Good SCUBA schools?

[Gresh]

I had a pipe dream last week and the more I think about it the more it makes sense

So first I need to get SCUBA 'certified'. Can anyone recommend a good school that I can go thru. Cheap and diving gear provided is a definite plus. I can swim, but otherwise a complete beginner

[Vincenzo]

I can highly recommend Perth Diving Academy at Rous Harbour, North Fremantle. Have done both Open Water and Advanced PADI Courses with them. Good instructors & good gear + they have an excellent Dive Boat - &#39;Lionfish IV&#39; for Qualifying Dives off Rottnest. Although they have branches at Balcatta and Hillarys, think Fremantle the best venue overall. Check out their web site <www.perthdiving.com.au>

[Rhino]

I&#39;m anti-PDA for political reasons.

Perth Scuba are a great bunch of lads and long time friends.

www.perthscuba.com

They don&#39;t have the fancy boat but they definitely make up for it in different ways.

They&#39;re in Canning Vale...

[DevZ]

I got my open water through Dolphin dive in freo. Good bunch of really friendly people, i will be getting my advanced ticket as soon as the water warms up. i only got the open at the end of the season and i am itching to get back into it

come on summer

[Fastgirl]

I can highly recommend Perth Diving Academy at Rous Harbour, North Fremantle. Have done both Open Water and Advanced PADI Courses with them. Good instructors & good gear + they have an excellent Dive Boat - &#39;Lionfish IV&#39; for Qualifying Dives off Rottnest. Although they have branches at Balcatta and Hillarys, think Fremantle the best venue overall. Check out their web site <www.perthdiving.com.au>
[/b]

+1 here. Did mine with them. great bunch.

[vscorsa]

I have bought a lot of stuff throught Rous Head PDA and they were great. The missus and I however just bought her kit through perthscuba as rhino mentioned and Lee the owner was great.

I will probably start buying gear throught them now.

My 2c.

(Bring on the cray season, hopefully a bumper)

[Gresh]

Thanks guys
Im confused, the thing I want to do says I need to be &#39;certified&#39; to do it. Are there different levels of SCUBAness then? Whaddya reckon &#39;certified&#39; means?

[Rhino]

Certified means you are qualified as a recreational diver.

You are allowed to dive unaccompanied (a buddy is a top idea but no need for an instructor / divemaster).

Limitations are:
No greater than 18m in depth
No &#39;specialty&#39; diving (such as night, wreck, cave etc)

Advanced is the way to go!
That gives you a nav component, night and deep qualifications and goes into decompression (deco) stops as well as just &#39;safety&#39; stops.

That pretty much covers everything you&#39;ll need.
Personally, I think the best dives are when it is damn cold (better vis), and around 10m (so you don&#39;t pig your air).

Best of luck with it!

[Klink]

Perhaps to put this all into perspective...

A PADI scuba course is not a "qualification" its a certification... so what does that mean? Not really much.

Its not illegal to dive without training... (although you&#39;d be daft to)... The PADI levels are:

1 - Open Water Scuba Diver
2 - Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver
3 - Emergency First Response (Not a diving cert. its a first aid cert)
4 - Rescue Diver (Pre-requisite is 1 or 2 AND a first aid cert)
5 - Master Scuba Diver (Not really a real level of certification, just an acknowledgement of further training ahead of levels 2 and 4)
6 - Dive Master (Pre-requisite is 2, 4 and a current first aid cert AND 20 logged dives)
7 - Assistant Instructor (Pre-requisite 6 and 60 logged dives and have been certified to dive for 6 months
8 - Open Water Scuba Instructor (Pre-requisite <insert lots more here>)

Now as I said... its not illegal to go diving, or purchase diving gear without a certification. You also wont be able to get your air filled at a dive shop without showing some sort of diving certification (as well as not being able to go on dive charters etc).

Those limitations mentioned about 18m and no night diving etc. are really guidelines... but you&#39;d once again be very daft to exceed those without the appropriate training. Things start getting more "complicated" outside of the recreational diving guidelines.

All of the above mentioned operators are great, in fact we are really blessed here in WA. There really arent any bad diving businesses. My personal pick is Sorrento Quay Dive, but Im a bit biased

If you want any more info or have some questions feel free to PM me.

[mystery]

I did my course through Dolphin dive in Welshpool and they were great.
As far as gear goes - Dive Superstore
215 Scarborough Beach Rd Mt Hawthorn WA 6016
ph: (08) 9443 3580

Go see travvy, they rock, got all my gear through them at a great price.