Where near India can I go for my PADI open water?

[Rahul Gosain]

Hi Guys. Can you please suggest locations/dive clubs near India where I can go for my PADI open water? I am looking at some place which has very good reviews and offers the lowest cost possible. For my overall cost, I am factoring my travel from India (flights), accommodation and the cost of the course.

So far I believe that Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Havelock) is the best option in terms of price and cost. Indonesia seems a good option too but with the flight appears to be expensive overall. Philippines appears to be very cheap for cost of dive and the course but the flight from India will cost about USD 1500.

Any recommendations you have will be helpful. The dive club/resort should have a great reputation (preferably a 5* PADI)

Thank you.
Rahul

 

[elgoog]

If cost is your primary concern, the cheapest will probably be getting certified in Goa. I've dived with Goa Diving a few times and they were fine. Don't know if they're 5 star or not (why does this matter, anyway?)

The diving in Goa itself is OK, nothing to write home about but the good thing is that there's other things to do while you're there. The diving season is usually November to April, so keep that in mind when you're planning travel. Netrani Island (overnight trip from Goa) is better diving but the last thing I had heard was that all trips were cancelled due to some government ban on diving.

The quality of diving in Andaman and Nicobar is going to be leaps and bounds better than Goa but your cost will go up (maybe significantly). Getting to and from there is not as straight forward and, unless you time your flights perfectly and nothing gets delayed, you'll probably have to spend a night in Port Blair when you arrive and depart. This will then change your budget as well.

 

[Rahul Gosain]

What are your thoughts about Sri Lanka as a dive location? Any particular dive sites there that you recommend? Andaman (Havelock) will cast me a maximum of Rs 50K all inclusive. I don't know yet how much Sri Lanka would be.

 

[elgoog]

From what I know, Sri Lanka diving is almost all deep wreck diving which requires double tanks, mandatory deco training, etc. I don't think there's much there for beginning divers but I haven't done a lot of research about it.

 

[Pinecube]

The dive club/resort should have a great reputation (preferably a 5* PADI)

I'm not sure about the diving around India, but regarding the "PADI 5-Star"; that's a rating given by PADI to the dive shop for meeting certain criteria, not necessarily quality. (There are no 1, 2, 3, 4 star ratings). From what I understand, it is given to dive shops who do a certain amount of advertising and activly certify divers in courses beyond Open Water.

That said, the PADI 5-Star center may still provide great training, but you don't have to limit your searches to them.

 

[James R]

Maldives would be fairly close, but not cheap...really great diving, though. We really enjoyed diving there, plenty of shallower sites appropriate for training dives.

 

[abies]

I would second the Maldives great intro diving. We stayed on Hulhumale in a rental apartment and dove with a local shop it was a great trip and reasonably priced once I remove airfare. I have never been to Sri Lanka but my dad dove their and all he talked about was ripping currents and so-so vis. He isn't a super experienced diver so wasn't looking for challenging sites but that seems to be what he got.

Ben

 

[charlier]

I suggest that contact Orca Dive Club. Antes Adenwala is a outstanding instructor and works with PADI and CMAS. He also arranges live a board trips throughout Asia and the Americas. Have fun!

 

[The Laconic]

Consider the Seychelles, which are a bit farther but might (?) be cheaper than the Maldives.

 

[Searcaigh]

UAE is a short hop from some Indian cities, but you don't mention exactly which city you are from.

Sri Lanka is not all deep wrecks, there are plenty of places for OW training from what I have heard.