The cost of PADI certification in your area

[murrayp4]

In Dublin, Ireland average OW is €590 ($790!) icl. equipment and materials.
Consider yourself lucky. $550 is a snip compared!

 

[shark.byte.usa]

I guess it depends on where you're located. I'm inland (Phoenix) and generally it costs around

$200-300 for the classroom and confined water, basic gear extra. some include materials, some don't.

$275-650 for the checkout dives, lowend being the local lake, high end being SoCal liveaboard or Sea of Cortez. some include rentals, some don't, some provide transpo, some don't...

IIRC I paid about $550, not including basic kit (mask, snorkel, fins, boots, gloves), $100 (Special) for the 6 week course (SSI not PADI) + materials and $450 for 2 day all-inclusive liveaboard to Catalina, transpo and rentals was included, but prices have gone up a fair bit in the last couple years.

-Garrett

 

[grandmaster1188]

Where i live it costs 300 for the course plus another 500 or so for the check out dives. However, in pensacola there is a place where it only costs 200 and that includes equipment rental and the checkout dives as well as the course. That place is called MBT, you should check it out.

Does anyone know where to buy the manual cheap? I plan on taking the course in Pensacola, which means i will be staying there for a week. I wont be able to get my book from MBT untill i get there, which means i have to read the book in only a few days. I would much rather get a copy of the book now and start reading before i travel to Pensacola.

 

[scoobadiva]

Well in Tampa, they advertised $99.00, but that doesn't include, rentals, fins, mask, snorkel, botties that you need to buy, or the the entrance to the various springs where we had our instruction. By the time it was all said and done, I spent about $400.00. But I will say, it was totally worth it.

 

[Scubakevdm]

I charge $500.00, and only teach scuba as private instruction. The cost includes rental equipment, pool time, cert card and 4 open water dives which are all ocean dives conducted from a dive charter. Students are expected to have thier own mask fins and snorkel and buy their course materials, which at a minimum include a manual and tables.

 

[Homunculus]

i got my OW through SSI for $350 everything included. i mean, mask, fins, snorkle, books, OW etc etc. however, it's discounted because LDS has a deal with MIT. the actual price is ~200 + your own mask, fins and snorkle + books + renting the equipment for OW dives. Another LDS (padi) is charging something like $450 (everything included). that would be in Cambridge, MA

 

[Reefraff2]

Seems I paid around 250 here in SC, for all inclusive books/log, rental gear and check out dives, tanks and boat fees. This didn't include mask ,snorkle, fins. Best investment I ever made.

 

[MattJ]

Cost in Austin is $215. It includes PADI manuals, a cheapo dive log book, tables, pool time, instructor time... basically everything except mask, snorkel, fins, and booties.

 

[justme_renee]

Capital Scuba in Wake Forest, NC is an SDI shop and charges $400 for the OW course. This includes: private to semi-private (usually no more than 2 in a class unless a group requests otherwise) classes, all gear needed, all air tanks, all entrance fees to the quarry for the checkout dives, the course material, and pool time. Usually 3 pool sessions but will throw in extra pool time if student wishes. The instructor spends a lot of extra time at no additional cost if the student isn't picking up some of the skills as easily as some others might.

He's also a PADI instructor but not sure what the charge is for that, think it's about $50 more than the SDI course with exactly the same materials and provisions.

Another shop locally charges $250 but that doesn't include the cost of gear rental, the books, the checkout dives.

 

[pupdiver]

In the L.A. area it can be challenging to compare because different shops include different things. Generally, it is about $250-$300 for the course. That normally includes the classroom, book, pool sessions, and beach dives. A boat trip is about $100 more (most shops here will do the OW dives as one day beach diving plus one day boat diving at Catalina Island). Most shops include rental gear. You have to buy basic gear (mask, snorkel, fins, boots, gloves).

That is for a group class (8-12 students). Private is probably double that.