Dive centers in Bali



But it was soooo cheap...



How to choose a dive centre in Pemuteran, Bali or anywhere else?

What criteria you should consider?

a)      Quality?

b)      Safety?

c)      Professionalism?

d)     Reputation?

e)      Price?

If you take elements a, b, c and d for granted, and your mission is just to shop around for lowest price you may be dead wrong. Pun intended.

We are all spoiled by Western regulations and control and we simply believe if somebody is offering dental services, he is a dentist.

And dive centers are operated by teaching status dive instructors.

And the pilot taking you from A to B is licensed for the plane.

Well, in Bali and many other areas in Indonesia as well, situation is a touch different.

Unfortunately, controlling mechanisms are corrupted.

You know what happens when vital files of your operating system are corrupted?

System regulating and controlling processes and services becomes totally unreliable.

Your choices here are wide open.

You can get anything from top-notch services down to totally unacceptable services and anything in between.

As a friend of mine nicely put: “It’s easy to make a decision, but you have to know, you will have to live with consequences of your decision…”

So, how to proceed when deciding for scuba diving?

Do your homework.

Check with your friends who were already here for any recommendations, check guide books... If you are looking for PADI centers check on PADI web pages, not signs at the roads!

Fiction that owners proudly put on their web pages can provide interesting readings, however, in too many cases it is just this. Fiction. Take it with a truckload of salt :)

If you are already here and deciding; take a look, talk with an instructor, take a look at the equipment you will use, get the feeling and then decide.

If in doubts, better spend a day more on the beach :)

Scuba diving is truly amazing and very safe activity. If conducted properly.

However, if your dive operator not only ignores the basic safety standards, but even does not know what they are – well, then it's more like a Russian roulette, with a barrel pointing at your head...