Diving in Vietnam

tipptop2008

Has anyone ever gone Diving in Vietnam. Heading there around Nov or Dec and hoping to learn how to dive over there. These two got recommended in travel guide Rainbow (www.divevietnam.com) and Coco Dive Centre (www.cocodivecentre.com). Has anyone ever used either of these? Planning on doing the diving in Phou Quoc.

Also can someone please explain the difference in the Paidi courses. Rainbow have open water courses for 4 or 5 days and Coco has one for 3 days. Are these all the same course? Don't really understanding whats the difference.

Thanks

locum-motion

tipptop2008 wrote: »

Has anyone ever gone Diving in Vietnam. Heading there around Nov or Dec and hoping to learn how to dive over there. These two got recommended in travel guide Rainbow (www.divevietnam.com) and Coco Dive Centre (www.cocodivecentre.com). Has anyone ever used either of these? Planning on doing the diving in Phou Quoc.

Also can someone please explain the difference in the Paidi courses. Rainbow have open water courses for 4 or 5 days and Coco has one for 3 days. Are these all the same course? Don't really understanding whats the difference.

Thanks

As someone whose first dives were in Irish waters, and has since dived in the waters off 5 continents, my first bit of advice is this:
-Learn to dive before you go. If you're happy and comfortable underwater in the relatively cool and dark waters areound Ireland, then you'll be blown away by the warmer, clearer waters in SE Asia. On the other hand, if you learn in SE Asia, then you'll be disappointed and maybe put off it if/when you later dive in Ireland. (That's not to say Irish diving isn't great. It is. It's just different.) And also, you don't want to be spending most of your first week on holidays in 'school'.

PADI courses for beginners:

1. PADI Discover Scuba. Usually just in a pool, but sometimes in some shallow seawater. Does exactly what it says on the tin. A brief expalanation, followed by a very shallow, gentle dive, with your hand being held (perhaps literally, perhaps not) by an instructor. Really just to let you have a taster.

2. PADI Scuba Diver. Name probably sounds a bit grand for what it is. 3 classroom sessions, 3 swimming pool sessions, and 2 dives with an instructor to demonstrate skills. That's the 3-day option. Afterwards, you're certified to dive no deeper than 12m, and only in the company of a PADI Divemaster or Instructor (who of course is a professional. You have to pay for a guided dive.)

3. PADI Open Water Diver. 1st part of course content is the same as Scuba Diver, but with an extra 2 classes, 2 swimming pool sessions and 2 sea dives. That'd be your 5-day option, but TBH that's really cramming it in. Certifies you to dive to maximum of 18m, and you no longer have to be accompanied by a professional if you are diving in similar conditions to those in which you were trained.
Any of these are suitable for beginners, but also any of them is only a starting point for your diving education.
If you take my advice and do the PADI OW before you go, on a typical course you could do classroom/pool on Sat mornings/afternoons for 5 weeks, and then a sea dive each weekend for four weeks, or perhaps knock out all four dives over a weekend (2 sat 2 sun).

See post no 2 here:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055629211
for a list of where you can learn in Ireland.

Another alternative would be to join a Sub-Aqua Club affiliated to either CFT (Comhairle Fo-Thuinn - Irish Underwater Council) or BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club). Training course names and regimes will be different. I make no claim about any system being better than any other. (Some will do so, quite vehemently. I'm trying to be helpful and unbiased, and anyway I don't know enough about CFT training to be able to comment authoritively). Both systems, however, appear to be capable of producing bad divers and good divers. List of clubs also in above post. Perhaps a CFT diver would volunteer to give a brief description of their training? I think it's fair to say that CFT will take longer, but be cheaper, than PADI.

Whatever way you chose, I hope you'll love it as much as I do!
Good luck.

Larianne

I dived with Rainbow Divers in Nha Trang. They've a few centres along the coast. I found them really good. Felt very safe. I saw one group doing their rescue dive course and the instructor made them go out 2 extra days (without charge) as she didn't feel they were ready for the cert. I need an extra day too!

Don't dive in Nha Trang though. The water is overfished so there's not many fishies to look at.

I understand locum-motion's reasonings behind learning in Ireland first. You have to be more technically aware (mightn't be the correct term I should use..) when diving in Ireland. I dunno I haven't dived here yet. But hey, if you get the chance to dive, wherever in the world it might be, do it!

tipptop2008

Thanks a lot for your responses. Should have included that I'll be in SE Asia for 3 months so don't mind spending a week doing it. Would have preferred to do training in Ireland before going but it seems very expensive in Ireland (€650 with http://www.oceandivers.ie/) compared to $450 in Asia.

burger1979

hi,

dived with dive vietnam in Hoi an and was good. went on 2 dives for the day. alot of the coral was dead though and not much in the way of life (trying to remember it was about 2 years ago). but the water is clear and warm. the guides were both english and the guy who runs it i think is american!!!! as for diving in ireland well its different alright and you have to be a bit mroe aware, but there are some nice dive sites around the south/south west/west coasts that can be done. if you are staying in nam for a few months then learn there, you can use it anywhere.

good luck.

burger