Learning to dive in South America

[geek]

I'm planning a 4 month trip to South America. I've never dived before but I think I'll enjoy it so i'm going to plan for a significant amount of diving.

I'll be travelling all over the continent, and possibly central america as well. Countries I will definitely be visiting/diving are Colombia (cartagena, islas del rosario), Ecuador (galapagos), and Brazil (no clue but there must be some diving somewhere). Costa Rica and Panama are maybies, but it someone recommends some really awesome diving then I can probably include them.

Since this will be a big focus for my trip, I'm looking for some advice. I was originally intending to make the galapagos my first diving stop, but i've been reading that a lot of the dives aren't great for beginners, as they are drift dives and many have currents of 3-4 knots.

I'm thinking maybe I can build up to it, or put it at the end of the trip after a good number of dives, if really is too difficult to start with. I'd really like to do it though since all reports say it is awesome. I'll have plenty of time to do the OW and AOW courses, and maybe even some others specialty courses. I'm not a stupid guy so i'd rather not do difficult dives before I am ready for them.

I'm also looking for suggestions of particularly good dive schools or instructors, anywhere in South America. What's the best place to learn? I'll be travelling there next year from May-August, but i've got a ton of stuff to plan for so I'm getting an early start.

Thanks guys!

 

[pikeblenny]

I would strongly suggest you try to complete you OW in Canada before you go if at all possible. Try to do it this summer while the water is warm (well..relatively).
The diving in Galapagos is challenging though there are several land based dive sites that are suitable for less experienced divers. You would be best to get some experience before you went to Galapagos so that you can enjoy the best sites.
Be careful with your choice of dive schools. There are a real range of instructors out there in that region - many that take shortcuts. The courses can be much more expensive than you would pay at home and may or may not contain all the curriculum they should. I have travelled through Ecuador and Galapagos and have witnessed many blatant violations of PADI standards. Having said that I have also run into some very good instructors.
Do your basic training at home and expand your training as you go. You'll definitely enjoy your trip more.

 

[geek]

Well, it's a 4 month trip, so I will have tons of time (what I don't have right now doing 80 hour weeks). What I definitely intend to do before I leave is the online section of the OWC so that I dont' have to sit in a classroom. I might do as you say if I can fit it in. It definitely makes sense, and then I'd have the opportunity to test some gear before I buy. With a planned ~30 days of diving it makes sense to buy.

I also don't have to head straight for the Galapagos. I was intending on getting lots of diving done before I got there. Like 20 dives maybe. My tentative route is Belize -> colombia (maybe san andreas?) -> galapagos -> the rest of south america. Until I found this site and started reading up on the various dive sites it was the reverse. But August is hurricane season in belize, so I can't leave it until the end of the trip.

 

[oceancat]

The online OW class for PADI hasn't rolled out in a lot of areas yet outside of the states/canada (I was just diving with 2 instructors from Germany who hadn't heard of it yet), so you may be better off doing the online and pool sections in canada and do your open water referral in Belize if you don't do your OW class as a whole at home. I would recommend doing it at home so you don't waste awesome dive conditions doing a class. Belize has some fantastic beginning diving. That is actually where I got my start diving--did the class/pool at home and then the OW in Belize. The Bay Islands of Honduras are quite nice and Utila is still fairly cheap diving (it's also cheap to learn there, so that is an option too). The best diving in the Galapagos is Wolf/Darwin, I particularly was fond of Wolf, but I also liked Cousin's Rock and Mosquera Is. as well. Sounds like you will have an amazing time traveling around diving! Good luck.