Looking for destination and shop recommendations on where to get them all certified. Was thinking Belize, Cozumel or Roatan but open to other ideas. I did mine in Houston 20 years ago and all my other certs mostly in Thailand and Indonesia but not looking to go that far from home.

Ideally, this would be a 7 or 8 day trip with 3-4 days for the certification process/fun dives and then a few days doing other stuff outdoors.

Since these boys eat as much as they do, we were thinking about an all inclusive (not my vibe at all) since they can have food readily available anytime, but wasnt sure if that is logistically smart or feasible.

Boys ages are 15 and 25 and this will be their first time going out of country.

Thanks for any info.

I dove with Tank-Ha in Playa Del Carmen and was really impressed with their operation. Gear was good, divemasters were safety focused and prices were fair. The shallow reef dives of Playa would make for easy 1st dives and you could still go to Cozumel and do other dives.

Bolongo Bay, USVI.

St Thomas Dive shop is on premises. My boys got certified there when they were 12 and 14.

Great old hotel; more like a 70's motel that just happens to be on the beach; run by the same family for nearly 40years. All inclusive if you want it. GREAT food. Great bar. Great value.

I'd actually suggest getting the coursework done ahead of time and the do your check out dives down there. Ideally I'd prefer to be fully certified when I got there so I could just jump straight into the diving and go, but that's me. I wouldn't want to spend part of my vacation in class. But the checkout dives around Houston suuuuuuck.

That said, I like Cozumel a lot. World class diving there. The Palace is a good AI. We stay at the Presidente since I don't utilize the drinking portion of AI resorts. Scuba Du is a great dive outfit.


Bonaire is another favorite of mine. As is Cayman.

I've heard Roatan reefs are getting sandy from all the runoff from development on the island. It's still good, but isn't as good (trusted source).

Getting certified where we live isn't an option, the nearest dive shop is 5 hours. They have done coursework already and I have been working with them in the rec center pool with my gear. Can also confirm about Roatan, I went 2 years ago and left thinking the same about the sand. Thanks for the info

I'm headed to Curacao first week of June to do some diving. The resort "LionsDive" does certifications as well. Nice beaches nearby & lots of easy shore dives. You can rent a car and just swim out to the reef.

Not Cozumel due to the currents. ABC islands would be a good choice or Roatan for a cheaper option.

I was certified over a weekend in Guam back in 2009.

El Presidete in Cozumel can get your open water certs off their private beach. Then you can do local dives closer to shore where they take the snorkel trips. Or do some of the best drift diving in the world.

My 13 year old got "resort" qualified one day and went out for a shallow dive the next day.

Three years ago

Gunny456 said:

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This amazes me. So I took a full semester of diving at TAM in the late 70's to get certification. Had to log multiple hours, night dives, free dives, decompression dives, and open water dives at multiple locations plus classroom studies for 1.5 hours three days a week and pool practicals twice a week. Proff then was Mickey Stratton.
Certification was under NAUI. I went on to become an instructor and made a little scratch teaching classes after graduation.
Now you guys say you can get certified in a day or three. Holy Moly things have changed.

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Equipment is so much better now. I got certified in 1998 in Dallas in a pool and a muddy quarry pit. Got my advanced in St Thomas a couple years later. Even then I had a dive computer. Makes it easy. I love diving.


Darkest dark I have ever experienced was a wreck dive in the engine room of a sunken freighter off of St Thomas. Turn off the lights and nothing. Freaky

I did Basic and Advanced Open Water in college. Unfortunately I have not been on a dive trip ever since then.

Yes, Bonaire is a great diving destination...very much a diving nerd location.

Since you said you were open to other ideas... I did mine through Camel Dive in Sharm El-Sheikh and really enjoyed it. Cost of living was quite low and there were a decent number of expats in the area.

Hoyt Ag said:

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Looking for destination and shop recommendations on where to get them all certified. Was thinking Belize, Cozumel or Roatan but open to other ideas. I did mine in Houston 20 years ago and all my other certs mostly in Thailand and Indonesia but not looking to go that far from home.

Ideally, this would be a 7 or 8 day trip with 3-4 days for the certification process/fun dives and then a few days doing other stuff outdoors.

Since these boys eat as much as they do, we were thinking about an all inclusive (not my vibe at all) since they can have food readily available anytime, but wasnt sure if that is logistically smart or feasible.

Boys ages are 15 and 25 and this will be their first time going out of country.

Thanks for any info.

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If you want to dive all week (they will once they get in the water), consider little Cayman or Cayman Brac. Both have dive resorts with all inclusive meal plans and among the best diving in the entire Caribbean. The diving is super easy and low pressure. No currents to speak of, diving from moored locations for easy navigation, great visibility, and most dives end in relatively shallow water so they can conserve some air since they will be air hogs when they first start out. Little Cayman has very little to do topside, while Cayman Brac has a bit more. If you really need or want 2-3 days not diving, go to Grand Cayman instead. GC doesn't have many all inclusives though, and food can be very expensive.

