Posted by Eagle Ray on January 08, 2003 at 10:25:15:
In Reply to: looking for Good Dive Certification school posted by Laurie on January 07, 2003 at 17:12:59:
Laurie-
Personally I would stay away from Sport Chalet. At least the Marina Del Rey store. I took my Open Water in San Diego over ten years ago and did my advanced certification at the Marina Del Rey shop. I went to do my Rescue and Divemaster classes at other shops and could not believe the difference in knowledge and personal attention.
When I went on to do my Rescue class at another shop, other than Sport Chalet, I was surprised to find out I was actually supposed to recieve a text book for my PADI Adv class. Sport Chalet just bypassed a lot of the standard procedures entirely.
I hear Ocean Adventures is a good shop, which is on Lincoln Blvd. I have purchased a few things there and it seem like a great place. If you are willing to drive a little I would check out Reefseekers in Beverly Hills or Pacific Wilderness in San Pedro.
Good luck!