planning diving holiday for hubby, help required!!!

[happy2bhere]

Newbie to the forum, so hello!! I'm planning a diving holiday for my hubby's 40th, which is in Nov this year. Let me start by saying that i have about a budget of about £2000, i am not diver & have very little knowledge about such things, which is why i need a little help......

OK, he's an experinced diver (uk & overseas), but hasn't any formal qualifications. So i'm guessing that he'll have to do the PADI in the UK before we go, just so he can hire out equipment abroad - is this right?!

Can just tag diving excersions onto holidays? When overseas he generally just borrows equipment from friends & will go diving with them. This i'm totally ok with as i know them & am confident that he'll be ok in their company (yes i know, but i do worry!). I'm therefore a little uncomfortable with the fact that he won't be with somebody we know. How can you tell if someone is reputable? Is there certain qaulifications they should have? I'm also considering booking with a dedicated diving holiday firm. Has anyone booked through one before?

As far as location goes, i'd just like to go somewhere where the sea is warm, the sun shines & their is very little or more preferable no rain!!! Bearing this in mind, can anyone reccomend somewhere that ticks these boxes & has fantastic diving?

If your still reading, thank you - i apologise for such a lenghty post! Just want to make it special for a truly special bloke...ahhhhh!!

[Eddie Clamp]

Newbie to the forum, so hello!! I'm planning a diving holiday for my hubby's 40th, which is in Nov this year. Let me start by saying that i have about a budget of about £2000, i am not diver & have very little knowledge about such things, which is why i need a little help......

OK, he's an experinced diver (uk & overseas), but hasn't any formal qualifications. So i'm guessing that he'll have to do the PADI in the UK before we go, just so he can hire out equipment abroad - is this right?!

Can just tag diving excersions onto holidays? When overseas he generally just borrows equipment from friends & will go diving with them. This i'm totally ok with as i know them & am confident that he'll be ok in their company (yes i know, but i do worry!). I'm therefore a little uncomfortable with the fact that he won't be with somebody we know. How can you tell if someone is reputable? Is there certain qaulifications they should have? I'm also considering booking with a dedicated diving holiday firm. Has anyone booked through one before?

As far as location goes, i'd just like to go somewhere where the sea is warm, the sun shines & their is very little or more preferable no rain!!! Bearing this in mind, can anyone reccomend somewhere that ticks these boxes & has fantastic diving?

If your still reading, thank you - i apologise for such a lenghty post! Just want to make it special for a truly special bloke...ahhhhh!!

Well! Your request made my blood run cold :rolleyes: You tell us hubby has no quals at all and is happy to dive with friends who , apparently, do. :(

I recommend to you that he MUST qualify before he goes, either with BSAC or PADI. There is no way a proper run dive business in a foreign clime should lend an unqualified diver gear, although it maybe possible for him to do a try dive. Of course there are many dive businesses out there abroad who will be only too willing to train him but this will take time from your holiday. Might be worth thinking of.

A budget of £2000 is ok. Should get you to at least the Carribbean or to the Maldives at a pinch or somewhere cheaper in between. Have a look around here for some ideas: http://www.bsac.com/findit.asp?cat=tripreports&section=1511&itemTitle=Use+this+tool+to+access+national+%26+int ernational+BSAC+dive+information%2E&view=list&lat1=-83.67694304841552&lat2=83.67694304841554&lng1=-180&lng2=180&glat=0&glng=0&gzoom=1 All the reports here are written by divers for divers.

Best wishes and I am sure there will be much more advice offered, especially from those with more training quals than I have :)

[Roz]

I'm planning a diving holiday for my hubby's 40th, which is in Nov this year.
What a lovely idea, I'm sure he'll very much appreciate that.

