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November, 2024

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Scuba Diving?

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EthanH*
Posts: 375 - Karma: 129
Long story short I am going to Belie in early September and I figure I need to learn to Scuba Dive before then. I've always been interested, but never really have been urged to pull the trigger on training until now. I have a strong swimming/water background (4 yr state swimmer/instructor/lifeguard) so i'm pretty comfortable in the water.

What I'm looking to hear from you guys is how much certification do I need to dive in some sweet places in Belize. There are a couple PADI certified training centers around me, with a bunch of different certifications and I am trying to figure out how much training I need! Also wondering if there is any specific places in Belize for diving that people would recommend.

Thanks, +K to all/
May 28 2014 4:13PM
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proZach
Posts: 7163 - Karma: 919
half the people I did my open-water with were godawful swimmers haha. going to Belize should be no issue, great visibility, warm waters.

from my experience, the key is just not to panic and relax as much as possible. it's an awesome hobby, I can't wait to get back in the water. I have some pictures somewhere, I'll see if I can post em.

there's a bunch of other divers on here, a couple threads in the past too if you search
May 28 2014 5:41PM
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proZach
Posts: 7163 - Karma: 919


here's the only one I can find. about 35ft down on a drift dive in cozumel. was probably 4ft away from this guy, swimming back into the current to get a decent picture.
May 28 2014 5:46PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
I've been diving in Belize. You need at least an Advanced Open Water certification to be certified to dive deep enough to really enjoy what the reef/blue hole has to offer.

Your cert process = Open Water & then Advanced Open Water. Pretty easy to do.
May 28 2014 5:51PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
Try to do SDI instead of PADI if you can, you can skip the bullshit with the charts and do it all on your dive computer. As far as I recall that's the main difference between the two (I'm a pretty fucking big amateur though).
May 28 2014 9:19PM
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EthanH*
Posts: 375 - Karma: 129
Cool, thanks a lot guys! Any other tips, or specific places to go to?
May 29 2014 6:10PM
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