March 7, 2015
The number 1 rule for diving is “never stop breathing.” Pretty simple. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. That’s the most important thing you need to know about diving. Think you can handle that? Then you are already half way there!
The Buddy System
It is important to follow your own dreams, but sometimes it’s OK to get swept up in someone else’s adventure. Last fall a good friend of mine and I decided to take a trip to Cozumel, Mexico, leave the girls at home, and just get away. He had dove before on a very basic level, and suggested we learn to dive, get certified, and dive for a week. Learn to live underwater for an hour at a time? Sounds good to me!
Planning the Dive
So here’s the run down of what you will need to do once you know when your time off work will be. I’m not a big fan of planning way out in advance, so we started about 1 month before go time. Sometimes this works against me for flight prices. However, as long as you can swim confidently, this time frame is definitely doable. (Yeah, swimming is a requirement. Being a world class swimmer is not.)
- Book confined water dives (beginning pool training) with a local dive shop
- Book flight and accommodations
- Sign up for PADI e-learning course
- Book Open water referral dives with a dive shop at your destination
The list’s order isn’t necessarily critical. However, this is the order I worked in, and there is some reason for it as we’ll see.
Pool Party!
The first thing I suggest doing, especially if planning on the short notice side of the spectrum, is working out the confined water dives with a dive shop. It’s just that scheduling can become an issue, and we want to make sure we can get this complete before the trip. Depending on where you live there may be few or many options to do this. I live in the middle of the Midwest- there are not many options. Still, this is what you are looking for when you call:
- “I am looking to do my PADI e-learning, and confined water dives here, so that I can do my open water referral for certification in [destination.] Do you guy’s do that?”
- Find out when they have classes available, and how long it will take. This can be done in a day. If they tell you if can’t- time to call another shop. I drove an hour to another city to make this happen. Of course, this is a little up to you, your schedule, and preferences. However, it is very reasonable to do in 1 day, as long as you come focused, and ready to play ball.
- Ask them for the process to sign up for their PADI e-learning course.
- Pay as required. (I’m sure there is a little room to price shop here too if you want. For us, time, and scheduling were the controlling concerns.)
Flip-flops and Belt-less Pants- It’s Time for the Airport
Now that we’re sure we can get the training in, it’s time to book the travel. If you have all the time in the world I suppose you could wait till you get done with the pool course to make sure you like it, pass, ect, but where’s the fun in that? Put a little on the line! Give yourself a reason to win, and if for some reason class doesn’t work out, I’m sure you will still have a very nice vacation in Mexico. (The land of second chances?)
The way I usually book is through travel sites. I don’t have a favorite, so take your pick- Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak. Pick the option for flight + hotel. This usually does save money versus doing everything in piecemeal. If it’s a trip to Mexico, I think all-inclusive resorts are the way to go. They are a lot less than you might imagine, and the times I’ve looked into more accommodation-only set-ups the price difference just doesn’t seem to offset the cost of food, and other expenses. Shop around. Find what you like.
*Beware of “coupons” and other “gifts” when making your decision. Often they are restrictive, and require additional purchasing. We found one that should have included most of the cost of our diving, even reading all the fine print available, and it still proved disastrous. Ultimately, we changed our booking to a different resort. The “coupons” might prove to be a nice perk, but I wouldn’t make my decision based on anything that is not money off the price of your booking.
It would also be important at this point to check out the quality of diving you can expect where you are going. You can’t go wrong in Cozumel. If not there, google it.
Got all that? Good. Now book.
“Back to School. Back to School, to Prove to Dad that I’m Not a Fool.” (in that sing-songy Billy Madison voice)
The PADI e-learning program is where you are going to learn everything you need to know to dive, and dive safely. Scuba diving has serious risks, and this stuff is important. This post is about the process for making this adventure a reality, but I’m going to let PADI do all the heavy lifting when it comes to teaching you to dive. The program itself is very straight forward. You will need to complete this prior to your appointment at the pool. You can do it in a couple of days off, if you are good/comfortable with all day study sessions. Otherwise, 2-3 hours per evening for a week should also do it. There are tests, so take the amount of time you know you need to retain information. All in all though, it’s not bad or difficult.
Shopping for a Dive Company
Your resort may have a dive company onsite. This has it’s advantages in that it is close, easy, and should mean less planning. However, like any company, it is important to look at a couple reviews about quality, crowdedness, and so on. We went with an outside company called Dive with Martin, that I have nothing but good things to say about. A lot of places the boats will pick you up from the resort docks, so they are just as simple/easy as the ones on the resorts.
The other things to consider mainly revolve around price. Most companies will have packages based on the number of days you want to dive, or you can negotiate one. Be sure to look into the cost of renting equipment. Hopefully it’s free. Since you presumably have none, you will be needing your BCD, gauges, mask, and fins. Depending on where and when you dive, you may also need a wetsuit. You may want a dive computer which you will learn about in your e-training (I didn’t use one, which may or may not have been the safest idea.)
It is a good idea to research dive companies while looking at destinations just to make sure there are good options available where you are going. Go ahead and contact them to inquire about “Open Water referral dives,” for the dates you are going. This is going to be a series of 4 dives over 2 days to complete your training, and obtain your certification. You will do these at the beginning of your trip.
However, wait to confirm any non-refundable bookings with them till after you complete your confined dives. I have nothing but faith that you can do this. Still, I have known people that “couldn’t” dive. It just wasn’t for them. There is something very unnatural about breathing underwater, and, while after you are used to it it becomes almost effortless, in the beginning some people find it a non-starter. Complete your confined dives, then run home, and click send.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Panic
So what are your options if the confined dives don’t go well? Well for starters you could try again. It is possible to do this whole process on the resort. The reason we are doing it this way is to get the boring stuff out of the way so you don’t have to study on vacation, and so you get more time seeing the amazing reefs. However, if you just want another go at it, your dive company will be happy to do that for you, and you’ve already got the studying down.
Snorkeling is another good option. You can still see the reefs, and reef life without being underwater any longer than you can hold your breath, or not at all, if you prefer. Talk to the dive company, or the staff at your resort about this option.
After that… um… aquariums? Maybe scuba is not for you. Still, if you went though e-learning, and did anything at all in the pool- good on you for trying! There are people around you that will have accomplished far less in that time. You will still have trained yourself a little more to do something far more important that scuba diving- trying new, exciting things, and introducing a little adventure into your life! Plus you are still going to be maxin’ and relaxin’ in the tropical sun for like a week right? There’s no complaining about that!
Dive, Dive, Dive
That is it! Go through these steps, and you are all set to see some of the most amazing sights I have ever witnessed. If this has sounded even remotely exciting to you, it is time. Start knocking out any excuses that come to mind, and start working down the list. It’s going to be awesome!
The number 1 rule for diving is “never stop breathing.” It’s also a top rule for life. Take a deep breath. Take it all in. Then run to your next adventure! Never stop breathing, and never stop exploring all that this world has out there!
Venture to Dream
-Michael Speck