Best place to get certified in the Austin area?

[Sonic04GT]

I have a friend that wants to get Open Water certified that lives in the Austin, TX area. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Edit:
Found this...
http://diveworldaustin.com/owschedules.htm

Anybody gone through them? $150 is incredibly cheap for PADI OW.

 

[ianr33]

Anybody gone through them? $150 is incredibly cheap for PADI OW.

Guess you get what you pay for.If you are lucky

Is dive training really something to go cheap on?

 

[carrielsal]

I would vote for Tom's Scuba and Swim.

Carrie

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

i'm not prejudiced or anything - but Tom's website is Tom's Dive & Swim - Central Texas Source for Scuba Vacations, Gear and Lessons

there've been threads in the past you can probably find in the SB archives about who likes which shops and why. you know - getting aow certified is the _cheap_ part. they should find a shop whose staff they want to continue to work with. what part of austin is your friend in?

 

[Guba]

I can recommend Mack's Oak Hills Scuba. I steered my own niece to them and even accompanied her on her checkout dives at Travis. They did a great job and my niece--and I--are happy with the results.

 

[carrielsal]

i'm not prejudiced or anything - but Tom's website is Tom's Dive & Swim - Central Texas Source for Scuba Vacations, Gear and Lessons

there've been threads in the past you can probably find in the SB archives about who likes which shops and why. you know - getting aow certified is the _cheap_ part. they should find a shop whose staff they want to continue to work with. what part of austin is your friend in?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/texas-swamp-divers/31381-favorite-dive-shops-austin-texas.html

 

[redacted]

I have a friend that wants to get Open Water certified that lives in the Austin, TX area. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Edit:
Found this...
Dive World - Austin's Premier Dive Shop

Anybody gone through them? $150 is incredibly cheap for PADI OW.

If you believe you already have or can learn on your own the knowledge and skills covered in OW training, that is a great price to get your C-card. My experience with Dive World was in the service area and I found that to be between unsatisfactory and dangerous. Maybe their training is better but I choose to avoid their shop.

 

[BlazerDiver]

I've switched from PADI to ANDI.

ANDI is particularly good for Open Water certification. ANDI promotes self-reliance above buddy-dependence. They are the only agency that includes training with a true pony bottle (not a spare-air), even in their OW course.

Think about it... You run out of air at depth. Your buddy is too far away to get to and is not paying attention to you. Even if he's right there next to you, he's got to be low on air if you're out. You grab his secondary and are now both breathing (heavily) off of one low tank. I do not like this scenario. Of course if he's not right next to you, this scenario gets worse!

Better... You run out of air at depth. You switch to your pony. Now, you find your buddy, get his attention and call the dive. Much better.

Of course after the out-of-air problem, you pay more attention to your gauges!

Thom Dutton at Deep Blue Scuba is Austin's only ANDI training facility. And Thom is a good, knowledgeable, patient instructor.
Deep Blue Scuba
His shop is on 183 near Oak Knoll

my 2 cents worth...

 

[Guba]

Better... You run out of air at depth. You switch to your pony.

Better still...You watch your gauges (and monitor your buddy's), turn the dive according to your pre-determined dive plan, and make a completely slow and safe ascent.

I'm not being sarcastic, believe me...however, I do feel strongly that safe divers are taught to be more reliant upon good skills and sound protocols than on any piece of equipment.

That's why I applaud the OP for "doing his research" and trying to find the best training available. Hope the search goes well. There are many good instructors and shops out there, as witnessed by the number of positive responses listed here.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

Oak Hill Scuba Welcome to Oak Hill SCUBA Mack is a super nice guy and runs a great shop...he is also on this board.....Logistics may be an issue for your friend...living in Austin you tend to not want to drive south if you live North or visa versa....