Hey everyone, brand spanking new to the forum. Thanks for having me! Sorry if I’m doing this wrong but I got a question for the DMs out there.
My wife (Ricky) and I are are traveling for a few months (currently in south east Asia) and are PADI Advanced OPW with 90 dives under our belts.
Anddddd….we want to go full in for our dive masters to; increase our skills, preparedness and…of course…rack up a bunch of dives while gaining the option to perhaps guide someday.
Our question: where is the BEST place to get your DM? Of course any place underwater is great, but where did you do it? Did you love it? Hate it? What would you do differently?
Considerations/Interests
1) COST: Southeast Asia prices are looking pretty good right now!
2) CORAL RESTORATION OPPTY: we both completed a coral restoration course, are passionate about it and we’d love to partner with a dive shop or location where we could contribute with some of our dives.
3) LOCATION: remote (lots of sweet dives but perhaps nothing else) vs. a bit more civilization (yoga, burger, etc)…Sabah vs. Bali
4) SURFING…and other stuff to do: hiking, biking, music…assuming that there is anytime for this aside from work and study.
We aim to complete the program in a month (a shame I know) and from our research so far the top contenders are the following…I realize these are quite broad…
-Indonesia: Bali, Menjangan, Komodo, nusa Lembongan, Gilis…
-Philippines: Malapascua, Palawan
-Belize: Caye Caulker
-Costa Rica: Idk
-Ecuador & Galapagos: no idea
Thanks for your help. Hope I didn’t open up a can of worms! Locations would be great, dive shops even better.
Appreciate it!
-The Rickys
My wife (Ricky) and I are are traveling for a few months (currently in south east Asia) and are PADI Advanced OPW with 90 dives under our belts.
Anddddd….we want to go full in for our dive masters to; increase our skills, preparedness and…of course…rack up a bunch of dives while gaining the option to perhaps guide someday.
Our question: where is the BEST place to get your DM? Of course any place underwater is great, but where did you do it? Did you love it? Hate it? What would you do differently?
Considerations/Interests
1) COST: Southeast Asia prices are looking pretty good right now!
2) CORAL RESTORATION OPPTY: we both completed a coral restoration course, are passionate about it and we’d love to partner with a dive shop or location where we could contribute with some of our dives.
3) LOCATION: remote (lots of sweet dives but perhaps nothing else) vs. a bit more civilization (yoga, burger, etc)…Sabah vs. Bali
4) SURFING…and other stuff to do: hiking, biking, music…assuming that there is anytime for this aside from work and study.
We aim to complete the program in a month (a shame I know) and from our research so far the top contenders are the following…I realize these are quite broad…
-Indonesia: Bali, Menjangan, Komodo, nusa Lembongan, Gilis…
-Philippines: Malapascua, Palawan
-Belize: Caye Caulker
-Costa Rica: Idk
-Ecuador & Galapagos: no idea
Thanks for your help. Hope I didn’t open up a can of worms! Locations would be great, dive shops even better.
Appreciate it!
-The Rickys