Dive Lessons

[ron101]

Originally Posted by trilinearmipmap

Also if you could go anywhere in the world to learn to dive, where would it be? I was told the Caymans or Cozumel, I was thinking of an island in Thailand.

IMO Learn to dive at home. Unless you are going to be on an extended holiday, don't waste your holiday time learning to dive. Trust me, you would rather be out on the reef instead of in a pool or 10 ft off the beach learning your skills.

Certification courses in the GVRD are competitively priced with those offered by shops at tourist destinations and arguably offer a higher standard of training considering the cold water environment.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK.

I am so busy I won't have time to learn to dive until I get a holiday anyway.

I was always scared of diving until I met a father/son pair on my last vacation who do scuba together, they made it sound pretty easy, now I am keen on doing it.

I'm surprised at how many people on these boards dive.

As far as diving in a tropical location, do you need to own any of your own equipment to start with if you are going for a lesson package. Obviously people who dive a lot will have most or all of their own equipment, what about a beginner?

My other question was about wet suits in tropical destinations. Obviously at the surface the water is warm but deeper down do you need to wear anything to stay warm or is the temperature still comfortable?

[ron101]

Pretty much any shop that runs cert courses will have equipment for rent. Quality will of course vary.

In the tropics, most people will at least wear a shorty wetsuit. Those are about the best that you will find at a tropical dive shop since they are the least expensive. Even in the tropics however, it is not unusual to get cold in a shorty. You will often see instructors and experienced divers wearing full 3, 4, or 5mm wetsuits.