I am not diver & have very little knowledge about such things, which is why i need a little help......OK, he's an experinced diver (uk & overseas), but hasn't any formal qualifications..........When overseas he generally just borrows equipment from friends & will go diving with them. This i'm totally ok with as i know them & am confident that he'll be ok in their company (yes i know, but i do worry!). I'm therefore a little uncomfortable with the fact that he won't be with somebody we know.
Gulp!! :eek:

Ok, I'd seriously recommend that your husband learns to dive before you book a holiday for him/you. Diving is an incredibly fun sport, provided you've been trained properly and stick to safe driving practices (the rules). I guess the best every day example would be to suggest that your husband gets into a car and then drives from your home, along a motorway, and then around London having never ever been taught or shown how to drive, let alone having a driving licence. So you don't know, what you don't know and your husband could end up in all sorts of bother going and diving with chums when he's not been properly trained. Or do you have a really large insurance policy on him and you're the sole beneficiary? :confused:

There's a couple of routes that you can go, and why don't you join in too? If you are time rich and cash poor, then join your local BSAC Club. If you log onto the main BSAC site you can locate your local clubs. Go along and visit them and find out which one suits you both. Then learn to dive. You'll do approx an hour of theory and about an hour in the pool each week and it will take you roughly 40 hours of training to get you to Ocean Diver.

If you are time poor and cash rich, then google up PADI and find your local diving school. Your course will be roughly 40 hours long but it will be more intensive. Spread over five nights or a couple of weekends.

Whatever you do, have fun. Read everything you can get your hands on, join a club (if you've trained with PADI) and practice your skills, and enjoy your open water dives. You'll probably go to a quarry to do these. These type of training sites resemble UK diving, but they are not the best diving we have in the UK. Think back to learning to drive. You bimbled around Sainsburys carpark and industrial estates perhaps? Well this is the same thing. Once he/you have qualified you'll find that we have some of the very best diving in the World.

Finally once you've been trained, then I'd consider something like diving out of Sharm El Sheikh for your husband's special holiday. You say you have a £2k budget? Well allocate approx £1k to the holiday and then use the other £1k to pay for training and some basic diving equipment, once your husband/you have started diving.

As Eddie mentioned no reputable diving company will hire out diving equipment to someone who doesn't show their diving qualifications. And if you do get a dive centre that does hire out kit to untrained people, then you shouldn't touch them with a barge pole!

You might find the following posts helpful;
http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=127118#poststop
http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=108012#poststop
http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=9351&highlight=time+poor

I hope that you find the above useful. And this way you will keep your husband safe and give him a truly special experience.

[Steve in Sharm]

Hi Happy,

Well of course, there is the "Gulp" you got from Roz. But,

You say experienced! Just how experienced is he? If he learnt years ago but never took a certification, or did he learn in the military in the days they didn't issue qualifications?

If he is as experienced as you say then PADI have just the thing for him - their "Experienced Diver" package is a one day course/assessment that will end up with him qualified as a PADI Open Water Diver (not good to be advertising that on here though :o )

Certainly any of the big centres here in Sharm could sort him out and then he would be qualified and free to dive whenever he goes on holiday.

To answer your question about buddies - make sure he goes with a reputable firm and he will always be in the company of a Dive Master as a minimum.

HTH

Steve

[happy2bhere]

Thanks for the replies. I expected a few gulps!! He is very experinced & does know what he's doing, which is why people are usually happy to lend him thier kit (he does have his own for UK dives).

Hubby just back from work, so will come back later!!!

[Eddie Clamp]

Hi Happy,
You say experienced! Just how experienced is he? If he learnt years ago but never took a certification, or did he learn in the military in the days they didn't issue qualifications?HTH

Steve

Yo Pongo! :p

You must be even older than I thought you were! RE Diver in the early days with the good Colonel P were you? :rolleyes:

[bythesea]

Can I just point out there is now requirement in the UK for any kind of qualification. We know little of the guys experience or capabilities. Roz suggest he needs to learn how to dive...maybe he knows how to and just doesn't have the card to go with the experience.

