Vandit Kalia, 13 May 2025

Picking a dive center for fun diving requires a whole different set of criteria from picking a dive center for learning to dive.

In general, picking a dive center for learning to dive mainly involves evaluating how the dive center conducts their Open Water course:  this is a process that works the same for every prospective diver.    

However,  picking a dive center to go diving with is a lot more complicated.     Are you a new diver or experienced?     Do you have any special interests?    Do you have preferences about the type of diving you like?    Etc etc.     Divers have a broad range of preferences and finding the correct dive center involves understanding those preferences and mapping them to the dive center.    As a result, a dive center that is good for one type of diver may not be good for a different type of diver.    

In this article and video, we will discuss how to pick a dive center if you are going on a diving holiday and just want to dive.

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The Initial Screening

The first screening involves reviewing their Google ratings to see if there are any flags.    As someone who has been on the receiving end of a few poor reviews which were earned (due to mistakes on our end), as well as others which we felt were unfair, it is important to maintain perspective:   sometimes, dive pros do make mistakes (we are human, after all) and sometimes, there is a gap between what the diver expects and how a dive shop operates.

For example, I had a diver once tick me off because our dive guides didn't create the same super-detailed plan as what she was used to elsewhere.     The only thing was - the other place had 12-14 divers per guide while we had a maximum of 4 per guide.   And the nature of our diving conditions in the Andamans meant that our dive plans had to have a certain amount of flexibility set within certain boundaries (max depth, max time, air management and NDL).       So of course, our processes were going to be different.    But nope... my explanation fell on deaf ears and I think there is still a 1-star review from her (never mind the 20+ years without a single incident following this approach).

So I wouldn't necessarily place a LOT of value on isolated bad reviews - I would, however, look for a pattern or instances of mistakes that seem to be systemic to the dive center, as opposed to an errant act by a single pro (eg, consistently being late, hidden charges, unprofessional response to mistakes, etc).       Everyone makes mistakes - but in general, professional dive centers try not to repeat the mistakes and also make a point to try to correct them when they are pointed out,    It's this failure to correct those issues that would be a red flag for me.

Asking friends for recommendations is also a good way to create a shortlist for dive centers - more so than with picking a center for learning to dive.     Someone who has dived at a center can comment about the overall professionalism of the dive shop, the quality of the guides, the processes, etc:  all of which will give you the info on whether to add them to your list of candidate dive centers or not.

What I DONT pay too much attention to is whether the center is a "5 Star Center" or a "Diamond Facility".   Those are just marketing terms and awarded to dive centers on the basis of them being exclusive to one agency and/or meeting a certain sales volume of courses.      It means the dive shop is likely larger, that's about it - while that does imply a certain level of competence, I dont find it too useful beyond that.

Once I have a list of dive centers to contact, it is time to narrow down that list.

What To Look For In A Dive Shop For Fun Diving

Here are the criteria I use to assess - and I re-iterate, the answers to each of these is going to vary depending on your personal preference, and you may have additional criteria that are relevant to you, based on your experience/preferences/requirements (eg, support when kitting up or entering/exiting the water due to medical issues, etc):

• • Experience of the Dive Guides:   my single most important factor:   how long have the dive guides worked there?        I want guides who know the waters inside out, who know where to find interesting subjects, what to expect in specific conditions, and so on.     And generally, I find local dive guides to be better at this (of course, there are plenty of exceptions).        And if you have any special interests (macro, photography, etc), do try to make sure your dive center has guides who are experienced in that area.  

• • Certification Level of the Dive Guides:  many places in the world don't always have agency-certified Divemasters leading the group, but dive guides - these latter are very experienced spotters and often very experienced at group management and safety, but may not have the education/language skills to complete the theory part of the Divemaster course.      Does this make them any less qualified to lead divers around and show them fish?     Remember:   as a certified diver, YOU are responsible for your own safety and are qualified to dive without professional supervision.        Many experienced divers - myself included - don't particularly care if the dive guide has a professional certification or not, as long as s/he knows the practical side of leading divers around safely.   On the other hand, newer divers may prefer a certified Divemaster leading the dive, for assistance with skills/knowledge.

