Community Forum

bearkeley · 01-23-2009, 05:50 PM

Just got back from our first trip to Aruba and wanted to first thank this board for the great insights -- helped us prepare for a great trip!

I wasn't sure I was actually going to do be able to get certified as an Open Water Diver, but with a very patient dive instructor, I am now able to appreciate a whole new world!

If you are thinking of diving, keep the following in mind:

* Aruba is a great place to begin ....nice shallow dives with lots of fish and wrecks (apparently rare for new divers to see these!)

* Consider private instructors. I am not very athletic and was nervous about diving so I decided to go with private-diving.com (other places offer it private dive instructors too, but private-diving was really awesome!). I really had the opportunity to have a customized plan (my husband is certified and was with us on all my dives and still had a blast!) and most important, it was really great to have the dive sites to ourselves rather than having a boat load of other divers (private-diving knew exactly what time the large dive operations were coming and timed our dives right before theirs). The price was competitive with the other shops.

* I didn't know you can count the resort dive as one of your dives until Private Diving suggested it. If you like snorkeling but not sure about diving, definitely start with a resort dive first. Private Diving suggested I do this first to make sure I liked them before committing to the full course with them. Marcel (my dive instructor) was awesome so my husband and I decided to stick with him and the rest of the guys who worked with him.

* Take the online Padi course before you go to Aruba. Instead of wasting my vacation time studying, I took the course online before my trip. Private Diving just reduced their price by whatever the cost was for their test so it wasnt a big deal.

*Arubalisa* · 01-23-2009, 09:59 PM

Congratulations on your certification. Now you can book a second trip to get your Advanced Open water cert.

Thanks for posting this info. We have considered using this company for a "family dive".

arubamark · 01-27-2009, 01:45 AM

Yeah congrats on your cert, diving is really a great sport. While I was in college I did my open water, advanced, medic, rescue, divemaster with specialties in u/w hunter, videography, wreck / penetration, search and recovery and I am sure there a few others I am missing. When first starting to dive I think is the most exciting, you will enter all of your details in your log book and you can always try something new and different. I gave up logging dives somewhere around 300+. Enjoy the sport but also respect it, I have saved 1 to many lives 100+ feet down over the years. My advice to you being a new diver is to get as comfortable as possible with your equipment and your diving abilities. I do not like to have to rely on someone else or be the one who is following someone who is kicking up all the silt reducing visibilty. You be the leader. If you have any questions feel free to ask I am sure I and others on the board can help out! Just remember to control the dive do not let the dive control you. Again, Congrats!

Chadd · 02-04-2009, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearkeley

* Take the online Padi course before you go to Aruba. Instead of wasting my vacation time studying, I took the course online before my trip. Private Diving just reduced their price by whatever the cost was for their test so it wasnt a big deal.

I did the online course as well, made sense for me since I had a lot of time to kill in bad hotels across the northeast. My dives were with Red Sail and after clearing the confined water requirements in 20 minutes or so, we were running to catch the boat and hit the open water. I think all of my certification dives were either at Arashi or the Pedernales.

01-23-2009, 05:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
bearkeley Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2	A Happy New Scuba Diver! Just got back from our first trip to Aruba and wanted to first thank this board for the great insights -- helped us prepare for a great trip! I wasn't sure I was actually going to do be able to get certified as an Open Water Diver, but with a very patient dive instructor, I am now able to appreciate a whole new world! If you are thinking of diving, keep the following in mind: * Aruba is a great place to begin ....nice shallow dives with lots of fish and wrecks (apparently rare for new divers to see these!) * Consider private instructors. I am not very athletic and was nervous about diving so I decided to go with private-diving.com (other places offer it private dive instructors too, but private-diving was really awesome!). I really had the opportunity to have a customized plan (my husband is certified and was with us on all my dives and still had a blast!) and most important, it was really great to have the dive sites to ourselves rather than having a boat load of other divers (private-diving knew exactly what time the large dive operations were coming and timed our dives right before theirs). The price was competitive with the other shops. * I didn't know you can count the resort dive as one of your dives until Private Diving suggested it. If you like snorkeling but not sure about diving, definitely start with a resort dive first. Private Diving suggested I do this first to make sure I liked them before committing to the full course with them. Marcel (my dive instructor) was awesome so my husband and I decided to stick with him and the rest of the guys who worked with him. * Take the online Padi course before you go to Aruba. Instead of wasting my vacation time studying, I took the course online before my trip. Private Diving just reduced their price by whatever the cost was for their test so it wasnt a big deal. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook Last edited by Arubalisa; 01-23-2009 at 09:57 PM.

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01-23-2009, 09:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
Arubalisa Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: Boca Catalina Posts: 10,111 Images: 167	Congratulations on your certification. Now you can book a second trip to get your Advanced Open water cert. Thanks for posting this info. We have considered using this company for a "family dive". Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook __________________ Aruba Bound! ~ Blogging to Aruba ~ Cat Resource Directory ~ Our-Cruises ~ Pictures of Aruba

01-27-2009, 01:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
arubamark Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Rennaissance Island & Bully's Taxi Posts: 1,293 Images: 47	Yeah congrats on your cert, diving is really a great sport. While I was in college I did my open water, advanced, medic, rescue, divemaster with specialties in u/w hunter, videography, wreck / penetration, search and recovery and I am sure there a few others I am missing. When first starting to dive I think is the most exciting, you will enter all of your details in your log book and you can always try something new and different. I gave up logging dives somewhere around 300+. Enjoy the sport but also respect it, I have saved 1 to many lives 100+ feet down over the years. My advice to you being a new diver is to get as comfortable as possible with your equipment and your diving abilities. I do not like to have to rely on someone else or be the one who is following someone who is kicking up all the silt reducing visibilty. You be the leader. If you have any questions feel free to ask I am sure I and others on the board can help out! Just remember to control the dive do not let the dive control you. Again, Congrats! Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Share Post on Facebook Last edited by arubamark; 01-27-2009 at 03:52 AM.