Expectations for a total newbie to scuba

[BrianLy]

Hi

I'm traveling to Turkey with my wife and wanted to set the right expectations for scuba diving before we go. We'll have 5 days in Fethiye and it seems like the area is pretty good for scuba. It seems like we should start out with something like a Try Dive (Try Dives) and then move onto a PADI Scuba Diver course.

Is it realistic for most newbies to be able to do this in a few days, feel comfortable, and actually achieve some sort of certification?

-Brian

 

[devildoc5]

This is just my opinion and I am sure that others will not agree with me:

However I think that to take a course like Discover Scuba Diving or 15m Trial Dives are fine if you are UNSURE of wanting to dive or not. It is something that gives you a little bit of a preview of what's to come so to speak.

The closest thing I can relate it to is when you go to Baskin Robbins and the will let you try out a few flavors with their small little spoons to see which one you want to buy.

But if I already know I want a triple scoop of Rocky Road I am not gonna try it out first.

Therefore IMO if you are sure you want to actually become a diver I would recommend just going ahead and getting it done and out of the way. I wouldnt waste my time with Trial Dives (and in some places lose your money too) when I know what I want to do already.

If on the other hand you are unsure about diving and just want to try it out and see if you like it first then by all means go ahead and do a trial dive. The good thing about the shop you linked is that it appears as though you can use the money you pay for a Discover Scuba Class (not sure on the trial dives on) towards your Open Water class, so the only thing you are losing out on is time.

However here is the thing to consider: You state you will have 5 days. By this I am assuming you have 4 dive days and 1 non dive day (this doesnt include any other forms of tourism except at night or during Surface Intervals and of course your one day off prior to flying). Part of something you will learn when you first start learning about diving is that (most agencies at least) recommend any where from 18-24 hours since your last dive before you fly. (with some recommending more)

Therefore you really only have 4 days to become certified. While this is TECHNICALLY feasible. (1 day academic/pool, 2 days of dives per most agency standards that I know of) You will have used up 3 days of your vacation already. Now if you add in a day for the DSD class you will realize you aren't left with much "touristy" time.

The other thing to consider is to call the dive shop (or email but I recommend calling) and see if they will even do a class in 3-4 days around the time frame you will be there. Then see what they will be able to work out and make your decision from there.

There are other options as well, although each has their pros and cons.

PADI has a course which is called "Scuba Diver" This is basically a 2 day course which will allow you to go on dives with a Dive Professional. It will fulfill your desire to get into the water and also allow you to dive with a Dive Guide or Dive Master. That being said you cannot dive without one of those until you upgrade to Open Water Diver.

The other thing you could do is (depending on where you live) get certified BEFORE going to Turkey and that would get rid of all the what ifs.

If this is not feasible there is such a thing as Referrals where one dive shop can certify that you have done your academics and pool and then another dive shop just checks out your abilities in the open water. This can be done in both directions (start at home>checkout in Turkey or start in Turkey>checkout at home.)

I am not 100% sure on PADI standards but I believe they require 5 OW dives before they will certify you with the most you can do (according to standards) in 1 day is 3. (I could be wrong but I am reasonably certain about this)

So there you have it. You have a few different options and a few different things to research.

Good Luck and welcome to the wonderful world of diving.

 

[Jax]

Hi

I'm traveling to Turkey with my wife and wanted to set the right expectations for scuba diving before we go. We'll have 5 days in Fethiye and it seems like the area is pretty good for scuba. It seems like we should start out with something like a Try Dive (Try Dives) and then move onto a PADI Scuba Diver course.

Is it realistic for most newbies to be able to do this in a few days, feel comfortable, and actually achieve some sort of certification?

-Brian

If you REALLY want to do it, just do the certification course.

Go in with the realization that if you are not ready for certification, you can take a referral to a local instructor elsewhere.

As for can you do it -- do you know how to study? I mean really LEARN the material?

Then, you have to overcome the natural instincts underwater, including taking a mask off and doing an ascent without a regulator, but still exhaling . . . You must have self control.

If you have all that. . . . welcome to diving!

 

[TMHeimer]

PADI requires 4 OW checkout dives. All good info. above. I would never consider doing any (with the exception of Discover Scuba maybe) classes while on vacation-- especially with only 5 days, but that's just me. I admit I did my AOW and MSD in Florida, but we were snowbirding it for 3 months and I did these over 2 separate winters. IMO Best to do it all at home then travel and dive.

 

[Spazzy]

I suggest you just do the open water course rather than do the discover scuba 'try dive' 1st.

The OW course will provide you with a more through introduction to scuba diving and let you know what to expect before you get into the water.

Basically the OW course is the way to go if you want to know what to expect, how things work and what to do - before you get in the water. Personally I think that will be more fun for you both.

 

[rixxir]

I'm a brand new diver myself. I just finished the first three phases of my course and all that is left are my 2 Open Water dives. The information that I gathered from the book, workbook and first three hours of class is incredible. I had no idea. I had been snorkeling before a few times, rode along for a cruise ship excursion and thought I knew a bunch......Guess what, for $250, I learned a ton... Well worth the class and I can't wait for my two OW dives. Good luck

 

[TSandM]

Where are you coming from?

If you have only a few days in Turkey, do you want to spend them in a class? (BTW, my husband just talked me out of doing a tech class in the Red Sea next month, using precisely that argument.)

Doing a certification class at home before traveling would allow you to do "real" dives in Turkey, where you get to spend your time looking at the amazing things underwater, instead of sitting near the bottom and doing skills.

 

[Quero]

My take is slightly (but only slightly) different. First of all, if the "try dive" can be counted towards your certification course--both the dive itself and the money you pay for the experience--I see no reason not to start out with it, if for no other reason than to make sure you "connect" with your instructor and the dive operation you'll be working with before you commit to the time and expense of a certification course.

Next, you mention going for the PADI Scuba Diver cert--this certification is sort of half of a regular Open Water cert. This shorter course only takes two days rather than the standard four days for an OW cert, so you could conceivably do both some tourism and some dive training during your short stay. Furthermore, the Scuba Diver rating is easily upgradable to the full OW cert later on, if you so desire, through any PADI instructor.

I've got a customer coming to Phuket next week with a similar objective as you in terms of his training. He has already done some try dives in other locations and knows that he want to become certified, but he has only five days here, and he wants to spend some of that time on other pursuits, so he will be doing the Scuba Diver course this time, and will upgrade at some point in the future. I don't conduct many Scuba Diver courses because most students get so hooked that they want to finish the entire Open Water course, but for some people it's a perfect fit.

 

[Searcaigh]

All good advice above, personally I would try to do the academics locally along with the pool sessions and use a referral system when on holiday to increase the amount of time for land based tourism during day time.

 

[Simon-]

My suggestion, to concur with others, would be.

Start your open water course before you leave for your holiday. Find a local dive centre, complete your knowledge developments (either on-line or using the manual), complete all of the confined water sessions (minimum of 5).

Obtain a referral form the dive centre and take that with you on holiday. Present the referral document to the destination dive centre and you complete your open water dives with them (minimum of 4 - over 2 days).

Just bear in mind, you would need to pay both the local dive centre and the holiday dive centre. Costs should be agreed with them both so there are no surprises