• • Degree of Supervision & Control:   some divers may prefer a dive center where the dive guides are regularly checking up on their divers - other divers may not value this as much (or sometimes actively prefer not being asked for their air/NDL every 10-15 min).    Experienced divers, on the other hand, may prefer dive centers which give them freedom to do their own dives - or at the very least, some flexibility during the dive.    Different centers have different policies here, so do check to see that there is a match with your preferences/requirements 

• • Diver Ratios:   smaller groups = better, for the most part.    You get more flexibility on the dive, and also better supervision.     However, smaller groups generally also comes at a higher price.      So you decide how much that is worth it for you.    Personally, I find the incremental cost of picking a dive center with smaller groups to be relatively minor (compared to the overall cost of the trip) and always prefer to pay the premium.   Your mileage may vary.

• • Gear:   I almost always travel with my own gear, so I am not that fussed about what gear the dive center has to rent.   But if you are renting your gear, it may be worth ensuring that they have fins, wetsuit, etc in your size.     For heavy breathers, the availability of 15L tanks is also important.     

• • Boat size/capacity:   do you get seasick?   Do you prefer shorter boat rides?   Do you care about having a lot of space on the boat to stretch out?    If these matter, you should check with the dive center to ensure their boat meets your requirements.    Although sometimes it is moot - eg, in Maldives, all dive centers use the same style dhonis for their dives.   In Mozambique, it is always RIBs.   

• • Dive policies:  this varies significantly from dive center to dive center.    Some dive centers have a hard limit on dive times  (sometimes for safety and logistics, sometimes for less apparent reasons).      Some dive centers have a more rigorous policy on air management - when one person hits the ending pressure, the whole group comes up - while others are more flexible, sending buddy teams up as and when they run low on air.    I am not a fan of arbitrary "45 minutes and done" dive limits, unless required by law or logistics.    Similarly, I prefer dive centers which dont force me to cut short my dive because someone else is low on air (except for where conditions/safety warrant bringing the whole group up).     But the flip side is that this stricter approach also lets the dive center have more control over group safety and logistics, which can be better for newer divers.

• • Cancellation Policy:   some dive centers are relaxed about their cancellation policies and you pay for what you do.    Others are more strict.      Please make yourself aware of this before you sign up - because complaining about this afterwards just makes things awkward for everyone.   If you aren't happy with the cancellation policy, book elsewhere.    As a general industry standard, you pay for what you have booked, even if you don't do all the dives.      Some dive centers ARE more relaxed about it, and where possible, I personally try to pick those, as a way of thanking them for their flexibility.

• • Process vs Flexibility:  some dive centers are very process-oriented and for good reason (this ensures smooth operations).    As divers, you have to follow their process, ja?       Others are more flexible when it comes to accommodating diver special interests, choice of dive sites, etc.      For newer divers, this probably doesn't matter so much but for experienced divers, a flexible dive shop that can accommodate their needs is great - however, the flip side to this is that this often require a bit of flexibility on your part as well.    Other divers - regardless of experience - want structure with everything planned out in advance.      So make sure you understand your own preferences and pick a dive center which matches that.

• • Vibe - for me, this is huge.   I am on holiday.   I want to have a fun time.   I want a dive center where the team is also enjoying themselves, and not going through the motions or having "just another day at the job".   I mean, I can deal with this if I have to, but if I had to pick, I'd always pick the dive center where the crew is also having fun.    No one wants to see bored or joyless faces before, between or after dives!   

• • Price - paradoxically, I try to avoid dive centers which are significantly cheaper than the norm for the region.    Having been on the other end of the equation, I know that when dive centers are significantly under-cutting prices, they are doing so out of desperation and something has to give.    Given the overall cost of vacation, I would rather pay an incremental amount more and have a trip where everything goes really well, rather than succumb to the false economy of trying to save a few percent in the overall cost and end up with a shoddy dive center.

There are many ways to run a professional, competent, safe dive shop and there are pros and cons to each.     So when speaking to a dive center, either in person or by email, take the time to understand how they run their diving and how that matches your preferences.

My preferred approach is I send out an email to dive centers with a list of questions that matter to me, based on the list above.      Then I vet the dive centers based on the responses they provide and also how flexible they appear based on their replies.  

A word of warning, however:   just because you are used to diving one way in one part of the world doesn't mean that you should expect the same process followed elsewhere.      So accept that sometimes things are the way they are - different from what you are used to or prefer - for a good reason.   

And again, remember:  the goal isn't to optimize your search to the nth degree.   As long as you pick a dive center whose answers meet your preference, you should have a great experience.    Go in with a happy, open mind and come out even happier!