Aloha ScubaBoard

[cherlygirlie]

I live in Hawaii, but have never been scuba diving. I've been thinking about getting certified so I can dive in French Polynesia during a trip next year, so I joined this forum to try to get some advice.

Some things I've been wondering about:
1) Would it be better (and cheaper) to get certified here in Hawaii? I was thinking it might be better not to waste time with certification lessons once we're there.

2) Rangiroa sounds like the place to be - "shooting the pass" sounds like an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience - but will it be too difficult as a beginner?

3) Any other tips or advice for someone who's never done this???

Many thanks!

 

[over50diver]

As one who has struggled with getting my husband certified on a trip, I strongly urge you to get certified now. You can gain some practice and become with your diving style and needs before you get to your destination. Otherwise, the majority of your trip will be spent learning skills instead of seeing the sights.

Besides, Hawaii has some exceptional dive sites of their own!

The more practice you can get with currents, neutral buoyancy, and figuring out your gear needs, the better off you'll be.

 

[houtbaydiver]

Hi, I agree with over50diver, dont waste holiday time doing theory. But there is an alternative offered by most schools which many of my friends have done and found wonderful....you can do the theory and pool dives at your local dive school and then only do the open water (sea) dives to complete your cerification, at your holiday destination. This is a great alternative as it also serves as orientation and builds your confidence in your "new" dive staff and holiday environment while building up your diving confidence.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I live in Hawaii, but have never been scuba diving. I've been thinking about getting certified so I can dive in French Polynesia during a trip next year, so I joined this forum to try to get some advice.

Some things I've been wondering about:
1) Would it be better (and cheaper) to get certified here in Hawaii? I was thinking it might be better not to waste time with certification lessons once we're there.

2) Rangiroa sounds like the place to be - "shooting the pass" sounds like an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience - but will it be too difficult as a beginner?

3) Any other tips or advice for someone who's never done this???

Many thanks!

Howzit cherlygirlie!

Some local advice:

1.) Get certified on Oahu.
2.) Dive on Oahu (and the neighbor islands if you can) as much as possible before traveling.

The reason: The more dives you can get under your belt, the better you'll be able to enjoy diving in Tahiti and other locations. You don't want to be spending time doing check-out dives when you could be doing "adventure" dives! Do the check-out dives at home.

Oh, and don't forget.... you are just an interisland flight (or car ride) away from world class dive destinations here in Hawaii

Best wishes.

 

[snobbydiver]

welcome to the board from sunny scotland

 

[wetbehindthegears]

I think I have been to Hawaii too often ...I saw the title starting with " aloha" and thought to myself ...oh ...someone is leaving the board!

DUH!

anyway Aloha...get certed now....you won't waste time later ...and will have time to learn some good skills ...hate to find out you have a mask clearing phobia or something,that you could get over with a bit of practice

 

[ChiTC]

Hey Cherlygirlie. Welcome to SCUBA! I would back up everything you've heard already. Just a note. The referred certification is good for folks like me who did their classroom and pool in (Brrrr) Chicago, but you have some world class dive sites right in your back yard! Don't pay the extra $$$ for a referral. Dive as much as you can in Hawaii and enjoy all your dives in French Polynesia. Have fun!!! Oh, report back to the rest of us when you get back!

 

[cherlygirlie]

Thanks for all the awesome advice, everyone! I started reading a bunch of threads on this website after I logged in, and realized that there is a lot more that I don't know about this than I thought I didn't know. Haha!

I plan to read all the advice here on finding the right company to get certified with and learn more before "diving in".

I'm really glad I joined up here!

Thanks!