Though you might since I'm a bit out of the loop since I moved to Florida in Sept., I would definitely recommend either Tom's Scuba or Oak Hill. I have worked with both in the past and have nothing but good things to say about them.
Best place to get certified in the Austin area?
- Thread starter Sonic04GT
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driftwood
Contributor
One thing that I would add. Make sure that your instructor is certified to dive in Spring Lake, San Marcos. Great place to do your first day of open water dives. For the second day, I would head to another lake so that the student gets deeper than Spring Lake can provide.
As you've seen, there are several good shops in Austin to get vertified.
Granted, as the owner, I am partial to Oak Hill Scuba. We offer certification under NAUI or PADI. However, as you will hear many people say, it is the instructor, not the agency that makes for the best training. We have probably the most experienced staff of instructors in the area, averaging 8 years experience as an instructor.
Location might be one of your concerns, depending on where you live. Austin is only about 15 miles north to south. In a large city, people think nothing of driving 20 - 30 minutes to get where they want to go. In Austin, I know several people that avoid driving across town at all costs.
Oak Hill Scuba is located in South Austin, about 6 miles from the capital. Tom's is located slightly north of downtown at Burnet & Koenig. Royal Scuba is located on Guadalupe near 45th. Dive World is far northwest, at 183 & 620.
Schedules can be another thing to consider. Oak Hill offers predominately weekend training. Tom's has a mix of weekend and evening training. I'm not sure what schedules the other shops offer. Oak Hill also offers options for folks with complicated free time schedules.
I think all the instructors at Oak HIll, Tom's and Royal are allowed to train at Spring Lake, so that should not be an issue.
I strongly recommend that your friend get his/her own mask, snorkel, fins & booties. It is important that these items fit well, so that you are more comfortable in the water. Most all shops offer a student discount on gear purchases. Tom's and Oak Hill offer to rent gear for the class.
Feel free to call or stop by Oak Hill Scuba if you have any more questions. Or, you can email me: mack@oakhillscuba.com
Granted, as the owner, I am partial to Oak Hill Scuba. We offer certification under NAUI or PADI. However, as you will hear many people say, it is the instructor, not the agency that makes for the best training. We have probably the most experienced staff of instructors in the area, averaging 8 years experience as an instructor.
Location might be one of your concerns, depending on where you live. Austin is only about 15 miles north to south. In a large city, people think nothing of driving 20 - 30 minutes to get where they want to go. In Austin, I know several people that avoid driving across town at all costs.
Oak Hill Scuba is located in South Austin, about 6 miles from the capital. Tom's is located slightly north of downtown at Burnet & Koenig. Royal Scuba is located on Guadalupe near 45th. Dive World is far northwest, at 183 & 620.
Schedules can be another thing to consider. Oak Hill offers predominately weekend training. Tom's has a mix of weekend and evening training. I'm not sure what schedules the other shops offer. Oak Hill also offers options for folks with complicated free time schedules.
I think all the instructors at Oak HIll, Tom's and Royal are allowed to train at Spring Lake, so that should not be an issue.
I strongly recommend that your friend get his/her own mask, snorkel, fins & booties. It is important that these items fit well, so that you are more comfortable in the water. Most all shops offer a student discount on gear purchases. Tom's and Oak Hill offer to rent gear for the class.
Feel free to call or stop by Oak Hill Scuba if you have any more questions. Or, you can email me: mack@oakhillscuba.com
blomdiver
Registered
I will chime in and add that I've done a number of classes with Scubaland and been pleased with the instruction and their willingness to order gear I find online (e.g. dive rite) and match those prices (I think probably all shops will do this). They have 3 locations -- south austin, somewhat central, and lake. They have a ton of instructors and offer various classes all the time. I don't really have a strong preference in dive shops; my wife got me classes there as a present and it went well; as with anything depends on the specific individuals you meet. I have also heard good things about Booth Divers, and while I have no personal experience with them, the comments and vibe of their website cause me to want to check them out in the future.
Diver Kat
Contributor
We've also used Scubaland for some of our classes. They now have 3 locations in Austin - north on 620 near the lake, central on Anderson Lane and south - down on William Cannon. Like Blomdiver said, they pretty good about trying to match prices on gear. And they're a friendly bunch. We've also done business with Tom's and Dive World, but no classes. Oak Hill Scuba has a great reputation, but they're too far away from where I live, so we've never checked them out.
