My daughter is going to get certified and I am wondering what it costs to get a Cert Card in AC? Thinking about getting all the pool and classroom work done before arriving and then all she would have to do is the open water dives vs the whole course when we get there.
Looking forward to returning in March!
Thanks for the help.

We've done this a number of times with Amigos. If memory serves me the OW referral certification costs somewhere between $125 and $150 US. A heck of a lot better than a cold gravel pit or murky lake.

Check out their web site amigosdive@btl.net or go to goods & services.
I looked & it is $225.00 + 9% tax, not sure how many dives are included.

The $125 is for the resort course diving. It is about $225-250 on the island to get your opwn water cert in AC. It should include all your dives, which is 5 for open water. Great idea to get the bookwork done at home.

I third Amigo's del Mar, excellent instructors, took very good care of me when I learned to dive.

PADI Open Water takes 4 dives. It's NAUI that can have 5, though one of those can be swapped for a snorkel dive. Open Water referral generally costs around US$225 + sales tax in San Pedro, and for some inexplicable reason is rather cheaper on Caye Caulker. If you want really CHEAP then go to Honduras.

There are three ways to become a PADI OW diver. One is to do everything here, which takes three full days. Another is the "referral" route, under which you do all classroom and confined water skills learning at home, and just do the four dives here. A popular middle ground is to get the manual and other requisite materials and study them at home, then write the "knowledge reviews" or mini-exams in emails to your chosen dive center. They should mark them and send them back with helpful comments (like "try tiddlywinks instead" - no, I jest). Then all you have to do on arrival is the exam, confined water work (less than half a day) and the four dives. The benefit to you is that you still get to do most of the time-consuming work at home and not as part of your precious holiday time, and without the added cost of a formal referral course - the dive center should not charge you extra for doing it this way. The benefit to us is that we still get to do all the basic water work with you, so we can identify your strengths and weaknesses and work to them.

got my advanced in Honduras and really feel it is a better experience overall in Belize. For OW it was only about $60 cheaper than BZ and worth the $60 in BZ.