Life in the Dominican Republic is relaxed and slow. The cost of living can be cheap depending on where you choose to eat and if you want to club and drink the night away you will spend more money.
Our internship programme provides free accomodation (only electricity costs you pay) and you also earn 10% commission so you only have to pay for your food costs/transportation ( cheap) and general costs of living. As a Dive master you can easily find work in practically any country in the world and the income allows you to travel the world. You can also progress to do your Instructor course and actually teach Students on your own.
Are you seeking a challenge and adventure? Maybe looking for that change of pace from the 9-5 “rat race”? Perhaps even a total change of lifestyle that will give you the opportunity to live and work all over the world? At Hippocampo Dive Centre in Sosua, Dominican Republic, we not only specialize in training you up to internationally recognized PADI standards, we make sure you are at the top of your game so you get that job of your dreams!
What is a Dive Master? A Dive Master is one of the most essential and fundamental cogs of the recreational diving industry’s wheel. Dive Masters are responsible for leading certified divers, organizing the logistics of each days diving on land and on the boat and assisting instructors on certification courses. A Dive Master has mastery of not only his own diving and water skills but can also demonstrate these skills in a manner that even a new diver can learn from. They exemplify confidence, safety and leadership. As a Dive Master, you are not only a role model to other divers, but you are an integral piece of the industry’s backbone.
Why choose PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors)? That’s easy. PADI leads the industry in innovative teaching techniques and course materials. Everywhere you go to dive, you will see almost 100% of the dive centers flying PADI colors. PADI professionals are the most in demand and there is always work to be found.
Why go with Hippocampo Dive Team, Dominican Republic over others offering similar internships.?
Because we do not offer the same as others as we have dedicated ourselves to the training of PADI Dive Masters. Enrolling with us means that your professional development from day one is our pride and focus. Our system is designed to build you from the ground up, or from your current level of experience, and to ensure that you have the utmost exposure to how a real dive center operates. Being an intern with us means you get REAL experience. We recommend you are with us for a minimum of two to a maximum of around 6 months. The structure of our program is designed so you don’t just learn skills and theory, but you get the opportunities to use what you’ve learned in real life diving circumstances. Regardless if you are a beginner or a rescue diver, whatever level you are currently at, you are constantly under the wing of one of our experienced instructors so you are constantly learning and being moulded into the industry from your first day onwards. As you will learn, sales are a huge part of being employees in this industry and the techniques we teach you will make you as well-rounded as can be. That is where you ..the student helps us in return for your training...... SALES.
If available,we can accommodate you for free here in Sosua at the Dive centre. Our H.Q. is not only a dive center; it also has a studio top floor apartment. It is a two minute walk to the beach and good times are never far away since Sosua is a popular night life location. If our accommodation is full or if you would prefer not to stay in our H.Q. we will do our best to help you find accommodation suitable to your needs at a budget you can afford.
Assuming you are starting your training from the beginning, the mandatory courses you will need to take and the order you will need to take them in are as follows:
PADI Open Water Diver. PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. PADI Specialty Courses commence at anytime beyond this point. Emergency First Response (EFR) C.P.R. & 1st Aid. PADI Rescue Diver. PADI Dive Master Trainee (DMT) status starts here and ends when you complete all requirements of the course (i.e. graduation and one heck of a party!)*
NOW YOU ARE ASKING ..OK..WHAT’S THE CATCH..NOTHING IS FOR FREE.....I MUST HAVE TO PAY SOMEHOW.?????
Yes ..you are right..We ask that students pay for all necessary PADI materials for each course and also, before embarking on the Divemaster course ..that full equipment is purchased from us at a beneficial discount on retail prices. If you already have your gear then the sales quotas will be adjusted accordingly.( Not much) That is it for your financial responsibility. As far as course tuitions go, we offer training for every course you see above for free. What we ask of you is that you go out and sell for us and for this you will receive a 10% sales commission.. Depending on how out going you are and how much you can sell, you can finish your courses within a 2-3 month period..
Thats right..You can be trained in another occupation as a professional in as little as 2-3 months. Alternatively you can stay with us for 6 months and enjoy the kicked back lifestyle Cabarete and Sosua have to offer. It all depends on you. Our system ensures you get the most from your time with us and we get increased revenues from your sales. Here’s an example and breakdown of our most popular option:
3 month internship.( can be longer) Free Accomodation (if available...you pay only electricity costs) Training from beginner to Dive Master. 10% commission on your sales. Free 30 fun dives (if you need them )to meet minimum experience requirement for completing the Dive Master course which is 60 dives). If you are short a few dives then the remainder will be heavily discounted to achieve the 60. Standard equipment package to be purchased when starting Dive Master course. You need to achieve a sales quota in order to proceed with each course. As soon as the quota has been reached we begin the course for you. The sales numbers are as follows and are per person, although we can give a bit of leeway sometimes if there is more than one doing the same course.....
