Scuba in Calgary

[balistidae]

my girlfriend and I are looking to get certified this winter. Just wondering what the best option is in town. Thank you, Greg

[sphelps]

Take the course at "The Dive Shop" or something PADI certified. I took the fast track version which is over one intense weekend or you can take it over a few weeks. After the course you'll have to do 4 open water dives before you're certified. Best to go somewhere warm for that :biggrin:

I believe The Dive Shop in Calgary has its own pool which would be nice. Not sure about other places.

[Delphinus]

The Dive Shop as mentioned, there is also Adventures in Scuba and Aquasport. They all have their own pools. I haven't gone through with it yet (no point) but I did check into it and I liked Aquasport the best of these 3 (prices for gear was something like 30% cheaper than the other 2 - classes were cheaper by a huge margin too).

Dive Shop is on Macleod Trail near Memory Express, Adventures in Scuba is also on Macleod but further south by Superstore, and Aquasport is in Marda Loop.

[Finaddict]

we went through the dive shop, highly recommend them.

[Snappy]

I would recommend the Dive Shop or Adventures in Scuba. Both are great.

[lorenz0]

i have over 20 dives and i am not certified, even a 130foot dive on a wall. but decided to do the same to finally get certified. from what i have heard, dive shop is the best place in town

[BMW Rider]

I was looking at doing the National Geographic diver program at Adventures in Scuba last year, but had too many other commitments to take it on then. This year looks out of the question due to a shoulder injury, but I still want to do it someday. The NG course adds a bunch of extra skills and knowledge that seemed to fit the sort of diving I'd like to do.

[Jay180reef]

I'm a PADI Divemaster, having done all my training through AquaSport and the Dive Shop (so I'm kinda biased) and they are the sister shops. Both locations have excellent selections of high quality PADI instructors. Often instructors are shared and referred back and forth. Darren Barker owns the Dive Shop, he is one of a handful of PADI Course Directors (highest rating in Professional Diving) in Canada. His ex-wife owns AquaSport, she is also a top rated Professional.

Regardless of where you take your Open Water Diver course in Calgary, the PADI standards and material will be EXACTLY THE SAME. The instructors will put their own spin on it based on their own experiences.

If you would like a laid back, more fun oriented instructor for your Open Water Diver course, I recommend Al Roemer at the Dive Shop.

For a more analytical & technical approach, I recommend Wayne Gallinger at Aqua Sport Scuba Centre. I've done my higher level training with Wayne (Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Deep Diver Specialty, Dry Suit) and he is extremely knowledgeable about diving.

I've heard great things about Adventures in Scuba as well, so go research which dive shop you like best and talk to the staff.

Be sure to PM me about anything diving too!

[balistidae]

thanks for all of the replies everyone. I am leaning towards aquasport just because it is so close to our house.

[lobsterboy]

I got my national geographic at adventures in scuba, and they were great about everything, even setting up private lessions because of my crazy schedule.
also my buddy took his at aqua sport and he loves them, i have been to aquasport a few times and they are very helpful