Diving or a Diving Career in Vietnam? Let’s set the scene!

Vietnam is a relatively new-world dive destination when compared to the big names like The Red Sea, The Great Barrier Reef, Bali & Thailand. This is however one of the attractions for tourists & divers; it’s not yet over-commercialised with hundreds of divecentres everywhere you look. For example, the busiest place in Vietnam for diving is Nha Trang, where there are currently just 12 divecentres, compared to the 120 or so in Phuket, Bali or Cairns.

Around 1 million Western tourists come to Vietnam each year and over 250,000 of them visit Nha Trang. Close to 20% of these dive, learn to dive or stay on to become Divemasters & Instructors!

So why consider diving or dive training in Vietnam? What’s it like?

Vietnam does not boast regular 40m viz or diving with Whales, Sharks or Mantas. In fact it’s rare to see any of the big stuff and viz averages 15m. However, diving in Vietnam is definitely not just about the diving; it’s the whole cultural experience! Macro & unusual critters abound, as do thousands of species of Nudibranches. The Reefs are stunning; in Nha Trang there are over 350 species of hard corals on one site alone! Sure, there are some dynamited & damaged sites, but the good diveguides won’t take you there, unless you’re interested in seeing corals regrowing or the unique marinelife that inhabit a damaged reef.

Being a relatively new dive destination, with new dive operators constantly opening & closing, you need to carefully check on the pedigree of the dive centre and also the diveguides.
Sound advice for anywhere in the world, but more so in a developing country like Vietnam. Most divecentres sport a PADI logo, even though they are not PADI centre, or have even been ejected from PADI. This unfortunately is allowed by PADI standards despite the fact that this can dupe divers & students into believing it is a PADI authorised centre! Check for the centre’s official PADI listing, or better still go to a PADI CDC, IDC or National Geographic Divecentre; these are the top accolades a divecentre can achieve and are not awarded lightly! Also check on the experience of the Instructor who’ll be teaching you, or the diveguide who’ll be guiding you.

Don’t just listen to the ‘salesman’. Some diveguides will be new to guiding and to the divesites, so don’t expect to see much or to dive for too long. Usually the prices charged reflect the standards you are likely to receive. If the guide has over 10,000 dives on these sites, they probably know a thing or two and, quite rightly, will charge for this wealth of experience. For a few dollars more you have an awesome dive as opposed to a below average experience!

The same is so true for PADI Courses, especially professional level certifications like Divemaster & Instructor. A lot of centres will offer free courses to get free foreign labour instead of paying to employ professionals. When was the last time you got anything of value for free? A good Instructor’s training did not come cheaply, so why would they give it away for free, unless it’s not really worth having! If you expect serious training for free, are you going to give your time and experience away for free when you become certified, or do you value your skills & ability?

Next month we’ll look at some dive sites throughout Vietnam and PADI courses available. Also how to check the pedigree of an Instructor, diveguides and Dive Centres………….

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