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tothemoon

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Hi everyone. I have wanted to learn to scuba dive for many years and have decided to take the plunge and book a diving holiday for next year. I have found a company called Scuba Travel. Have any of you got any experience of this company or any advise you could share with me please?


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Never heard of them or maybe I have - it's such a generic name who knows. There are a fair number of travel agents that specialize in dive travel, and many dive shops do some of this as well.

Personally, I rarely use travel agents - when I do, it's because they can get me some discount I can't get on my own, or the logistics are easier for them in certain cases. For something like your garden variety dive trip from the US to the Caribbean, it's often simpler to do it yourself. If I do use an agent, I still do all my own research and tell them exactly what I want. For various reasons I would never rely on one to pick places or dive ops, you really can't just put it all in their hands and trust they will suggest the best ideas for you.

Where are you, and do you have any idea where you are thinking of going? When? What kind of budget? If you give some more idea of what you're looking for people on this board will probably have suggestions of good places to go.

There's much to be said for doing the academics and pool work at home, then doing your open water checkout dives at your destination. It's called a open water referral and is quite common. This will give you more time to do more diving on your trip, which is the way you really solidify what you learned in class and get better at it.

Are you doing this by yourself? If so (or even if not) you might want to look around for a local dive shop that plans group trips and go on something like that. Usually it would be no problem to arrange checkout dives on a trip like that, whether with the dive op where you're going, or with an instructor who might be accompanying the group.
 
Thanks Damselfish. I am in the U.K. and will be going on my own. I am on a tight budget and was looking at going to Egypt for a couple of weeks. I would like to do the open water and advanced open water. I have seen that I can do my theory and pool dives here before going so I can get more done while there so this is something I would be interested in doing. And if possible would like to do extra courses while there such as the photography. I will look into other options but any information or ideas from you guys would be great xx


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This question comes up fairly often, about whether to get certified at home or abroad. It's controversial. If you can go through a class at home, you have the advantage that you will not have to use valuable time from your holiday in instructional diving. In addition, you will have the skill set and the local knowledge to do some home diving between trips, which is the way you get good, and stay good at this sport. On the other hand, some people simply cannot cope with cold or murky water, and basically have to do their cert elsewhere.

I know of some excellent resources in the UK for diver training. PM me if you would like some names.
 
That would be great TSandM. I have messages you x


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Scubatravel have been around for a while but I'd recommend that you also look at EmperorDivers.com and see if they can do you a deal.

Emperor Divers are a very good company with whom I have dived twice.

One thing I would suggest is that you put off an underwater photography course until you have done a few dives and got used to diving a bit. A well taught course is one thing but you do have to allow time for the things you learn to sink in a bit :)
Trying to take pictures while you are still new to the basic skills could end up being frustrating for yourself and whoever you are diving with.
 
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i've heard of scuba travel and i believe they have a very good reputation. personally i have used blue o two when venturing to the red sea. my only suggestion is (and this is what i did) do your open water in the uk as there are many dive clubs probably about two within an hour of you. (this is the uk we're talking about and so everything is about an hour away) then i actually put off the red sea for a bit. this was simply because around europe in my opinion it is the best. this may sound odd, but i didn't want to go to the best place first and then always be disappointed with other european diving. around europe i have dived in malta and lanzarote and a great company in lanzarote is safari diving, i did my advanced open water with them and it was very good. as you are starting out i wouldn't worry too much about buying your own gear until you've tried different brands and styles etc etc. also don't be afraid to buy things used on ebay as things such as regulators generally just need to be serviced and will be fine and save you a huge amount of money which you can put towards a holiday. if you are set on the red sea, go south to marsa alam and again i haven't used them myself but emperor divers (diving?) are supposed to be very good and regal diving are doing an offer at the moment that if a second person books in then they get the course half price. i also second the idea of holding off doing photography as buoyancy and air consumption will be the main things you're thinking about when you first start diving and then trying to take a photo whilst you're ether sinking or flying up to the surface isn't the best thing.
 
Hi everyone. I have wanted to learn to scuba dive for many years and have decided to take the plunge and book a diving holiday for next year. I have found a company called Scuba Travel. Have any of you got any experience of this company or any advise you could share with me please?


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Hiya,

There are many options available for you, depending on budget/time/desire.
Were I in a position to be starting again from scratch I'd be hunting out a GUE Recreational 1 class. If you might be interested in that, then do get in touch with me.

Thanks
John
 
Hi john. I have messages you. Thanks for the offer. Can you explain the difference between Padi open water and GUE recreational 1class please? Any info is welcome. Message details if you don't mind. That would be great x


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Hi john. I have messages you. Thanks for the offer. Can you explain the difference between Padi open water and GUE recreational 1class please? Any info is welcome. Message details if you don't mind. That would be great x


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GUE courses tend to be more expensive than PADI courses, but you are getting more for your money. My local shop charges £400 for OW, £525 to do it in a drysuit (which if you want to dive all year long in the UK is a must). £720 if you do those two plus advanced open water. Tack on another £109 for nitrox. I don't know the exact price for GUE Rec 1 as each individual instructor sets their own costs, but I don't think it's too much more than OW+drysuit. In addition, you can do it in a drysuit and you get a nitrox cert as well, plus it's a 21m depth limit as opposed to 18m.
GUE is a small agency. There are only 5 or 6 instructors in the UK (including John Kendall who posted above), but they are all excellent instructors (and all very chill). And there is a good-sized GUE contingent in the UK. With PADI, it's a crapshoot as to quality. I know some very good PADI instructors, but I have seen some absolutely shocking ones that I wouldn't dive with in a local muddy puddle, never mind trust to teach someone to dive properly.
I'm hoping this isn't coming off as an agency bash. With GUE, you will get excellent instruction, but it a very specific style of diving. With PADI, you will need to search for an excellent instructor, but they are out there.
 
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