I did the class at A&M for a semester too! Most our dives we did in the deep high dive pool. Then I did a study abroad for a summer in Costs Rica and scuba dived a lot! Great summer. I did it in 2002 I think. PADI certification

aggiesundevil4 said:

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I did the class at A&M for a semester too! Most our dives we did in the deep high dive pool. Then I did a study abroad for a summer in Costs Rica and scuba dived a lot! Great summer. I did it in 2002 I think. PADI certification

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I did it in 1988 with Tom Meinecke and Jim Woosley, and they were doing NAUI certifications back then. I was pretty shocked at how short the in water pool work was for a regular PADI cert when my wife (then fiancee) got certified in 1995 before our wedding. That A&M cert class was pretty legit and they did a good job getting you comfortable with the gear in the pool before they took you to open water.

Palace Resort on Cozumel is AI and has a dive shop on site. Your stay usually comes with resort credits that can be used for diving.
Ambergris Caye in Belize would be another idea. Lots of good dive shops walking distance from the hotels. I don't know if there's an AI resort there but I remember food being really cheap and good everywhere I went.

Swede said:

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Palace Resort on Cozumel is AI and has a dive shop on site. Your stay usually comes with resort credits that can be used for diving.
Ambergris Caye in Belize would be another idea. Lots of good dive shops walking distance from the hotels. I don't know if there's an AI resort there but I remember food being really cheap and good everywhere I went.

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We are leaning towards Belize actually. Good to know.

While I consider Cozumel to be better diving than Belize, I do love the fishing and other topside activities in San Pedro. Plus you can take a couple of nights and go to San Ignacio and Tikal for some Mayan ruins.

all these serious/helpful replies and not one invocation of Rule 1? This place is slipping!!!

When I dove belize we stayed in hopkins village which is a long boat ride from any diving. The village is pretty cool and fishing is supposed to be spectacular up the river there but I didn't bring any gear...but it was 2 boat dives a day and after that if you wanted to get in the water it was the resort pool...so definitely do ambergris or one of the other cays closer to the diving if you do Belize (which you should... The diving is spectacular and blue hole is an awesome experience, especially for new divers to be able to get deep in a bit safer/less intense way than a wall dive)

Charismatic Megafauna said:

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When I dove belize we stayed in hopkins village which is a long boat ride from any diving. The village is pretty cool and fishing is supposed to be spectacular up the river there but I didn't bring any gear...but it was 2 boat dives a day and after that if you wanted to get in the water it was the resort pool...so definitely do ambergris or one of the other cays closer to the diving if you do Belize (which you should... The diving is spectacular and blue hole is an awesome experience, especially for new divers to be able to get deep in a bit safer/less intense way than a wall dive)

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Per PADI, the blue hole is an advanced dive due to depth.

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If you get cold easily, consider wearing a 3mm wetsuit. The surface water temp in Belize is usually around 26-29C/79-84F, but it will be a few degrees cooler down in the hole. A dive light/dive torch is also recommended.

The Blue Hole is Not a Beginner Dive. It's dark, deep and if you don't have the appropriate
training and experience dangerous.

Your dive guide may take you down to 40 metres/131 feet. If you don't have the training and experience to dive this deep, complete your PADI Advanced Open Water certification or take the Deep Diver Specialty course before you attempt the Blue Hole scuba diving. Experienced divers should pay close attention during the briefing and ensure they never lose sight of the dive guide.

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I'll be honest, I hated diving from Ambergris Caye as a relatively new diver, mostly due to the conditions we had when we were there. If you are there when the trade winds are blowing onshore, the seas can be less than ideal for beginner divers. Doing back roll entries off a small boat, returning to a drifting boat in rough seas, etc. can all be challenging and a heavy task load for newer divers. Doing your first trip to a location with larger boats, moored dive sites, and light currents removes a lot of the issues that can be challenging for new divers.

txags92 said:

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I'll be honest, I hated diving from Ambergris Caye as a relatively new diver, mostly due to the conditions we had when we were there. If you are there when the trade winds are blowing onshore, the seas can be less than ideal for beginner divers. Doing back roll entries off a small boat, returning to a drifting boat in rough seas, etc. can all be challenging and a heavy task load for newer divers. Doing your first trip to a location with larger boats, moored dive sites, and light currents removes a lot of the issues that can be challenging for new divers.

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100%

Anthony's Keys in Roatan is on the gentle side of the island.

ABC islands have very little current and available boat diving. The shore diving is very hard unless you are on a resort reef.

