SDI OW Referral in Karon Beach, Phuket?

[PeterB]

Hi All,

A couple of questions. I'm a PADI Rescue diver. I have a friend who's taking a OW referral course in New York before we go to Thailand for a week which will include some diving. She had been told to get a PADI center (sorry guys - just because there are more PADI places - not saying that is right!), but says she was told by her local dive shop that it WAS PADI. She comes back with the course materials and they're SDI.

I have a number of specific questions:
1. Any recommendations for SDI places she could do an OW referral course near Karon beach in Phuket? I saw the SDI list on their website and have emailed Ocean Zone as I've heard good things and they aren't too far down in Chalong (although their website only mentions tech courses so I'm not sure if they do rec OW referrals). Would love to find a place actually on Karon beach, though.
2. Can she do an OW referral at a PADI place or would she have to start from scratch as the training is different (less focus on tables, etc)?
3. Do you think it'd be unreasonable if we couldn't figure out 1 or 2 for her to go back and ask for a refund from the SDI store? She says she asked specifically whether it was PADI and was told yes, although that's always gonna be a "he said she said".

Any thoughts on *any* of the above would be much appreciated. We just want to find a way she can get her OW and try out diving without it becoming an epic. We fly out in just under two weeks . . .

Thanks for any thoughts on any of the above . . .

 

[frisbylc]

I am having the same issue. I just signed up for an SDI course in Indiana and feel that I may have made a mistake. I need to complete my open water dives in Phuket and was wondering how easy this is to do with an SDI referral vs a PADI referral. I am considering asking for a refund because I have not started the course yet.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Quero]

Lots of stores have more than one affiliation, and many instructors have credentials through more than one agency. It's very possible that your friend's NY store and the instructor assigned to her are among them; giving her the SDI materials may have been a simple mistake. She should go back and ask for the PADI materials and a PADI instructor if that's what she wants.

Having said that, Ocean Zone is indeed primarily a tech shop, but this season they are trying to expand their recreational dive training segment. They are great guys!

 

[stiggy]

SDI :: Divers :: Facility Courses Search

Follow the link there are stores in phuket that can help you.

 

[AKA_Longlegs]

guru of all things phuket and diving is Jamie; check out his blog and send him a message

Jamie's Phuket Blog - The Real Phuket