Thanks for the info!
I do indeed live in Canada (Montreal). For the online learning, I heard that some training places won't "recognize" the fact that you learned the theory portion online and make you do it all over again. Is there any truth to that?
I've also been looking at this place:
Costa Rica Scuba Diving with Oceans Unlimited Costa Rica
Seems like it's a dream place to both vacation and get my diving certification. Does anyone know anything about that place or have heard anything?