Florida West Scuba School Classes

Florida West Scuba School, Inc. has been in business at the current location for over 13 years. The owner and staff have decades of diving experience to help you learn to dive the RIGHT way. Over the years, many dive facilities have shortened the training schedule to accommodate those on a busy schedule. However, rarely do these students become proficient SCUBA divers and most drop out of the sport shortly after taking their classes. Our philosophy is different! Our instructors were trained long
ago, when the standards for teaching were actually tougher than they are today. If you elect to become trained by our staff, you will learn the skills, through repetition and practice, that will lead you to be more confident in the water. We use the latest and greatest equipment in our training. For example, you will not be asked to buy a weight belt for our classes considering that few sport divers use them anymore! We concentrate on training our divers to be as streamlined as possible in the water and we dedicate one entire pool session on proper equipment and gear configuration.

This course is our standard dive class and after successful completion of the course, you will be able to make most dives
offered around the planet. You will be trained to safely dive to depths of 60 feet. Cost for the class is $299.95 and includes all of the training materials (textbook, workbook, training DVD and logbook), the use of all equipment, and your certification card. No hidden fees! The only items you will need to provide are your own mask, fin, and snorkel package suitable for SCUBA training. Naturally, we sell these items and have a wide selection of colors and sizes. Our prices are also very competitive. The minimum
age for Open Water Training with our school is 12 years old. Frankly, we do not believe that 10 and 11 year old children be trained to dive until they are 12. Our decision is based upon decades of experience. Our observations over the years indicate that the 12 year olds do MUCH better than those only 10 or 11. Divers certified as Jr. Open Water Divers (ages 12-15) must dive no deeper
than 40 feet and be accompanied by a certified adult diver.

Deep Diver
Drysuit Diver
Underwater Navigation
Limited Visibility/Night Diving
Wreck Diver
Cavern Diver
Stress and Rescue Diver
Master Diver
Dive Control Specialist (Divemaster) (This is a dive leader position! Call for Details and Pricing)
Equipment Specialty
Underwater Digital Photography, including Wide Angle and Macro. See our galleries by Steve Thacker for examples!
— See something from the above list that interests you! Give us a call and we will get your started!

Technical Extended Range Diver
Do you want to go even further in your training? We also offer entry level classes in Technical Diving which will safely train you to dive to depths beyond 100 feet. But first, you should gain experience as an Advanced Open Water diver before electing to participate in Technical Diver training. Once you have gained an appropriate amount of experience, you may want to participate in the following courses. Give us a call or drop in and we can discuss this training with you and answer all of your questions. These courses are limited to those 18 years and older.

Advanced Nitrox Diver
In this course, you will learn to safely dive and manage oxygen levels from 21-100%.
Decompression Procedures
In this course, often combined with Advanced Nitrox training, you will learn how to safely make decompression dives to a maximum of 165 feet and to manage the equipment required for performing these complex dives.
Call for costs and additional information regarding our Technical Diver Training Courses.

Private Classes
Are you visiting in Florida and want to learn to dive while you are here? Private classes are the way to go! But be aware that you will need to spend a minimum of 4 days to complete your training. Yes, there are those that will do it quicker, but trying to cram a complete Open Water Diver Course into 2 days is not doing you any favors! If you want to learn to SCUBA dive in a safe manner, give yourself some extra time while visiting to learn to do it right. The cost for a private class is $499.95 and includes all the training materials. If there are additional students in the class the costs will drop accordingly. For example, if two elect to do the private class together, the cost is reduced to $424.95 per person.

Referral Classes
Have you already completed your academic training and pool or confined water training up north? If so, you can elect to perform your Open Water Training portion of the class with us here in Florida. During the warm weather months, our waters are warm and normally (but not always!) calm. During the winter, the Gulf of Mexico gets VERY cold for us living in Florida. If you elect to do your referral class during the winter months, expect much colder water temps - temperatures in the 50s-60s - and expect that many days are lost to high winds. All referral classes are performed on a private basis considering that everyone has different travel schedules. The cost for the completion of the Open Water dives is $259.95 and includes all instruction and use of all of our dive gear. There are no hidden charges unless we elect to travel to the Florida Springs for your dives. Most spring sites charge and additional $20-$40 per day but your are guaranteed to have warm (71-72 degrees) and clear water.