It's been a while since I dove it but that seems overly sensational. I remember the water being crystal clear with no current, with a couple huge sharks cruising the perimeter. I get bored spending a whole week looking at coral and tiny fish so the blue hole was a neat change. The depth is a feature not a bug. There's also like 10 boats there at any given time so it's not like you're out there on your own

Hoyt Ag said:

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Swede said:

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Palace Resort on Cozumel is AI and has a dive shop on site. Your stay usually comes with resort credits that can be used for diving.
Ambergris Caye in Belize would be another idea. Lots of good dive shops walking distance from the hotels. I don't know if there's an AI resort there but I remember food being really cheap and good everywhere I went.

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We are leaning towards Belize actually. Good to know.

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Me and my three kids all got certified on Ambergris. Dive shop was next door to our rental so we did our coursework one afternoon at our rental, then the videos at the dive shop the next morning. Check-out dives started in the afternoon and we were certified by day 3. Went on another 6-7 dives after. Belize is so convenient because the reef is so close to shore and offers a TON of different spots. Check-out dives were in shore from the reef in 25-30 feet. We've been back several times since - the kids really enjoy diving. Dove Costa Rica in 2019, too, which was very different from BZE.

***Edit to add after seeing above comment on rough conditions: We've dove in BZE enough to experience some of the rougher conditions. Youngest got seasick floating on the surface post-dive once due to rough conditions. All of our dives have been roll-off and they've never had an issue with it. Heck, didn't even give it a second thought, actually. Re-boarding the boat can be a little sporty but again, nobody commented on it so it just was what it was and there were no complaints.

carl spacklers hat said:

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Hoyt Ag said:

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Swede said:

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Palace Resort on Cozumel is AI and has a dive shop on site. Your stay usually comes with resort credits that can be used for diving.
Ambergris Caye in Belize would be another idea. Lots of good dive shops walking distance from the hotels. I don't know if there's an AI resort there but I remember food being really cheap and good everywhere I went.

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We are leaning towards Belize actually. Good to know.

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Me and my three kids all got certified on Ambergris. Dive shop was next door to our rental so we did our coursework one afternoon at our rental, then the videos at the dive shop the next morning. Check-out dives started in the afternoon and we were certified by day 3. Went on another 6-7 dives after. Belize is so convenient because the reef is so close to shore and offers a TON of different spots. Check-out dives were in shore from the reef in 25-30 feet. We've been back several times since - the kids really enjoy diving. Dove Costa Rica in 2019, too, which was very different from BZE.

***Edit to add after seeing above comment on rough conditions: We've dove in BZE enough to experience some of the rougher conditions. Youngest got seasick floating on the surface post-dive once due to rough conditions. All of our dives have been roll-off and they've never had an issue with it. Heck, didn't even give it a second thought, actually. Re-boarding the boat can be a little sporty but again, nobody commented on it so it just was what it was and there were no complaints.

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I puked three times underwater on one dive there (once at 80' and twice more around 50'). It was the first day we were diving and the waves were ~5-7 with occasional 10' directly on to the reef. On the first dive we stayed inside the reef. We came back and our restaurant took forever to get us our lunch. We ran back to the boat and I didn't have a chance to get anymore dramamine on the way. We got back in the boat, pulled away from the dock, then the captain took a vote of whether we wanted to stay inside the reef or try to do a dive outside. Everybody on the boat except my wife and I voted to go outside and they didn't give us the option to go back to the dock and get off the boat (I would have).

The surge even at 50' down was like a washing machine in the grooves between the coral spurs. When I realized I needed to puke, I grabbed my wife's BC strap to stabilize my buoyancy and then turned away from her to puke. She kept trying to turn me towards her to figure out what was wrong until she saw all the fish coming to get chunks of cheeseburger. Those fish got a real Jimmy Buffet moment that day. She managed to wait until we were on the tag line waiting to get on the boat and then puked twice herself.

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ABC islands have very little current and available boat diving. The shore diving is very hard unless you are on a resort reef.

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Curious if you have been to Curacao. Have received zero feedback from anyone on this site about that island

Apache said:

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ABC islands have very little current and available boat diving. The shore diving is very hard unless you are on a resort reef.

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Curious if you have been to Curacao. Have received zero feedback from anyone on this site about that island

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I've gone diving once in Curaao and many times in Bonaire because United has a non stop to Bonaire from IAH. Plaza resort Bonaire was in the middle of a big renovation and was beautiful.
https://www.plazaresortbonaire.com/

Our trip to Curaao with a connection in Miami was very nice but not worth two VERY long travel days. We enjoyed our no dive day by taking a bus from the resort to go sightseeing.

Appreciate that feedback. The flights are definitely a little long, but honestly we were drawn by the combo of good diving, beaches & low hotel prices... especially compared to places like Turks, Caymens, etc.