56 Best Bargains in Scuba Diving

How To Save On Scuba Equipment

Buy, Don’t Rent. The one-time rental charge is deceptively low and adds up fast. Owning your scuba gear is not only safer and more convenient, it’s cheaper in the long run because most of it lasts so long. BCs 10 years old are common, for example.

Pile Up Purchases. Combine three or four major purchases into one big deal. You’ll have more negotiating power. The retailer will have more incentive to bargain and will be more likely to throw in “freebies” to sweeten the deal.

Look for a One-Brand Package Deal. If you can find three or four major items you like from the same manufacturer, buy them together. A same-brand package often gives the retailer more room to deal. But do the math yourself first.

Ask for Free Dealer Prep. Most retailers will bench-test and adjust your new regulator, set up your new BC, etc., if asked. If you don’t ask, they may not offer.

Ask for Free Air. When you make a major purchase, negotiate for, say, 10 free air fills. Because air fills have no out-of-pocket cost, they are easier for the retailer to throw in as part of the deal.

Look for End-of-Season Specials. By autumn, the retailer’s sales are down (but fixed costs are not), next year’s models are beginning to appear and retailers want to reduce inventory.

Don’t Assume Price Indicates Performance. The product with the highest price is not always the best performer. This seems especially true with masks, snorkels and fins. Consult a reputable source of gear reviews.

Prefer Fit to Features. With many scuba products, especially masks, wetsuits and BCs, a good fit to your body is more important than having all the bells and whistles. And while features cost, fit is free.

Look for RSD “Best Buy” Ratings. Usually we pay more attention to performance than price when we evaluate equipment, but when something is an unusually good value we note it as a “Best Buy.” You’ll find regulators, BCs and dive computers having the performance of other models costing several times as much.

Shop the “Big Box” Stores: Dry boxes, gear bags, first-aid kits – anything not unique to scuba may be found cheaper at Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc.

Don’t Get Hung Up on Brands. Many scuba products from masks to computers are not made in-house by the companies that sell them. Instead, they are purchased from a smaller number of “private label” manufacturers. Sometimes the identical product, except for cosmetic differences, will sell for substantially less under a different brand name.

Buy Real Tools. Real end wrenches, allen keys and screwdrivers will not only work better than their combination-tool counterparts, they’ll cost a fraction as much.

Buy Extra O-rings. The cost of the O-rings that seal camera housings and lights is infinitesimal compared to the value of what they protect. Their first sign of failure will be expensive. If you buy a bunch of O-rings at once, you’ll have lots of spares and you’ll change them more often.

Wash Your Dive Gear. A freshwater wash and thorough drying (out of the sun) of all your dive gear after every dive trip will make it last longer.

Take a Stitch in Time. Inspect all your gear regularly and fix small tears and loose fasteners before problems get bigger and more expensive. If you delay the repair, you may forget it until too late, when it may cost you a dive.

Store Exposure Suits Carefully. Almost all scuba gear benefits from low-stress storage, but wetsuits and dry suits are especially sensitive. Wetsuits should be hung on fat hangers or folded neatly; dry suits should be folded and bagged. Both should be protected from light and ozone. Don’t put weight on top of a wetsuit; dents will become permanent.

Keep Regulators in Warranty. Many regulators come with a virtual lifetime warranty, provided you have the reg serviced every year. That will cost $20 to $30 in labor, but parts are normally free. That’s a savings of $30 to $50. Repairs or upgrades required by a manufacturer’s recall (which you might not even know about) will be done at the same time, and your reg will keep its optimum performance and safety.

How To Save On Diving

Look for Tax Deductions. Volunteer for a fish count dive or a bay clean-up dive. Your expenses may be tax-deductible.

Join DAN. Or buy PADI’s dive insurance. Either is cheap compared to the huge expense of a medical emergency. DAN insurance, for example, will cover evacuation by air to a hyperbaric facility and subsequent treatment. Shop carefully for the insurance that best suits your diving.

Brown-Bag Lunch. On a day charter, bring your own lunch. It can be not only cheaper, but healthier too. Dive boat chow, by contrast, is usually greasy and expensive.

Sleep on the Boat. The larger day boats with bunks and early-morning departures usually permit you to board the night before and use a bunk at no cost. Save a motel night.

Dive from Shore. It’s often more difficult than boat diving, but the difficulties decline with experience. And the only cost is for gas and air.

Camp and Dive. Combine shore diving with beach camping. This is an especially good (and cheap) getaway for families, as the non-diving members can enjoy the beach.

Use Nitrox Judiciously. Nitrox fills usually cost a lot more than air fills. If you’re doing only single-dive days at moderate depths, you may not be getting enough of nitrox’s benefits to justify the extra coin.

Caveat Emptor

Remember when you’re shopping for the best price on dive travel that quality is often the best bargain. When it comes to finding ways to reduce the price of your vacation, make sure you’re getting the same level of service for a lower price and not sacrificing your vacation to save a buck. Before you sign your name on the credit card slip, assess the value of the entire travel experience and not just the total price.

Dive Travel Bargains

Travel Off-Season. It’s as true with dive resorts as with any other kind: many have high seasons when rates may double over low seasons. But beware of dive conditions: in some locations, weather and vis may deteriorate considerably in low season. “Shoulder” season, the month just before or just after high season, is often a good compromise between price and weather.

