Hello!!!!

[Edgardo A. Soto]

Hello My Name is Ed, I have Been a Certified Diver For approximately 4 Years. Not Many Dives has Been My issue, Looking For Further Training to improve My Skill Level in The Diving World!!! I was Certified in a Town By The Name of Union, NJ.Certified approximately 4 Years ago through the YMCA at The Time but Have Not Gotten alot of Dives Loged in My Record. Would Like to Train More and Further My Diving Experience. Interested in Geting involved with any Emergency Diving, i.e. Recoveries, etc. Thank You, Looking Forward to Learning a Bit More about the Scuba Diving World and all of its Exciting adventures. Also Looking Forward to Working With All on The Board.

 

[Edgardo A. Soto]

 

[drrich2]

Interested in Geting involved with any Emergency Diving, i.e. Recoveries, etc.

Welcome, Ed. I've not been ambitious to 'dive for bodies,' if that's the sort of thing you meant, and past post content on this forum from people who have didn't leave me any desire to. By the time you get to them they could be decaying and a number won't be in nice, clear water. Do you want to be groping near blindly feeling for that? Just suggesting you research it.

Sounds like more dive experience would be handy. If you want to get in a lot of diving without breaking the bank, I'll list some options and threads to help.

1.) A trip to Key Largo, Florida. Rainbow Reef Dive Center moved their location a bit since my trip, but you can get 4 dives/day, a mix of shallow reef & option for deep wreck, no added charge guides, you don't even have to leave the U.S. Trip report.

2.) Turquoise Bay Resort, Roatan. I haven't been. Seems to be a very popular group trip choice, and it gets good reviews. Roatan, Turquoise Bay Resort, Subway Review - Long, but complete by JayFarmLaw.

3.) CocoView Resort, Roatan. Roatan diving varies by coast, this is a different area from TBR, and you get the option to pack in lots of shore diving.

4.) Bonaire. Highly popular for cramming in loads of shore diving, given the reef is very close to shore, but many entries/exits are over iron shore, not much sandy beach. It's not hard to get around, but the default rental truck is stick shift, and there's enough to getting oriented I recommend going with a dive group your 1st time. Pay attention and learn your way around, and after that, good to go. Airfare is expensive; lodging and diving often are not. Dive Hut is a budget option; popular oceanfront options include Buddy Dive Resort, Sand Dollar Condominiums, Divi Flamingo and others.

5.) Curacao - larger than Bonaire, longer travel time between dive sites, longer swim outs on shore dives but more sandy beaches so easier entries/exits, more topside stuff to do from what I hear. This is based on what I've read; I haven't dove Curacao. Some threads for info.:

Curacao vs. Bonaire - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/473036-curacao-vs-bonaire.html
Bonaire vs Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/bonaire-vs-curacao.535918/
Curacao 1st Timer Trip Report - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-1st-timer-trip-report.527457/
Curacao Trip Report - Curacao Trip Report
Curacao Suggestions - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-suggestions.536523/
Place to stay in Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/place-to-stay-in-curacao.518346/ See Damselfish Post #3.
Curacao Trip with Teenagers in June - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-trip-with-teenagers-in-june.525886/

6.) Live-aboard - imagine a week long trip on a yacht with a bunch of avid recreational dives, diving 4 - 5 times/day (counting a night dive), packing in up to 25 - 27 dives in that week, eating food and basically laying around all day chilling out waiting to dive or be fed. Does that sound good? If so, Picking a Caribbean Live-aboard or trip report from Cayman Aggressor IV May 2016 might help.

If you want a live-aboard trip, Aggressor Fleet has a 33% off sale right now, ends fairly soon, great deal, book fast. Liveaboard.com is a place I've used to look for vacancies on live-aboards.

7.) Speaking of the Cayman Islands, a stay at Little Cayman Beach Resort or Cayman Brac Beach Resort could get you maybe 3 dives/day, plus a little optional night diving. That Cayman Aggressor IV link includes a post down thread with a summary of the Cayman Islands form a diver's perspective, with links to other's content.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

Welcome Ed! You didn't mention if you have a regular dive buddy or the size of your dive travel budget, and those 2 factors can make a big difference when planning dive travel because you may be charged a hefty single supplement by dive resorts if you are traveling alone. Price are often listed as "per person double occupancy". Liveaboard dive boats will usually waive the supplement if you are willing to share a room with another (same gender) guest if necessary.

But you might start looking around locally, there are dive clubs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (see link below). You could try sitting in on a club meeting to learn about local dive activities and trips:
Scuba Yellow Pages - Local Scuba Diving Clubs in the USA

Anthony's Key Resort in Roatan is a popular all-inclusive dive resort and they offer "two for one" dive vacations, which I think is the same as "no single supplement"; but it can be pricey to fly to Roatan. And when you look at the resort prices keep in mind that they do not include the 19% government tax that will be added. Also be aware that some of the cheaper rooms at Anthony's don't have air conditioning - and I would pay more for AC in the tropics!

You should also consider taking preventive measures against tropical diseases for a trip to Honduras including vaccinations against Hepatitis A and Typhoid and taking anti-malarial medication, and using food and water precautions, and protection against mosquitos. Your local public health department may have a travel medicine department.
Anthony's Key Resort | Roatan | Honduras

If budget is an issue, then the cheapest way that I know to get up to 19 warm water tropical dives in one week is a trip on Blackbeard's cruises out of Nassau. It is an all-inclusive and very inexpensive liveaboard trip but the accommodations are quite basic; you will be sleeping in a dormitory cabin on a bunk with a curtain for privacy.
Blackbeard's Cruises Scuba Diving Liveaboards

Richard's suggestion of the Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo, FL also sounds like a very good option.

But since you were certified 4 years ago and haven't made many dives since them, I suggest you take a refresher class from a local dive shop before embarking on any dive trips. It's great that you want to get more training but you should probably get more dive experience first; good luck!

 

[Anne Hutchinson]

Hello everyone, my name is Anne Hutchinson and I am new to this forum.

 

[drrich2]

Hi, Anne. If you're not certified yet, the adventure awaits!

Richard.

 

[chubadoodman]

Hello from a fellow NJian! If youre looking for additional training in rescue or emergency diving, take a look at scubashack in Connecticut Scuba Shack - Connecticut Diving Lessons I'm currently taking their Core 1 class which focuses on teaching the foundational skills that are often passed over by other organizations. Although its a bit of a drive (a little over 2 hours), it's totally worth the effort, especially with the level of training you receive.

 

[iamrushman]

howdy and welcome all from southeast florida..

 

[ram04769]

Hello Ed & Anne and welcome to SB.