That was kinda my point ,)
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
I just did a quick Google search for the area and came up with this: Discover Scuba Diving - Scuba Monkey Dive Center LLC
No. In order to learn to scuba dive safely there are courses that you should follow. I know the courses are not free but diving without training is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. It does fine until something terribly unforeseen happens and then you're a cripple (if you're lucky) for the rest of your life.
Get training. Really.
R..
Oddly enough in Florida not only are there no laws requiring certification to dive but you are also free to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
Thank you all for your replies. We are now looking for affordable places to get certified, I know that you wont want to take the cheapest course available as scuba diving has its risks and you get what you pay for. Although we are looking for something a bit cheaper than $299. If anyone has any recommendations as to where to go taht may be cheaper than most places but that is still a good place to go and would like to share we would be grateful. Thanks
$300 for an OW course is about par for decent instruction... groupons and the like run the risk of inferior instruction. although might find a cheaper instruction thru your local community college -- and get credit for it.