I'm planning on a pan SE Asia trip and then heading north to China all over the course of about 4-6 months starting in March, and it occurred to me that I hear a lot about diving in Thailand and how awesome it is. Question is, how much did you end up paying for your diving certification? Did you do it before you went or are there classes you can take over there? If so is it cheap, safe and legit??
Here in NYC I'm looking to spend around $500 before I even hit the open water, then maybe another $200 for the final 4 classes before I could get the certification. That digs into my budget a little too much, so that's why I'm wondering if there's a cheaper and equally good option once I get over there.
Reply to this Hi Woz,
Diving around SE Asia is definitely cheaper...and warmer than in NYC. And it will be way more relaxing.
Thailand is a safe bet to start with. I would avoid Phuket and hit straight at Phi Phi or Koh Lanta. I went to Phi Phi before the tsunami.
If you can, do your course in Phi Phi than try to go on a liveaboard in the Similan.
You just need to take in consideration that from May, it's not the best place to be.
Have fun!
Peter
Reply to this You'll probably pay less than $200 to do your Padi Open Water in Thailand. Check guide books such as Lonely Planet and Rough Guide to see which dive operators they recommend as these are likely to be legit and safe. Of course there are many other dive operators not in the books who are equally safe. You can always ask to see certification and things.
Love NYC by the way, just got back from there a few days ago and loved the place.
Reply to this Thanks, this is great! I have a lonely planet book actually and didn't realize they had that until you mentioned it. hah. Very exciting 😊
Reply to this Definitely agree with PA Leslie. If you have time, do the course on land and then I recommend doing a 3-4 night live aboard diving trip to Similan/Surin Islands. It is incredible. If you dont have time, get certified on the liveaboard, but not as ideal as the first option.
Reply to this Hey Woz, if you are serious about diving where will the majority of your diving be done? In warm bathtub waters or colder climes like NYC area?
If its the colder climates, then do your Open Water at home if possible. You'll be better suited to function w/ a full 8 ml wet suit and will understand what to do at 30 feet when its cold and any warm water diving will be like being in the local pool.
I come from the middle of Canada and at 90 feet down its colder than any tropical water I've been in at same depths and I like the idea that I can function with no issues.
If you're just trying to cert for cheap so you can say you did then your mileage may vary
Reply to this Hi Woz
I have dove extensively over SEAsia and in my opinion, the diving there is much better than what I have seen in Oz on the GBR, or in the Caribbean even, the coral and fish life is beyond comparison. The Red Sea is good, but colder. Africa is great but varies much with the season, and is ridiculously expensive at around 80 USD a dive. The diving in Asia is also much cheaper, I would say 30 USD per. The cert can't cost you more than 350 USD all in and will take you 4 days. There are definitely some dodgy operations though, but they are easily avoided by always diving with PADI 5 star operations - plenty in each of the Asian diving meccas. Diving in Asia also offers by default full-service, they kit up your tank etc (you'll have to do it yourself for the cert anyways, good to know), I'm not sure why more so than other parts of the world but it does.
I would highly recommend getting certified in Asia, you will start off seeing the best stuff, diving comfortable waters, and the dives you take on the cert will be awesome and not just diving to get certified. On my cert dives in Bali, I saw 3 mola-mola, turtles, mantas, sharks, etc. Check out Sipidan, Bali, Thailand is a really popular choice, some of the best I have seen in Philippines. The only risk is that you may get spoiled starting off so high...
Happy diving...
Reply to this Thanks for the great info everyone! This has been something I've wanted to do for a long time now so I'm glad to hear that it's cheap and reliable to get certified down there. Definitely one of the first things to do on my itinerary. I haven't included Bali or the Philippines in my plans because of time constraints and the travel costs involved in getting there, but I do hear they're great and I certainly could change my mind once I finally get into the water.
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