Since I started with scuba diving 15 years ago I never lost the idea of doing my Divemaster. Continiously improving my skills and doing different dive locations worldwide always added in my dive experience. Because every ocean and dive spot is different you need to be well prepared for each dive. But I knew that doing a Divemaster course is a greater task than just try out a new dive spots.
Even the same dive spots can be tricky in different situations.
Therefore its my personal task to do save diving and respect my limits under water!
Now I dove in more than 20 countries around the globe. And for sure during my world trip I am having the great possibility to dive in more countries and explore more of the marine world in the oceans!
when I dive, I am in a different state of mind
But diving is an expensive sport!
Thats the reason why I decided to start with diving on a professional level!
In conclusion I am able to do more dives. And instead spending lot of money on diving I am relieving the pressure on my budget during traveling the world!
Choose a cheap location
Due to the fact that I already was traveling in Mexico and Central America I had to find the right spot in order to do the training and course that at least takes 5 to 6 weeks. Because I am doing it the “slow way” I choose to spend 7 weeks in order to complete my Divemaster course.
arriving to Utila, a caribbean island in Honduras
It was also very important for me to do a appreciable amount of dives in order to get the most experience out of my training. And for sure I had to choose a location that wasn’t expensive. I would have loved to make the course in Mexico, but unfortunately the prices for diving in south mexico have been climbing over the past years. And now Yucatan can be considered as one of the most expensive places for diving in all America. Prices have almost doubled in the past ten years!
one of the cheapest places worldwide for diving: Utlia, Honduras
So it is already known that Honduras is a very cheap and popular place to start with diving. And also to start professional diving courses.
Honduras is considered as one of the three cheapest places worldwide for diving!
Choose an island
There are not many possibilities in Honduras you can choose between few dive locations on the caribbean coast. And I considered Roatan and Utila and decided for the smaller and more backpacker friendly island Utila. Accomodation was incredibly cheap!
my home for 2 months during my Divemaster training
Simple and cheap! For 8 weeks I spend only € 240 for my appartement! And also general living costs in comparison to other caribbean islands are really low.
The right dive shop
To complete my low budget experience in Honduras I choose a very cheap and poorly maintained dive shop.
With some bargaining I got my course for less than € 350! In some places you can pay € 1.000 and more for the same course!
A very good advice I got from a local dive instructor is to choose a small and familiar dive shop that has only few DMT’s (Divemasters in training). In some bigger diveshops you can find more than 10 DMT’s at the same time. You can imagine that this doesn’t really help you in your training to get a good Divemaster. So I was happy to find the right little dive shop and also the right persons to join me in that exiting time of being a Divemaster in training.
Connect with your Instructor
Your Instructor during your DMT is the most important person in your start in professional diving. All the training, exercised and exams will be done by your Instructor. You will be assisting your Instructor in different dive courses, from Suba Explorer and the beginner course (OWD = Open Water Diver) to more advanced courses like AOWD (Advanced Open Water Diver) and Rescue Diver.
Ernesto Ruiz, my Instructor during my DMT, getting ready for a wreck dive
In order to understand and realize all the preparations of a dive boat and the equipement for commercial diving with guests you need somebody to teach you all the details. Even if I have been diving for a long time I never realized how many details need to be considered to make a dive day on a boat with paying guests a save and unforgetable memory. In this case I really had very good luck! I had the fantastic opportuniuty to do my Divemaster with Ernesto Ruiz, a local Dive Instructor from Honduras. He already has trained many Divemasters and everybody who learned from him, turned out to be a very well prepared diver.
25 different exercises, practical exams and written tests
In the beginning it sounds a lot! And in fact it is the most time consuming course you can make in your diving career. But when you can enjoy diving, the water and the ocean like me, every day in a divemaster course is packed with new and great tasks that are waiting to be fulfilled!
one of many exercises: emergency scenario training
And I have to say that after each of the single exercises, tests or exams I felt more save and confident in the next dive day. To summarize it, I can say that until that point this was the most important time for me in diving!
best time ever as a diver: spending time with buddies
And I am so happy and also proud that I did this step. And doing to course with the right buddies also adds some great friendships for life!
Read more about my Divemaster training on Utila in Honduras in my nextcoming post. I am giving you some more insights in a life of a Divemaster and how my diving changed before and after my DMT.
Lui
P.S.: Thanks Ernesto for your passion and love for diving and the marine life!
Watch me fun diving during my DMT:
Ed
Great story
Thanks!
Lui
Your welcome, Buddy 🙂
eduardo
Which dive organization ( PADI, NAUI) method is used down in Roatan, Honduras ?
Lui
Hi Eduardo, you will mainly find PADI, but also others like SSI and Naui are represented! You can find more details on: http://www.tourismroatan.com/things-to-do/water-activities/scuba-diving or http://www.aboututila.com/
What course are you planing to do or do you already dive 😉
rani
how was Divemaster training in Honduras?