What you might suggest to your friend is get together a list of the shops and visit a few, maybe check out some of the instructors. For me, when I took OW, it was all about finding an instructor I was comfortable with - price & location were secondary.
What you might suggest to your friend is get together a list of the shops and visit a few, maybe check out some of the instructors. For me, when I took OW, it was all about finding an instructor I was comfortable with - price & location were secondary.
BlazerDiver
Guest
Thanks, Guba...
I knew someone would chime in with "just keep track of your gauges"!
That's why I added; "Of course after the out-of-air problem, you pay more attention to your gauges!"
My point was not "replace diligence with gear!" My point was in becoming self-reliant, rather than buddy-dependent!!
The out-of-air scenario is a very real one! This actually happens! I think it best to be prepared for this, and other, problems that arise!! Through training and the use of proper gear!
I have helped out twice for those who run out of air at depth! Once was with someone who knew better, the other was a newbie. But, that's not the only problem I've seen u/w. This all points to proper training! Training that teaches self-reliance has to be better than depending on another newbie at depth!
Besides, aren't you relying on "any piece of equipment" whenever you jump into the water? Of course you are! Proper training will tell you to have the "proper equipment", keep it in good working order, know your limits, only dive if you feel safe, beware of rip-tides, keep track of your air supply, be properly weighted, watch your depth, etc, etc, etc!
ALL the agencies teach these things! My point was that ANDI teaches self-reliance; and used an out-of-air scenario to make my point.
I knew someone would chime in with "just keep track of your gauges"!
That's why I added; "Of course after the out-of-air problem, you pay more attention to your gauges!"
My point was not "replace diligence with gear!" My point was in becoming self-reliant, rather than buddy-dependent!!
The out-of-air scenario is a very real one! This actually happens! I think it best to be prepared for this, and other, problems that arise!! Through training and the use of proper gear!
I have helped out twice for those who run out of air at depth! Once was with someone who knew better, the other was a newbie. But, that's not the only problem I've seen u/w. This all points to proper training! Training that teaches self-reliance has to be better than depending on another newbie at depth!
Besides, aren't you relying on "any piece of equipment" whenever you jump into the water? Of course you are! Proper training will tell you to have the "proper equipment", keep it in good working order, know your limits, only dive if you feel safe, beware of rip-tides, keep track of your air supply, be properly weighted, watch your depth, etc, etc, etc!
ALL the agencies teach these things! My point was that ANDI teaches self-reliance; and used an out-of-air scenario to make my point.
My personal opinion is to stay away from the cheap-o's, just as others here have said, and it is all about the instructor. They come in a wide variety of flavors, for sure..
Additionally, I've been a party to a bad experience with Dive World Austin.
I had a friend in from out of state (Florida Keys, Sadly) who needed rental gear. We stopped in at Dive World on the way to Windy Point (private) and an evening dive on The Giant Stride (for the first time). The rental gear they gave him was absolute crap.. He had minor problems during our shallow WP dives, and then had to abort the night dive from the Stride soon after it started due to serious breathing issues with his regs..
Of course, this could be an isolated incident, but I doubt it from the looks of their equipment when we were in there. The service also was extremely sub-par.. The guy manning the counter was inept at best.. I'd be shocked if he had ever been under water with more than a snorkel.
Since Tom's has been covered and I don't have any person experience with that shop other that diving with one of their great DM's (CarrieSal), I'd like to add John Lindsey from Scuba Land Adventure (Lake Store) to the list.. I didn't train under him, however, as a very new diver, I got to dive with him and was very impressed.
driftwood
Contributor
John Lindsey is one of the really good guys in the local dive community. Helpful, honest, great sense of humor and a fantastic instructor.
ianr33
Contributor
If they have actually remembered to turn the compressor on Diveworld will give you a very quick fill.
Around 5 seconds.
I love the sound of air rushing through stainless in the morning.
heavyjeffd
Contributor
Jack Ryan with Scubaland, hands down the best in Austin.
I will not not certify with anyone else.
I will not not certify with anyone else.
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