Open water course...2500 US Advanced course.....2600 US Rescue and EFR......2800 US Divemaster..........4000 US
Is there anything else you should know about us? Yes! Everything being said, diving here brings you some incredible and unique experiences. Whales are seasonal visitors to the bay area and we have the odd Manta Ray and Whale Shark as prized visitors as well. The water here is blue and the coral life is bountiful as well as beautiful. We have great depth, a very good shipwreck, caves, caverns and so much more so it’s very hard to get bored of the diversity. The experience you gain as a diver is priceless. Furthermore, the bay area here in Sosua is now a protected sanctuary and the marine life is starting to reflect that. We are also pro-active in protecting the environment as we participate in beach clean-ups. We get everyone pitching in to help conserve our reefs and oceans around the world.
If I enrol, when will I start? We run our internships year round so generally people can come and go as they need. Space can fill up quickly so this is not something you want to leave to the last minute. We look forward to hearing from you, so please direct all of your questions to or give us a call at +1-809-571 0834 and we’ll take it from there.
See you in paradise!
EMAIL US: info@hippocampo.com
Newsflash
Why don't you come aboard and experience a new adventure with us!
Scuba diving is a sport that is enjoyed by people the world round. Scuba diving trips take place everywhere from the Bahamas to the shores of Alaska to Australia, the gear that divers need is as unique as the sport as well as the people who enjoy it.
The use of a wetsuit is as important in scuba diving as an air tank. It is an essential piece of scuba gear. Choosing the appropriate wetsuit, however, depends upon many factors and preferences. For example, where will the dive be taking place? What will the water temperature be? What type of neckline or stitching do you prefer a wetsuit to have?
When buying a wetsuit, the thickness of the material that is needed is the most crucial decision to be made. The thickness of the wetsuit will be the determining factor to your warmth and comfort underwater. Most suits are sold with thicknesses of 3mm or 6mm, these two choices will be sufficient in most temperatures of water where the average dive will take place.
Another choice that needs to be made is the type of wetsuit that you will need. Wetsuits most commonly are found with short legs and sleeves and long legs and sleeves. The choice of which is right for you depends upon where you are diving, the temperature of the water and your personal tolerance level for temperature changes.
The water temperature will help you when making the decision regarding thickness and length of the wetsuit needed. If you are diving in water that is above 85 degrees, a 2 mm short suit is what you would need. However, if the dive is in water that is 60 to 70 degrees, look for a 6-7 mm long suit. The final decision regarding the thickness and type of suit that is best for you rests upon your own body characteristics.
The type of neoprene that the wetsuit is made of is as important as the thickness of it. The neoprene that a suit is made from will have an affect on several aspects of the suit, including the durability, overall look as well as cost of the wetsuit.
There are three types of neoprene used for wetsuits that are worth mentioning here. They are Gas (chemical) blown, skin and titanium. The purchase of a gas blown suit will result in a more expensive, stronger wetsuit. A chemical blown suit will have a softer feel but will tend to wear quicker as a result, this is less expensive.
The most expensive option is to get a suit that is made with Titanium. These wetsuits have the Titanium either as a coating for the inside or as threads that are woven through the suit. The thought behind adding the Titanium to the wetsuit is that it is supposed to keep you warmer by preventing heat from leaving the body while under water, however, some divers are still skeptical about the validity of this claim.
When trying on a wetsuit for size be sure to check that there are not big gaps in the armpits, that the crotch of the suit is snug, the ankles and wrists of the suit need to be snug, not loose or water will get in. Finally, if in order to close the suit, the zipper needs to be held, it is probably too small and needs to be at least one size larger. On the other hand, if it zips easily and isn’t snug, try a smaller size. If you can’t find a wetsuit that fits exactly right, it can and should be altered.
Use these tips along with recommendations from seasoned divers to ensure the right wetsuit for your needs. Enjoy!
Sounds crazy right? Well tens of thousands of people from all over the world disagree. Shark diving is getting increasing popular all over the world as tourists and scuba divers face their fears to take the plunge with some of the most feared animals on earth. Whether it is from the safety of a cage or in the open water, shark diving is becoming huge draw card for shark infested waters like South Africa, Australia, The Gulf of Mexico and California.
South Africa is leading the way in shark diving eco tourism. South Africa is probably the best place for seeing the so called “man eater”, the Great White Shark. The Great White is the most feared predator on earth. Fears fuelled by movies like “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Ocean”. There are literally hundreds of places in South Africa where you can go shark diving and just as many operators willing to take you there. From the safety of a solid steel cage, you can view Great White Sharks of up to 6m in length.
