Divemaster Course in Playas Del Coco

[tjerome]

Hi there!

I have recently completed my PADI Rescue Diver course and am very keen to complete my Divemaster Internship in June when I finally graduate. I have looked up many places and I have found that the Divemaster course in Playas del Coco in Costa Rica rather inexpensive. At first I thought it may be that the prices are generally cheaper due to low costs etc but I found that that was not the case - Basic Open Water courses costs about $400USD which is on par with the cost of many other locations, however, the Divemaster Internship costs only $450USD (excuding PADI materials). This is almost half the price of the other places I have researched on.

I am curious to know if anybody has completed their Divemaster course in that area and shed some light on this curious pricing strategy.

Cheers!

 

[gcarter]

Not at all sure that is out of whack based on what I see posted by a local LDS PADI Divemaster certification course | Sharky's Scuba @499.

 

[jonnierowe]

Not sure about Rich Coasts pricing, but I can attest to another costa rican dive shop that does it in the same area Playa Ocotal, 4 miles away..
I just completed my internship there. The shop is called Rocket Frog Divers. They charge $720, so definitely more expensive, but could be worth it... Was an awesome time. Staff are super laid back, and I got to dive a ton. (Usually two dives sometimes more per day). There was definitely some compressor time built in, but it wasnt all that much.
Basic day started at 7AM. Loading tanks onto the penga to take to their boat (kick a$$ 600HP engines on it), setting up everyones gear... Going back to the shop picking up customers at 8.. Taking them to the boat, doing a couple dives.. Back by 12 or so.... Unload boat, wash gear, etc. I did the course over 8 weeks.. So the amount you save if you were to pay for each dive individually is insane. Plus you get a little card at the end saying you can work at any PADI shop around the world after youre done..

PM if youve got any questions...

 

[Rich Coast Diving]

Hi there,

I don't know why Jonnie mentioned us, but we are very proud of our internships here at Rich Coast Diving. We are the only 5*CDC facility in Costa Rica and for our 4 month internship we charge $500. This includes a divemaster crewpack and 2 Free specialites. There are some extra fees for stuff that you need to purchase such as reel, compass ect (you might already have this?) You will learn all ins and outs of a dive center plus we do several wrokshops like: compressor knowledge, sales and pricing workshop, marketing and social media workshops. For more detailed info send us an email or check our blog www.richcoast.wordpress.com

 

[Summer-Salt]

You have definately many possibilities to do your course! For anything that concerns training, the Pacific Coast on the North-Western side of Costa Rica is certainly an excellent choice! Variable and sometimes unpredictable diving conditions will form your awareness for diving safety, probably the most important skill for a Dive Professional.
Besides Rocket-Frog and Rich-Coast-Diving, there are Deep-Blue Diving, Diving Safaris and us, the Summer-Salt Dive Center, who all offer Dive Master Courses all year round but with different objectives.
Prices will be pretty much the same but not always understandable at first sight since the 450$ are just the basic cost to pay the instructor who teaches you, dives, ect. You will certainly be charged for a Study Crew-Pack with manuals and slates and also for your registration and certification fees and probably for gear purchase or rental if you do not have your own! With who ever you do the course you'll probably get to about 700 to 800$.
At Summer-Salt we offer the possibility of an Internship from 1 to 3 months during your training to pay off most of the basic 450$ by helping with the daily running of the dive center which gives you a great insight of how it can be done, including training on compressor use and maintenance, gear servicing and trouble shooting, sales of gear, tours and courses as well as the marketing behind everything.
If you like to do that in a small, multicultural fun-team, we might have a position available for you in the near future!