How to Find a Scuba Diving Course

So you’re interested in learning to scuba dive? Wonderful. Diving is a fantastic way of exploring a part of the Earth that so few get to enjoy. The number of underwater ecosystems is as varied as those on land, and can offer a lifetime worth of exploration and adventure. Before slipping into that wet suit and strapping on your BCD, though, you need to take a course and become certified. Here are some steps to finding a course that will suit you best.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Decide how much time you can devote to the course during a week. Many programs can certify you in a three- or four-day period. Others can extend it over a period of weeks. You can even incorporate your dive training with your next vacation. Whatever your schedule, there is a course to suit.
2. Choose a certifying program. Most people are familiar with PADI, otherwise known as the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. This association is spread out and recognized all over the globe, and is likely to be the easiest program to find, depending on your location. There are other programs, though, such as NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International) that can provide proper training and certification.
3. Talk with any friends who are also divers. Ask them for recommendations on where to do your course. Where do they rent or service gear? Does that shop also offer training?
4. Speak with the dive shops and instructors directly. Ask them their costs, course schedules and the ratio between instructor and student. Choose a course that gives you the most one on one attention.
5. Find out if any of the courses incorporate specialty dive training in their certifying course. In some climates, particularly the Northeast, your initial training may involve dry suit training because of low water temperature. This course usually costs extra, but many shops in cold water areas include it in the initial certification cost.
6. Choose the course that suits you best. Go on your gut feeling--if you like the instructor in one shop more than another go with that shop. Your dive training should be fun and exciting, and part of that has to do with the person instructing you.

Tips & Warnings

• It’s always more fun to do your dive course with someone you know. Ask around and see if any friends or family are also interested. They also become great dive buddies once you have been certified.
• Never learn how to dive from a friend that is not a certified instructor. Though scuba diving is a safe sport, it is safe only because the divers are trained. Even those that have years of experience have trouble on occasion and it is their training that helps them stay safe.