We are coming to Belize in May (can't wait) and would love to go on a diving trip. Neither of us are certified though. We don't want to spend the time & money to do the certification. My fiance has never been diving before, but I have gone when travelling to other islands. what are the regulations in Belize? what company can we book with? we are staying at Victoria House. thanks so much!

Although not a direct answer to your question, personally, I think if you don't care enough to spend the time and money necessary to undertake such an activity without proper training, you are setting yourself up for potential problems. Just like you wouldn't fly a plane w/o proper training, you shouldn't dive w/o proper training. Spend the money to take a resort course at the least, and I am sure there are plenty of operators in AC who provide that service. Better yet, do all your classroom stuff at home and do your open water dives in Belize! Then, you've got a passport to diving freedom no matter what your destination.

Agreed. You are in a hostile environment (no oxygen, currents, etc.) dependant upon a mechanical string of gear for basic life support. Not an ideal set of circumstances to practice a new pastime. I can't really imagine any operator in SP taking someone out without a Cert Card or a Resort Course. Never heard of it there.

Take the classes and enjoy the results.

Resort course at the minimum. About 125 bucks. Typically, they will familiarize you with the gear and then take you out for a shallow dive. Usually, the resort course will allow you to go out with an instructor while you are there a few more times (for a few more bucks), but only shallow.

Sounds like you have done the resort course/passport diver program a couple of times. If you have done that a couple of times you have basically paid for the cost of a full certification, something you have for a lifetime. The full certification allows you to dive for as cheap as $35 bucks for a single dive around San Pedro versus not having a full certification and having to pay nearly three times that amount for just a resort course dive. Not very cost effective in my opinion but there are shops on San Pedro that will do a resort course. Check the links for dive shops from the front page of this site

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, I have taken the "resort class". I didn't mean that I wanted to dive without any training. I just meant that I didn't have the time to do the full certification, which I think takes several days. Thanks for your help. Any suggestions as to dive shops???
Also, I am in Philadelphia. Does anyone know how we can do the classwork here and then do the dives??? We are really busy planning a wedding, but I would love to get certified...

The Resort course is good in that most dive shops, or at least the ones that can certify, will apply the cost of the resort course to the full certification price...and count that as your first dive!

Then it should only take another 4-5 days tops to complete your certification.

We did that two years ago and loved it!!!!

For your Fiancee, doing the resort course first will determine if they even like diving! jmho

Sorry to add to the confusion but here is what you can do if you have tne time prior to your big day. You can take classes over a weekend - a full day Saturday and Sunday with about 8 hours of self directed study prior to the class watching a DVD or Video and going through a workbook to obtain a general level of knowledge.

After completion of the weekend course and pool work you can obtain what is called a referral and do the open water portion for certification on vacation. The referral says you are competent in the core skills for an open water diver and can now do those in an open water setting with an instructor and complete your certification. This is a total of 4 dives split up over two days. Once you pass the required skills you are a certified diver and issued full certification. The majority of shops in San Pedro can do a referral. From a budget standpoint count on $700-1000 per person from start to finish inclusive of your own set of basic gear (fins, booties, snorkel and mask) Check around your local dive shops and they can give you more details or post back here and I'm sure most of the divers will respond. Congrats and good luck if you decide to get certified.

Also, I believe Victoria House has a nice dive shop on site and can handle arrangements for a refferal. Just ask your contact there.

If the weather is calm, certification is 3 days long...resort course is the way to go if broke, you can dive after the course for the rest of the week with your divemaster but not deep!

Hey, 4. Check this out:

http://www.divingbell.com/bellfkd.htm

and

http://ygraine.membrane.com/enterhtml/live/scuba/instruct.html

Why not take your pool and class sessions at home and get a referral for your open water? Then you will be certified and can dive whereever and whenever you want. If you are concerned that your friend may not like scuba, either of the shops listed above should offer something called "Discover Scuba" or something like that. It's usually only around $20-25.