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.