Put Price Before Destination, if Possible. Shop dive travel specialists for price first, destination second. You may find a great bargain at your third-choice destination.

Follow the Crowd. It’s the discount-store model: large numbers of divers generate lower prices. More hotel rooms and dive operators mean more competition. Airfares on high-traffic routes are generally lower, too.

Profit from Misfortune. For example, Hurricane Mitch chased divers away from the Bay Islands of Honduras, and dive operators have offered incredible deals to lure them back. At press time, two-for-one packages were still being offered. (Don’t feel guilty—you’re doing good by doing well, as your travel dollars help the islands rebuild.)

Consult RSD Online’s “Diver-to-Diver” Message Board. Trip reports by divers like you, evaluating dive operators and hotels, are a staple. Careful: an individual report can be unfair. But after using the board a while, you learn to filter the good from the unfair.

Go with a Group. Dive clubs and stores can often negotiate a discount for a group. As anywhere, higher volume means lower price.

Organize a Group. Put the group together yourself and negotiate prices. When there are 10 or more, usually one spot (yours) will be free, at least for the land and diving portions.

Piggyback on Business Travel. Don’t forget that old dodge, the business trip. Extend the trip a day or back it up against a weekend, go diving and get some real use out of the company’s plane ticket.

Use Frequent-Flyer Miles. What’s the airline you’ll use to your next dive destination? Can you use it for business and family travel to build up the miles? Sometimes a credit card offers frequent flyer miles as a premium; put every purchase you can on the credit card and travel for free.

Two Travel (Almost) as Cheaply as One. Look for companion airfares. They may be half-price or free, but you have to ask. Double-occupancy room rates are cheaper per person. Resorts and dive operators sometimes have special prices for the second person. Usually, the “companion” need not be a spouse or family member.

Buy Tickets Early. Advance planning really pays off in buying airline tickets, as an early purchase is cheaper. Though all economy-class seats may be the same, prices vary with limited numbers of seats allocated for the cheaper fares. First come, first served.

Don’t Buy Too Early. You might think tickets purchased three months in advance would be cheapest. But the airline may not have announced seasonal promotional bargains yet, leaving you to pay full fare. Ticket exchange fees may be as much as $150 on international travel.

Accept Travel Restrictions. Nonrefundable tickets, penalties for schedule changes, minimum stays at the destination, arrivals and departures on particular days – all these reduce the fare.

Shop for Cheap Departure Times. Mid-morning departures are often cheaper than afternoons, for example. 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. departures are popular with business flyers, and cost more. Don’t forget late-night “red-eye” flights.

Stay Over the Weekend. Most domestic discount fares require a Saturday night at the destination.

“Is There a Cheaper Fare?” When dealing directly with an airline, the representative probably won’t volunteer information about a cheaper flight with a slightly different departure time or date. It’s up to you to ask or to find it on the internet.

Consolidation Fares. Consolidators such as Cheap Seats negotiate cheaper fares and buy tickets in bulk, then resell at low prices. But most that sell direct to the public (not through travel agents) handle domestic flights only.

Consult Your Travel Agent. The agent’s savvy, and reservation computer, can be a big help in navigating the maze of airline fares. And the agent’s commission usually comes from the airline, not you.

Buy Travel Insurance. It’s inexpensive – 5 to 10 percent of the fare – and especially worthwhile with restricted tickets and “homegrown” packages. Trip cancellation is covered, and so are medical care and transportation costs, baggage loss or damage and death. Read the fine print: you must have a specified reason for canceling your trip, but illness is one. Purchase through a travel agency.

Carry It Yourself. Use luggage with wheels or shoulder straps; rent an airport luggage cart. In domestic destinations or familiar international ones, avoid skycaps and curbside check-in and save on tips.

Use Public Transportation. Take buses instead of taxis.

Find a Downtown Hotel. It will be considerably cheaper than the resort on the beach. But don’t forget to figure in your extra transportation expense to the water each day.

Share a Condo. Or a villa or apartment with a group of divers and split the cost.

Get a Room with Kitchenette. Restaurant expenses can be the largest single category of your travel budget. Cook some meals and save.

Picnic Lunch. Shop at local markets and picnic. You’ll sample local foods and save at the same time.

Compare Restaurants Carefully. “But you get a lot of food” doesn’t make it a bargain when it’s more food than you want. Or you could share an entree with a friend.

Stay Away from the Cruise Ship Dock. Cruise ship passengers rarely venture far. Their huge numbers hike up the prices in nearby stores and restaurants. Prices drop quickly as you move away.

Bring Film, Batteries, Toiletries from Home. Prices of all these may be double or more at your destination.

Drink Less Alcohol. The bar is one of the must lucrative profit centers at any resort. Have too many of those expensive drinks and you may have to sacrifice some dives.

Book Multi-Tank Dives. A two-tank boat dive is almost always cheaper, per tank, than a one-tank boat, and saves time too. One two-tank dive per day will cost less than two one-tank dives.

Book a Live-aboard. Live-aboard boats can offer five-star luxury and prices, but they’re usually a good bargain because they allow so much diving in a day. With your room right over the dive site, transit time is minimized and you can dive as much as your nitrogen loading will allow. So on a per-tank basis, a live-aboard can be cheaper than a shoreside resort.

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