Learning to dive in the UK

Hi there

I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there was
anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of weekends,
even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.

I guess I could arrange private sessions if need be but not really sure
where to try to arrange this.

I live near Reading in Berkshire

Any help appreciated.

Stephen wrote:
> Hi there
>
> I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there was
> anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of weekends,
> even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.

This is certainly possible. Indeed that's how I learnt to dive - we
were going on holiday to the Maldives and did our OW course in the
UK, ending up with the OW sessions the weekend before going away.
It's worth doing the whole thing in the UK as it will be cheaper and
you can spend your holiday diving, not doing drills.

> I guess I could arrange private sessions if need be but not really sure
> where to try to arrange this.

There are plenty of dive schools around. Near you for example is
Berkshire Dive Crew (http://www.divecrew.co.uk/). You could also
check out the dive shop in Lower Earley (http://www.divestyle.co.uk/).

> I live near Reading in Berkshire

So do I :)

- Keith

Try Phil Riall - excellent instructor and has in the past done open
water courses over a few weekends though not sure if he still does.
Telephone number is 01252 790252 - he's based near Farnham and his pool
sessions are in Yateley on a Monday night. Definately worth a phone
call...

Good luck and tell him Lumpy says hi!!!

Donna :)


--
Donna

'Always be the best you can be'
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> I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there was
> anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of
weekends,
> even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.
Stephen where you going in the maldives as the current can be quite
strong.
dont worry about it too much, just tell the dive guides how much diving you
have done
they sugest dives to avoid and dive that you should do.

You will love it have a nice trip

David

In article <ch5kg9$euc$1@titan.btinternet.com>, im@fedup.com says...
> > I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there was
> > anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of
> weekends,
> > even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.
> Stephen where you going in the maldives as the current can be quite
> strong.
> dont worry about it too much, just tell the dive guides how much diving you
> have done
> they sugest dives to avoid and dive that you should do.
>
> You will love it have a nice trip
>
> David
>
>
>
PADI do (used to do?) a referral course. You can do all the boring
classroom & pool training and then finish the course at any PADI centre.
If you know your intended resort you should be able to contact them via
the PADI site beforehand and check prices and book yourself the open
water dives to complete your course.

Pip pip
--
Chris Notton
Replace "nospam" with my surname to reply by email
Sostituisca il "nospam" con il mio cognome per rispondere
}<////(*>

Thanks for the note Keith.

Contacted both these companies and they both responded really quickly and
were able to meet my requirements.

I start with Divestyle this week




"Keith S." <false@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:2pml8aFml04cU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Stephen wrote:
> > Hi there
> >
> > I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there
was
> > anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of
weekends,
> > even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.
>
> This is certainly possible. Indeed that's how I learnt to dive - we
> were going on holiday to the Maldives and did our OW course in the
> UK, ending up with the OW sessions the weekend before going away.
> It's worth doing the whole thing in the UK as it will be cheaper and
> you can spend your holiday diving, not doing drills.
>
> > I guess I could arrange private sessions if need be but not really sure
> > where to try to arrange this.
>
> There are plenty of dive schools around. Near you for example is
> Berkshire Dive Crew (http://www.divecrew.co.uk/). You could also
> check out the dive shop in Lower Earley (http://www.divestyle.co.uk/).
>
> > I live near Reading in Berkshire
>
> So do I :)
>
> - Keith

In article <ch569j$bbl$1@titan.btinternet.com>, Stephen
<NO@SPAMsm.vincent.invalid> writes
>Hi there
>
>I am going on holiday to the Maldives soon and wondered whether there was
>anyway of learning to dive in the UK over a course of a couple of weekends,
>even if the open water dives had to be carried out whilst away.
>
>I guess I could arrange private sessions if need be but not really sure
>where to try to arrange this.
>
>I live near Reading in Berkshire
>
>Any help appreciated.

Yes, Ask a dive school about a PADI "open water referral".

Do the bookwork (and video/DVD watching) in the UK, together with some
pool dives and the straightforward exam. Then do the "real" diving
abroad.

I watched the videos at home, read the book and did the pool
dives/training over two evenings (the only two evenings I could get
before my holiday).

It works out a little more expensive but it saves you a couple of
"wasted" days on holiday.

Even if you can't get the proper referral done before you go, get hold
of the book/video and read/watch those before your holiday to get a bit
of extra time on the beach instead of in the classroom.

When you've finished the course off, carry straight on with the Advanced
course. There's a lot less bookwork (than the open water) and more real
diving with just a bit of theory thrown in. Many of the dives are in the
18-30m region where the schools will like you to have the AOW
certificate.
--
David Mahon