AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Diving certification

Ellydognme, how about a resort course. cost you about a hundred bucks. Granted, you are pretty much limited to inside the reef, but if you've never done it, it will give you a feel for it. Hol Chan is an absolute beautiful hoot the first few times. Lots to see.
Acquire and bring your own fins mask and snorkel. Don't bother buying anything else expensive until you know the difference between good and bad stuff. If you do wish to get certified after that, the States might be a good place to do the classroom (do it in AC and you're burnin precious vacation time but you're not in the water)and then do the cert dives in AC.
On the other hand, if you've snorkeled and feel like you can handle the underwater stuff, skip the resort course, get your classroom out of the way before your first trip and just do the cert dives. The cert dives will take a couple of days, and they are more fun than you might think. Theres a whole different world down there.

P.S. TOAD, get your butt down to AC and join in vacationing the way it should be.

Bobber
Everyone says the same thing about doing the book work before I get there so I ordered the manual and it should be here by Monday. Even if I do need to study while there, I don't mind because I will be there two weeks and I planned to spend a few days sitting on the beach anyway.

I would like to get my full cerification because I plan on either returning to Belize , or perhaps somewhere else to dive over the Christmas holidays.

To all that are listening . . . I think I have said this was my first solo trip many (Perhaps too many?) times by now, and I am still nervous about one thing . . . eating out. Never done this by myself before.

Have an image of myself sitting in corner and trying to look comfortable while the whole room is wondering why that loser is all by herself.

Is AC friendly enough to have strangers join them for a meal? Or do I need to start practicing the art of solo dining (Do I bring a book, stare forward as if I am engrossed in thought, drink till I get so drunk I don't realize I am alone????) Help!

Get a hold of a PADI Open Water Manual and read it if possible before you come, that way you will have a good start. If you could get your classroom and pool work done at home, then you would only need to do your 4 dives on a referral. That would be ideal, but if that isn't possible you can get your certification and still have a good time on your trip.

As far as rental equipment goes, it is a personal choice to own or rent. Owning is a big $$$$ investment. We offer top of the line rental gear less than 1 year old to our divers. As a summer special we offer 2 tank dives for $55 USD including gear.

Whatever you choose to do I'm sure you will be happy.
www.barefootwatersports.net

I wouldn't worry too much about being alone in AC. The tourists are gregarious anywhere, and more so in AC (my opinion). Never had a problem making new friends at the drop of a hat. I have seen a lot of singles, a lot of couples, and a lot of groups, only a few sourpusses in the lot, and they usually kept to themselves. Make some friends, and make some dinner dates. It snowballs very quickly.

If you are coming for the full course, then better than the open water manual is the PADI CD Rom. With that you can come and forget the classroom work and just write the exam if you are ready. The required knowledge reviews are on the CD ROM and you can just print them for your instructor.
My experience is that even with the CD rom you will need to be brushed up on dive tables before the exam. The CD rom is great and you will come well prepared.
I think though, that the best way is to do your class and pool where you are and then your dives here.

Elly, I've been a single a time or two down in AC. I felt weird eating alone my first trip down too, but after a while it didn't bother me so much. Don't be afraid to make eye contact and smile at others in the restaurant. Be very friendly and chat with the waitstaff. Don't take a book and try not to look too uncomfortable. Yeah, I won't lie to you, sometimes it does seem like people are looking at ya funny. But what's it to 'em?

Now that I'm more comfortable in SP, I often chose to eat alone. I do that because then I don't have to work with a schedule. When you are meeting people for dinner, you need to be ready at an approx time. For eating alone, I prefer the restaurant Ambergris Delight and the rooftop at Jambel's.

On the other hand, it is pretty easy to make friends when you are on vacation in AC. Hook up with some people at your resort and at Fido's, make some dinner dates, and you will be away to the races.

And to WOZ, why do you ask?

Elly, I should also add that I always get a place with a kitchenette. That way I can eat in, if I want to. I generally have my brekkie in my room, mostly because I'm heading out to dive and don't want to be waiting for my meal when I should be at the shop. Staying at a place like the Sunbreeze pretty much guarantees that you'll have to eat out all the time.

Thanks once again for all the advice. Only 9 days to go! It seems as if everyone has the same opinion. I should take the class/pool here and dives in AC. I am beginning to waiver on whether or not I should do the dive class in AC this trip.

Is the only reason for this opinion the loss of vacation time studying? Or is there some other reason everyone thinks I should go this way?

I was thinking that being there for a full two weeks, I would not mind a few days of class instruction (Because of my job, I am pretty used to studying one thing or another on a daily basis). Am I wrong? I also thought this would be a good way to make a few friends?

Well, if you have two weeks, it might not be that much of an issue. Unfortunately, I've never had the luxury of having two full weeks, so my statement was a point of view relative. If you've only got 9 days to go, it may be a bit short to start now. You might just go down and check around the dive operators, this is supposed to be fun, and it will be one way or another. AC is not like anywhere else, and I have no doubt you can be suitably accomodated however you choose to do it.
don't worry too much about making friends, it will happen if you have a smile.

I travel alone all the time, and find that I meet more people that way. There's something about being solo that makes you more approchable to others. I will take a book with me to read when I go out to eat but seldom get a chance to read it. People seem to like to adopt lone travlers. You're going to have a great time and will probaly come home with more friends in your life.
P.S. one of the reasons I like diving is because of the sort of people that dive. It's a nice lot of people.

SEASHELL sorry don't mean to pry. It's just that a friend of mine, has a friend in Belize whose last name is Seashell. With this being a Belize site and you going by Seashell, I thought it was worth asking.