Frequently Asked Questions
Cash is preferred, we also take PayPal, and all card types.
We do 20% upfront to book and the 80% upon arrival.
20% deposit to book. If you cancel at least 7 days in advance, you get a full refund. Within 7 days, it is nonrefundable.
On the reefs we can shoot snappers, trigger fish and different types of jacks. You can also ditch the gun and catch lobster by hand.
There are 2 options. Either go hunting for yellow fin tuna or go to the deep pinnacle (35 Meters). You can Almaco Jacks, Rainbow Runner, Mullet Snapper, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, and the sought after Cubera Snapper.
The simple answer is yes. When you go about snorkeling and dive underwater you are technically freediving and can do this without a course. However, every freediver we know that has taken a course has not regretted taking it. Not only will you learn how to hold your breath longer and feel better but you will learn how to do it safely.
We would ALWAYS recommend to take a freediving course if you plan to hold your breath in the water.
It is highly recommended to start from the level 1 course. There are techniques taught in that course that are not repeated in higher level courses. However you can do an evaluation training day do skip the previous courses. This consists of 1 pool session and 1 open water session. You must complete all the requirements of the previous courses and the exams. Then you may start the higher level course.
There are many training agencies. Most popular agencies have up to date materials and cover the same basics at each level. The way they deliver the content may differ but the actual content is similar if not the same.
PADI courses are slightly easier as they have shorter and shallow requirements. They also allow students to begin diving with 12 years of age. So this is a great program for younger students or people with not much ocean/ diving experience.
Molchanovs courses are slightly harder than PADI and also includes diving without fins in the pool and ocean. You need to be at least 16 years old to start diving( junior courses coming soon). After completion of a Molchanovs course you get access to Base Training. This has different programs you can access free for 90 days. They have dry, pool, depth, and EQ programs. There are also paid programs. We recommend Molchanovs for those seriously wanting to get into the sport of freediving.
For PADI courses you must be at least 12 years old
For Molchanovs’ courses you must be at least 16 years old
Must be able to swim 200m without stopping.
All student divers must complete a medical questionnaire that asks about medical conditions that could be a problem while freediving. If none of these apply, you’re ready to start. If any of the conditions apply to you, your physician must assess the condition as it relates to freediving and sign the questionnaire that confirms you’re fit to dive.
Anyone who can meet those requirements can take an entry level freediving course.
The public often refers to freediving as dangerous and an extreme sport. However those who practice freediving and follow the basic safety regulations will find that it is actually very safe.
The goal is to be as relaxed as possible and get into a meditative state before you dive. Not just take a big breath and swim as fast as you can to the bottom.
If you take a freediving course, you will learn all the basic techniques and safety protocols to freedive safely.
You will learn techniques to relax your body and mind, ease stress and tension, lower our heart rate, diving techniques to reach deeper depths, times and distances with ease and most importantly safely. You will also spend time learning how to prevent freediving accidents, how to respond to them, and being a safety diver.
It is important not to put too much pressure on yourself during the course as a relaxed body and mind are necessary to freedive successfully. Our breathing and relaxation sessions will help you achieve this state before diving, but it is also beneficial not to focus on depth or times during diving sessions. These targets will come with the proper technique and with practice.
But, as a guide most students will achieve depths of 16-20m at Freediver, 24-26m at Advanced and 30-35m at Master levels.
First you should complete the medical and liability form and send them over to us. After you can start reading the manual and taking the online course provided by the agency (Molchanovs or PADI). Once you have completed those we highly recommend watching these videos about equalization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo07gZR741M&t=50s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtB0thu9Uo&t=10s
This is probably the hardest part of learning to freedive. Even if you are an experience scuba diver we still highly recommend watching these video.
You probably want to practice holding your breath. However we highly recommend waiting until you have an instructor guiding you through the correct techniques and procedures. There will be plenty of time during the course. Afterwards you will also get a training program to continue your training with all the proper techniques you learned.
If you really can’t wait we have some online courses led by an instructor via zoom. These generally happen twice a month. Once in English and once in Spanish.
First you should complete the medical and liability form and send them over to us. After you can start reading the manual and taking the online course provided by the agency (Molchanovs or PADI). If you know that you are not able to Frenzel equalize, that should be your priority. You can watch this video to be able to troubleshoot what you need to fix in order to preform Frenzel equalization.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtB0thu9Uo&t=10s
If you know that you didnt have trouble with Frenzel, that’s awesome! Send us a message saying that you want to train before your course and we can send you some resources via google docs. We do not have a video for this yet! We will cover mobility, breath work, and co2 tolerance training that can all be done at home.
First you should complete the medical and liability form and send them over to us. After you can start reading the manual and taking the online course provided by the agency (Molchanovs or PADI).
Send us a message saying that you want to train before your course and we can send you some resources via google docs. We do not have a video for this yet! We will cover mobility, breath work, and co2 tolerance training that can all be done at home. We even have a great pool training program if you have a reliable buddy and access to a pool.
First you should look over all the recreational level courses to familiarize yourself with the standards and materials. It would be a good idea to take the tests again too as a refresher. Then look over the instructor manuals( yes, all of it). For the Molchanovs course you will need to also take the entry exam.
Send us a message saying that you want to train before your course and we can send you some resources via google docs. We do not have a video for this yet! We will cover mobility, breath work, and co2 tolerance training that can all be done at home. We even have a great pool training program if you have a reliable buddy and access to a pool.
Molchanovs: Wave 1 / Wave 2 / Wave 3 / Instructor
Static Apnea: 1:30 / 2:30 / 3:30 / 4:00
Dynamic Apnea: 30m / 50m / 75m / 100m
Dynamic Apnea (no fins): N/A / 35m / 50m / 60m
Free Immersion: 12m / 24m / 34m / 40m
Constant Weight: 12m / 24m / 34m / 40m
Constant Weight (no fins): N/A / 15m / 25m / 30m
Black Out Rescue: 6m / 15m / 20m / 25m
PADI Freediver / Advanced / Master / Instructor
Static Apnea: 1:30 / 2:30 / 3:30 / 2:30
Dynamic Apnea: 25m / 50m / 75m / 50m
Constant Weight: 10m / 20m / 32m / 20m
Black Out Rescue: 5m / 15m / 20m / 15m