Divemaster course

[penguintom]

I am travelling to Thailand soon for a few months break and while I am there I would like to progress from PADI advanced level to Divemaster. I shall be staying in Pattaya, last year I was talking to a dive shop there at beach road next to the golf course who said the divemaster course can be done in just over a week.
I am quite new to diving and any advice would be appreciated, I think the name of the shop was Dive Asia, does anyone know what they are like?

 

[lord khram]

If you are really set on coming to Pattaya for some reason then fine. But if you are coming here specifically to dive, I would recommend you find another location, there are far better dive locations all around Thailand, and indeed other countries in the area.
Pattaya is a great city with lots going on, but the diving really leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Batfish]

the divemaster course can be done in just over a week

I would not recommend that at all. Divemaster course should be as involved as possible, not just bashing out the course requirements as fast as possible. If you actually want to be a divemaster, it's all about getting as much experience as possible. I did my DM course many years ago and took 6 weeks over it, hanging out at the dive shop every day, going out on the boat every day, helping out and learning all kind of things from tying knots to fish identification to equipment service, watching instructors teaching open water courses, doing dive briefings. Take it as slow a you possibly can!

 

[Bowmouth]

I agree with Batfish; do NOT rush yourself through your DM course.

Before you can start your DM course you will have to do the Rescue and EFR (Emergency First Response) courses. The Rescue Course should take about 3 days to complete and the EFR will take a single day only.
The DM student must have 20 logged dives to begin the Divemaster course (60 logged dives, showing experience in Night, Deep and Underwater Navigation are exit requirements).

If you do have the time and if you are truly interested in learning most aspects of being a DM than I recommend you to do your DM course with a shop that is willing to teach you full-time over a period of at least 3-4 weeks time. Preferably choose a shop that has their own day-trip dive-boat so you will get a chance to learn all the aspects of being a day-trip DM as well and on top of that lots of diving too.

Pattaya will be a fine place to do your DM course. Pattaya's reefs are maybe not Thailand's best but still do have a large variety of corals and creatures. There's also some excellent ship wrecks teeming with fish and other marine-life.
Having lots of marine-life to enjoy and every single day 30+ meter visibility (not in Pattaya!!) is great but certainly not the most important aspect of your DM course. During a good course you will often be busy underwater assisting Instructors with student divers, guiding certified divers, learning and mastering your personal diving skills and doing navigation and rescue exercises. Of-course there will be time to enjoy the marine-life too and part of being a good DM is to be able to find hard to spot and/or unusual creatures to show to the divers you guide.

I recommend you do some "window-shopping" in Pattaya first (or online checking of DM course structures with different shops) and then decide with who to do it.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[penguintom]

Thanks for that info guys.
But does anyone know this particular shop, or could recomend another in the area. Time to do the course is no problem because I shall be staying in thailand 3-6 months.

 

[DevonDiver]

Divemaster could be completed in a week...if you only want to tick boxes on completion of each exercise. If you actually want to improve your diving to the level expected of someone with a divemaster professional certification, then you need to be realistic about how long this will take.

Give yourself an honest appraisal of your current diving ability. Do you think you could go from that to a professional level in a week....a month...3 months...???

Think of the best divemaster/dive guide that you were ever in the water with. Think about their bouyancy, professionalism, knowledge, experience and competance. THIS is what you should be aiming for! You reckon you could achieve that within a week?

ALSO... I was told recently that the tourist visa situation in Thailand has changed...and that the visa is now only 15 days (I am not in Thailand, so maybe someone in-situ can confirm?). If this is the case...it will severely effect the backpacker crowd...and those people wishing to stay longer to complete DMT programmes.

When I first went to Thailand...I did so on an educational visa. This was easy to arrange from the UK (and I guess any western country)...and was valid for 12 months with multiple entry. Not sure if the rules for this visa have changed also - but it was very economical way to stay there and much less hassle than a tourist entry....

 

[lord khram]

If you obtain a tourist visa in the UK it is valid for 60 days and can be extended at imigration office for around 1900bt. Then the dificulties start, you can leave thailand and obtain another 60 day visa, without travelling too far, this can be done in laos or Malaysia.
Or for those who elect to do 'visa runs' a day trip to a neighbouring country (usually cambodia) just for the purpose of a re entry stamp. This can be done on an organised mini bus trip for about 2000 baht and usually takes about 8 hours, but this is where the change has come in, if you re enter thailand in this manner they only give you a stamp for 15 days now.
There are many travel agents in Pattaya who specialise in 'visa runs' and can advise you on the current requirements.
First class visa runs, situated in soi 13 at the sportsman bar. They are not necesarilly the cheapest, but always 'deliver the goods', and seem to be well informed about the latest regulations.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

ALSO... I was told recently that the tourist visa situation in Thailand has changed...and that the visa is now only 15 days (I am not in Thailand, so maybe someone in-situ can confirm?). If this is the case...it will severely effect the backpacker crowd...and those people wishing to stay longer to complete DMT programmes.
.

I am here on a tourist visa right now. Good for 60 days with an option to add an additional 30days. I was free as they have been running a promotion to help increase tourism. I applied in the USA and got it before I left.

One item that someone taking a DM course should check into is the level of student business that the shop handles during the time period you expect to be taking your course. You really do not learn to be much of a DM is you are only working with make believe students. I am not totally up to date on student activity anywhere in Thailand but I can sure tell you I have not seen much in Pattaya during my last two visits...Sept-Nov 08 and now Apr-Jun 09.

John

 

[Arizona]

Any organization claiming you can complete the Divemaster training in one week should bring up immediate red flags. It sounds like a sales pitch to get you to sign up. In reality this is highly unlikely and not desirable for sure. John's advice RE: having students is very good IMO. I suggest you look at the big two if your stuck on Pattaya. You will get the classes you need to be involved in. I would wait till you get here and negotiate/check out both and make up your mind. Don't buy site unseen. Get a feel for the place. Perhaps go diving with both before investing your time and money. You can then talk to interns/staff and make up your own mind. See how the boat crew interact with customers, the shape of the boat... Keep in mind the notion of you being associated with the organization you train with. Nobody has to know your shopping so this will give you a more honest view of how things will look.

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

HI PenguinTom, I sent you a PM with some links, but let me add some stuff here.

Firstly, the shop you were inquiring about is called Dive Southeast Asia, a PADI 5-Star center.

Aquanauts, of which I am a partner, is a 5-Star Career Development Center and we offer all-inclsuive packages to take you from your current level (Advanced?) to DM over 2 months. As many noted, 1 week is far too short.

We have both full-featured/all-inclusive programs and a new budget-priced package. Both are built around our hugely successful Personalized Training System and offer private accommodations, a 1-year visa, unlimited diving, a full set of new professional-grade gear (if needed), all of your core courses, up to 9 additonal specialty courses, all materials, job placement and more.

Our new Aquanauts Value package is now the best multiple-course training deal in Thailand and nearly 500 dollars less than what large shops in Koh Tao are even offering. Check it all out at the link below.