A guy in my club was in this same situation, always dive here on borrowed kit, that did him for 15 years, then he decided he wanted to do the red sea so got PADI OW and AOW tickets to put in his bag and off he went. he has now been diving over 30 years and still has no further quals, gets around 100 dives per year in, not bad for an OAP.

No need for gulps or OMGs here, he just needs a ticket, if you want it quick then pay PADI.

[Andy (treerat)]

I think if it was me I'd go off to Sharm, Malta or Gozo and do a qualification there The one above seems ideal, or do the theory here and the practicles out there.

If you want to spent a litle more Maldives, Carribean, Miami or Thailan / Bali and do the same :)

[middlewatchman]

Yo Pongo! :p

You must be even older than I thought you were! RE Diver in the early days with the good Colonel P were you? :rolleyes:


Ha ha Eduardo! A close leak informed me that your old buddy RE Diver Tiddly Coat, he of "5 Bells", is constantly reminding u of the history of early diving ;)

Can't be true, can it? :cool:

M

[Eddie Clamp]

Ha ha Eduardo! A close leak informed me that your old buddy RE Diver Tiddly Coat, he of "5 Bells", is constantly reminding u of the history of early diving ;)
Can't be true, can it? :cool:
M

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1434310418/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#RVUWJDEESIZ9J

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit old shipmate :) . Maybe true but when we joined in later we did it with more style. Can we go back to helping the young lady now? :p

[happy2bhere]

sorry, as i was saying before rudely interrupted by hubby coming home from work early......he has over 15 years experience, done loads of dives home & abroad & even a few cave dives!! The PADI sounds like the best option.

I mentioned the idea in passing to him today & got good feedback. Obviously he's going to know that theres diving involved, as I'll arrange for him to do the PADI here. So on to the important bit....location........this will be the surprise element. If your mrs or mr planned a surprise trip where would you want it to be & why??????

[PeteM]

If your mrs or mr planned a surprise trip where would you want it to be & why??????

Chuuk Lagoon
http://www.google.co.uk/images?q=chuuk+lagoon+diving



Bit would probably cost more than £2K

[Ed Howarth]

Small island in the Maldives.

Romance on a stick!

Ed

[Eddie Clamp]

Small island in the Maldives.

Romance on a stick!

Ed

For Maldives have a look at these reports:
http://www.bsac.com/findit.asp?cat=tripreports&section=0001000100150047&view=list&glat=&glng=&gzoom=&keyword=Atoll+Explorer&submit.x=48&submit.y=16

[ChristianG]

Believe it or not once upon a time there was no such thing as a diving qualification and I'm sure I'm not the only one to fall into that category, Strike springs to mind for one.

It's just that the qualifications have taken over to the extent that most, except the cowboys perhaps, will not now accept you without a C (certification) card. They used to, I dived without a C Card until '70 when I decided that too many people were asking me questions when I went in for a fill.

The problem with C Cards is that they mostly only allow you to dive to a certain depth, depending on C Card and the Instruction Agency you go with. This is the BSAC Forum, therefore biased towards the BSAC, as it should be. I'd suggest that your husband joins a local BSAC Club (http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=2164) and explains that he wants a relatively unrestricted C Card given that his target date is November. BSAC is a voluntary organisation, therefore no money changes hands other than for membership and, perhaps, course materials. As well he can do the theory in the UK and the practical in, say, Sharm where I would think that Steve who wrote an excellent earlier post would be able to help, no problem at all. Best of both worlds, little to no time wasted whilst on holiday and a very decent grounding in the vagaries of UK diving.

Alternatively he can do a PADI style course with BSAC Direct, and pay for it. That one gets you qualified just as quickly as any other course and you can still do the practical stuff in Sharm.

