Want to find a place to get Certified in Scuba in the Caribbean as quick as possible. Suggestions?
Looking to get certified in Scuba diving on our vacation but don’t want to take 5, 8 hour courses. I heard that there are courses that you can get certified in 3 days. What Caribbean Island do we go too???
Why don’t you do the bulk of your course at home during the evenings ( takes a week) at a PADI dive shop? That’s the academics,swim assessments, pool dives and exam.Then if you’re doing it at a PADI shop, transfer the course to your destination. You then do your certifiying open water dives ( two of them) and you’re done. The advantages here are numerous.
1/ You keep the bulk of your course fees in your own country. That keeps your neighbors employed.
2/ You’re learning from someone who speaks your language like a native…since they are. No confusing accents and everything is completely understandable.
3/ Your first day at the resort isn’t in class. You’re done all that already. Instead…you’ll do your two dives and be certified in under 2 hours…not 3 days of your vacation. Isn’t that exactly what you want to do? Maximize your dive time while you can at the resort?
As for what Island you want to go to…think about what you’d like to do and see. Dive shops are a dime a dozen on any Carib Island. You’ll find a PADI shop on any of them. They will all honour an open water cert referral that you arrange with your local shop.
Why don’t you do the bulk of your course at home during the evenings ( takes a week) at a PADI dive shop? That’s the academics,swim assessments, pool dives and exam.Then if you’re doing it at a PADI shop, transfer the course to your destination. You then do your certifiying open water dives ( two of them) and you’re done. The advantages here are numerous.
1/ You keep the bulk of your course fees in your own country. That keeps your neighbors employed.
2/ You’re learning from someone who speaks your language like a native…since they are. No confusing accents and everything is completely understandable.
3/ Your first day at the resort isn’t in class. You’re done all that already. Instead…you’ll do your two dives and be certified in under 2 hours…not 3 days of your vacation. Isn’t that exactly what you want to do? Maximize your dive time while you can at the resort?
As for what Island you want to go to…think about what you’d like to do and see. Dive shops are a dime a dozen on any Carib Island. You’ll find a PADI shop on any of them. They will all honour an open water cert referral that you arrange with your local shop.
References :
It’s not so much the island that you go to, it’s really the dive center you work with. I did my open water course in Mexico in three days.
Here’s something I wish I’d known / wish I’d done differently:
When I got to the resort, I had to sit through several hours of classroom lectures and take about an hours worth of quizzes and tests. Just imagine yourself in paradise watching an educational DVD or doing a multiple choice test while you can hear the beautiful ocean outside. It’s torture.
What I wish I did instead was get all my reading done and watch the DVD in advance. That way, all I would have had to do is take some tests and then get to the fun part.
If you don’t mind spending a little extra money you can get all the bookwork, quizzes and tests done online before you go. Ask your dive center about eLearning.
Hope this helps…
References :
http://www.padi.com/eLearning
Saba.
It’s part of the Netherlands Antilles and is surrounded by a UNESCO world heritage dive site.
See links below for more info.
References :
http://www.seasaba.com/
http://www.caribdiveguide.com/saba.htm
http://www.sabadivers.com/