Inexpensive diving in south of france

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mcadam1

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I am a new diver and heading to south of france this year on hols..anyone know of any inexpensive diving in that region for a newbie?!
 
Hi mcadam1,

why don't you contact LAP?

Laurens

LAP:
Hi,

My name's Laurent and I live in Bordeaux. I have dived since 2002 quite often into the Atlantic ocean near Spain and in Mediterranean and Red seas. I'll try to plan a diving trip in Bahamas by the end of the year and begin a Nitrox course through IANTD or Padi.

I am also one of the administrators of a French website specialized in scubadiving : www.plongeur.com

So if you want to plan a diving trip into the vineyards :wink: , do not hesitate to contact me.
 
But be aware of the very strict laws about diving that France has. To make the long story short - if you are not CMAS certified you may have serious problems with diving there.
Mania
 
As you are RoI I'm guessing PADI OW? If so you will have no problem in finding centres that will take you on (accompanied) dives to 18M. As to low-cost well that is a different matter...

Usually its about €30-40 a dive. You will need a medical certificate of less than one year old. Without it you will not be able to dive. This is French Law. Ideally you should have a French Medical Certificate, but most centres will accept one from another EU country.

Very good diving can be found round Marseille and further east. The Cote Bleu is worth a look and there are a couple of PADI centres there.

West of the Carmargue the viz turns to poo until you get west of Agde.

For "cheap" try further west towards Perpignan (cheapie Ryanair flights).
For example: http://www.neptuneplongee.com/index.htm

You will be required to buy an FFESSM licence (€46) and have insurance (DAN is OK).

(Cross over into nearby Spain and you need only insurance.)

Diving from the beach on your own you need none of this!! However, there are not all that many places for good shore dives. Try round Carry-le-Rouet.

Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

Chris
 
I'm originally from Cannes, but I now live in the US. I bring my gear every time I come home and never once was asked to show a medical statement. I understand it's the law, but not too many dive operations let the lack of medical clearance get in the way of doing business. As for PADI vs FFESSM (CMAS), more and more dive operations are both, especially in diver-friendly regions such as the south of France. I started out as a CMAS diver but since moving to the US I've become PADI (Divemaster) and finding a spot on a boat's never been a problem. In Cannes, I like to dive with Sylvie and Patrick (their boat is the Sylpa, get it?) of the Plongée Club de Cannes and in Théoule (just west of Cannes in the Estérel region) with Armand Ferrand. If you go to Cannes, Juan les Pins or Antibes, try to go to the Iles de Lérins. There are some good clubs in Saint-Raphaël, Agay, the whole region will have a lot of choices too numerous to list. Don't expect big animals, but some cool walls and if you're up to it, some deep wrecks. One dive in the morning, one in the afternoon. As far as prices, they're more or less all the same between 30 and 40 euro per half day, but each club (or dive operation) also sells "carnets" of 5, 10, 15 dives whereas the price per dive decreases. Wish I could go... Make sure you reserve if you go between July and August...
 
Hi, I am anewbie on this site. I have AOW, and I am the owner of a Poseidon Cyklon 5000, and a Uwatec SmartCOM. Would anyone care to write back where I can get these serviced in Europe or Canada, as I will be visiting Europe (France ) and Canada some time this Christmas and New Year. Thank you.
 
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Hi, I am anewbie on this site. I have AOW, and I am the owner of a Poseidon Cyklon 5000, and a Uwatec SmartCOM. Would anyone are to write back where I can get these serviced in Europe or Canada, as I will be visiting Europe (France ) and Canada some time this Christmas and New Year. Thank you.


Hi !

Hard to give you any answer without knowing where you plan to stay precisely in France. But may I ask why you're bothering to take your equipment in France in the winter, that's not the best time for diving ? And if servicing is needed, can't you get it in Singapore ? Let me know, and I'll try to help further.

Cheers.
 
Hi,
Thank you for writing back. The Uwatec smart com has no service here, and Poseidon would be better cared for in Europe where I will stay for a while before visiting Vancouver Canada then return home. Since I need Uwatec serviced, new battery and a quick disconnect hose fitted, I thought I may as well send in the Poseidons as well.. I feel my babies are safer where I'm close to them than have them sent to Hong Kong where it's closest to have the Uwatecs done at an outrageous financial outlay. Visiting family..not winter diving haha..
I hope this helps explain my concerns. Besides I hear great reviews about servicing standards there...
France its Rue Didier, Daurat, 93100 Montreuil.
 
So I assume you'll be staying around Paris, there are several dive shops there. Never tried any of them for servicing equipment though (I live 1000 km away from Paris). Posedion isn't so popular a brand in France nowadays, so it might be a bit complicated to find someone to help with your Cyklon. I would try the 'Vieux Campeur' in Paris, which is probably the largest diving shop in this area. You should check their website. If you need to contact them, I can be of service again : English is not our forte in France, so I'm not sure they'll be able to deal with an English mail.
 
Hi yes I have written in to the eBay contact on Dec.1st and not gotten any reply Dec2nd, if the address and contact person or number of this individual is available My family in France could mail it. All I have to do is pack it ready to be mailed out. It turns out only my wife will be traveling to France to visit my family and I cannot go to France this December 2015. So the mailing and receipt after servicing will be taken care of by my wife. Do you know this store on eBay ateMreglerprofi ? Are they alright ? Do you have direct contact ? Thank you.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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