Written by a non-BSAC diver in dim, distant Oz. :)

[Blue Raya]

For november time Thailand is a good bet... If you both get certified (making it even more special for your hubby as you can share the underwater experiences together) you could even think about doing a liveaboard ( where you stay on a boat that is equipped for diving, sleeping and eating, the boat then takes you to various different dive sites)... I used to work in Thailand so I can reccomend some good, safe and professional dive centers and I also have several contacts of good friends of mine who run liveaboards. Hope this helps! But may I just also say what a wonderful thing to do! He's a lucky man! :)

[colinkay]

Can I just point out there is now requirement in the UK for any kind of qualification. We know little of the guys experience or capabilities. Roz suggest he needs to learn how to dive...maybe he knows how to and just doesn't have the card to go with the experience.

A guy in my club was in this same situation, always dive here on borrowed kit, that did him for 15 years, then he decided he wanted to do the red sea so got PADI OW and AOW tickets to put in his bag and off he went. he has now been diving over 30 years and still has no further quals, gets around 100 dives per year in, not bad for an OAP.

No need for gulps or OMGs here, he just needs a ticket, if you want it quick then pay PADI.

Correct.

I learned at my school club and took my first dive when I was 14 in the bracing waters of St Abbs. That was over 30 years ago. :o

I dived all over the world without any formal qualification until about 10 years ago when it became obvious PADI had such a grip on the market that I'd better get a card.

Incidentally, for those of you mentioning the Maldives, I'm on a 7 day trip on this little beauty on Monday. Happy days. :)

http://www.orion.liveaboarddiving.net/

[ChristianG]

I learned at my school club and took my first dive when I was 14 in the bracing waters of St Abbs. That was over 30 years ago.
When I went to school, SCUBA wasn't even a word.

I dived all over the world without any formal qualification until about 10 years ago when it became obvious PADI had such a grip on the market that I'd better get a card.
You persevered a lot longer than I did - by thirty years actually.

Incidentally, for those of you mentioning the Maldives, I'm on a 7 day trip on this little beauty on Monday. Happy days.
I do hope you made it, given that volcano thingie.

[Edward]

sorry, as i was saying before rudely interrupted by hubby coming home from work early......he has over 15 years experience, done loads of dives home & abroad & even a few cave dives!! The PADI sounds like the best option.


Hi,

If something happened whilst hubby was diving any insurance (including life cover for a mortgage) he has is likely to be 'null and void'. We live in the days of the Accountant sharks and if they can find a reason not to pay out they'll use it.

Regards

Edward

[barrygoss]

ok, enough of the can't do that the lawyers will get you type drivel.

Where are you geographically?, can we help your hubbie to get a qual before he goes?, can we help your hubbie gain a new set of dive buddies when he gets back?

How can we help? because we exist to help people to dive.

Let us know where you are, and I'm sure somebody from a local club will step up and be welcoming and help him to get the tiny bit of paper that will allow the holiday of his and your dreams.

and then there will be a myriad of people offering their favourite dive sites.

B

[Ok, so he's been diving without a qual, so what?, I've been diving a RB without a qual, but guess what? I've got something better than a qualification, it's called a brain.

Why do we always cater for the lowest denominator? and run scared from an unknown, untested, unexplored, load of hype called a lawyer]

and apologies that rant was directed at the negatives, we are here to enable diving, not naysay.

[bythesea]

When I went to school, SCUBA wasn't even a word.




It still isn't...

[Edward]

ok, enough of the can't do that the lawyers will get you type drivel.

Where are you geographically?, can we help your hubbie to get a qual before he goes?, can we help your hubbie gain a new set of dive buddies when he gets back?

How can we help? because we exist to help people to dive.

Let us know where you are, and I'm sure somebody from a local club will step up and be welcoming and help him to get the tiny bit of paper that will allow the holiday of his and your dreams.

and then there will be a myriad of people offering their favourite dive sites.

B

[Ok, so he's been diving without a qual, so what?, I've been diving a RB without a qual, but guess what? I've got something better than a qualification, it's called a brain.

