Scuba Certfication

AustinBR · Apr 15, 2020

Random question that I figure someone here can answer. My fiance and I are considering going somewhere tropical for our honeymoon (next year). We both have an interest in learning to dive, but know nearly nothing about it.

It looks like there are numerous scuba certification programs near us. Will going and taking a few classes there be enough to dive in another country?

Do you typically buy any gear or do you rent it all whenever you go places?

What else do I need to know?

TheMole68 · Apr 15, 2020

You can get certified and do your checkout dives when you go whenever you go. You'll want to make arrangements with a shop there for the checkout dive. Or you can do the while process including checkout and then just take your licenses to wherever you go for your honeymoon. I did my classes at Harry's, it takes a weekend, then checkout dove in Key West.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

Emperor · Apr 15, 2020

Should be! Some "****" countries will strap you in and just let you go on your payment. Personally, I would not get on the same boat with a dive operator that didn't check for certification.

Get certified here for sure BEFORE you go; and even make a few dives here BEFORE you go.

I have my own gear! It was expensive! Much like being a firearms enthusiast. I have rented gear in other countries, but don't know if I would today. Just remember, if you take your own stuff, that is just that much more luggage you will have. I would say at the least, and if you think you will stay into diving, buy and bring 2 regulators w/octopus. Al the other stuff can be rented and other than the actual air in the tank, is not as important as your regulator.

I hunted the rigs in the Gulf mostly, but did a cool dive in Isla Mujeres decades ago. It was gorgeous. It was a "current" dive. The boat dropped us in the middle of nowhere, and we drifted about 3 miles with the current to the pick up site. That current was so strong that it was nearly impossible to stop and check things out. Fun nonetheless.

swampfoxx · Apr 15, 2020

Friend of mine dives in Thailand 3 or 4 times a year. He has a large Pelican case with his regulators, BC, mask, fins, etc. He just rents the tanks when he goes on site.

freedive10 · Apr 15, 2020

I use to Dive Master in the Bay Islands of Roatan and spearfished rigs in the gulf.

First off, will you be staying at a dive resort? You planning to do multiple dives in a day or just a couple dives and then do other things?

If you are not staying at a dedicated dive resort, I would get the class work done near your house during evenings after work. No sense in being locked up in a classroom during your honeymoon. If you do go to a dive resort, I would do the certification there. Your final check out dive is normally with a group going out on a regular dive so you usually get a cool dive out of a training dive.

Don’t spend any money on gear yet. Think of it as when a new shooter wants to buy their first gun. They really don’t know what they need and what best suits them. With training and speaking to others, you get a better picture. If you have to buy something, don’t go cheap on a mask. Get a dive mask at a dive shop! Please don’t buy a snorkel mask and think your good to go. Mask and fins can make or break your dive regarding comfort and ability to do what is needed.

FYI, if you are hung over from a night of partying, I find nothing makes me feel back to normal faster than a dive. I don’t know if it’s the nitrogen build up in the blood during a dive or the pressure, but as soon as I come up from a dive my hangover is usually gone.

AustinBR · Apr 15, 2020

freedive10 said:
I use to Dive Master in the Bay Islands of Roatan and spearfished rigs in the gulf.

First off, will you be staying at a dive resort? You planning to do multiple dives in a day or just a couple dives and then do other things?

If you are not staying at a dedicated dive resort, I would get the class work done near your house during evenings after work. No sense in being locked up in a classroom during your honeymoon. If you do go to a dive resort, I would do the certification there. Your final check out dive is normally with a group going out on a regular dive so you usually get a cool dive out of a training dive.

Don’t spend any money on gear yet. Think of it as when a new shooter wants to buy their first gun. They really don’t know what they need and what best suits them. With training and speaking to others, you get a better picture. If you have to buy something, don’t go cheap on a mask. Get a dive mask at a dive shop! Please don’t buy a snorkel mask and think your good to go. Mask and fins can make or break your dive regarding comfort and ability to do what is needed.

FYI, if you are hung over from a night of partying, I find nothing makes me feel back to normal faster than a dive. I don’t know if it’s the nitrogen build up in the blood during a dive or the pressure, but as soon as I come up from a dive my hangover is usually gone.

I'm going to send you a PM in a bit.

aroundlsu · Apr 15, 2020

I've been a diver for 10+ years with multiple certifications. It's not something you just go take a few classes and do. You need to commit to it for a while as you'll need to do several nights of classroom, then pool work, then checkout dives in Florida over a weekend. Be prepared to spend $1000 a person for the certification by the time you add in hotel fees for Florida, your personal scuba gear you don't really want to rent (mask, wetsuit, etc), boat fees, and all the other little things they don't tell you when you first sign up. And then even after all that you'll still be a pretty crappy and dangerous diver for a year or so until you get a few dozen dives under your belt.

