
REASON 1: Teaching standards and safety
As a PADI 5 Star Dive center, The Dive Bus Instructors are required to follow the standards and pre-requisites set out by PADI, in terms of safety, teaching, course content and materials standards.
(If you’re new to diving, trust us, this is really important.)
REASON 2: The Dive Bus Diver Training Philosophy
We don’t just train good, safe divers – we lay the groundwork for excellent, safe divers who respect and protect the ocean and appreciate what lies beneath.
And have fun whilst doing it
REASON 3: Supporting marine awareness and protection
Once you’ve completed your PADI recreational dive course, you’ll receive a special, limited edition Project AWARE version of your PADI certification card in the mail, and we make a donation to Project AWARE on your behalf. Your certification card will show divers and dive professionals that you care about and respect the ocean and what lies beneath.
More about our commitments here.
REASON 4: What we do
The Dive Bus is a professional and relaxed PADI 5 Star Dive Center and retail dive shop, providing friendly, personal and professional service, with a strong emphasis on safety and a healthy respect for our ocean environment. And fun
Check out opinions from the experts – PADI Dive Bus Graduates:
REASON 5: How we do it
Safe, fun, learning experiences in small, personal groups. Whilst PADI safety standards permit us to take up to 8 students in one class on some courses, we don’t. Unless otherwise requested, The Dive Bus classes are minimum 2 divers, maximum 4 to 1 PADI Instructor.
This means:
- Personal, targeted attention from your Dive Bus Instructor – and the rest of the Crew
- More opportunity to ask questions and learn more
- Less hanging around and wasting your precious vacation time
- Less rush and push
- Less peer pressure
- A more fun, comfortable and highly personal learning experience that we enjoy too :o)
Private instruction and additional teaching days can be arranged for an additional charge – do book in advance to avoid disappointment.
Got a bigger group that wants to dive together? No worries, we’ll allocate more Instructors to your group but do book in advance to avoid disappointment.


REASON 6: Where we do it
All PADI dive courses are taught right here, at The Dive Bus PADI 5 Star Dive Center, with everything you need on site.
No stuffy classrooms or annoying, noisy air co units for Dive Bus PADI dive course students – you’ll spend your dry time in assorted relaxed, open-air, shaded “classroom” areas at The Dive Bus.
Spend the rest of your time in your underwater classroom, The Dive Bus house reef – one of the best and most beautiful dive spots in Curacao, just across the road.
Your “swimming pool” (confined water area) is inside the shallow, protected bay area, with the beautiful reef (Pierbaai) and wreck site (Car Pile) a couple of minutes beyond, for your open water training dives.
Other dive schools spend precious time bringing students from miles around to dive on The Dive Bus house reef, just across the road. Taking your PADI dive course at The Dive Bus means you get to spend less time getting to the reef, and more time diving the reef.
REASON 7: What we do it with – excellent dive equipment
Dive Bus divers and students alike are regularly surprised (in a good way) by the quality of the rental equipment you’ll use on your PADI dive course.
Instead of ‘typical’ dive shop rental equipment, you’ll be using mid-high end, quality dive equipment, maintained and cleaned frequently, and in excellent condition.
And, since it’s super-important that your equipment fits you properly, you’re welcome to try out different equipment during your course before buying your own, with your Dive Bus Graduate Discount… see below.
REASON 8: Beer fines (our secret weapon…)
All of us on The Dive Bus Crew love what we do, and can’t wait to share our knowledge, enthusiasm and genuine interest in ensuring you have best time possible, whilst maintaining strict safety and professional teaching standards.
But it’s important to have fun too – and we find that the Dive Bus Beer Fine system is a highly effective motivational tool for learning – and, more importantly, remembering what you’ve learned.
Your Dive Bus instructor will share the system with you, in due time … 😉
REASON 9: Your reward – The Dive Bus Graduate Discount
You’ll quickly discover that dive equipment that’s comfortable, familiar and actually fits, makes a massive difference to how much you enjoy your diving – or don’t. During your PADI dive course at The Dive Bus, you’ll have the opportunity to try out different masks and fins to find what works best for you.
And as a Dive Bus PADI Graduate, you can:
- save $$$ on brand new, shiny dive equipment all of your own – ask your Instructor about the current Dive Bus PADI Graduate offers OR
- buy the actual equipment you use on your course
REASON 10: No final surprises – all inclusive pricing
All of The Dive Bus course prices are inclusive of:
- Your own PADI learning materials to keep forever. Check each course to see what’s included.
- All dive equipment, tanks and weights you need for your course
- Your PADI certification administration fee which covers:
- Your temporary certification card, which you’ll receive right away
- Your actual, special edition Project AWARE PADI certification card, which you’ll receive in the mail.
- Or, request an e-card (harder to put “somewhere safe” or in laundry by mistake) from your Dive Bus instructor during your course.
- News, info and offers from PADI and Project AWARE
- Sales tax