Why do we always cater for the lowest denominator? and run scared from an unknown, untested, unexplored, load of hype called a lawyer]

and apologies that rant was directed at the negatives, we are here to enable diving, not naysay.

No need to apologise for expressing your view.

Unfortunately, we live in a litigation society. As an example I’m currently diving in the Caribbean and some divers (from London) have just joined the boat. There are separate buckets for masks and cameras (because of the spray used to defog masks), one of these new divers used the camera bucket to rinse his mask. On the next dive one of the American tourists’ camera flooded, guess what, they’re now looking for someone to sue and the London guy is top of the list as well as the operator for not ensuring masks were kept out of the camera bucket.

But back to subject, I work for the Government and had to check my pension would pay-out if I died diving. Because I asked the question I am now covered, but only when diving within the limits of my certification.

Regards

Edward

[Mike Halligan]

No need to apologise for expressing your view.
Right on!
But back to subject, I work for the Government and had to check my pension would pay-out if I died diving.
Me too! Never thought of that. :eek:
Because I asked the question I am now covered, but only when diving within the limits of my certification.
Hmmm, I could pursue this, but HMG wouldn't be paying me, I would be dead. :cool:

Footloose & fancy-free!

[ChristianG]

As an example I’m currently diving in the Caribbean and some divers (from London) have just joined the boat. There are separate buckets for masks and cameras (because of the spray used to defog masks), one of these new divers used the camera bucket to rinse his mask. On the next dive one of the American tourists’ camera flooded, guess what, they’re now looking for someone to sue and the London guy is top of the list as well as the operator for not ensuring masks were kept out of the camera bucket.
That is simply astonishing and, certainly at first glance, even absurd.

Whatever happened to:

a) Spit. I can accept a group of Americans using something artificial when an alternative which works just as well is readily available - but Brits?
b) I have never before (I don't really know) heard that this "defogger" is harmful to cameras, or rather their housings, to the extent that they drown. What, does it perish the O Rings? Eat the grease? Given that these can both be made from a wide variety of materials, including stuff that mask skirts are made of, I find that problematic in the extreme.
c) So one camera drowned? The others didn't? Hello?

I might just go and have a play and find out about this,but at first glance it seems perfectly ludicrous.

I'll get back to "you-all" on this one. :)

[PeteM]

That is simply astonishing and, certainly at first glance, even absurd.

Whatever happened to:

a) Spit. I can accept a group of Americans using something artificial when an alternative which works just as well is readily available - but Brits?
b) I have never before (I don't really know) heard that this "defogger" is harmful to cameras, or rather their housings, to the extent that they drown. What, does it perish the O Rings? Eat the grease? Given that these can both be made from a wide variety of materials, including stuff that mask skirts are made of, I find that problematic in the extreme.
c) So one camera drowned? The others didn't? Hello?

I might just go and have a play and find out about this,but at first glance it seems perfectly ludicrous.

I'll get back to "you-all" on this one. :)

It sounds to me like a classic case of "Something happened which I don't like, it must be someone elses fault therefore I can sue them" mentality which the American legal system (and increasingly ours) encourage.

[Eddie Clamp]

T

I might just go and have a play and find out about this,but at first glance it seems perfectly ludicrous.

I'll get back to "you-all" on this one. :)

Many thanks Christian. Will be around that area myself very, very soon so will let you know when I return :p

[ChristianG]

Many thanks Christian. Will be around that area myself very, very soon so will let you know when I return
Have fun Eddie. :D

Thus far the replies have been a tad sarcastic, as in:

That is most absurd. The camera flooded because they left it in the bucket too long or another camera was put on top of it or it was put on top of another camera. It would have flooded in any bucket of water, there was an issue and because of no pressure in the bucket of water it flooded. Has happened to many of us. People need to learn to take responsiblity for their own gear.
My favorite story is how NASA put out a contract for a pen that could write in a weightless environment. This happened when the manned space program just started for the monitary numbers are meaningless, other than the contract cost lots.