The good news is once you do all that you're truly certified for life and can rent all the gear you need anywhere in the world relatively inexpensively.

Alternatively, if it's a tourist destination they usually let you dive after just a short instruction and you'll be diving in calm easy waters anyway. When most people tell me they are divers they mean they've done one of these tourist dives. It's like skydiving for a day while attached to an instructor. Yeah most people have done that but I wouldn't call that skydiving.

3fifty7 · Apr 15, 2020

I got PADI certified in the late 90’s with Innerspace in Baton Rouge. I added Advanced and Rescue later on. I rented gear for the class and open water testing, then bought gear after that. Get certified locally and get some experience before you go out of country. I can assure you most tourist resorts don’t give a damn about your certification or competency. Please check out any outfit you plan to use before hand. Visit before the dive day if possible, be on first name basis with the captain and dive master. Most of my diving was out of Florida; Pensacola, Destin, Panama City, Keys. Spearfishig and photography, It’s an awesome experience. Usually you can rent a decent underwater camera, it will be worth it.

troy_mclure · Apr 15, 2020

former commercial diver here, with thousands of hours in the water for work and pleasure.

first step is call some local dive shops about dive classes.
do it here.
or better yet, ask about(or google ) snuba dives to see if its for you guys.

about 1 in 20 people have a panic attack or close to it first time(and usually last) zipping into a wetsuit.
about half of that cant handle the "on-demand" breathing of the regulator.
heck, some people just cant not breath out of their nose, making a mask seal impossible.

dont buy any gear for the first few dives, except mask and snorkel.

if you really do enjoy diving and plan on doing it with low to moderate frequently a good octopus (regulator x2/dive computer or depth +pressure gauge) knife, and a skinsuit is all you really need.
any dive shop/resort will have all the gear you need cheap enough that it doesnt make sense to buy all your own gear.

if you really love it and plan on diving more than 10 trips a year(closest good diving from br is about 4hrs) then get yourself a bc, fins, wetsuit, booties, gloves, weights-belt, etc..

if you must buy a tank (mostly because you dive away from resorts/dive shops) do not buy any tank with a hydro stamp over 5 years old, many shops wont do a second hydro(every 5 years) anymore so you wont be able to get them filled.

also before buying used octopuses check the local dive shops rates for servicing them, it might be better to buy new.

troy_mclure · Apr 15, 2020

also get this if traveling to dive.
https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/insurance/

ive personally seen it save tons of money for guys needing medivaced to a hospital with a decompression chamber.

kcinnick · Apr 15, 2020

Getting certified in Florida is WAY cheaper than getting certified in Louisiana. We had plans to get certified with MBT Divers out of Pensacola a few years ago that got screwed up by a Hurricane, and then another kid came along and we never got it done. I spent way too much time doing research and narrowed it down between Scuba Toys in Dallas and MBT divers. The local places just wanted so much more money. Both places had competitive prices on gear, and you could try before you buy in the pool sessions to get gear that worked for you. MBT was cool about refunding money after we couldn't find a time to reschedule before we found out my wife was pregnant.

YoungMarine · Apr 15, 2020

If you’re still in BR give Suzanne or Mark a call at Underwater Adventures. You can do the classroom/pool training here and checkout dives wherever. Even after flights, all-inclusive resort, cab fares, etc., I find it more economical to vacation and dive in Cozumel than in Florida. The people there are friendly and it is safe. Many dive operators include gear for free there. Pretty much the only time my wife and I tank dive is on vacation. In Louisiana, we prefer to freedive spearfish the rigs. You can freedive all day without surface intervals or hauling a bunch of tanks and gear. Unknown to many, Louisiana has some of the best diving not far off the coast, but is only accessible by private boat. We’ve met a lot of great people diving and it is something you can do as a couple until you’re old and gray. Go for it!

troy_mclure · Apr 15, 2020

bonaire is pretty cheap and popular, most diving there is walkin instead of boat.

this is my dream dive:
https://www.scubadiving.com/bikini-atoll-wreckage-scuba-diving

edited to add that there are a few charter boats in Louisiana and Mississippi that will take you to some blue water oil platforms that are amazing to dive, as they are essentially deep water reefs. it can be a pit pricey tho.

