Counting the Cost of Scuba Diver Training

How much did it cost me to train as a scuba diver?

When I first mooted the idea experienced diver friends told me to get my training from BSAC, not PADI. Newcomers to diving will soon discover the friendly rivalry between the two organisations.

Other than the advice, another attraction of the BSAC training was that it was 'free'. The trainers are volunteers, giving up their time to help new divers simply for the love of the sport. (But don't let the term 'volunteer' put you off - they take their responsibilities very seriously).

The reality, of course, is that the training costs money. And to be fair, no one from BSAC tried to sell me their training on the basis of cost. I just made the assumption that because there was no cost for the course, it wouldn't burn too deep a hole in my pocket. But I hadn't thought it through.

With the benefit of hindsight I thought I'd do a quick comparison between the costs my BSAC training and an equivalent PADI course.

The Price of PADI Training

Let's start with PADI because it's easy. My local dive centre's website says their Open Water course of 8 sessions costs £379. That includes hire of almost all equipment, air refills for the tanks and pool fees. It doesn't cover the entrance costs for open water dive sites, which it says are typically £16. Given that there are two sessions in open water, that's £32 on top of the £379, or £411 in total.

The equipment that PADI don't supply are fins, boots, mask and snorkel. Think £100 for that lot, which pushes the costs up to £511.

Calculating the BSAC Training Costs

BSAC is more complicated. First there's the fee the join BSAC itself and to become a member of the local club. This includes the cost of the training booklets and comes to £175.

The first few diving sessions were in the swimming pool and the club covered the entrance fees and provided the equipment. I was able to borrow a wet suit from a club member. So far, BSAC's a lot cheaper.

But when it came to open water diving the costs shot up. The club provided the air tanks and a member lent me some fins. But I had to hire a wet suit, BC and regs (the inflatable jacket and the air hoses). That cost me £45 a day. Then there was the cost of getting into dive sites - £9 for Wraysbury and £15 for Vobster.

On top of that I had to pay for air refills. The club supplied a full tank but it needed filling after the first of two dives on each day. Another £3 or so.

Our day out to Swanage wasn't really part of the course, it was a bonus dive thrown in to help boost my confidence. It was a fantastic day but again, there was a cost, this time about £15 as a contribution to running the club's RIB, and an air refill.

All in all training with BSAC has cost me about £410.

I bought my own mask, snorkle, boots and gloves, which cost about £70. Add that to the £410 and it comes to £480.

So in the final analysis - my training with PADI would have cost £511 but with BSAC it cost £480.

In reality, the price is virtually identical. I've including the cost of fins in the PADI workings and gloves in the BSAC costs; take them both out and it pretty much evens up.

I've also ignored the 'hidden' costs of travel to and from the various training sites, as it would have been almost identical.

Which is Cheaper - PADI or BSAC?

There's no real difference in cost between PADI and BSAC, at least from my experience.

However, BSAC lets me dive to 20m, PADI would restrict me to 18m. So I'm getting an extra 2m for my money!

But diving isn't about the money. It's an incredible experience and I'm extremely grateful to the team at Alton BSAC who introduced me to the other world that's under the water.

BSAC versus PADI

Is it just a friendly rivalry?

I went to a dive shop today which offers training the PADI way. The owner, a Professional Association of Diving Instructor, asked me who I was training with and snorted distainfully when I said BSAC. He suggested that it wasn't too late to change, joining one of his courses.

When I first mentioned the possibility of diving to a friend, a few months ago, they immediately recommended that I train with BSAC. The British Sub Aqua Club training, they assured me, is for proper divers, not just the fair weather sort who'll only go into warm tropical waters.

Not surprisingly, they'd been BSAC trained themselves. I received the same advice from a member of Scot SAC, the Scottish Sub Aqua Club (who are different from the British version, apparently).

On their website PADI describe themselves as "the world's leading scuba diving training organisation", with over 135,000 professionals world-wide.

BSAC are "the UK's leading dive club and the sport's national governing body".

PADI have hundreds of training centres around the world, where you can sign up for a course. According to their website my local centre would charge me £299 for basic training, plus £100 if I wanted to do open water dives (that is, in a lake or the sea). The course fee includes supply of the necessary equipment.

BSAC, on the other hand, have lots of clubs around the UK, some of whom offer training. Their charges are much less, under £200, but they may not be able to supply all the gear you need for open water diving. My group supply everything that I need for training in the swimming pool but that's it.

PADI instructors make money from training people whereas BSAC don't - they're all volunteers and their charges simply cover costs, such as club membership and access to pools and open water for diving.

I'm sure that as I encounter more divers I'll discover more about this evident rivalry between BSAC and PADI. At the moment it feels as if PADI position themselves as the up-to-date professionals and regard BSAC as the well-meaning but slightly backward amateurs. From the other side of the pool, BSAC think of the themselves as the guardians of true diving and see PADI as focusing on deep dives into your wallet.

There is, I think, a healthy mutual respect between members of both organisations and they often dive together. At the end of the day, when you're under water you want the confidence that your dive buddy is going to look after you, regardless of whether they're BSAC or PADI trained.

The shop owner that I met today was definately pro-PADI and scorned much of the advice I'd received from my BSAC colleagues. But interestly, when he was out of earshot, his shop assistant, himself a regular under the water, confided that he envied BSAC because they did what he called "real diving".