Learning to Dive in Indonesia

Paul C <paulcullen@gmail.com> wrote:

> I presume Indonesia would be cheapest.

Would you go to Indonesia to learn to drive because it was cheaper?

nigelH

Paul C <paulcullen@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm travelling around the world for a year, Indonesia, Gran canaria,
> Australia, New Zealand etc. Just wondering where the cheapest place
> would be to learn to dive and get a recongnised cert.. PADI etc. I
> presume Indonesia would be cheapest. Any info on where to go, prices,
> tips etc?
>
> Any information would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
> Paul

You will probably find that Koh Tao in Thailand is one of the least
expensive. That is not cheep but inexpensive. The reason for this is due
to economics of size and numbers. FWIW the gulf of Thailand (Koh Samui
Koh Phangan and Koh Tao) issues around 500,000 PADI certifications per
year and this enables the schools to offer lower prices while maintaning
quality.

At Asia Divers and Buhhada View the cost is 8,500 Bhat or 115 pounds and
you will get a 100 Baht discount for 4 nights accomidation and the
policy is a maximum of 6 student per course and there is usually at
least 1 DMT (Dive Master Trainee) and often an MSDT trainee along as
well.

The usual accomidation prices after discount are between 200 and 400
Bhat per night.

http://www.asia-divers.com/home.htm
http://www.buddhaview-diving.com/pages/openwater.htm

--
>replace spamblock with my family name to e-mail me

paulcullen@gmail.com (Paul C) wrote in message news:<14ccba14.0503310121.453391b4@posting.google. com>...
> Hi,
>
> I'm travelling around the world for a year, Indonesia, Gran canaria,
> Australia, New Zealand etc. Just wondering where the cheapest place
> would be to learn to dive and get a recongnised cert.. PADI etc. I
> presume Indonesia would be cheapest. Any info on where to go, prices,
> tips etc?
>
> Any information would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
> Paul

I have just come back from the Philippines. I was impressed by the
quality of the instruction and the professionalism of the instructors
& the school. The hire gear was also top notch (I didn't use it, but
lots of others did). Prices were much lower than the Red Sea (which
is my usual haunt). Was not impressed by Indonesia, uninterested
divemasters were just doing a job instead of something they loved. It
came through in the way the dives were done.

More important than location is the quality of the school. Find
somewhere that you feel comfortable with the instructors. Also check
out the equipment (I presume you will be using it!). If any metal
shows signs of rust of wear, avoid. Same goes to a degree for other
equipment.

Might be worth having a try dive before you decide to go with a
school. You can then make sure that you actually like it as well as
checking out the personnel.

[scubafreak]

Yeah I guess you can say that again! I would have to agree about the Philippines. They have very good instructors and the best is they have great dive spots, but unfortunately some of their equipments are really not that 100% good and so you just need to be careful. Learning this type of activity is not really cheap. As you would put it, you are learning a very dangerous sport and you might wanna learn it safely.