buttanic · Apr 16, 2020

I got certified by the YMCA in 1970. Back then it was a 6 weeks, two 4 hour classes a week split between class room and practical pool work. It was basically what would be today considered open water, advanced open water and rescue. A weekend PADI class gives you just enough info to maybe not kill or injure yourself under the supervision of a dive master. Today diving industry is really not about diving it is about travel to pretty places. They have to constantly sign up new divers because there is an extremely high drop out rate. Few make it a life long sport. I started diving in 1957, last dive was 5 years ago. I never had a friend and dive buddy that stayed in the sport more than maybe 5 to 10 years.
There is great diving here at the rigs, unfortunately most local dive shops don't promote it. If you like hunting the spear fishing is great and the rig have most of the varieties of fish you find in the tropics. Just the hard corals are missing but you can even find that at sites like the Flower Gardens. Access is the issue because either you own or have a dive buddy that owns an offshore capable boat, charter boats here are few to non existent. I ran one for several years in Grand Isle in the mid 80's as a side gig. there just wasn't enough week day business to make a full time living.

AustinBR · Apr 16, 2020

Thanks for all of the great advice everyone! Right now we are likely going to Bora Bora and Tahiti, has anyone been to either and dove there?

SVTFreak · Apr 16, 2020

+1 for mark at underwater adventures. Him and i where good friends and made a few trips together. You’ll do classroom and pool time here and make a 3 day trip to Panama City for check out dives. After that, you’re fully certified (he can do both padi and naui)

Gear is expensive. You can rent it from him or usually on site at destination. After you have a few under your belt and get comfy and safer in the water, you can decide weather to buy you own or rent.

Diving is a great fun. It’s a workout sometimes too. And requires calm and cool even when things go bad. Little things can start a panic and that can escalate fast. You gotta stay calm. I miss doing it. But other hobbies and inability to travel means it’s low on my list till the kids are grown and gone.

Emperor · Apr 16, 2020

AustinBR said:
Thanks for all of the great advice everyone! Right now we are likely going to Bora Bora and Tahiti, has anyone been to either and dove there?

Wait a minute!

Which movie did she pick? And did she thoroughly enjoy it?

AustinBR · Apr 16, 2020

Emperor said:
Wait a minute!

Which movie did she pick? And did she thoroughly enjoy it?

None of the above lol

troy_mclure · Apr 16, 2020

buttanic said:
I got certified by the YMCA in 1970. Back then it was a 6 weeks, two 4 hour classes a week split between class room and practical pool work. It was basically what would be today considered open water, advanced open water and rescue. A weekend PADI class gives you just enough info to maybe not kill or injure yourself under the supervision of a dive master. Today diving industry is really not about diving it is about travel to pretty places. They have to constantly sign up new divers because there is an extremely high drop out rate. Few make it a life long sport. I started diving in 1957, last dive was 5 years ago. I never had a friend and dive buddy that stayed in the sport more than maybe 5 to 10 years.
There is great diving here at the rigs, unfortunately most local dive shops don't promote it. If you like hunting the spear fishing is great and the rig have most of the varieties of fish you find in the tropics. Just the hard corals are missing but you can even find that at sites like the Flower Gardens. Access is the issue because either you own or have a dive buddy that owns an offshore capable boat, charter boats here are few to non existent. I ran one for several years in Grand Isle in the mid 80's as a side gig. there just wasn't enough week day business to make a full time living.

difficulty in finding a dive partner is why i took my solo course, and a huge chunk of my rec-dives were solo.

- - - Updated - - -

AustinBR said:
Thanks for all of the great advice everyone! Right now we are likely going to Bora Bora and Tahiti, has anyone been to either and dove there?

theres a dive shop in bora bora that has alot of youtube videos.

buttanic · Apr 17, 2020

troy_mclure said:
difficulty in finding a dive partner is why i took my solo course, and a huge chunk of my rec-dives were solo.

- - - Updated - - -

theres a dive shop in bora bora that has alot of youtube videos.

The first dives I ever made were solo. In 1957 divers were few and far between. Roland's Army Surplus and Sporting Goods and Security Sporting Goods were the only places that sold scuba gear. There was not yet any instructional organizations yet except for Los Angeles County Life Guards and the US Navy. You read the instruction book that came with the tank and regulator and went diving. I got certified by YMCA in 1970 because dive shops and charter boat started requiring it to rent equipment or book charters.
Harry Cauldwell opened Harry's Dive Shop in 1970 and taught the course at the New Orleans downtown YMCA. Harry Certified me.

Scuba Certfication

The Best online firearms community in Louisiana.

Member Benefits:

Make your own luck

Well-Known Member

Seriously Misunderstood!

Well-Known Member

-Global Mod-, Caballoloco

Make your own luck

Bayou Photo Shooter

CoonAss

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Training Ferrous Metal

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Make your own luck

Huh?

Seriously Misunderstood!

Make your own luck

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Log in

Forum statistics