Frequently Asked Questions
Regarding PADI's Dive Center and Resort Directory

Q. Where does PADI obtain the world cities information from?
A. The city data used in PADI's Dive Center and Resort database is based off Populated Place from the following resourses:
  • Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for United States data 
  • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for worldwide excluding US data
Q. I receive a message that there was "no city found in the database" or it does not show up for the country that I am looking in; however, I know the city exists.
A. There may be a few answers to this.
  1. The spelling of the city may be slightly different to what you are typing in. Try another spelling as some cities may have a common spelling and variants, or use the "starts with", "ends with" or "has word in it" options on the page.
  2. The location you are typing in may be a location; however, it may not be listed as a Populated Place in GNIS or NGA databases
  3. The location may be new and may not have been added to the database. Locations are updated when they become avaliable in the respective databases
Q. There is no or little information in the "courses offered" area for a PADI Dive Center or Resort
A. The information contained withing the "courses offered" section appears based on recent certification information PADI has recieved from the PADI Dive Center or Resort. The PADI Dive Center or Resort may offer additional courses to those listed, please contact the facility for further information.
 
Q. The distance displayed seems a little off.
A. The distance shown is an approximate distance "as the crow flies" --not driving distance. The approximate distance shown is calulated from the city's Latitude/Longitude and the PADI Dive Center or Resort's Latitude/Longitude.
Q. What area of the city is the distance calculated from on the results page of the City Search?
A. The point in a city where the distance is calulated from may vary from country to country. Some countries use the city hall, city court, town hall or post office as a reference point. Others may use the geographic center.
Q. On the City Search, I type in a city and select a country and get PADI Centers in other countries, states or on other islands. Why?
A. The City Search returns all PADI Centers within a 80Km/50mi radius. If a PADI Center that is located in another county, states or island within the radius, the search will pick it up. This feature has been asked for by many dive consumers.

 

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