. You help us, we help you.
That means if you come in with a couple of people, buy more than 1 course/trip, buy some gear to go with your diving, or have some sort of combo of courses/materials/trips/gear, then, sure, we're going to be pretty generous.
If you come in out of the blue, make it obvious the only commitment you have is to one purchase and only to the shop most willing to undercut others by the largest amount, then you're going to find me less than receptive to haggling.
Pattaya dive shops historically have worked together to stay away from the price wars elsewhere that have resulted in 6,000 baht, 2-day Open Water courses. Recently all the major shops here raised prices for day trips in unison to offset the incredible rise in fuel costs. It was the first increase in 3+ years, by the way.
Most shops also have comparable prices for courses. Open Water runs ranges from 14,000-16,500 baht including materials. Advanced ranges only from 12,000-14,500. I haven't surveyed Rescues recently, but I think most people here are disciplined enough to keep prices in a range where they are fair to the customer and help sustain a safe and competant dive center.
Slashing prices helps no one, INCLUDING the customer. In diving, as in anything else, you DO get what you pay for.
Here at Aquanauts, we charge 12,000 baht (and have for 3+ years). The book is 2,100 baht (below PADI recommended retail, by the way.) For that, you get 3 days of training, local pickup/return service, a freshly cooked, multi-course lunch, soft drinks (no extra charge, equipment rental (if needed) and your certification. You do the theory in a modern, well-equipped classroom with up-to-date materials. You dive on our own, non-shared boat with instructors we trained ourselves.
And, as for the training, we take Rescues very seriously, as they are a huge part of our instructor training program. Month in and month out, our IE candidates score 5/5 on rescue on the Instructor Exams. During DM training, we drill them repeatedly, having them perform rescues in an annotated fashiion, calling out each step to increase memory retention. On the just completed IE, in fact, the Mermaid's Course Director was evaluating our candidates for Rescue (examiner was short-staffed) and my partner told him that if any of our guys didn't have the pocket mask on the "victim" in 10 seconds they should be failed.
It was a joke, of course, but pretty much what we expect of all our rescue students.
So, sure, you can hammer on people and pit one shop against the other to get the ultimate low price. Or you can place the emphasis on where it properly belongs, being the quality of training and facilities, the customer service, the the boat, the upkeep of the tanks and gear, the number of Thai staff on hand to assist you and the overall enjoyment of the experience.
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