Your thoughts on basing from Placencia?

[cupojava]

You're forgetting the original main center there which still exists and flourishes, Seahorse.

They weren't open when we were there, unless they moved from the shop that is right off the sidewalk in town.

 

[Hank49]

It sucks that you are required to use dive guides, in my opinion. I rather enjoy the Upper Keys model of DM stays on boat, competent divers plan and execute their dive as a buddy pair, inform the DM of their plan and then go off on their own.

I would guess that the resorts out on the cayes would allow you to do your own dives once they see that you can handle yourself. It's like Peter was saying. The shops kind of presume you're inexperienced until they see you dive. Losing a diver is bad for business. When I worked in the Philippines it was the same. If shops measure divers on their cert level or their dive stories, it could turn out bad for them.