Taking Scuba Diving Lessons in New York
There are plenty of scuba diving classes being offered in New York. If you’re thinking of taking one, you might want to know several requirements first. Before going to scuba diving class, make sure you have the following:
Interest – while classes can be completed in a few days, training and getting a certification will require some homework. Most diving schools in New York require their students to complete assignments that include reading materials, videos and exams. If you don’t have the interest, you might just give up and waste your time and money.
Scuba diving gear – you could rent, of course. But if you want to make scuba diving a regular part of your recreation, better get the gear first. This is not a requirement, however. Most schools only require the students to bring a mask, snorkel and fins. They provide the rest of the gear.
Money – scuba diving classes are quite inexpensive and usually start at $250, which includes class and pool training and dive gear use. Most course materials aren’t included in the fees.
Swimming skills – you need to be in reasonably good health and be a competent enough swimmer. Some trainings include floating and treading time and swimming 200 or 400 yards in a pool.
Age requirement – you should at least be 10 years old to take scuba diving lessons. If you want the PADI Open Water Diver course, you need to be at least 14.
If you fit the requirements for a New York scuba diving student, then you’re ready to take lessons. In no particular order, here are some NY diving schools you might want to check out:
Empire Divers empiredivers com
Located in NY’s Upper East Side, Empire Divers is a full-service PADI diving training center and dive shop. They offer PADI training certifications for all levels and have specialty classes in photography, nigh diving, deep diving and wreck diving, among others.
Adventure Scuba adventurescubany com
Adventure Scuba is a PADI authorized Five-Star Instructor Development Center. It holds pool time during Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and has a limited-sized class to allow more instructor-student interaction. They also offer a complete one-day training with their Executive Weekend Training course.
Pan Aqua panaqua com
Pan Aqua is a 25-year veteran in scuba training for all levels – from novice to instructor level. Like most NY scuba diving schools, they offer the PADI system. They train scuba diving students through class and pool sessions. They also offer open water training.
Village Divers villagedivers com
If you like smaller classes, you might want to check out Village Divers. They have an instructor-student limit of 1:4. This small dive shop offers both recreational and technical training.
Jake J Saab
I live in New York City. Where is the best place to take scuba diving lessons?
I want to find a place not only to scuba but to also meet cool people. Has anyone taking scuba lessons in New York?
http://adventurescubany.com/
http://www.villagedivers.com/
http://www.panaqua.com/
Have fun!
References :
Hi,
We did our dive certification in Manhattan with Scuba Network. We did it quite awhile ago but the dive shops are still in Manhattan and still offer classes. I guess it says something that they are still around. We really liked the instructor and the people at the shop were friendly. The rest of the students in the class were a mix of professions.
We took the classes and did the pool portion in NY and then did our open water dives in Antigua. You can read about our experience by clicking on the link below.
Have fun – it’s a great sport!
References :
http://www.scuba-diving-smiles.com/scuba-diving-classes-new-york.html
I got certified by a private instructor in NYC (a co-worker). We did the poolwork in Battery Park City and open Water dives in Far Rockaway. I highly recommend a private instructor or a class with 2-3 students so you have the instructor giving you personal attention. Better divers are usually products of better instructors. You don’t just want to pass the course… you want to learn to dive (and not kill yourself)!
If you cannot get a private instructor go to Pan Aqua on 43rd St and 10th avenue. They have many good instructors and don’t take any shortcuts.
My instructor later began to teach at Pan Aqua and I took some courses there with other instructors and was always impressed by their professionalism and thoroughness.
Only advice is don’t buy any gear there.. they push ScubaPro at ridiculous prices… go to Leisure Pro on 18th & 5th.
References :
I am a PADI Dive Master