The dive operators take you to spots between two and fifteen kilometers offshore and throw dead fish and blood on the water to lure in any sharks in the area. Some sharks can small a drop of blood up to two kilometers away; to we’re talking a lot of sharks. Once the sharks are in sight the cage is dropped and some fake seal lures are hung over the boat to attract the sharks even closer. You can expect to spend between twenty and forty minutes in the cage. Sharks are often curious about the cage, so close encounters are not uncommon.
Diving with sharks from the safety of a cage not extreme enough for you? Well there are plenty of places where you can dive in the open water with different species of shark. Most sharks will not attack humans unless they feel threatened or they think they’re prey. This makes scuba diving with sharks relatively safe.
Some of the best areas you can dive in the open water with sharks are in The Caribbean, Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, CoCos islands, Mexico, The Maldives and The Bahamas. There are literally dozens of species of shark on offer. What sharks you’re likely to see depends on what time of the year you go. For more information visit our site.
One experience that will literally take your breath away is diving with a Whale Shark. The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world, measuring up to 46+ feet! Scared? You shouldn’t be, the Whale shark is a herbivore! The biggest shark in the world doesn’t eat meat. In fact, the Whale shark is the most docile of all sharks and doesn’t mind a bit of human interaction. Sharing space with this enormous fish truly a life changing experience. Whale sharks are found anywhere in the warm waters near the equator, but they are hard to find and you often need to travel quite a distance offshore.
So does swimming in shark infested waters still sound like a crazy idea or have I wet your appetite for some shark diving? For more information on diving with the sharks you can visit our website, sharkdiving.us. So next time you’re stuck for a summer vacation idea, maybe you should think about going diving with the sharks!
While on vacation to Crete I decided I wanted to try scuba diving, I used to do some in the Lochs and around the coast of Scotland when I was younger.
It was a beautiful place we were staying with a wide clear bay and a few fishing boats, there was a small diving school just up from the beach. I popped in to see what it would cost and see what sort of things I would be able to do. The scuba industry is regulated by different bodies depending where in the world you dive.
I had trained in Britain where the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) is the governing body and you have to get certified and trained by a local BSAC club in order to dive there. They keep records of all your training and any dives that you do in a log book, if your log book is up to date you can take it on holiday with you and show diving schools and tours your experience. The more experience you have the better and harder the dives you are allowed to go on.
Well anyway the school in Crete was a PADI affiliated diving school, PADI is the international version of the BSAC. I did not have my log book with me and it was a little bit out of date anyway, the last time I went diving was when I was at University about 15 years ago.
I would only be allowed to go on a training dive to start with and if that went ok some shallow dives over the next few days.
I signed up for the short day course and another 2 dives I can’t remember the price but it was pretty decent, not too expensive but not dirt cheap.
The training started the next morning with theory and book learning in the classroom. It was pretty basic stuff and I remembered most of it from when I had done my training. They just wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing and that we knew what to do in an emergency.
After the work in the classroom we had a chance to check out the equipment and get fitted for our training dive. The training dive was before lunch and we just went into the bay where the diving school was. We carried our equipment down the beach and waded into the water.
There was about eight of us with two instructors to keep an eye on us. They gathered us around in a circle and proceeded to show us how to clear our masks underwater, how to share a demand valve and some basic swimming exercises to make sure we were comfortable with the equipment.
After the short lesson the instructors took us for a swim around the bay, we saw many types of fish and a few crabs, there was some broken pottery and urns and a sunken boat. Then we stopped near a small reef and the instructors took out some slices of bread so we could feed the fish.
They took photographs of us being swarmed by hundreds of fish. You could feel them nibbling your fingers as you fed them the bread. The fish were so dense that you had trouble seeing anyone else. It was very exciting and great fun.
After everyone had a shot of feeding the fish we headed back to the dive school. We had to carry our equipment up the beach to the storage shed and clean it down with fresh water, you should do this with all equipment you use on a dive as salt water can be very corrosive if not washed off metal tanks, demand valves and ABLJ’s/buoyancy aids. We also washed the wetsuits and accessories we had used.
Once everything had been cleaned up we went back to the classroom and talked about the dive, we got our log books filled in if we had one and were issued a certificate to say we could dive down to a certain depth. This certificate would let me go for other dives while I was on vacation in Crete.
The Sultanate of Oman is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, lying along its southeast corner. It has a total land area of 300,000 square kilometres and a population of over two million.
The Musandam, separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates, is the northernmost part of the Sultanate.
Due to its geographical position and mountainous terrain it was isolated from the rest of Oman and the region developed at its own pace. Graded roads cut across the mountains have now made it more accessible. The grandeur of Musandam can best be explored by sea.
