Where to go for my DMT?

[Clifty]

Hey...

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to where to head to do my Divemaster course. Thinking of leaving about Oct time...

I really want to go somewhere people recommend, where they have really enjoyed their time and experience there and also found it easy and helpful. Id love to hear your thoughts and ideas.. open to ideas for anywhere in the world! ;-)

Hope someone can help! ;-)

 

[Scared Silly]

Seems Utila is a popular place for this. However, do you really have only less than 24 dives? 60 is the minimum to be certified for PADI but more would be better.

 

[philmayer]

If you really have less than 24 dives, you need to spend a LOT more time becoming a better diver before you even consider working on your DM cert.

 

[Clifty]

Of course, i will be adding more logged dives before i commence the DMT.

Most of the courses i am looking at also offer you the chance to reach the required amount of dives to become certified.

Any places of recommendation would be great...

Thanks

 

[marinediva]

I can only recommend what I know about and suggest you do a lot of research. I looked for a dive center in asia and found Buddha View in Koh Tao, think they are fantastic, very busy with lots of classes. If you head to asia you are travelling at the end of a peak season, so a bigger school means more diving. Often smaller schools means only two dives a day.

I would suggest you look at what you need and want.
If you want to work in the UK as a DM why not do a BSAC DM course.
DJL Diving | Koh Tao Thailand | PADI 5* Dive Resort | dive internships check out this web site
I have not used them yet but am considering doing a cross over there.

In considering where to go, you will hear lots of good and bad about asian internships.
It is what you make of it.

 

[youngscubadiver]

why do you want to go around the world just for a course why dont you take it where you live? seems like a lot of money to spend

 

[marinediva]

Good question.....

I spent eight months in Thailand doing my courses it worked out that I could leave australia, live and stay in Thailand for all that time, buy my gear which is top range gear,
and get DM OWI and MSDT for the same price as doing those courses here.

Plus wait there more...........I got lots of experience diving everyday, four or five times.

 

[youngscubadiver]

I can only recommend what I know about and suggest you do a lot of research. I looked for a dive center in asia and found Buddha View in Koh Tao, think they are fantastic, very busy with lots of classes. If you head to asia you are travelling at the end of a peak season, so a bigger school means more diving. Often smaller schools means only two dives a day.

I would suggest you look at what you need and want.
If you want to work in the UK as a DM why not do a BSAC DM course.
DJL Diving | Koh Tao Thailand | PADI 5* Dive Resort | dive internships check out this web site
I have not used them yet but am considering doing a cross over there.

In considering where to go, you will hear lots of good and bad about asian internships.
It is what you make of it.

i checked out the site and if i am translating money correctly it costs almost $800 USD for the Divemaster course and $3,400 USD for the MSDT so if you are willing to pay that much and travel i would suggest chipoladivers.com because their prices are less then half of that

 

[philmayer]

Most of the courses i am looking at also offer you the chance to reach the required amount of dives to become certified.

You're not listening.

You need to do a LOT more diving so that you understand what you're going to learn and will be competent to assist students. PADI may require 60 dives, but if you're not an excellent diver, you have NO BUSINESS becoming a DM. As a DM, your role is to instill CONFIDENCE in the divers under your supervision. If you can't even hover, how are you going to do that? If you don't have any EXPERIENCE, how will you be able to answer students' questions.

I'm not talking about a NUMBER. I'm talking about an ATTITUDE.

 

[fisherdvm]

It is kind of sad, but PADI apparently has an option so you can take courses to meet your dive requirement. Apparently if your dives are made up of specialty courses, you can actually lower the dive requirement to sit for the instructor's exam from 100 dives to 60 dives. For some crazy reason, they believe that "specialty course" dives are worth more than regular dives.

With that said, I do believe that it is important for DM's to demonstrate good to exceptional diving skills. If students were to see that a DM "pro" bicycling and mucking up the bottom, they will never sign up for another class with that instructor again. And that instructor will never ask you to assist in another class again.

As far as leading dives as a DM, one need to be aware that most recreational divers have had in excess of 60 dives, and many are exceptional divers. If one can not navigate a reef, or breaking rules in the water - you might not last very long as a hired dive leader.