My husband and I are staying at Banana Beach from 11/1-8. We are doing our open water certification dives and are trying to decide which outfitter to go through. THey all look good online, so its hard to choose. We are looking between booking through MOnkey Business (onsite at Banana Beach), they book through Amergris Divers, or protech or grumpy & happy. Monkey Business and protech have the same price, G&H is about $25 more per person.
Any recomendations would be appreciated.
Thanks!

We stayed at Banana Beach in May and we did our diving with Ambergris Divers and they were great. I highly recommend them.

G&H may be higher however it's totally private - no one but you in the class. We're going with them due to this and were highly recommended. If you want groups less attention, then others are the way to go. I prefer the "hands on" approach for this first time experience.

My husband and I did our open water cert via referral (did the classes here) last Nov. We went through Blue Hole Dive Center, and they were wonderful. Our instructor, Jim was fantastic! We booked the rest of our dives through them. They partner with Amigos Del Mar – who are nothing short of wonderful. The crew is professional, accommodating and fun. We are returning Nov 5-15th and plan to book through Blue Hole again. BTW – you will be AMAZED by the diving. We saw 2 gorgeous sting rays cruise by 5 minutes into our first open water dive. The worst part about staying on Ambergris Caye is having to leave.

I don't dive, but if I ever decided to learn the only person in the world I'd go with is Jolene (Happy & Grumpy), who has the patience of Job, and I'm sure I would put her patience to the test!

Not sure of what the status is on Blue Hole Dive Center. Kent and Laurie moved back to Canada earlier in the year and the shop closed. However, Jim Zykan is still here and providing instruction and Amigos is as strong as ever.

As a diver, is there anyway you can do your open water at home? I always feel your local op will give you the best training, because you may want to come back and get more. This way you can enjoy your dives when you get to A/C. That said I have used both Pro Tech and Amigos, either should be good. Haven't heard of the other.

Of course, Sluggo, you can do part or all of the course anywhere. The question is merely whether you want to get into cold water. If you know or think you're later going to want to dive in cold water then learning there is a good idea, or at the very least have a good formal conversion course - there's much more to cold water diving than there is to warm.

So sorry to hear about Blue Hole Dive Center! Well, I guess we'll go to Amigos Del Mar. LOVED their Blue Hole Trip. Thanks for the post, SimonB.

Pedro2 why do you assume it is cold water diving?
Don't know where kphil12760 is located, but it may not necessarily be cold water diving. Not trying to take money out of your pocket, but I liked getting my C card at home, and going diving elsewhere. Just my $.02

My husband got his OW cert this summer in prep for our first trip to Belize (leaving 10/15!!) and he did it in a lake here in Idaho. Cold, yes - especially once you drop beneath the thermocline. But very interesting, and boy does it make diving in Belize even more attractive than it naturally is!

I wasn't assuming the water "at home" would be cold, it's just that that is customarily the case, and the reason that people choose to do their dives down here. I'm actually in favour of people doing all their training including their dives near home, because diving should be a year-round activity, not just for holidays. And at home you can have a much more relaxed timescale which in the end makes you a better diver rather than cramming it all into the shortest possible time on holiday.

Pedro2 I agree with you, that is why I wanted them to explore the possibliity of doing it at home for the very reasons you state.

We were there in August. We dove with Clive at Hustler Tours. Billy from there was doing a class with some people who were finishing up. We heard him talking to them he sounded really informative and concerned that they learned and had a good experience. They were the only ones going out on the boat until they got certified. The last day we all went out on the same boat but Billy went with them and Clive went with us. It was the best experience I have seen with this situation.

I also agree with the posts above. Do all your certs at home then you only have to worry about fun diving on vacation.

Just my 2 cents worth but I would highly recommend Billy after what I saw. Any place will pick you up from your hotel.

Have fun and be safe.

Do a search. There are two that stand out. My personal experience from utilizing many of the others is that these two are, infact, great/the best...Protech and Amigos.

There are many operators I'd dive with in AC, an I have. For lessons, I would lean to Amigos.

Check out Chuck and Robbie's. They are a small dive operation, but they are very professional, and fun! They offer the best price in Open Water Certification. Their website is ambergriscayediving.com
Hope this helps!

I dove with both Amigos Del Mar and Pro Tech. If you want to dive with several people go with Amigos.
If you want a small diving party go with Pro Tech. Both are very good.

I also did my certs at home this summer, I fgured that it would leave me more time for doing "real" dives. And the cold water definitly makes diving in Belize more attractive... Thanks everyone for the great info on this site, my plane leaves in 3 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great vacation Tommy. I am consumed with jealousy! 89 days and counting every second

I would have to agree - their communication is impectible and they keep telling me I'll pass - I would definitely recommend them - I'm not even certified yet .

Chuck and Robbie handled our certification for us and they were absolutley the greatest. Very professional and saftey minded. Going back in Decemeber and will dive with them again.

We'll be on AC in the first week of November as well, looking to do our open water cert dives. Finished the pool/class work and tests this weekend. Lets keep this thread alive, good to have a list of good operators handy

Hi BobW,

I'm in the same situation that you are - looking to do my check out OW dives in San Pedro. Both Peter at Protech and Billy at Hustlers have been incredibly generous in their encouragement and offers of help. I'm absoutely sure that you can't go wrong in choosing either of these great guys.

Are Chuck and Robbie the same pair that worked for Blue Hole Dive Center? If so, they are great! Nice guys, experienced ... and fun! (Isn't that what diving is all about?) I did my first dives as a certified diver with them, and they were the most memorable.

Forgot to add...19 days 'til we return to paradise!!!!! Boston is cool and VERY damp. We're already packed and ready to go! AC here we come!!!!

Chuck and Robbie did work with Blue Hole Dive Center. During the low season they built a dock and dive shop of their own which is located 2 docks north of Hustler dock.

Blue Hole dive center had a presence on Front Street. Kent, who is a great guy, did not take people diving or on excursions; he simply booked them. Just like a whole lot of other people, such as your resort, do.

It would be nice if some one had the where with all to put together a comprehensive list of all the dive operators; especially the instructors. By this I do mean ALL, not just the ones who pay to be on a web site.

Choosing a dive instructor is kind of like picking a dance partner; different strokes for different folks. I just had a thought!!! I think I will put up a poll where every one can list who they would choose if they were just now getting certified or going for an advanced or specialty certification. I’ll try it.

Dam it! I was just getting over the nibbling phobia!