Cost of each dive when starting

[Fisck]

Hello everyone. My girlfriend and I recently moved to Florida. Talking about hobbies we wanted to get into included scuba diving. We’ve read up on it but one part I’m not sure about and has me worried is the cost of each dive after you certify. I see it’s close to $1,000 or more for each of us for classes and basic gear, but about how much is it for each dive after when you are still new?

Most places I’ve talked to about classes also take groups out you can pay to be a part of, and rent the additional gear a we wouldn’t own at first. Most trips I’ve seen them list are $400-$500 per person, and I’m not sure of the cost for gear rental. We aren’t on a tiny budget but if it’s to much I’m thinking we may be better off spending it on something else for now. Is that normal prices and are their cheaper options like clubs?

In short I’m worried we’ll spend our money getting certified and then not be able to afford to go but 2 or 3 times a year afterwards.
Thank you for any experienced advice you can give us.

 

[northernone]

If you're in an area of Florida with shore diving and don't mind learning a little equipment maintenance you can pretty easily buy some tanks and pre-tested dive gear within that 1000$ start-up. After that it's air fill costs and annual tank inspections and gear maintenance.

Diving doesn't need to be first world expensive. If you dive frequently 10 bucks a dive isn't unheard of.

Cameron

 

[victorzamora]

Dive costs are hugely variable, depending on what your requirements are. Local diving for me costs a few bucks in gas for the truck, a few bucks in air/nitrox fills per diver, and a like $5 per diver entry to the park. Wife and I can dive for ~$25/day. I think renting a full set of gear is like $40/day/person, so we'd be at ~$100 all-in shore-diving rental gear. If we wanted to pay up for the boat, it'd be $40pp including tank fills/rentals.

It looks like there's no real diving off of St Augustine or Jax, so it looks like you'll need to travel south. A couple local-to-St Augustine shops have group trips advertised without any prices listed. There's also the springs, like Ginnie Springs or Devil's Den, 1-2hr drive away. Those should also be relatively cheap to dive ($25-$30/day entrance fee plus gas fills plus fuel).

 

[Lorenzoid]

As far as cost per dive after you're certified, it depends. When you mention "trips," are you thinking more about driving somewhere in FL to dive for the day, or are you talking about a vacation in the Caribbean? There are 2-dive trips you can take out of Jupiter, West Palm, etc., and then there are the Keys. I would say $80 seems to be a typical price that a dive op would charge to take you out on a boat for a morning or afternoon of two back-to-back dives. Renting a BC and regulator, another $20. Here, for example:

Scuba Diving Prices | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, Florida Keys

 

[boulderjohn]

As the others said, costs vary. Here are some samples based on the assumption that you have your own gear. If not, add gear rental costs.

1. Shore diving: You can go to many places in Florida and just plop in the water with no payment other than the cost of your tank fills. The Blue Heron Bridge is a world-famous site that won't cost you a thing. I winter in Florida, and when my wife and I settle in for an afternoon by the water in Pompano Beach, we often see divers walk past us and into the water to dive the nearby reef.

2. Local boat diving: Where I stay in florida, it costs about $65 (plus gas plus tanks/fills) for a 2-tank dive. You should also tip the crew.

3. Remote boat diving: Boat fees for 1 or 2-tank dives vary by region. In some Caribbean locations easily reached from Florida, the boat fees are similar, but they often include the tanks. In places like Hawai'i, you can pay twice as much for the dives.

 

[Fisck]

As far as cost per dive after you're certified, it depends. When you mention "trips," are you thinking more about driving somewhere in FL to dive for the day, or are you talking about a vacation in the Caribbean?

The trips I was talking about are one day trips around Florida that are in driving distance.

