Diving in Colombia

Mr. Hollywood says on Mar 22, 2007, 17:02:

I've done a bit What are your questions?

Colombiano_81 says on Mar 22, 2007, 17:47:

whats up...what was the price of the dive or dives wherever it was that you dove? And do you know how much it costs to rent out full equipment? Any idea on how much a divemaster makes monthly over there? How about the price of a baptism dive/introductory vs a regular certified diver dive? And if you the know the cost of lets say an openwater course over there. Whith which organization did you dive? PADI? thnks

Mario says on Mar 22, 2007, 17:51:

I've done some diving in Colombia It just wasn't ever in the water or air... :P

"The angle of the dangle is directly proportionate to the swerve of the curve."

vicshere says on Mar 22, 2007, 18:04:

generally you will find courses are cheaper than in the US but renting equipment is the normal tourist rate they have diving in Santa Marta in Rodadaro area that i know of for a fact check out this site

http://www.lacasadefelipe.com/buceo.html



listo
"con mucho gusto"
Vic

listo

manINred says on Mar 22, 2007, 18:14:

I did, Buseo is relatively cheap, and you get good training in beautiful waters.

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 23, 2007, 07:55:

Avianca Magazine had a great story on diving on the Carribean coast in their January 2007 issue. I think they post an archive online somewhere.

There are apparently quite a few dive shops and centers in Taganga. According to what I have heard, it is a great dive location.

manINred says on Mar 23, 2007, 08:09:

You heard correctly that's where I did it, fantastic value for money, at the end of our safari I wanted to tip the guy 20,000 pesos, but he wouldn't accept it! They are great fun and flexible and you can do buseo in parque Tayrona.

bostonmickey says on Mar 23, 2007, 08:31:

Gorgona... Cali had a couple of good buceo schools and clubs--Barracudas--around las canchas panamericanas...if you hook up with them, it may not be too expensive...they used to take groups to Gorgona, Bahia Solano, San Andres y Providencia (better)...it was a blast!

Let's be CAREFUL out there!!Sgt. Phil Esteraus, Hill Street Blues

treedoc says on Mar 23, 2007, 13:16:

diving Where specifically is the best divingin Colombia and what is the visibility? Reefs intact?

Mr. Hollywood says on Mar 23, 2007, 13:49:

my answers I don't remember the specific prices but I remember thinking it was CHEAP. Particularly in Taganga. There I dove with Poseidon Dive Center and they had good gear and staff, plus they spoke about 5 different languages. I dove 2 dives per day for something like 3 days with them and at the end settled a tab that was less than 1 dive would have been in Hawaii or Florida. The visibility in Tayrona seemed to vary a lot but there are some lovely spots.

I've also been diving off San Andres. Very nice water clarity there and beautiful reefs. I dove one spot called the Blue Wall that was spectacular, dropping off from about 10 meters to 200 meters in a coral covered cliff face.

I have no idea about how people are paid in the dive business in Colombia but I suspect it's like every other job in Colombia -- underpaid.

Colombiano_81 says on Mar 23, 2007, 14:04:

thanks for your replies. The reason I asked is because my plan is to find a job hopefully in Cartagena as a Divemaster in a Scuba Center and wanted to see if the pay would be enough to live or working alone renting out equipments for my clients and then diving. Here I wanted to see what the difference would be between the cost of the dive and the rental to see if I could make a profit this way.

Mr. Hollywood says on Mar 23, 2007, 16:13:

The divemasters At Poseidon were all living on the premises of the dive center. Most of them were foreign, as well, with Colombians driving the boats. I'm sure the divemasters were doing okay as a fun "vacation" from the real world but nobody was making enough to save.

One of my favorites in Taganga was a young woman from Argentina who worked there as an investment banker and just decided to take a year off and travel SA. The dive instructor job gave her a center of gravity and a way to earn a little money but wasn't a career.

jmbone says on Sep 6, 2007, 07:01:

Hola Colombiano,

Check out:

www.divecartagena.com

for Dive Shop Home Pages and contacts where you might find work.

regards,

Jim