The Russian manned space program used pencils with sharpeners.

[Edward]

Right on!

Me too! Never thought of that. :eek:

Hmmm, I could pursue this, but HMG wouldn't be paying me, I would be dead. :cool:

Footloose & fancy-free!
Hi Mike,

More precisely it was the payment to my spouse under death in-service and the resulting pension for her.

Some of the older (pre 2000) Gov pensions do the lump sum, but not the pension to the spouse, so I understand.

Regards

Edward

[Matt-75]

@The OP, How deep does your hubby dive to usually? Does he do deco?

The quickest solution which as mentioned previously is to do a PADI OW in the UK before he heads out. Then maybe do an AOW wherever you end up to add on the depth progression to 30m. When he returns if he so wished he could join a BSAC club and head down the Sports Diver route.

Holiday wise, my suggestion would be Malta. Its nice out there, lots of reasonable dives that could be done on a PADI OW ticket without breaching insurance terms, or if he did an AOW out in Malta he could access some of the deeper dive sites (Rozi, Blue Hole, etc). Also its usually warm out there, and there are some good beaches. If you had the time you could do a 10-14 day holiday for not a major amount of money.

[ChristianG]

And then there were these contributions from my favourite U/W camera Forum:

Whenever I lead trips, if the dive-masters during their initial
briefings fail to say so, I will tell everyone that the camera buckets
are for cameras only and not for their masks, regs or anything else.
Period. That said, if someone rinses their mask in the camera
bucket, it is not the end of the world and for someone to blame their
flooded gear on the fact that someone inadvertently rinsed their mask
in the wrong bucket is absurd. That person is just trying to get out
of having to pay out of pocket when they should have had their gear
insured in the first place. That is what homeowners, Depp and DAN
gear insurance is for. I have a sneaking suspicion that the person
trying to sue is also a new shooter and doesn't know a damn thing.
Brit, American or whatever there are assholes everywhere. Let's just
try not to be one.
Sad to hear about another lawsuit-happy American on the loose, but it
seems engrained in our culture. I hope that if he carries through
he's forced to do it in a country where the laws are hostile to
meritless lawsuits.

The *real* concern for me are boat crew who dump camera gear willy
nilly into the rinse tank, banging it together, forgetting lens caps,
and letting it bounce around as the boat tosses. That seems to be
much more fertile ground for lawsuits, meritless or not.
What do people think is in those expensive bottles of mask defog?

In actuality, that is 100% divemaster spit. Itinerant dive instructors and guides, during the slow season, sit around and spit into a bucket, which is collected, packaged, and marketed at an immense upcharge.

In Borneo, they've tried to do this with orangutans, but they kept knocking the bucket over.

Now you know!
I'm told that defogger can be harmful to some dome coatings.

You shouldn't even use a bucket. Get a wet towel and keep the
housing damp between dives and wash it properly in the shower or
tub in your room when you get back. Then you have a source of
untouched fresh water and there is no odd chance of having
someone's little P&S accidentally flip open your housing's latch
with their lanyard (which has happened to me).

The problem with America today: Lay blame and sue. Do not accept
responsibility.

The cause of the flood: Human Error.

My suggestion: Get over it and buy a new camera and worry about
shooting and stop using rinse containers.
I think we're done with that little bit of madness? Sorry to have hijacked the thread. :D

[Mike Halligan]

More precisely it was the payment to my spouse under death in-service and the resulting pension for her.

Some of the older (pre 2000) Gov pensions do the lump sum, but not the pension to the spouse, so I understand.