 

[Zef]

My recommendation is to look for a diving club. The issue you have is the cost to gain experience and although you can take a freshly minted scuba certification card and rent gear/tanks and set off on a selfmade underwater adventure, this may not be prudent depending on your comfort level in the water and/or the quality/extensiveness of the training you receive. Until you are comfortable planning and executing dives on your own to include planning for things to go toes-up, you should be diving with folks that have experience...and that often has a price associated with it...hence the recommendation to join a club as typically you would only need to pay club dues, rent whatever gear you can't borrow from the club, and the gas/entrance/parking fees to the dive sites. As an example, here in Belgium I pay 120 euros for a family membership in the club we are apart of, the club has everything to loan except booties, hoods, and gloves, we even have a nice compressor....typical dives at local dive sites only cost me the gas it takes to get there plus between 4-6 euros/day to the individuals/clubs that manage the dive sites.

I know that life here in Europe is less litigious than that in the US but I am hoping there are clubs in the US similar to here for that eventual day my wife and I move back to the US.

-Z

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Diving is a lot like golf. You can make it as reasonable or expensive as you want it to be. ex. I've paid $5-20 to play executive/par 3 courses...and i've paid $100+ to play nice/fancy courses. It's the same story with diving. you can spend $25 to go dive a quarry...or thousands for fancy dive and vacation packages.

For the most part, I've been surprised at how reasonable costs are for local diving (VA, MD, NC) . That includes quarry dives, shore/beach dives, and boat dives.

-$25-35 for quarry/lake access. VA, MD, etc.
-$60-100 for boat dive (one tank). MD, VA, etc.
-$150-175 for boat dives (two tanks). VA, MD, NC, etc. OP...there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to go for a boat dive within driving distance without breaking the bank.

Sure...the gear isn't cheap (if you don't own your own gear, one day of diving could cost you twice as much with rental fees tacked on), but once you get all setup on gear...the cost to just run out and knock out a dive or two can be fairly reasonable. ex. My boat dive on Saturday was $60. My quarry dive on Sunday was $25.

Sure...if you want to be accurate on the costs, you have to factor in the cost of air (or tank rental if you don't own one), fuel to get there, etc., but still...it doesn't have to cost a lot of money to run out and go for a dive or two.

 

[Chilly_Diver]

My recommendation is to look for a diving club. The issue you have is the cost to gain experience and although you can take a freshly minted scuba certification card and rent gear/tanks and set off on a selfmade underwater adventure, this may not be prudent depending on your comfort level in the water and/or the quality/extensiveness of the training you receive. Until you are comfortable planning and executing dives on your own to include planning for things to go toes-up, you should be diving with folks that have experience...and that often has a price associated with it...hence the recommendation to join a club as typically you would only need to pay club dues, rent whatever gear you can't borrow from the club, and the gas/entrance/parking fees to the dive sites. As an example, here in Belgium I pay 120 euros for a family membership in the club we are apart of, the club has everything to loan except booties, hoods, and gloves, we even have a nice compressor....typical dives at local dive sites only cost me the gas it takes to get there plus between 4-6 euros/day to the individuals/clubs that manage the dive sites.

I know that life here in Europe is less litigious than that in the US but I am hoping there are clubs in the US similar to here for that eventual day my wife and I move back to the US.

-Z

I do not believe scuba clubs exist in the US as they are structured in Europe. We have scuba “clubs”, though they are more about selling trips and meeting up at a quarry to dive and BBQ... they don’t really supply gear, provide training, etc.

 

[Zef]

I do not believe scuba clubs exist in the US as they are structured in Europe. We have scuba “clubs”, though they are more about selling trips and meeting up at a quarry to dive and BBQ... they don’t really supply gear, provide training, etc.

Other than a weekly pool session, meeting up at quarries and lakes to dive, BBQ, and enjoy Belgium's beer is frequently how things unroll here for a day of diving. There are occasionally some trips that are planned/offered if finances and schedules permit one to go. I am actually a member of 2 different clubs...the one that has the extensive gear locker and compressor does not have a lot of members that dive locally, the other club has much less gear to borrow but we dive all year round, usually once during the evening mid week and at least once each weekend.

Although the local diving is no where as nice as the tropics, it is diving, and it is cheap. If you can comfortably dive the cold dark quarries and lakes here, diving in clear open water is breeze.

-Z