Recommendations for OW instruction - Minneapolis/St. Paul area

[large_diver]

Looking for recommendations for an OW cert. course in Minneapolis/St. Paul area = this is for my son (23). He lives near UM (Prospect Park area) but works off of 495 near Plymouth.

This would be for an OW course...he would complete his check-out dives in Belize in January. In a perfect world, course/pool sessions would be offered on weekends, since he is working somewhat long hours during the week at the moment.

Any recommendations appreciated - thanks!

Chris

 

[2airishuman]

There are a number of good shops around the area. I'm not aware of anything in or around Prospect Park particularly. I have taken instruction of one kind or another from these shops, and can recommend them:

* Scuba Center, with shops in Eagan and south Minneapolis
* A Diver's World, Lakeville
* Air Down There, Little Canada
* Minnesota School of Diving, Brainerd

Scuba Center conducts its instruction in Eagan, where they have classroom facilities and a pool.

A Diver's World generally steers people towards the on-line PADI course materials (which are quite good) in lieu of classroom work. They have a small classroom in their shop in Lakeville, and rent pool time from various schools around the south metro.

Air Down There usually uses pool facilities at two YMCA locations in the north metro.

Minnesota School of Diving often has lower prices for the open-water course due to their close proximity to suitable dive sites that do not require an expensive permit to use for instruction. Due to the distance, probably a poor choice for you, but something to keep in mind for the future.

All these places use a variety of instructors and so it's hard to characterize differences in a meaningful way.

There are other good shops too but these are the ones I know about.

 

[Xta]

I'd also like to recommend the Midwest School of Diving located in White Bear Lake: MidWest Diving School PADI Certification Scuba Equipment Trips Vacations - MidWest Scuba Diving School White Bear Lake Minnesota

After taking a few PADI and SDI courses, I decided I wanted to get my Rescue through SDI. My husband I were set up with Tom who was a great instructor. He's certified with both NAUI, and SDI. He also does adaptive diving which I thought was SUPER cool. So, props to him on all fronts.

That being said, when I was originally OW certified (through PADI) I went with A Divers World. They're under new ownership, so can't speak to how it is now, but at the time they had very small class sizes: two students per instructor. Which was very appealing to me... And why we chose them over Scuba Center, which had a 8 Students per Instructor ratio at the time.

Sounds like your son would be looking for somebody with a flexible schedule. I'd recommend the online classes. They worked great for me, as I was traveling for work at the time and I was able to do most my classes on the plane. Also, we did all of our pool-work in one marathon Saturday pool session.

Hope your son has a great experience in Belize. I was able to dive with my Dad over the summer, and it was wonderful to have a shared experience like that!

 

[large_diver]

I'd also like to recommend the Midwest School of Diving located in White Bear Lake: MidWest Diving School PADI Certification Scuba Equipment Trips Vacations - MidWest Scuba Diving School White Bear Lake Minnesota

After taking a few PADI and SDI courses, I decided I wanted to get my Rescue through SDI. My husband I were set up with Tom who was a great instructor. He's certified with both NAUI, and SDI. He also does adaptive diving which I thought was SUPER cool. So, props to him on all fronts.

That being said, when I was originally OW certified (through PADI) I went with A Divers World. They're under new ownership, so can't speak to how it is now, but at the time they had very small class sizes: two students per instructor. Which was very appealing to me... And why we chose them over Scuba Center, which had a 8 Students per Instructor ratio at the time.

Sounds like your son would be looking for somebody with a flexible schedule. I'd recommend the online classes. They worked great for me, as I was traveling for work at the time and I was able to do most my classes on the plane. Also, we did all of our pool-work in one marathon Saturday pool session.

Hope your son has a great experience in Belize. I was able to dive with my Dad over the summer, and it was wonderful to have a shared experience like that!

Thanks for the tips - yes, would love to be able to share this more extensively with him (he has tried Discover). Daughter is already certified, so it would be great to add another diver to the family

 

[large_diver]

There are a number of good shops around the area. I'm not aware of anything in or around Prospect Park particularly. I have taken instruction of one kind or another from these shops, and can recommend them:

* Scuba Center, with shops in Eagan and south Minneapolis
* A Diver's World, Lakeville
* Air Down There, Little Canada
* Minnesota School of Diving, Brainerd

Scuba Center conducts its instruction in Eagan, where they have classroom facilities and a pool.

A Diver's World generally steers people towards the on-line PADI course materials (which are quite good) in lieu of classroom work. They have a small classroom in their shop in Lakeville, and rent pool time from various schools around the south metro.

Air Down There usually uses pool facilities at two YMCA locations in the north metro.

Minnesota School of Diving often has lower prices for the open-water course due to their close proximity to suitable dive sites that do not require an expensive permit to use for instruction. Due to the distance, probably a poor choice for you, but something to keep in mind for the future.

All these places use a variety of instructors and so it's hard to characterize differences in a meaningful way.

There are other good shops too but these are the ones I know about.

Thanks for all the details - very helpful!

 

[2airishuman]

That being said, when I was originally OW certified (through PADI) I went with A Divers World. They're under new ownership, so can't speak to how it is now, but at the time they had very small class sizes: two students per instructor. Which was very appealing to me... And why we chose them over Scuba Center, which had a 8 Students per Instructor ratio at the time.

I do not believe the situation has changed at either of these shops. They are both good shops with different strengths.

A Diver's World typically has very small student-to-instructor ratios, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 being typical, and they arrange classes on an ad-hoc basis around students' schedules. Their primary clientele are vacation divers, that is, people who dive in the tropical paradise of their choice rather than locally. They have the air contract for the Minnesota Zoo and the Mall of America Aquarium. They do not offer any technical instruction, and do not offer nitrox fills. They primarily sell ScubaPro although I think they are also dealers for Atomic and NeoSport.

Scuba Center has larger classes which they run at more or less regular intervals. They have a broader clientele that includes public safety divers and a few technical divers as well as vacation divers. They offer nitrox fills at reasonable rates. I know they are dealers for Aqualung and DUI and I am certain they have other lines also including some swiftwater rescue gear, FFMs, and other public safety oriented stuff. They offer the PADI tec classes.

 

[large_diver]

I do not believe the situation has changed at either of these shops. They are both good shops with different strengths.

A Diver's World typically has very small student-to-instructor ratios, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 being typical, and they arrange classes on an ad-hoc basis around students' schedules. Their primary clientele are vacation divers, that is, people who dive in the tropical paradise of their choice rather than locally. They have the air contract for the Minnesota Zoo and the Mall of America Aquarium. They do not offer any technical instruction, and do not offer nitrox fills. They primarily sell ScubaPro although I think they are also dealers for Atomic and NeoSport.

Scuba Center has larger classes which they run at more or less regular intervals. They have a broader clientele that includes public safety divers and a few technical divers as well as vacation divers. They offer nitrox fills at reasonable rates. I know they are dealers for Aqualung and DUI and I am certain they have other lines also including some swiftwater rescue gear, FFMs, and other public safety oriented stuff. They offer the PADI tec classes.

More great info - thanks!

 

[large_diver]

I think he will end up at Scuba Center or Air Down there based on proximity to where he lives