Questions students ask most

To become an Open Water Diver, you don't need to be a swimming champion, but you do need basic swimming ability for safety reasons.

PADI's in-water skills evaluation requirements are:

• Continuously swim 200 metres/yards (or 300 metres/yards with mask, fins, and snorkel). No time limit, any stroke is fine.
• Float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any method.

This ensures you stay calm in water — not that you swim fast. I'll assess your water comfort in the pool first; if you need more practice, we'll add sessions. No student has ever failed because they couldn't swim.

Honestly, pool training day can be tiring as you adjust to breathing through the regulator and the equipment weight. But the Sai Kung dive days often feel meditative for most students — no phone, no boss, just the sound of your own breathing.

I usually suggest spacing the pool day and Sai Kung dives a week apart so your body can recover.

Your OW certification lets you dive to 18 metres, but PADI strongly recommends always diving with a buddy — never alone.

Main Hong Kong dive sites: Sai Kung, Ninepin Islands, Sharp Island, Basalt Island, Tung Ping Chau. In your final lesson I'll teach you how to plan dives, read weather and tides, and which shops rent tanks (HK$200-300 per tank).

Simply put: Philippines is fast, cheap, suits "just want the card" types. Local is slower and more expensive, but suits "actually want to know how to dive" types.

A 4-day Philippines package averages HK$3,500-5,000 — but adding flights, accommodation, and 4 days of annual leave, the total is usually over HK$8,000. Plus, 4 days has zero buffer for weather, ear pressure issues, or feeling unwell.

Local courses can be split across weekends, no leave needed; extra training if needed is charged at actual cost only (boat, air, gear) — no instructor fee; WhatsApp Q&A anytime after. If you just want the card and won't dive again, Philippines is genuinely cheaper. If you want diving to become a long-term interest, local pays off.

Two options:

Wear daily disposable contacts: simplest, but there's a small risk of losing them during mask-clearing practice. Bring spares.

Get a prescription dive mask: HK$600-1,200, one-time investment, used for all future diving.

After enrollment I'll review your prescription and recommend where to get it fitted.

Yes. There's no medical evidence of additional risk from diving during menstruation. Use tampons or a menstrual cup — not pads.

If you have severe cramps or the first day is rough, we can flexibly reschedule — that's the benefit of small-group teaching.

From Sai Kung to dive sites is usually 30-45 minutes by boat — not long. Recommendations:

• Sleep 7+ hours the night before
• Take motion-sickness medication (Bonamine or Stugeron) 1 hour before
• Sit in the middle of the boat, don't look at your phone

Even some diving instructors take seasickness pills — nothing to be embarrassed about.

No hidden fees. The course fee covers all materials, classroom rental, pool rental, boat fees, diving equipment rental, PIC (PADI certification fee), and insurance.

After certification, if you want to keep diving, you can rent equipment and tanks, or gradually buy your own — I can help you decide what's worth investing in. Fun Dive boat fees are separate, but completely optional.

Yes. I accept three options:

1. HK$1,500 deposit at booking, balance before Day 1
2. Two installments: half before start, half before Day 3
3. Special circumstances — we can discuss

No interest, no paperwork. Just message me on WhatsApp.

Diving courses involve two variables — weather and individual progress — so I lay out how each is handled upfront, so you're never caught off guard by an unexpected charge.

Weather-related rescheduling: completely free.

If the dive day brings a typhoon, black rainstorm, very poor visibility, or unsafe sea conditions, safety always comes first. I'll cancel and reschedule rather than push through. There's no rescheduling fee, and the next available weekend usually already has an open slot — Sai Kung is divable year-round, so wait times are typically short.

Extra training due to slower progress: at-cost only, no instructor fee.

If you need more time on a specific skill (mask clearing, neutral buoyancy, emergency ascent), I'll schedule additional training. Extra sessions are charged at actual cost only: boat seat, air tank, equipment, and pool rental. I don't charge for my own instructor time.

I believe that if a student needs a little more practice to master a skill, that's an extension of the teaching — not an opportunity to charge twice. In most cases, 1–2 extra pool sessions are enough; this never becomes open-ended.

In my experience, the share of students needing extra training is small — weather reschedules are far more common. I share this policy upfront so you can plan for every scenario before you commit.

Once a diving course is confirmed, I prepay a deposit to the dive operator to reserve your boat slot, and that deposit is non-refundable to me. So as a general rule, once your course is confirmed and the deposit is paid, course fees are not refundable.

That said, life happens. If you need to cancel for any of these reasons, I'll do what I can:

• Sudden illness (with medical documentation)
• Family emergency
• Unforeseeable work commitments

How much I can do depends on how early you let me know, whether the dive operator can accommodate, and whether you're open to rescheduling. Message me on WhatsApp with the details — I'll try to find a way.

Weather cancellation (typhoon signals, heavy rain, rough seas): unconditional free reschedule, no charge.