Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about getting certified, diving, shopping, and traveling with Scuba Network
For your open water dives, you have some options. You can come on a trip with us, and your certification dives are included free in the trip. You can do it through our shop in Fort Lauderdale, taking a weekend to complete it. Or, you can go anywhere in the world on your own trip and complete it there.
This is what most people do and what we recommend if you are going somewhere with SCUBA. Instead of spending half your vacation in the classroom/doing pool work, and potentially feeling rushed by the faster pace of a resort class, you should do what you can here in New York. We complete your academics and your pool training, then we can write you a referral to complete your Open Water dives at pretty much any other shop in the world.
The swimming requirements are to be able to swim 200m any stroke with no time limit. You just have to be able to move through it. You also need to be able to float for 10 minutes without assistance. It’s not too demanding: we just want to make sure you can safely be in the water. If you are unsure about your swimming ability, feel free to sign up for a session with our swim instructor!
That all depends. People have done it as quickly as a week, some people spread it out over months. The more time you have, the better since you have more flexibility and options. The academic portion takes about 6-8 hours, the pool is usually around 6 hours total, and the open water portion requires 4 dives that are usually conducted over two mornings (most places do 2 dives at a time). If you are in a particular time crunch, give us a call and we can chat about how we can get you done in time.
Yes, we offer both PADI and SDI certification courses! Both PADI and SDI are internationally recognized, and you can dive anywhere in the world with either certification. While PADI courses may cost a bit more due to their structured materials, there’s really not a significant difference between the two agencies when it comes to training quality and recognition. The choice really comes down to personal preference. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if you’re ready to get started with either certification!
Yes, SDI (Scuba Diving International) certifications are recognized worldwide. They are valid at most dive shops and with dive operators globally, allowing you to dive anywhere that accepts scuba certifications. SDI is part of the larger group of agencies that includes TDI (Technical Diving International) and ERDI (Emergency Response Diving International), all of which adhere to international diving standards.
It’s true that PADI is one of the most well-known dive certification agencies, but SDI (Scuba Diving International) is just as valid and widely respected. Both PADI and SDI offer high-quality training programs that are recognized internationally. While PADI has a larger global network and presence, SDI is known for its flexible and modern approach to scuba training. There are over 25 internationally recognized SCUBA certification agencies!
No. Your certifications never expire. However, if you go more than 2 years without diving, we do recommend a one night refresher to get your skills back.
For every class, we start with an orientation session with an instructor. This is a chance for us to meet you, chat about the course, and fill out the necessary paperwork. We’ve been doing this for decades, and in that time, we’ve found that this session is invaluable to make sure we are both on the same page. After this session, we will email you a link to the eLearning code.
In your class, we provide the big, expensive stuff: tank, weights, BCD, regulator, and computer. We don’t include mask, fins, snorkel, or wetsuits because these are personal items that can vary greatly in size and fit. We want you to have the best experience possible, so we offer them as rentals or purchases to ensure you get the right gear that fits you comfortably.
For the semi-private class, we hold them Friday + Sundays every other week (you would attend both sessions in the same weekend). For large group class, those are held on consecutive Mondays. For private classes, you can choose any combination of Friday, Sundays, and Mondays that we have the pool. All classes begin at 7 PM.
One year. You have to complete academics, pool, and ocean within 12 months, or you will have to restart. We do recommend trying to get to the ocean within 3-6 months of your pool, or maybe do an additional session to refresh yourself before going to the ocean. Once certified, it never expires.
For our pool sessions, we use a pool in the Lower East Side. For any shop or classroom work, that takes place at our store (43 W 21st).
Generally, no. The A and B sessions must be completed in the same week (either Friday + Sunday of the same weekend for the semi-private class, or Monday + Monday a week apart for the large group class). If you need to do an A and B session in separate weeks/months, choose our private class option.
If you are in a semi-private 4 person class or a private class, yes! You can schedule everything in advance. If you are in the large group class, we do ask that you schedule your pool sessions only after you have completed your eLearning. If you are on a tight schedule, consider choosing our semi-private class instead.
It’s no secret that SCUBA is a gear intensive sport. Generally, we recommend buying your personal gear (Mask, Fins, Snorkel, and Wetsuit). It ensures a perfect fit, consistent performance, and long-term savings. Plus, you’ll always have your gear ready to go—no hassle with rentals. Investing in your own equipment enhances your overall diving experience and saves you money over time. But if you would like to rent, no worries, we have plenty of high quality rentals available!
Fit is the most important, and we don’t want you to leave our class with any of our gear if it doesn’t fit perfectly. That’s why we offer an in-water guarantee! This means that if you go into the pool and your gear that you purchased doesn’t fit as expected (or maybe you just wanted to try the other option!), you can exchange it any time before it’s used in the ocean.