Musandam Peninsula has an abundance of sheltered fjords, some only connected to the mainland by narrow cliffs. Fjords, or khors, created by fragmented rock stretching claw-like into the sea and massive overshadowing cliffs towering above are magnificently reflected in the water below.
The coast juts into the Strait of Hormuz and extends some 600 kilometres. These spectacular fjords have given the area a second name “The Norway of Arabia” The Strait of Hormuz is only 60km wide and does not exceed 60m in depth and is of strategic importance to Oman as 90% of all the Gulf's oil trade passes through this area.
The only dive center is the Extra Divers Dive Center located in the "Golden Tulip Hotel" in Khasab, which is the capital of the most northerly province of Musandam.
It is the only dive center in the whole area...so lots of fish and few divers! Turtles, rays, nudibranches, dolphins, barracudas...name it - you´ see it.......maybe...! The dive center is brand new with new equipment, compressor, tanks, dive shop, dry room for our guests, multilingual instructors (german, english, french, italian & russian), a workshop... and a terrace for chill-out after diving. More infos at: http://www.scubasailing.de
The total population of Musandam is approximately 27,000 and the capital Khasab has 18,000 inhabitants. Dibba on the East coast of Musandam has a population of approximately 5,500. The Peninsula begins with Tibat, on the west coast in the Arabian Gulf to Daba (Dibba), on the east coast in the Gulf of Oman, this coastal zone, along with many offshore islands, offers a unique contact with nature. Small villages nestle along the tortuous shoreline, most of them only accessible by sea, like Lima and Kumzar.
Its rugged mountains rise up over 2,000 meters above sea level. In Arabic it is known as Ra's Musandam. The Ru'us al-Jibal (the Mountaintops), the northernmost extremity of the al-Gharbi al-Hajar (Western Hajar mountains), occupy the northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula. The peninsula is generally about 35 km wide.
The peninsula is mainly inhabited by the Shihuh, who are fishermen and herdsmen and are probably descended from the original inhabitants of northern Oman. Fishing is the peninsula's main industry with packing plants at al-Khasab and Bay'ah. Transportation is mostly by sea, since no roads cross the forbidding terrain.
These are three of the world's best and largest diving training organizations that offer scuba diving courses and classes.
PADI or Professional Association of Diving Instructors (www.padi.com):
In the recreational diving membership organizations, PADI is the world’s largest, with offices in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. PADI started in 1967 and the main corporate headquarters is located in California, and is known as PADI Worldwide.
PADI offers Open Water Diver course, the most widely accepted and esteemed diving certification in the world. One of the popular entry level trainings PADI offers is the Discover Scuba Diving program, accessible at any PADI Dive Center or Resort. Basic concepts and scuba skills are taught here under the supervision of PADI Professionals in pool or pool-like conditions. Though minimum age requirement is 10 years old, younger kids can also attend the “junior” courses.
The entry level training emphasizes on practical safety issues instead of theoretical concepts such as the physics and chemistry of diving. The Discover Scuba Diving program is followed by the PADI Specialty Diver and PADI Rescue Diver programs for people who want to continue. These include advanced training and additional skills specific to personal interests. After each course is completed, a certificate is issued which is widely accepted throughout the world as proof of proficiency. PADI issues almost 946,000 certifications each year.
NAUI or National Association of Underwater Instructors (www.naui.com):
NAUI Worldwide was established in 1959 as a non-profit diving membership association, and organized solely to support and promote Dive Safety through education, which has now become the second largest diver training organization. Their training programs include Skin Diver through Instructor Course Director, with several number of specialty courses including Search and Recovery Diver, Scuba Rescue Diver, Nitrox and technical diving , to name a few.
NAUI also includes Technical courses, Leadership courses and Recreational courses. Recreational courses include Skindiver, SCUBA Diver, Experienced SCUBA Diver and Advanced SCUBA Diver. NAUI’s certification class is for people above 8 year-olds and you don’t have to be an accomplished swimmer. For younger kids, there is also a “Snorkeling for Kids of All Ages” non-certification class.
SSI or Scuba Schools International (www.divessi.com):
SSI is also a worldwide diving training organization that specializes in business support for dive businesses that was established in 1970. It is, in fact, the largest school-based training agency in the world with various regional centers, and its certification is widely accepted throughout the world. They have a SSI Facility Search feature on their website if you need to get region-specific information.
The beginner programs offered by SSI include Scuba Ranger, Try Scuba, Passport Diver, Open Water Diver, Snorkeling, and Scuba Skills Update. In order to reach SSI’s highest recognition level in diving - the Platinum Pro5000 Diver award, you have to go through a number of intermediary such as Stress and Rescue Diver, Specialty courses, Continuing Education Ratings, and advanced programs such as Dive Leader Education System, including Dive Control Specialist and Open Water Instructor.
