SCUBA Diving, can be fun, safe and easy when done correctly,
don't get thrown into the deep end of the sea and into more trouble than you can handle !
Here are some helpful hints and advice on how to choose the right Dive School and Instructor.

Quick Check List | Details | Some Scams

	1. Classes with a Qualified Instructor (Check Photo ID, Member dues paid for present year, Experience, Safety Record)
	2. Recognized Certification (BSAC, PADI, NAUI, CMAS, ACUC)
	3. Teaching Method (Theory with an Instructor or only a DVD and book ?)
	4. Pool Sessions (3 to 5 for training before the Open Water Dives ?)
	5. Open Water / Ocean Training dives x 4 (4 tanks, 4 dive sites - 30 to 45 min per dive ? Depth ?)
	6. Safety and Emergency Response Plan (how to deal with a problem ?)
	7. Divers Alert Network (DAN) Student Insurance (no extra charge !)
	8. Will I dive from, and with a boat for safety, or have long swims and climbs out of the water ?
	9. Safety Equipment Available (Oxygen, First Aid Kit, VHF Radio, Cell Phone w Emergency Numbers, Safety Sausages)
	10. Course Fees / Costs / Payment Plan ? (Diver manual, Log Book, Dive Tables, Certification Card, 5 theory sessions, 3 - 5 Pool Sessions, Use of Equipment for Pool and Ocean Dives, 4 Open Water Training Dives)
	11. Opportunities for Continuing Diver Education (Advanced, Rescue, Medic, Divemaster, Photography etc)
	12. Opportunities for Diving after Certification (Dive trips : Down The Islands -Trinidad, Tobago, and Foreign trips)

If you’re only looking for the cheapest price, it’s best to stop reading now, because nothing printed here will matter to you ! If you are serious about doing things the right way, and care about safety and the quality of your scuba course, and your life or that of loved ones and friends, then, please read on....

1. Classes with a Qualified Instructor (Check Photo ID, Member dues paid for present year, Experience, Safety Record)
You should see a picture ID of your Instructor and their certification, the photo ID is proof that they are the person they claim to be.
Instructors will have proof that they are qualified to teach and importantly certify you in the current year, PADI Instructors must renew annually, and his allows them to certify and iue cards on behalf of PADI. A sticker is issued by certification agencies stating that the Instructor can teach for each year, these are issued in January usually.
Ideally an Instructor will have experience and a clean safety record, ASK !!!! There is an Instructor in Chaguanas that has had divers lose their lives due to unsafe practices.
There is an "Instructor in Chaguaramas that has a name on a certificate on his wall but he is not that person, when it is time to be certified the "real" Instructor just signs the paperwork, in fact you would have had a regular diver teach your course, this is dishonest, unsafe and unfair to you. There are also dive students in Trinidad that saw a certificate on a wall and did a course but never received a card since the membership dues were never paid.

How long has the Instructor been teaching and how many students are certified ?
We all have proof - ASK, and we will show you !!
Does the dive facility and Instructor have references from recent students ?

2. Recognized Certification (BSAC, PADI, NAUI, CMAS, ACUC)
Ideally your certification will be with a recognised certifying agency, what is the point of spending money and gettting a card no-one accpets when you travel ?

Can I get my PADI materials in any other languages ?
We can supply your course materials in English, Spanish, French and German, this includes your PADI manual, the RDP, as well as your quizzes and Final Quiz. If you have a request for another language we would be happy to look into obtaining the training materials in your language !

3. Will your instructor be a DVD or real person ?
Some Instructors are adopting the approach where you look at a DVD or interact with a CD-ROM and Manual to complete the theory part of the course, think of all the Instructor's experience and good stories you will miss by doing this type of learning. Think of what you are paying for !

4. Will you be thrown into the sea or start in the safe confines of a pool ?
While some courses allow you to start in the sea, this is only if the conditions are like a swimming pool and the waters calm and safe for training, the pool and/or confined water training dives do not count as an Ocean Dive of which there should be four. This makes sense for you to properly learn you need to repeat the skills and this should be done in easy conditions to allow for the least stress on you, You would not want to be in the ocean clearing your mask, inhale water and then get into difficulty, at least in the pool one can stand up.

5. Open Water / Ocean Training dives x 4 (4 tanks, 4 dive sites - 30 to 45 min per dive ? Depth ?)
Will you use one tank per dive or one tank for two dives ?
We use one full tank per dive (3000 PSI approx), and we try to do four different dive sites for your Open Water certification dives, no steps to climb, or long hikes with tanks, we do all lifting and loading ! Come for the fun and adventure not the work !

6. Safety and Emergency Response Plan (how to deal with a problem ?)
As PADI Instructors we all have done CPR and First Aid and most of us teach this course at the layperson levels. All divemasters and Instructors should have their own personal Emergency Response Plan. If something were to happen you need to know that you can get help !

7. Divers Alert Network (DAN) Student Insurance (no extra charge !)
DiveTNT is a DAN facility and all beginner courses include DAN Insurance at no cost to the students.

8. Will I dive from, and with a boat for safety, or have long swims and climbs out of the water ?
Will you dive from the beach, a rock or a dive boat ......
Should there be a current you will not get carried away or have to swim hard to get back to your exit point, if there is an emergency there is a Captain and a boat ready with all the safety equipment you should expect of a dive operator. We do not offer rock climbing with all your SCUBA gear on !

9. Safety Equipment Available (Oxygen, First Aid Kit, VHF Radio, Cell Phone w Emergency Numbers, Safety Sausages)
Our two dive boats are fully equipped with all the required safety equipment as required for SCUBA Diving Activities :
- VHF Radio, and dedicated Cell phone for Emergency Contact.
- Fully stocked First Aid Kit (special for the Ocean)
- DAN Emergency Oxygen Kit (Decompression Illness)
- Spare Dive Tank and Regulator for Safety Stops or Emergency
- Diving Emergency Response Plan for Trinidad and Tobago
- 2 Engines and adequate gas
Please ask and we will happy to show all equipment.

10. Course Fees / Costs / Payment Plan ?
(Diver manual, Log Book, Dive Tables, Certification Card, 5 theory sessions, 3 - 5 Pool Sessions,
Use of Equipment for Pool and Ocean Dives, 4 Open Water Training Dives)
There are many components that go into making up your course, let me be seemingly ridiculous and suggest that if you swim to the dive sites we do not need to run the boat and can save on gas and offer a lower price ! Think it does not happen ? Think again !!
In Nov 2006, I and my class of Rescue divers and Divemasters rescued an Instructor and his students off Gasparee who had no boat, and did not read the currents and had his students all in strong currents, to make matters worse, they were doing two dives on one tank of air !

Shop Around for Course fees, read the fine print :

Will you have a choice of diving - Trinidad or Tobago ?
We dive Charlotteville and Speyside in Tobago and Down the Islands in Trinidad, you have a choice of dive sites with us, we do not only do one type of dive or only one area, we also offer trips out of Trinidad and Tobago

Are there special prices for students after they learn to dive ?

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