Scuba advice

My wife and I are heading to CSA in late April and are thinking about scuba lessons. We're not sure if we should get certified at home before we leave (which isn't very accommodating to our busy schedules) or wait until we get there? We're also wondering if there is a way to simply fill out the paperwork before we go and do the actual diving certification there or if that's even an option? Also not sure what the quality level is or how long it would take if we wait until we get there? We don't want to spend our entire trip (10 days) taking lessons.

Does anyone have any experience or advice?

The certification takes no more than 3 half days, I.E 8.30am - 12.00pm.
If you have never tried scuba before, I would wait until I got to the hotel as they offer you a free introduction. After you have tried it you can use what you have done towards the certification and be finished pretty quickly. You can contacted the shop at csa.scuba@couples.com or check them out on facebook (couples swept away dive club). Hope this helps

i agree...i got my padi cert. two years ago at CSA and it was great.

Dove a couple of times but not certified. How is it at CTI? How long does it take before you can dive? Do you have to be certified to dive?

I did the intro dive at CSA. Great staff and very knowledgeable. However, there are some things to consider. Get a medical exam to see if any issue exists that would prevent you from diving or get you into trouble if you did dive. I opted to get my C-card from my local YMCA. I personally knew the Y instructors and felt I learned more about diving and affects on the human body through the longer classroom and pool environment than what a resort course could deliver, but that's my opinion. Regardless, if you decide to get certified at CSA, they do things by the book. You will be okay.

If I were you I would do your classroom/pool work at home and just do your 4 checkout dives in Jamaica.

First of all, who wants to spend their magical vacation time reading, learning, and memorizing all the information you need to dive safely.

Also there is way more to safe diving than you would think and I think it sinks in better if you are learning it over several weeks a bit at a time in your home environment than trying to cram it in over three days when you are seriously distracted by an amazing vacation!

But definitely do your 4 checkout dives in Jamaica because diving in a clear tropical destination sure beats diving in the cold, gross, 6 feet of visibility lake in Texas where I did mine :D