Diving Holidays
These diving holidays direct from expert operators will get you up close to Nemo's friends in some of the most beautiful dive sites around the world.
Diving Holidays
PADI Divemaster-Montanita and Galapagos
A 9 week programme to get you to Divemaster status.
Duration: 9 weeks
Price: £1910
Details.
Diving and Turtle Conservation-Malaysia
Working to protect turtle eggs as well as learn diving techniques.
Duration: 2 weeks
Price: £429-£1300
Details.
Diving courses for all abilities with at least one night dive.
Duration: 5 days
Price: £650-£4500
Details.
Freshwater diving in Lake Malawi
Relaxed diving with no dangers in the first freshwater marine reserve.
Duration: 6 days
Price: £35-£280
Details.
Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in Ha'apai, Tonga
The only diving company in the Ha'apai group means you have it all to yourselves.
Duration: 1 day
Price: £40-£80
Details.
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Why go on a diving holiday?
Breathing underwater, moving freely in a weightless environment, there really is not much that can rival the unique experience of diving. From beautiful, intricate corals to the big marine mammals, it really is a privilege to be able to explore and spend some time in the fascinating underwater world. Diving holidays often also give you the chance to get involved in environmental projects or marine research, and it's well worth getting to grips with how to dive in an environmentally friendly manner.
Where to go?
The diving holiday opportunities worldwide are vast and varied. Eastern Africa, Egypt, South East Asia,Central America and the Australian coasts are all popular diving spots. Belize is one example of a truly incredible diving location. Most dive resorts will offer great shoreline diving as well as deeper, more technical diving. Closer to home, Europe offers some great diving, including wreck diving in Croatia and cave diving holidays in Italy. Some of the best wreck diving is in the UK, for example at Scapa Flow. This has the added bonus of not needing flights and reducing pressure on the massively over-dived areas, for example the Red Sea.
Want to dive but can’t afford it?
The joys of the underwater world are not solely exclusive to divers. Many of the marine wonders can be explored at a more relaxed pace (and more cheaply) by snorkelling. Most diving holiday destinations have shallow areas of coral and marine life which can be explored with only the aid of a mask and snorkel, and the power of your kicking legs!
What to expect?
As a beginner diver you will have to do beginner course, the most popular being the PADI 4 day Open Water Course. The first couple of days will involve some classroom work and being in shallow water or in a pool learning the basic techniques, before venturing out into the open water to try out your newly learned skills. Once qualified, you can go on diving holidays with dive shops worldwide and explore all the ocean has to offer!
The most internationally recognised and regarded qualification is BSAC, however this takes longer to complete than PADI courses.
Gear and kit
As with most equipment-based sports, buying your own dive gear can be expensive. Mask, fins,wetsuit, buoyancy aid, regulator, weight belt… Unless you are planning on working in the industry,most people can get by with rental gear. The addition to the cost of your holiday is minimal, and far outweighs (or the inverse in fact!) having to carry heavy gear in your baggage allowance.
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