You should really read this Divemaster Course Review written about a recent candidates experience with us. Here at Big Blue Pro we train a lot of candidates to become dive professionals and I feel quite proud in knowing that the opinions expressed below are pretty much the same for 99 out of 100 candidates. You can’t please everybody, but we hopefully 99 Divemaster Course Reviews out of 100 will help!
I just finished the training to become a Divemaster at Big Blue Diving on Koh Tao, Thailand, and I felt like sharing my thoughts about this experience here.
Over the course of 11 years I have completed a lot of diving and specialty courses and have thus seen quite a few diving resorts and dive shops, and I gotta say: this outfit is exceptional. They really try to make things work for everyone, and it’s impossible not to have a great time there!
Now, I’m not exactly a very skilled writer (nor am I a native English speaker), so I’ll take the easy way out and list the pros and cons below.
The good stuff:
What I liked best, was the atmosphere. DMs (Divemasters), DM trainees, students, instructors – in the evening everyone is hanging out together making it easy to feel part of the ‘family’ and also to gather information about where to live, where to rent a motorbike, where to party, etc. I had some great conversations about all kinds of things 😉
-food and drinks are great @ BB! don’t leave without trying their paneang curry! 😉 Also, as a DM trainee you get discounts on food n drink.
-good dive shop: my mask broke the second week – overuse, no doubt 😉 They have a large selection of masks, spare parts etc. to help ya out in cases like this.
-great location: BB is a nice spot for a sundowner and very close to the village center and thus 7-11. facking toasties from 7-11 saved my life more than once…
-instructors and DMs were IMHO exceptionally knowledgeable and skilled in their job. In teaching they made perfect examples or role-models. quite impressive, I’d say.
-DM training at BB includes much more than what you do with other outfits, there’s lectures on various topics every couple of days. after training @ BB I feel very confident in performing the job as a divemaster, lead divers, assist in courses, etc.
-dive sites in general are really interesting, there’s lots of stuff to see and it doesn’t get boring!
As a DM trainee, I got the feeling that students and fundivers are more honest and critical when asked about their opinion on dives, courses and Big Blue in general – I guess that’s because they see you more as ‘one of their own’ than the employed DMs and instructors. so, the cons below are not entirely what I felt, but include opinions I’ve heard during my stay there.
The not-so-good (and not-so-important) stuff:
-I heard students complain about bad vis and dirt in the pool (did’t disturb me at all)
-the only thing I heard quite a few complaints about that I actually DO agree with: they shouldn’t accept too many divers at the same time. whole groups of students told me they will be diving with smaller outfits in future, and divers that have been to BB in the years before told me they will not come back if it stays that crowded. I guess that’s the downside of the excellent reputation BB rightfully received over the years! 😉
Anyway, please keep in mind: this only applies to peak season (especially July, from what I’ve heard) and it’s pretty much the same with other dive schools – Koh Tao being a prime destination for divers!
Now, don’t be scared off by these minor cons, because at BB you don’t just get the certification card —-> you get the best goddamn DM training there is!!!
One more thought: I finished my DM course over a period of 3 weeks only. It worked out fine for me (I had 78 dives of which around half were training dives before I arrived), but if you plan to do this kinda thing, be aware: this is A LOT of work to do in 3 weeks, you will be diving in the pool or assisting dives in the sea almost every day and there will be a lot of paperwork to do in the evenings. I’m not saying there’s no time for a couple of beers every now and then, but to get the most out of the training and to have the most fun, allow yourself more time! seeing the other DM trainees relaxing and chilling out in between busy days makes you think twice, when you get up @ 5:30 to be ready for the morning dive 😉
And should any of the BB staff read this: you guys were awesome!!! thank you so much for this great and unforgettable time! this of course applies to all BB staff, but especially to the ppl I had the pleasure to dive with: Steven, Verena, Tanya,Robin in the shop but most of all Ant, who answered all my questions and requests even after work at the bar and who took extra time to teach me at a time when BB was really busy!
miss you guys and BB already! 😉
You guys rock!
Thank you so much for leaving this Divemaster Course review. You now got to come back do your Instructor Course and leave us a review for that too!
