In which country/place should I get my OW certification?

[Kazielle]

Hi I was hoping that ScubaBoard could help me work out the best place for me to get open water-certified based on some personal requirements. Any help or tips you could give would be so appreciated!


- I live in Adelaide, Australia and the water is just too cold for me to even consider learning to dive in. I am VERY sensitive to the cold and as such, I'm definitely going to have to travel to a place with warm waters to learn in.

- My ideal travel date is in early November, though I can be flexible if I have to be. I can spend around two weeks there.

-I'm also somewhat a cautious person when it comes to education, so I'd love to learn from a teacher that comes highly recommended (I was hoping scubaboard could help with that!).

-I'd really love for the weather to be warm, the beaches to be nice, and the culture to be interesting. I have zero interest in partying, drinking, etc, so a lack of 'night-life' isn't a big deal to me. I wouldn't mind having extra things to do (caves and jungles are big on my to-do list) but I plan on spending most of my time on or by the water.

-I'd like the trip to be fairly budget-conscious. I'm hoping to keep flights under $1200 as both my partner and I are going on this trip and getting our OW certs.


So warm waters, nice weather, great diving, great teachers and not too far away/pricey is what I'm looking for! My partner is interested in staying in a dive resort and taking courses from there, but I'm not sure if that's the best course of action. If anyone has dive resort recommendations that aren't crazy expensive, I'm open to hearing those too. But I'm mainly interested in what ScubaBoard posters think my ideal learn-to-dive place should be!

Thanks for your time

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Fiji meets all your requirements, and from Australia I think air fare is reasonable. There are many fine dive destination resorts there. Check them all out on line. I have only been to Beqa Lagoon, , but it was fantastic.
DivemasterDennis

 

[supergaijin]

If you want the cheapest international travel (from Oz) then the cheapest place will always be SE Asia. It does have a reputation for gap-year f'idiots but you can find some quiet areas if you look.

Get a copy of Lonely Planet. If the area is listed, don't go there.

For one place a little bit off the beaten track, I will always love the Philippines. Certain areas are Sin-City, but with over 7000 islands, it's pretty easy to remove yourself from the sleaze.

If you want a quiet place, go down to Dauin or Malatapay Beach (25mins south of Dumaguete) on Negros Island. Google is your friend. Inland there are waterfalls as well. Dauin has a range of resorts. Dumaguete has a bit of nightlife due to the university, but it's a pretty cool place I feel. Great diving from the shore and Apo Island offshore is a real treat.

That said, I also operate a diving center in the Maldives. It's on a budget local island with no alcohol... and I am one super instructor! There is not much else to do but dive though.

 

[Quero]

Well, Thailand, of course! It ticks all the boxes for you. Warm water, great culture, November is a great time to come, the price is right with budget airlines linking Australia and Thailand, and you can get your pick of instructors. There's me, for example

 

[flots am]

Hi I was hoping that ScubaBoard could help me work out the best place for me to get open water-certified based on some personal requirements. Any help or tips you could give would be so appreciated!


- I live in Adelaide, Australia and the water is just too cold for me to even consider learning to dive in. I am VERY sensitive to the cold and as such, I'm definitely going to have to travel to a place with warm waters to learn in.

I'd suggest finding a shop near you that teaches in drysuits and learning to dive locally. You'll have a great time and get to dive whenever you want instead of once or twice a year on vacation.

flots.

 

[XS-NRG]

Why not stay in Oz and just go north to Brissy or Cairns and dive the Great Barrier Reef!

 

[ajduplessis]

South Africa, Sodwana Bay, Triton Lodge with Peter Timm.

 

[cbm32]

Do the online e-learning and then go to Niagani Island Resort in Fiji to complete your certification. By doing the e-learning avoid having to do the bookwork while at your dive destination and can spend more time enjoying the diving. I repressent Naigani in the USA but can still hook you up with a killer deal even though you are in Australia. A package that includes boat dives as well as unlimited shore dives on our house reef where you have a good chance of seeing black tip sharks and eagle rays

Small family friendly resort on a very small island with no loud night life or any of that stuff but good food and great diving. If you could move your dates up a bit, I will be there myself in Sept and Oct. Shoot me a PM if you are interested at all.

 

[Dive Wananavu Fiji]

Hi Kaielle,
As both Divemaster Dennis and cbm32 mentioned Fiji is a very nice place to travel. Thailand is also a nice destination but you can't ask for more of a contrast in local cultures and atmosphere. Thailand is a very traveled destination and at their better known dive sites it's common to find 20+ boats full of divers. Compared to Fiji where most destinations you choose you will be hard pressed to find more than a couple dive boats in the area. The biggest difference is the topside scene. When I visited Thailand I stayed in Kata (Phuket area) and Phi Phi. These are very busy, party atmosphere areas. I know there are a lot of other areas in Thailand that are not as touristy but the country is known as a big backpacker party area with their plethora of full moon parties and such. Not a bad atmosphere is you're looking for a destination with great night life. I was when I was there and had a ball.

Fiji on the other hand has very limited night life in the main cities of Nadi and Suva and next to no nightlife outside of the cities, so people don't come to Fiji for the party. There are many great areas for diving with some great dive resorts. As cbm32 suggested Naigani is one, so is our Dive Resort at Wananavu as well as others in Taveuni and Kadavu. No matter where you choose in Fiji it's the people that really make Fiji just an awesome place to visit. Their genuine friendliness almost seems unreal, but it is very real, it's just how they approach life. Every visitor to Fiji is a new friend and not just another person to take a dollar from which is kind of how I felt in Thailand with very pushy street vendors (it's the culture).

If you have any questions or need any help please feel free to ask. Both my wife and I have been teaching full-time at different destinations around the world for nearly 17 years combined and have a lot of insight. We both still currently teach in Fiji and because of the people and amazing diving are not leaving anytime soon.

Good luck with your search.

Chris and Vicky

 

[TSandM]

Why leave Australia? Still one of the best trips we've made in the eight years I've been diving was to Byron Bay. The water was 75 degrees, and I was totally comfortable in a 5 mil suit (and I get cold easily, and HATE being cold). The variety of sea life was astonishing, and the diving was actually pretty darned easy. The town is lovely, and there is a wide variety of places to stay, at various price points.

But of course, I have to offer my own experience . . . when I reluctantly agreed to learn to dive, I told my husband I would do the classroom and pool work in Seattle, but he had to take me to my in-laws' place in Maui to do the dives, because there was no way I was EVER setting foot in Puget Sound. It was too danged cold! (The Sound ranges from a high of about 12C to a low of about 8.) But I ended up liking my instructors and my classmates, and they twisted my arms and MADE me do my open water dives in the Sound. It was the best thing that ever happened to me! It turns out you can stay very comfortably warm in cold water in a dry suit with the right undergarments, and the richness of life in our local waters has kept me happily occupied for the last eight years.

Don't give up on diving locally. It just takes the right gear.