We offer all students 20% off on Mask, Snorkel, Fins, and 10% off on Boots and Wetsuits, as well as an in water guarantee.
No worries! You can do a refresher with us. We do refreshers for one night in the pool to get your skills back. If it’s been longer than 7 years, we may recommend doing the full course again just to get up to speed with the new equipment, but you won’t need to be recertified.
While it might be tempting to go for a budget set, we recommend investing in quality gear from trusted brands. Cutting corners on SCUBA gear is not advisable, and buying things you aren’t confident about can mean you won’t have the correct gear for class. Not only are our prices already the same as the internet (and we do price match!), we provide additional discounts to our students to make it even more affordable. We also educate you on how to use it, help you exchange it if it doesn’t fit properly, and ensure any problems are taken care of quickly. Also, shamelessly, support your local dive shop 🙂
In Florida, most people travel by car. If you’re traveling in, you can either rent a car, rely on ride-sharing services, or take advantage of our concierge transport service. The instructor will pick you and all your gear up from any hotel within a 1 mile radius, take you to the dive site, and drop you back afterwards. If you’re interested in adding this on, please contact the shop for details.
Every trip is different, but in general all of our trips will include between 10 – 30 dives, food (some are all inclusive, some just include breakfast), and 7 – 10 nights in a hotel or liveaboard. None of our trips include flights to and from NYC. To see specifics about each trip individually, check out our dive travel page!
For most of our trips, none! We have all levels of divers, from people who’ve never dove before to people with hundreds of dives. Because we have SCUBA Network instructors on the trip with you, we can cater to everyone. Occasionally, we will release a trip that requires a higher experience level, but we always note that directly in the trip description. For the most part, every trip is for every diver!
All ages! We’ve had people as young as 10 and people in their 80s. Generally, our trips have a pretty equal spread of people all ages, from young adults looking for a great vacation to retired people looking for new, unforgettable memories.
All the time! In fact, usually around 50% of the people on our dive trips are traveling alone. That’s the best part of the trip — you make friends for life sharing unique and unbelievable experiences together.
Yes. Unless specified otherwise, you can return your items within 10 days. You can exchange your items within 30 days for another item or store credit. All items must be unused to be eligible for a return or exchange.
Definitely! We have instructors on every trip who love to teach. You can do specialties like Deep Diver, Night Diver, Drift Diver, Navigation, Fish Identification, Wreck Diving, and any other specialty you are dying to do. For most specialties, we include the training FREE on our trips, you just need to get the eLearning code from us.
Yes! We often get non-divers on our trips who want to lounge on a beautiful beach.
Yes! We price match valid online retailers. Please show us the page and model number so we can verify it’s the same one we have. Unfortunately, we cannot price match sales or specially discounted items.
Yes! We provide full regulator service for most regulator brands. The usual turn around is about 3-4 weeks, so make sure to give yourself enough time. If you have a trip sooner, we can rush it, but that will come at additional cost. We also provide regulator bench testing, which is usually completed in about an hour.
Yes! If you purchase a dive computer from us, it comes with a lifetime tutorial. This means that at any point, you can come back and ask us to show you how to use it. And you can do so as many times as often as you would like! Every dive computer is different, and unless you are shown how to use it, it’s basically just a depth gauge.
For many computers, yes! But it depends on the brand, as some require it being sent off to the manufacturer. Feel free to call us with the model number so we can check for you. The time it takes depends on the complexity of the battery change. For some, 5 minutes. For others, we may need to hold onto it for a day or two to get the right tools.
It depends. But generally it’s about 20. Some trips are larger, some are smaller, but for the most part that’s what you can expect.
That is unacceptable for us. If your gear you purchase has any issues, please bring it back to the store and we will make it right for you. We are not the store to say, “Sorry, nothing we can do.” We will always do everything we can to make sure your dives are safe, comfortable, and enjoyable.
All the gear we sell is designed to last if you take care of it, but we understand damage happens sometimes. Most of our vendors have some type of warranty, and we will send it back to them on your behalf. If you are outside warranty, we will see if we can fix it directly in store or walk you through your other options. Our goal is to make sure you leave this store satisfied and excited for your diving adventures!
Nope! We have travelers who join us from all around the world. There’s no need to live near one of our stores to join us on a trip.
Yes! Since we have many solo travelers, we try to pair people based on vibes. People have become best friends with people on these trips based on that! Alternatively, you can choose to have a single room as well (additional cost), which we offer on most land based trips.
No. Flights to and from are not included.
Absolutely! We are proud to be an inclusive and welcoming dive shop for everyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. Everyone is welcome here, and we are committed to promoting diversity and equality in the diving community. If you have any issues or feel anyone is not living up to these ideals, bring it to our attention and we will take care of it immediately.