Diving in Utila? Help!

Hey!

Ever since falling in love with diving in Fiji I have hoped to get my Divemasters.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I have chosen to do it in Utila, but not sure which 'school', there seem to be so many! I am in need of some major help here deciding where to do it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I am looking for ones with accommodation (nothing fancy), and the ability to stay on if needed. Also one with a good social scene (diving and accommodation) would suit as I am a 22 year old female who likes to a have a good time... if you know what I mean! [/FONT]

Would anyone be able to recommend some places? I'm itching to go!
Also, is there a particular time that is best to visit?


Thanks!

Check into Alton's, and Underwater Vision. I did my DM at Alton's and they offered free fun dives for life. Now the original owners have taken over and I'm not sure if they still offer them.

Underwater Vision is a very cool place to do your DM but I don't think they offer free dives for life. I think you would enjoy UWV the most because it is a large place that always has a big mix of people from all over the world, has a ton of events going on all the time, and is run by one of the nicest, most honest people on Utila, Tammy Cooper. This is also where my 20 yr old daughter did all her fun diving after I certified her.

If you were to consider coming to Roatan, you could do you DM with Reef Gliders and could get reliable free fun dives for life. My girl did her DM at Reef Gliders over 4 years ago and is still diving for free with them.

At $30 per dive and being able to do 2 dives a day every day you're here, and you come back regularly, the savings add up pretty fast. I estimate my girl has saved over $3000 in the first year she dove for free since she's done over 100 dives there.

You'll hear some people here that don't trust the dive ops to honor their promise of free fun dives for life and they have a point. There are a lot of dishonest people here and you should be careful when making your choices.

The way I look at it is from a financial standpoint. Even if they eventually stopped honoring their word, how many dives would you need to make it worth your while to go with a particular dive shop? Like I said, at an average of $30 per dive, if you came every year for 2 weeks and dove for free for the next 3 years before they stopped giving you free fun dives, you would have about 20 dives per trip for about 60 fun dives at $30 each for a total of $1800 in free dives.

Even at half that rate you still cover at least most of your DM cost in free dives. It seems like it would be worth it to me to try it.

I'll plug UDC on Utila. I did my DM there and loved it. Great staff, great atmosphere, excellent training. You get a period of free accommodations at the Mango Inn (I forget how long - I upgraded to private room which was discounted). You dive for free during your DMT and if you stay on afterward you are not paid but continue to dive for free as long as you are helping with the boat operation (hauling tanks, reef lists, cleaning up, etc) - which I view as well worth it.

Everyone is different, but UDC was great for me. I think many of the dive shops on Utila will give you a good education/experience. Feel free to PM if you want to know more.

i agree, u.d.c. runs a quality training program.

Second vote for Alton's. Exactly the scene and lodging as you specified, and my training was serious and fun at the same time.
I'm jealous!