Certification 'Vacation" in April

[gryffin]

My husband and I would like to take an OW certification class in April. Our regular schedules are busy and make it difficult to commit to a class near home (since the nearest is a couple of hours away). Instead, we would like to take a few days off from work to immerse ourselves in learning to dive.

Does anyone have an good suggestions for a place to do this on the East Coast?

Thanks!

 

[drrich2]

The Florida Keys, such as Key Largo, tend to feature warm water (at least much of the year; I'm not sure what it runs in April), good viz. (water clarity for distance vision) & relatively shallow diving on beautiful reefs, often with lots of fish. For a beginner, looking at the east coast, seems like a fine choice.

Richard.

 

[TMHeimer]

East Coast?--be more specific I would guess...

 

[RJP]

East Coast?--be more specific I would guess...

Given that the OP mentioned April as the target date, I think we can safely assume they don't mean ME, RI, MA, CT, NJ, DE, MD, VA, NC, SC, or even GA or North Florida.



I'd recommend Caribbean vs even Key Largo. The potential to get blown out for one or more days in the Keys in April is unacceptably high as far as I'm concerned. Would really suck to "take a few days off work" to travel somewhere and end up not finishing the course due to weather. Even if you didn't get blown out, water temps will be in the mid 70's... not exactly warm. (Wookie or someone may chime in with

OP - you mention several hours for nearest local training. Does that include someplace where you could do academic and pool work and then travel for your checkout dives? If so, not an issue but I would recommend doing "elearning" which allows you to do all the book work before traveling.

OP: Where are you located? With that info we can probably recommend specific trainng options based on flight routing, etc.

 

[drrich2]

If you go Caribbean, there's a good chance you'll need a passport. But the U.S. Virgin Islands, such as St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico may not need one; they're U.S. holdings and I'm not up on the latest about that. I did my last 2 checkout dives with Admiralty Dive Center in St. Thomas years ago, dove with them another day on a cruise stop, and they're reputable.

Richard.

 

[Aquavelvet]

You will need a passport to enter their U.S. from any of the Caribbean destinations.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[The Chairman]

I echo Key Largo... but then I teach there! I offer a four day course through Dive With Elena, Private Scuba Instruction, Dive Guide & Adventure PlanningDive With Elena | Reefs to Dive For!. Weather can be a factor, but three of those four days are pretty safe and we have contingencies for the last day if the weather really refuses to cooperate. This is predicated on you and your buddy doing your online portion before you get here as well as a bit of online reading. It's fun, you'll get trim and neutral as well as the other skills.

 

[Scubagolf]

The OP is in New Hampshire, I believe, from prior posts. I concur with RJP. If there is any dive instructor availability nearby, do the e-learning and the confined water (swimming pool) portion locally and go to somewhere in the Caribbean for a few days on a referral for the open water dives. This is the same advice I give to friends in Northern California--do the open water dives in Hawaii instead of 50° water in Monterey. 😊

 

[RJP]

If you go Caribbean, there's a good chance you'll need a passport. But the U.S. Virgin Islands, such as St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico may not need one; they're U.S. holdings and I'm not up on the latest about that. I did my last 2 checkout dives with Admiralty Dive Center in St. Thomas years ago, dove with them another day on a cruise stop, and they're reputable.

Richard.

No passport needed for PR or USVI, Needed elsewhere in Caribbean.

 

[The Chairman]

A couple of things... Florida is also in the Caribbean. If we're blown out, likely many of the islands are also blown out.

Also, be sure the pool instructor is compatible with the check out instructor. I've yet to get a check out student that didn't need major pool time just to get trim and neutral. I'm to the point where I won't be accepting referrals, except from instructors I know and trust.