Howdy,
I am heading on a trip around the world very soon. I am debating if I should get certified for dives before I leave (US$225) or get certified on the road in south east Asian Islands. Any cost information for dive certification (PADI preferred) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Trebble
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it's a generalisation and you can probably haggle in the
rainy season.
I was in Thailand during the high season and the lowest I
saw it was $250, but that is learning in amazing islands
with great coral.
The cheapest PADI open water diver course I ran into, was
on the Perhentian Islands, N-E Malaysia, (Pulau Perhentian
Kecil). The Dive school was called Coral Sky Divers, and I
found them really good. All European divemasters and
Instructors, really great diving and cheap (Open water
diver RM 550 = +/- $130, advanced RM 450 = +/- $110, 2
dives RM 140)
Definitely go somewhere nice and warm to do the course! Spice Dive on Lovina Beach in Bali is good too but I
reckon Malaysia might be a better choice.
We learnt in Koh Tao: US$200 for PADI o/w at Planet Scuba
(aka Samui Divers). This was pre Asian crisis and given the
subsequent explosion in dive shops and visitors, prices
will likely be no higher. Shop around - meet the people who
would be training you; see if you can get discounts on
recreational dives or further courses; look at their
equipment; what insurance, emergency evacuation
contingencies are available, is the dive shop well managed,
tidy, clean, staffed by competants, do they look like a
training facility (some dive shops focus on this; others on
the recreational side), what are class sizes etc..?
After certification it is worth doing a few recreational
dives to hone your skills and increase confidence under
comfortable and familiar surroundings... And then plan your
frontier diving trip to Papua New Guinea...
Enjoy