What should be expected when purchasing a guided dive trip?

[boulderjohn]

Please note that I am not defending the dive plan presented here. I made it clear that I think it is ridiculous and would not do it myself. The Suunto algorithm does penalize you as the week goes by--I used a Suunto Cobra for years, including a week of diving on the wrecks in Truck Lagoon, with many dives below 100 feet. I know what that is like; however, it is not going to go from their version of the PADI algorithm on the first day (105 minutes) to less than 40 minutes over a few days. Those dives are so ridiculously short and shallow that no computer is going to shut you out.

 

[dmaziuk]

Fair enough. Like I said, I was going by the screaming and wailing I see over in the computers forum, and much of that does sound like PEBCAK to me...

 

[boulderjohn]

On the reef dives I have done in the Keys: They run two trips a day. Each trip is a two tank trip. For each dive the request is that you are back in an hour with at least 500 psi. They provide air and weights and price is around 80-90 dollars per two tank trip. They have no problem getting in two two tank trips. Perhaps your run to the reef is longer? On a reef I find an hour is fine. 40 minutes is short.

This is a good comparison. I have done a fair amount of diving on Molasses Reef with several operators. A typical two tank trip can be just as shallow as this thread's topic, but that is because that is how deep a number of the sites are. The ones I have been with typically limit your dives to about 50 minutes or 500 PSI so they can keep to a schedule. They have a very comfortable surface interval. The boat ride out and back is pretty long, but you still have time for a comfortable lunch break if you are planning to do all 4 dives. A typical price is $80. Here is one such operator: Scuba Diving Florida Keys | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, FL

 

[Steve_C]

The boat ride out and back is pretty long,

I find them pretty short, but I am used to NC.

 

[Imla]

In cancun.... 2 40 minutes dives in 3 hrs... for $120.. HELL No....
I'd get to a different shop.. get a DS80 and a Stage... Pay $39 including 32% and go to a 4hrs+ dive in a cutesy little cave.

 

[jonhall]

I selected that it depends on the dive sites, but it really depends on the circumstances. If there were no other options, then yes, I would probably do one day of diving.

The OP's description sounds like a dive that I did with Vallarta Adventures a few years ago in Nuevo Vallarta. Around $160 for one dive which is really just an option of something to do on a boat trip to a location that allows for snorkeling and enjoying a beach with food and drink. Glad I did the dive, but knew I wasn't doing anymore after that. There were no other dive ops close to where I was staying (at least a 30 minute drive.) Think there are several companies in Mexico that operate this way.

 

[Germie]

Never. A dive is at least 60 minutes and a reefdive of max 12m cannot be worth to pay for.
A cave does not need to be deep, but even then I would never pay 120 bucks for 2 times 40 minutes.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Depth is not a big issue for me. Unless it is a wall or special swim through at 120 feet, there is not much of an attraction for me to go deep. I probably prefer a 40-60 foot dive because that's where most of the sea life is....not to mention longer bottom times as well as natural colors above 40 feet.

My operator in Cozumel charges $92 for a 2 tank dive, add the 16% tax, marine park fee, and Nitrox, less 10% cash discount and I'm close to your cost for a 2 tank dive. BUT, that for a small boat with like skilled divers, steel hp120 tanks, Nitrox, long surface interval at a beach club with full facilities, excellent DM's, dive parkas, convenient pickup and drop off to our hotel, and "valet" service for the gear. 90 minute dives are more common than not and I don't think I have had but 1 normal dive that was less than 70 minutes. 1 very fast high current dive was less than an hour, but it was a workout...and lots of fun.

We're going to Belize in April and a Blue Hole trip is around $300 perdiver...but it's an all day trip to a (admittedly underwhelming) bucket list dive site.

Value is what I look for and that will vary from person to person. I could dive in Cozumel for a little over $60 for a two tank dive with a great dive op. The going rate for a aluminum 80's seems to be around $80. I would not consider (2) 40 minute dives on a cattle boat with a short SI a good value.

All that being said, if the boats are continually booked up, and the service is similar to what the competitions are charging.....then the market will obviously bear that rate.

Good luck,
Jay

 

[yle]

I'm an instructor working at a dive shop in mexico, I have worked at a couple of other shops as well, and am looking for people's opinions, and thoughts on the value of an average 2 tank dive trip. the shop i currently work at charges $120 for a 2 tank dive.

There's a lot of missing info in your scenario. $120 for two shallow dives is outrageous in some places (my experience has been that two dives in Coz or Key Largo typically run around $70) but not so out of line in others (my experience in Hawaii was that a 2-tank trip was around $120.)

The simple fact, however, is that if the dive op is selling the trips you describe for $120, then someone must think it's worth the price. So if you're selling 10 spots on a dive trip and 10,000 people say "hell no, I'd never buy that!" but 10 people say "sure, I'll take a spot"... then your price was well chosen. It's simple economics.

I've heard that in Belize dive ops sell a 3-tank trip to the Blue Hole for about $300. The trip includes one short dive in the hole and two more at other sites. Is it worth $300? Not to me, and not to a lot of people. But we're irrelevant. Apparently it's worth it to enough people to keep the operation going.

 

[yle]

I'm an instructor working at a dive shop in mexico, I have worked at a couple of other shops as well, and am looking for people's opinions, and thoughts on the value of an average 2 tank dive trip. the shop i currently work at charges $120 for a 2 tank dive. Those dives are capped at 40 minutes, regardless of how much air is left in your tank.

If your shop is in Cancun (I thought somewhere in this thread stated this...) it could be that the owner has built a considerable "risk premium" into the price. That is, anyone choosing to pay $120 for the trip you describe in Cancun, instead hopping over to Cozumel, is already demonstrating questionable decision-making and so represents a greater risk to the dive op (and the crew) in the water.

And maybe there are enough customers with poor decision making skills in Cancun to keep the boats filled.