Divemasters Costa Rica?

[duppy_conquerer]

Hello,

Looking or somewhere around central america to train as a Padi DM, IDC and maybe a couple Speciality courses in the summer (mid june to mid september). just wondering if anyone might be able to recommend a good dive centre in costa rica? Thinking Playas Del Coco?

I've seen elsewhere (bay islands) centres that do packages where you pretty much pay for work experience after completing the courses, which would be pretty awesome. I don't really know whether unpaid instructor work experience really exists..

Hoping to do the training in the space of about two months, so If anyone thinks doing all this in that space of time is a really bad idea then I would welcome their advice

Would be very grateful for opinions!

Thanks!

 

[USdiver1]

Not wanting to dis CR per se, but, as far as diving is concerned, the Bay Islands off Honduras are much nicer than the Playa del Coco region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Better visibility, far better corals, better variety of sea life (except for morays), warmer water, calmer seas, the list goes on. If it were my $$, I'd rather invest it in a DM course on Utila or Roatan.

Don't expect to get a paying position (unless you are talking a discounted DM or IDC class for helping out) unless you have valid work
authorization from Honduras or Costa Rica.

Remember you are there to learn and advance through DM and IDC, and as you didn't mention your current level of certification or experience, I don't know if two months are enough time to complete both courses of study. IMHO DM and IDC are a lot of work, so you should already be at rescue diver level with a substantial amount of logged dives (100+) before beginning.

 

[duppy_conquerer]

I am already a rescue diver, but have only 52 logged dives. Looking get a good bit of uk diving in before I go though so hoping to be around the 100 mark by the summer though.

Don't expect to get a paying position (unless you are talking a discounted DM or IDC class for helping out) unless you have valid work authorization from Honduras or Costa Rica.

Not expecting a paid position - I'm referring to the course packages they do in other places (like Utila Dive Centre) where they will train you up from IDC to MSDT - so during the time you are effectively paying for the privilege of certifying 25 divers in various courses.

I chose Costa Rica because of the bull sharks (June is supposed to be a good time of year to see them) and other big critters. I was actually looking into Bay Islands aswell, so I could potentially do my DM in CR then head off to Bay Islands for further training (Afraid my heart is still set on spending atleast some of my time in CR).

I Could just spread out the training over the three months and skip the 'fun' diving bit.

 

[fisheater]

Check out Rocket Frog Divers at Ocotal (just south of Playa de Coco). I was impressed by their operation (as well as all the bull sharks!) when I was there last July. Their intern/DMC at the time was quite happy with his training and work and the diving.

 

[USdiver1]

On average, there are larger fish along the Pacific coast than the Caribbean, although Tiger and Whale sharks are not uncommon in the Bay Islands. That said, Bull sharks are relatively common around islas murcielagos and occasionally come down to the islas huevos in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. You will probably see some plus find lots of schooling jacks, wahoo, and maybe a broom-tail grouper in CR. There are morays galore and the rare sea snake too. Either Honduras or CR are viable sites, I would probably train in Honduras and then go to CR for a week's diving afterwards. If you go this route, you may also want to check out Isla Coiba along Panama's Pacific coast.

I now see what you mean about "paying for the privilege" of certifying a number of divers in order to get a MSDT quicker, but whether it be DM, AI or OWSI, you should be focused on getting your skill levels up to ensure smooth instruction techniques as well as concentrate on gaining as much experience with different environments and variables of the human kind as possible. Good Luck in the coming months.

 

[scoobydrew]

oceans unlimited in quepos is a good one, its where i started my professional training 5 years ago and am still out working as a dive instructor now.

A lady there called Georgia does the IDC stuff, shoot her a mail for details

 

[duppy_conquerer]

Check out Rocket Frog Divers at Ocotal (just south of Playa de Coco). I was impressed by their operation (as well as all the bull sharks!) when I was there last July. Their intern/DMC at the time was quite happy with his training and work and the diving.

Yeah Contacted them about it they sound pretty good, pretty sure I gonna book with them - Diving around there seems like a pretty different experience to the places I've been before (no gleaming coral reefs etc)

So As it stands, thinking spend the 6 weeks interning as a DM, then do IDC and maybe a couple specialty courses before heading up through Nicaragua to Honduras. BTW anyone ever dived the lakes in nicaragua? Would be nice to see some cichlids

---------- Post added November 12th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ----------

On another note, anyone know if there's an IAHD centre somewhere around Costa Rica?

 

[USdiver1]

BTW anyone ever dived the lakes in nicaragua? Would be nice to see some cichlids.

Forget the big lakes Nicaragua and Managua they are home to freshwater bull sharks and have poor viz. If you are looking for Cichlids this may be the place:

Dive Nicaragua

 

[duppy_conquerer]

Cool, thanks for the link. Yeah I don't fancy swimming with bulls in bad vis. Didn't realise they could get into lake nicaragua but that explains why there don't seem to be any dive centres around there!

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

If you are looking for the Adaptive teaching programs as well as the Divemaster and IDC in Costa Rica, we run DDI(disabled diver international) instructor courses as well. PLenty of stuff to keep you busy and have fun with. I completed my original training in the Bay islands and then moved to Costa Rica 8 years ago after getting a bit bored with the caribbean. I guess I was spoilt! I have no plans to move yet. If the viz gets bad, you come out as a fantastic navigator after your training!!