Diving for beginners in Philippines?

[a591]

I'm currently in the Philippines and want to try out diving in Palawan. I've already gone snorkeling before, but I want to try out diving.

I'm thinking about taking a beginner course in El Nido or Coron


I'm not muscular and am a little out-of-shape these days. I read somewhere that beginners have to pass a test to swim 200 meters without resting, and I'm not sure I can pass that. But if I could pass, I would be really excited to see the Japanese wrecks and better marine life in Coron than in El Nido.


However, it's not convenient to go from El Nido to Coron and vice-versa, so I would rather just see one of the two places. Since I'm not so confident I can be certified, would it be better to visit El Nido before Coron, considering that I heard that it has better islands and natural scenery? Or are there sites in Coron that I could dive in without needing diving certification?

 

[Tortuga68]

You could do a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) course to start, which doesn't require a swim test (max depth 12m)

However the (PADI) 200m swim test can be done with mask, fins and snorkel and has no time limit, so I expect you could manage it

I wouldn't recommend scuba diving with any operator who says you don't need either DSD or OW (18m max) to dive

There are a couple of wrecks in Coron within DSD/OW depths, the rest are deeper and require AOW

 

[Ben_ca]

Go get your cert first. Don't waste our vacation being limited on depth or experience. The wrecks of Coron are no place to be doing your first dives where you'll burn thru your gas fast and be barely in control of your buoyancy. Do not take the training lightly as there are people who do out to dive and do not make it back.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Yep, agreed. Get your cert first then start thinking about specific sites once you've found your ability and comfort level.

Swim aptitude test is indeed a 200m swim - or 300m if you choose to use mask, snorkel & fins. You must also be able to float/tread water for 10 minutes.

 

[String]

Coron is quite advanced, forget that for a first starter.
Also what time of year? It's monsoon now so pretty much no diving until October.

Before rushing into diving i'd consider the swimming more. 200m really isn't that far, there's no time limit and you can use any stroke. Diving is all about being comfortable and confident in the water. If someone isn't that confident wearing swim shorts they're likely to be even less comfortably wearing 30kg of equipment in deep water. You might want to spend some time just getting comfortable swimming and then move onto a little bit of snorkelling to get the confidence up. Although in theory you can do a 300m snorkel instead of a swim a lot of instructors, myself included won't accept a student onto a course if they tell me they cant swim or are unsure of their 200m ability.

In addition to the swim you have to float or tread water for 10 mins with no aids so take that into consideration too.

Once you're comfortable maintaining yourself in the water and swimming a few hundred metres then you're ready for OW. You'll enjoy it a hell of a lot more.

El Nido is tame and good for training, Coron is not.

However the (PADI) 200m swim test can be done with mask, fins and snorkel and has no time limit, so I expect you could manage it

The swim test is a swim with no fins, snorkel or flotation aids. Swimming goggles will be allowed if needed.

 

[Centrals]

As suggested by others, Coron is a wrong place to learn how to scuba. El Nido is more suitable but getting there is not that straight.

 

[PhatD1ver]

El Nido is a great place to get started, most of the diving is within OW standards, and if you can breath and know how to swim, doing the swim test is a hoot. For my OW, I had everything else completed, and the instructor had be summarily tossed off the back of our dive boat soon as I doffed my gear... then he told me people were waiting, so if I could just swim two laps around the boat, we could all go home...

OW is fun, that's what it's about, just listen and learn, because you don't know when your first out of air experience is going to happen. Hopefully NEVER.

 

[String]

For my OW, I had everything else completed, and the instructor had be summarily tossed off the back of our dive boat soon as I doffed my gear... then he told me people were waiting, so if I could just swim two laps around the boat, we could all go home...

Must have been a really big boat to get 200m on 2 laps...... Doesn't sound that accurate or measured as per standards.

I tend to do the swim test, float and skin diver crap at the same time at the beginning of the class. They have to do the float before OW2 anyway so may as well do that, the swim and snorkel flexible crap done at the same time so you're not wasting time getting in/out of dive gear on the rest of the course. Usually the float, sim and duck dive rubbish is over in 25 mins and you can then forget about it for the rest of the course. It also helps filter out those who can't swim or who lie about it without wasting 2-3 days of your time first.

 

[PhatD1ver]

Must have been a really big boat to get 200m on 2 laps...... Doesn't sound that accurate or measured as per standards.

I tend to do the swim test, float and skin diver crap at the same time at the beginning of the class. They have to do the float before OW2 anyway so may as well do that, the swim and snorkel flexible crap done at the same time so you're not wasting time getting in/out of dive gear on the rest of the course. Usually the float, sim and duck dive rubbish is over in 25 mins and you can then forget about it for the rest of the course. It also helps filter out those who can't swim or who lie about it without wasting 2-3 days of your time first.

I swim 1200-1500m three to four times a week, I'm absolutely sure I managed to do 200m, especially since the boat was free floating and not moored, so you had to swim wide enough of it to avoid getting bumped and then when I got back to the stern, for some reason that boat got farther away as I headed back around to the bow... while some would argue, I'm pretty sure the standard is to test general fitness and comfort in the water. I shudder to think that I may have 'gotten over' on such a critical test.

 

[String]

I've seen the "round the boat" thing a lot, especially there where students end up doing about 100m at absolute most when you work it out. It's a clear violation of training standards by the instructor. The whole point is they've got a standard metric to work off without guessing - a set distance. This covers them legally amongst other things.

have students complete a 200 metre/yard continuous surface swim

It's bad planning completely to throw a student in for a swim that must be a specific distance without having any idea at all what distance they'll do.