Want to get a number of certs at once in a tropical destination.

[Quero]

There are a lot of places that you could base yourself at, live cheaply, and take your time working though your courses. Thailand is a great option, IMO, because you can get a huge variety of diving just a hop and skip away by basing yourself here. You do a couple of courses, go diving someplace wonderful to gain experience, do another course, go someplace else to dive some more, etc. From the island I live on, you can easily reach dive destinations not only in Thailand, but also Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Maldives. These places represent some of the most outstanding and varied diving in the world, and this is why I've settled here. Of all the countries of SE Asia, I find Thailand the most welcoming, easiest to adjust to, and culturally most fascinating. Yes, I'm biased, but I chose this place after a lot of thought and research!

BTW, one of my students who did something similar to what you want, but started out as an Open Water diver, was a policeman retired on disability after a horrible accident in the line of duty. I think his disability payments, which continue throughout his working life, made this a viable option because when added to the earnings of a dive professional, there was plenty of money for him to live comfortably. Those who are cautioning you to use the funds to train for a career with a better earnings potential are pointing out an important consideration.

 

[gekodivebali]

I would really consider relocating for long term with this kind of money. Also, why choose to stick with a single dive school? Moving around will not only allow you to see different things underwater, but also to learn from various instructors. Am sure you'll find some more qualified, available, enthusiastic, etc than others. Then, when you find an instructor who can become a good mentor to you that's the one that should be involved in your training as a pro. My advice: do not buy a bulk zero to hero from a single place. Instead shop around til you find the right op for you.
Lastly, give yourself as much time as possible. More experience can only be better.
Do you plan on working in diving afterwards or just going for a nice ride?

 

[Oldbear]

+1 for training with different schools in different geographic locations and dive environments

...Moving around will not only allow you to see different things underwater, but also to learn from various instructors...My advice: do not buy a bulk zero to hero from a single place... More experience can only be better.

 

[diversteve]

Roatan might be an option. Coconut Tree Divers has a program based in the West End. Some friends went thru it a couple of years ago. There's a calculator on their website that appears to indicate it would cost around $4800 w/o specialties. We dove with them, they're a good fun group. Their course director, Will Welbourn is a good guy and (I believe) the first CD on Roatan. He also teaches technical diving thru an affiliated business. PJ and Gay that run CTD are great people also. IMO it's more about the people than the location. They do a lot of DM training there and are reviewed favorably so must be doing something right.

You could get a nice place to stay for $1K/month - there's one called Sunset Villas, they're 2BR gated condos with a pool. Roatan Life Vacation Rentals and Property Management Services, Roatan, Honduras

Food is cheap, you wouldn't need (or want) a car and flights are in the $7-800 range from the U.S. Good gear will set you back another $2K or less. If you want Mares gear, there's a factory store there. Other stuff you may want to bring with you. Dollars are acceptable but you'll want to convert to lempira for local purchases. There's several large markets elsewhere on the island and a couple of smaller ones in the West End. Also some decent restaurants, a Thai place, an Argentinean Grille (steaks) and Ooloonthoo is supposed to be the best Indian food in the region. Plus all the nightlife is in the West End. Half Moon Bay is a decent beach, 2 miles over in West Bay the beaches are supposed to be some of the best in the Caribbean.

Should something unfortunate happen there's a chamber at Anthony's Key five minutes away. I've been an observer there once - they know what they're doing. Roatan is relatively safe, a lot of ex-pats live there but mainland Honduras is a different story. Fortunately you don't need to go to/thru there for any reason.

If there's a downside, it's bugs and humidity. Most residences have some sort of security also - although I felt perfectly safe, even walking unlit streets at night.

It's also easy to access Utila from there via ferry ($100 r/t) if you wanted to do some of your training over at UDC. If you're planning on this spring, snorkeling with the Whalesharks is an amazing experience, an optimal time might be in April.

It's also fairly easy to get to Belize via the bus. Most "local" flights between them oddly go through Houston. I think you can get to Cozumel fairly easily also.

 

[tphelps]

Checkout Utila Dive Center...Utila Dive Centre|PADI Career Development Center|PADI Scuba Diving|Utila Bay Islands Honduras|Caribbean and Central America

While I did only my DM there I really enjoyed it. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...ew-utila-dive-centers-divemaster-program.html There were other divers that were doing more comprehesive training (OW - Instructor). I enjoyed spreading my training around to different locations and instructors, but each person has their own preferences. But Utila Dive Center has been my favorite so far...

You might consider only going to the DM level and take a bunch of specialty courses, side-mount, UW photography & videography, tech, nitrox, etc. Then do the IDC with who you might want to work with. I have seen were a lot of training centers like to train their own instructors.

Good luck,

~Oldbear~

I spent 3 months at the Utila Dive Center. I came as a Rescue Diver, left as a Master Scuba Diver Trainer. I did Tec 50, rebreather and sidemount. All my courses cost me $7k plus living and travel (about $10k total). I got about 25 certifications through them. My advice though, do the ones you love and use your budget to buy some nice gear that will keep you motivated to keep on diving. For me, rebreather is by far my favorite. Maybe do your DM (or IDC) and a couple specialties and if you like CCR, you can use the rest to buy your own unit! Thats my advice though. I have NOTHING bad to say about UDC. Those guys are like a family to me. They are phenomenal instructors. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me.

 

[Nemo__]

BTW, one of my students who did something similar to what you want, but started out as an Open Water diver, was a policeman retired on disability after a horrible accident in the line of duty. I think his disability payments, which continue throughout his working life, made this a viable option because when added to the earnings of a dive professional, there was plenty of money for him to live comfortably. Those who are cautioning you to use the funds to train for a career with a better earnings potential are pointing out an important consideration.

Firstly thanks for all the helpful replies.

I'm temporarily on something similar from the Army. It took so long to get released I'm mostly better already. I did years of physio while still serving as a medic. I transferred my pension time to the civvie hospital I work at and after my 15 months rehab only have 10 years left to a pension at 55. I was thinking of something to do after I retire.

The terms are a bit weird, making zero to hero the only option. I get only one course and it needs to look like it leads to work. So an "instructor" title was my first choice. Skills that make for employment in diving like guide/videographer sound like more fun. I also have a daughter so leaving for an entire year might be a bit rough on her. I can update the skills properly once I'm on my pension. Asia was my first choice. It's so awesome that this may actually be possible.