Hi Edward,
Yeah, that's right. The day I retire I get back as a supplement to my lump sum all the surviving-spouse penalties I've been subjected to for the past 35 years "just in case". In my case, where there's a will there's just one relative, little sis, and she can well afford coffin, burn-up and opening the family plot. :D

Off to research a long-haul 'cos it's grey & perishing for the PH, again! :cool:

Best,

[Terry]

Happy 2 B here
Whilst its true to say that a "license" to dive,fly, drive or anything else does not, necessarily, make a difference to ones ability's to undertake the task in hand. It sure does make a difference if an accident occurs.( Legal action)
I didn't know until I read the post from Steve IS., that Padi have just the thing for your husband. So instead of 1 present give him 3:-
The PADI course that SIS spoke of, The holiday that he wants and your piece of mind that he has been checked out as well as problems identified and hopefully sorted.
All sounds very easy to me, in fact I did the same with Nitrox but that's another story.
Terry

[colinkay]

I do hope you made it, given that volcano thingie.

Made it. :)

Great boat with a "lively" bunch of Brits and Singaporeans on board. Whale shark, more mantas than you could shake a stick at and loads of other good stuff.

Currently in Kurumba Village close to the airport for a spot of "off gassing" :D . It's quite funny to see juvenile black tips and sting rays swimming about in the hotel lagoon.

[ChristianG]

Made it. :)
Good to hear, and even better to hear that you had a good time. :D

[knightct]

I recommend getting certification to at least PADI Advanced Open Water or BSAC equivalent before the trip, why waste precious holiday time doing it there? Some resorts rightly restrict the more challenging dives to AOW divers. Why not take the course with your husband and share the fun in warm tropical waters full of colourful marine life. I have been taking a group on an island based trip to the Maldives since 1988 and it have found it great for beginners and experienced divers, families and non divers. The snorkelling can be great if you don't want to dive. BA now fly from Gatwick direct to the Maldives. I hope Gatwick is unaffected by the strike action for my next trip in November. Enjoy your holiday!

[bigjo]

sorry, as i was saying before rudely interrupted by hubby coming home from work early......he has over 15 years experience, done loads of dives home & abroad & even a few cave dives!! The PADI sounds like the best option.

I mentioned the idea in passing to him today & got good feedback. Obviously he's going to know that theres diving involved, as I'll arrange for him to do the PADI here. So on to the important bit....location........this will be the surprise element. If your mrs or mr planned a surprise trip where would you want it to be & why??????
PADi will be a concentrated week long course. You can do the same with BSAC if you go to a BSAC school. Many schools offer you the choice of BSAC or PADI.
If he doesnt want to give up a week of his time to do the concentrated course, join a BSAC club and do it weekly. If he has 15 years experience he may have much more than the instructor teaching him and will probably sail through much quicker than someone who joins as a rank novice. (I imagine he wouldnt have to spend much time learning how to assemble his kit for example or mastering the various methods of entering the water or doing forward/backward rolls underwater to prove confidence, but may have to spend a bit learning rescue stuff. All depends on his experience really)

As for where, I always fancied Borneo for some reason. I keep dropping hints, but alas my missus is far more concerned with spending money on a new kitchen!! Utterly selfish some women are :D
If its purely diving your looking for, I believe there is a converted oil rig there that is now a dive center. I'm sure Eddie can advise.

[Eddie Clamp]

As for where, I always fancied Borneo for some reason. I keep dropping hints, but alas my missus is far more concerned with spending money on a new kitchen!! Utterly selfish some women are :D
If its purely diving your looking for, I believe there is a converted oil rig there that is now a dive center. I'm sure Eddie can advise.

Is this the one?
http://www.bsac.com/diverreports.asp?itemid=5557&itemTitle=Seaventures+Dive+Platform+Sipadan&section=1244&sectionTitle=Far+East
:)

[bigjo]

Is this the one?
http://www.bsac.com/diverreports.asp?itemid=5557&itemTitle=Seaventures+Dive+Platform+Sipadan&section=1244&sectionTitle=Far+East
:)
That would be the one. I dont suppose they have a branch of magnet and southern on it do they?

[Ecodiver]

If you get your hubby on the PADI Open Water fast track system he can do all the studying before you go on holiday and get the course done in 3 - 4 days.
Nice birthday presi!