How Much Does It Cost To Become A Scuba Diver?
This is the question that brought you to this page so please allow us to take a few minutes to explain the different parts of scuba diving and the costs associated with each. Scuba diving is an incredible hobby that is enjoyed by millions around the world. It isn’t an extreme or dangerous sport as some people make it out to be. It is a ticket that allows you to explore the many oceans, lakes, rivers and quarries which make up this planet of ours. There is a misconception among many non-divers who think that it is an exceptionally expensive undertaking. We are going to break down exactly what you can expect if you want to print your ticket to explore the underwater world!
Cost Of Getting Certified
The first thing you need to do to become a scuba diver is to get your scuba diving certification. Becoming a certified diver will provide you the knowledge and training you need to become a diver. It also allows you to rent equipment and join dive trips at dive shops around the world. At Saguaro Scuba, we offer both the SDI Open Water Certification as well as the PADI Open Water Certification. Both of these certifications include an E-Learning portion of the course ($69 for SDI or $129 for PADI), pool training, and 2 days of lake diving where you get to complete 2 dives each day. The total cost for your SDI Open Water Certification comes to $318. The total cost of the PADI Open Water Certification comes to $378. Both courses and certifications are both accepted around the world and will prepare you for a lifetime of exploration!
Cost Of Scuba Diving Equipment
Start With The Basics
While you don’t need to buy your own equipment to be a scuba diver, this is the next step that many people do once they catch the scuba bug. As a starter you will likely want to get yourself a mask, fins, and a snorkel. We have a great deal on a starter package which gives you all of the above for $119.95. This is $180 worth of scuba diving gear for a great price! There are a ton of choices of colors and sizes. This set includes the Genesis Coronado Fins, the Tilos Universal Mask, the Tilos Semi-Dry Snorkel, and the Akona 3mm Standard Boot. While these aren’t the highest end products we sell, these are products we believe that offer great value and will certainly last you several years of diving. This will give you a great chance to see if scuba diving is an activity you will be devoting more time, energy and resources towards.
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Intro To Scuba Package
$179.95 Select optionsSKU: BOYSCOUT
Get The Full Set
If you want to get your own set of the rest of the scuba gear and want to stay on a budget we recommend checking out buying some of our rental gear. All of our rental gear that we sell is in next to new condition. We get brand new rental equipment every year, so this is a great opportunity to get high end scuba diving gear at a heavily discounted price. We also offer a year warranty with all of our rental gear sales. I have put an example of one of our rental packages together on the right. The Better Package, which sells for $1099 includes the following. A Scuba Pro Knighthawk BCD ($643), a Scuba Pro MK11/S360 Regulator ($437), the ScubaPro R095 Octopus ($149), and the Sherwood Insight Computer ($500). All of these products if purchased separately and new would come to $1729. This is a great chance to complete your scuba diving equipment set with great gear at an incredible price. All of this gear is serviced and warrantied for 1 year prior to sale. Sizes and availability varies so please contact us to confirm availability before making your purchase.
Picking A Wet Suit
The only other piece of scuba diving equipment which you will likely need is a wet suit. We recommend coming into our shop in Mesa, Arizona to try these on before purchasing to ensure you get the proper fit. You can also discuss with our staff where and when you will be doing most of your diving and we will do our best to get you into the right suit. There are a ton of different options. There are full length suits, short suits, two piece suits, rear zip as well as a new front zip style which is very popular at the moment. There are all thicknesses as well from 1mm skin type suits all the way up to 7mm thick suits. There are also dry suits for those interested in diving in very cool water.
Other Costs To Consider
The other thing to consider when becoming a scuba diver is the cost of diving itself. If you are going to be doing most of your diving locally and need only to rent a tank and fill it with air you are looking at $7 per tank to fill and rent for the day. Meaning you could do a weekend of diving (4 dives) for $28. Hardly breaking the bank. If you decide that you want to get into a lot of scuba diving travel, that is where things can get expensive but also exciting! We offer several group trips each year to destinations such as Cozumel, Roatan, Bonaire, and Grand Cayman. We also use our experience and knowledge to help customers arrange their own trips to these destinations as well as to Costa Rica and several liveaboard destinations around the world.
To Summarize
You can get yourself certified to be a scuba diver for life for $318. If you don’t want to rent equipment and want to invest in your own dive equipment, you can get yourself completely outfitted for around $1500 with new Mask, Fins, Snorkel, Boots and Wetsuit as well as a BCD, Regulator set, and a Dive Computer from our rental inventory. Diving itself is very cheap ($7 per tank) if done locally. The real expense as well as the real fun kicks in once you start exploring some of the beautiful scuba diving destinations around the world.