Fancy Your Own Dive Center in the Sun?

There's a saying among dive center owners that you can easily make a small fortune from diving, provided you start with a large one. But that doesn't stop people from following their dreams and turning their preferred pastime into a business.

So what's on the market? Plenty of resorts and liveaboards, some of which you might even know. While you may not be in the market, a little window shopping is fun, so have a look.

A little more than US$500,000 will get you Fun Diving Curaçao, a PADI 5-star IDC resort. This time it's "personal life changes" driving the need to sell. www.fundivingcuracao.com

Still in the Dutch Caribbean, Golden Rock Dive Center is for sale in St. Eustatius for a modest $200,000. www.goldenrockdive.com

Grenada is a lovely little island, and the owner of Scuba Tech in the Calabash Hotel in Prickly Bay is fixing to sail around the world. (It's price-on-application.) www.scubatech-grenada.com

For an asking price of $400,000, the owner claims you can buy the busiest PADI dive center in Ambergris Caye, Belize. He's not one to reveal the name or the price until you sign a nondisclosure agreement, but here's the link. www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/1160

While most every diver has dreamed of setting up shop near stunning reefs in sunny latitudes, that sun sometimes makes things go awry. A dive instructor moved to Sal, in Cape Verde, an island off the coast of West Africa, to run a dive center there, but, unfortunately, he discovered a malignant melanoma and cannot continue to live there. His business near Santa Maria's only pier is now for sale for $185,000. www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/1126

How about Asia? A little less than half a million will buy you Andaman Dive Adventure in Koh Lanta, Thailand. It's. a 5-star PADI dive center complete with the owner's beautiful spacious house and a big garden. The business was a casualty of COVID closures and the owner's health. www.andamandiveadventure.com

It's a romantic idea for young couples to run their own dive center somewhere exotic, but what happens when children come along? Well, the owners of a beachfront resort on Bangka Island in North Sulawesi have decided to take theirs back to Europe to be educated, so for slightly north of half a million US, their resort and dive operation, with boats, can be yours www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/825

Maybe you'd prefer an operational liveaboard. Dolphin Dream, a well-known 12-passenger Bahamas liveaboard boat operating between the islands and Florida, is available for $450,000, though you might need more cash to spruce it up. Captain Scott, the owner, promises to train and help the new owners. www.dolphindreamteam.com

What about a chance to own the Colona II sailing ketch? It has traveled around the world twice since it left its native Norway and is in drydock in Borneo. Freddy Storheil, the owner, ran pioneering liveaboard diving charters the whole length of the Red Sea before moving out to operate in Myanmar and Thailand, where it's licensed to run 20-passenger charters. He's getting long in the tooth and will let her go for $125,000. www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/392

Closer to home, there's a dive center in Loreto, Baja, California, with a 27-foot six-pack, for sale for $300,000. The owners of Blue Nation Baja will continue to live in Loreto, so they'll stay on to see a smooth transition to the new owners. www.bluenationbaja.com

If Cozumel floats your boat, what about a dive center established for over 11 years and a hotel too? For $750,000, you'll get the dive boat for 24 people and a hotel with 14 rooms and four apartments. Or go barebones and get the dive shop, sans boat, for $225,000. The owner is moving on to other Cozumel investments and will be on hand for support. www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/843

If you prefer to stay in the lower 48, there's South Point Divers in Key West (FL), on the market for $750K (www.southpointdivers.com). And there's another Key West dive center established for more than 40 years. $700K will get you that center with two boats, fully stocked rental equipment (newer gear), a compressor and cascade air management system, and a large retail inventory. One has to wonder, though, whether they foresee those rising tides and want to hightail it to higher ground. http://www.divecenterforsale.com/listings/1042

If you've got a lot more money to shift, you might want to spring for $2.5 million and buy the long-establish Dive BVI on Virgin Gorda. The present owner is retiring. It comes with three dive boats, including two Newtons and a WorldCat, and because it was established in 1975, you'll have a long list of regular clients. www.divebvi.com

Whatever takes your fancy, setting up a business in a country where you are ignorant of local laws and customs can come with a steep learning curve. Moreover, if you haven't ever run a dive center or resort, maybe get some working experience in one first so that you splash around before you find yourself in deep water.

For a listing of dive business opportunities worldwide, visit http://www.divecenterforsale.com

- John Bantin