The prices listed are tuition fees that go to the instructor. The fee does not normally include travel expenses, lodging, nutritional requirements, equipment rental, or gas fills. There are exceptions such as when you’ve booked a lodging/rental package through Extreme Exposure. If the instructor is traveling to teach the course, the travel/lodging expenses for the instructor is normally split between the participants. Lastly, when registering for a GUE course, you will be prompted to pay a registration fee (normally $95) to cover administrative fees, processing of your certification, access to the course materials, etc. This fee goes directly to GUE and is completely independent of the instructor.

The new fundamentals split format lets you break the course into two parts. Part 1 will focus on buoyancy, trim, stability, equipment, and propulsion techniques and is usually conducted over 2 days. Part 1 will be similar to the now obsolete GUE primer. Part 2 will be conducted over 2-3 days and focus on critical skill refinement such a S-drills, valve drills, SMB deployment and rescue techniques. You will be evaluated and receive credit for each part. This option can also help with scheduling; for example allowing a course to be taught during split weekends. By completing both part 1 and part 2, you will earn a full fundamentals qualification at either the recreational level or technical level.

No problem! A common misconception is that you must sign up for a pre-scheduled course already on the books. To the contrary, a majority of the courses are scheduled specifically with individuals according to their specific dates. The scheduled classes you see on the website are a combination of pre-scheduled courses open to anyone and courses posted for a specific team or individual. We are flexible so don’t be afraid to ask for date adjustments, split courses, or if a course you see is already reserved. Normally a specific course page will have details to give you basic information such as reserved status and number of people currently applied.

It’s called GLOBAL Underwater Explorers for a reason; we literally teach all over the world. While our home base is located in High Springs, Florida (home of GUE Headquarters), we routinely travel to the student’s home location for training. In fact, sometimes students and instructor both travel to a neautral location for logistical reasons (think dive vacation!). The decision about location is a discussion to have during your initial consultation to decide which option works best for you.

We require a 50% deposit of the course fee upon registration to reserve your spot. The remainder of payment is to be paid before the start of the course. As each situation is different, instructor travel and lodging costs will be discussed before finalizing the course. We accept cash, check, paypal, and most major credit cards. However, when paying with a credit card, a 2.7% processing fee will be added to the transaction.

YES OF COURSE!!!! Unfortunately, people actually believe this rumor. In reality, there is no color or size or brand specific gear involved in any GUE course. The equipment standards are spelled out on GUE’s website for all to see. All gear has pro’s and con’s to be discussed, but the only true requirement is that you meet the minimum equipment standard for the course listed. Check out the GUE base gear configuration in appendix A (at the end) of the standards.