11 Tips for Choosing the Right Dive Operator

Simon Pridmore is the author of the bestseller Scuba Confidential, and best-placed to offer tips and tricks to getting the most out of your diving experience. In the latest Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA, he brings us eleven tips for choosing the right dive operator:

Checklist

Read your training manual and other books for divers (like mine!). Make a personal checklist of things, in terms of safety, service and environmental awareness, which you would want a dive operator to offer.

Safety

Is emergency oxygen always immediately available? Do guides have a safety role or are they only spotters?

Service

Is there a covered area on the boat? Is drinking water provided?

Environmental Awareness

Does the operator have a “no touch” policy? Does it reduce use of plastic to a minimum?

Research

Research operators online to narrow down favourites. Don’t judge based on pretty pictures or website quality. Look at the content. Compare each operator’s selling points with your checklist.

Ask Around

Talk to friends; use social media, Scubaboard, Tripadvisor and the like. Search each operator’s historical safety record.

Black Spots

Are the sites the operator dives OK for you? Some famous and popular dive sites and destinations are not for beginners. Avoid them until you have more experience.

Don’t Compromise

Make sure your choice ticks ALL your important boxes.

Money

Never choose on price. Choose on value. If an operator is much more expensive, ask why? Sometimes good service and top safety precautions come at a price. Beware of cheap deals. You will pay for these in poor service or safety standards.

Make Contact

Write to your chosen operator with questions that its site does not answer. Expect a quick, direct and clear reply. If the operator has no time for you BEFORE you book, you will not be cared for AFTER you have paid. Choose again.

Walk Away

Don’t hesitate to walk away if you arrive and discover that, despite all your research, your operator is careless or not properly prepared or equipped. Have a back-up choice, just in case.

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Text by Simon Pridmore. This article featured in Scuba Diver AUSTRALASIA (Issue 5/2016)

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