Diving in Ireland newbie info

boardie100

Hey all,

I did an open water course in south america and am looking at maybe trying to get into diving in ireland.... thing is i havent a clue how to proceed..

I guess i'm just wondering what is the best way to get into it over here?... I'm based in Dublin and dont have any gear... My budget isnt huge either but i still want to try something...

I guess i've forgotton most of what i was thought at this stage as it was over a year ago...would a refresher course be worth doing?....are there such courses around dublin?

in the beginning i guess i'd like to rent gear and try a few dives..... just wondering how expensive that would be and if there are places around that do this?....

any advice welcome!

comeheretome

boardie100 wrote: »

Hey all,

I did an open water course in south america and am looking at maybe trying to get into diving in ireland.... thing is i havent a clue how to proceed..

I guess i'm just wondering what is the best way to get into it over here?... I'm based in Dublin and dont have any gear... My budget isnt huge either but i still want to try something...

I guess i've forgotton most of what i was thought at this stage as it was over a year ago...would a refresher course be worth doing?....are there such courses around dublin?

in the beginning i guess i'd like to rent gear and try a few dives..... just wondering how expensive that would be and if there are places around that do this?....

any advice welcome!

you should check out http://www.oceandivers.ie/ they are based out in dublin(dun laoghaire).they have good rates on equipment rentals and also run refresher courses out in the N.A.C. which i found was worth doing as i hadn't been diving in over a year too..hope that helps

boardie100

comeheretome wrote: »

you should check out http://www.oceandivers.ie/ they are based out in dublin(dun laoghaire).they have good rates on equipment rentals and also run refresher courses out in the N.A.C. which i found was worth doing as i hadn't been diving in over a year too..hope that helps

hey,

thanks for the info.... a refresher course sounds like the first step.... did you join a club after?...

YourName

To be honest I found Oceandivers very expensive when you add up the price of renting equipment, boat diving, paying for parking etc.

Where in Dublin are you located?

To be honest I have trained and dived with Oceandivers, Meveagh Diving, Diving Dec, Scuba Dive West, Scuba Dive South East, Emerald Diving among a few others. However I found Dive Inn Scuba on the northside the cheapest, nicest and handiest, the club is free I think and the rates for equipment rental are cheap, as is the diving.

The website has gone askew but just drop them an email if you want.

They have a pool training session every Tuesday night, along with others which us cheap too. I would recommend a Scuba Review because it will brush you up on your skills and give you the confidence back that you had when you learnt to dive first.

Diving in Dublin is good fun, don't mind the people who say diving us crap ovet here, if you want some great dives it can be done. Semd me a PM if you have any questions, I've no problem helping out a new diver starting off !!!

boardie100

hi thanks for all the info....
i'm based on the south side so north side clubs might not suit me with midweek training sessions....

could you recommend any on the south side?

loctite

boardie100 wrote: »

hi thanks for all the info....
i'm based on the south side so north side clubs might not suit me with midweek training sessions....

could you recommend any on the south side?

AFAIK Oceandivers also run stuff in Stillorgan so that might be worth looking into.

Peter

Pawwed Rig

I have gone with Oceandivers lots of times when I was building up my gear. I didn't find them anymore expensive than other dive shops. The parking issue is a bit of a pain but if the OP has no gear anyway he can cycle/getta bus or DART to Dun Laoighre. If doing a refresher course the lads will bring gear along for you if you ask them in advance.
The only time you would pay for parking is when doing the boat dives.

OP I would recommend doing the refresher, then do 4 or 5 more dives and then sign up for the Advanced Open water course. It is a much more 'fun' course than the Open Water as it is more practical and you get to try different aspects of diving.

Irish Underwater Council

Hi There,
Did you ever think abut joining a Sub Aqua Club. There are over 80 clubs in Ireland and 20 in Dublin alone. They are a great way to learn how to dive and if you plan to dive regularly then you could save a lot of money, make a lot of new diving friends and gain tons of diving experience. I can send you details of the clubs in your area if you email me your address, my email is louise@diving.ie

CSAC

Hi
If you are on the South side consider the Curragh Sub Aqua Club - http://www.curraghsubaqua.com

We are a club not a PADI pay each time you dive organisation.

One of the biggest clubs in Dublin and one of the oldest in Ireland. At the height of the season we can dive up to 3 times a week, weather conditions allowing and we dive right into October/November with us switching to night diving on Wednesdays from Sept onwards. We go away every bank holiday weekend and organise foreign trips each year with us going to Norway last year and the Maldives this year. Other trips are also organised to Malta and Egypt and the Far East.

We have a clubhouse in Sandycove with direct access to the sea and we have 2 boats that can carry 18 divers to the Dalkey Island dive sites.

Let us know if you are interested by contacting us at http://www.curraghsubaqua.com/contacts

boardie100

thanks for all the info guys.... much appreciated