Do you remember the first time you opened your eyes underwater? When you’re underwater, you perceive everything differently. The sounds, the colors, the movement – it’s like you’ve entered another world. And that’s what scuba diving is all about. Do you want to experience it? You’re not alone in this, but a common obstacle is that beginners don’t know how to do it, what it entails and whether it’s even suitable for them.
What is scuba diving anyway?
What do you actually do when you dive? Simply put, you put on a breathing apparatus with a bottle on your back, put a mouthpiece in your mouth and you can breathe freely and swim underwater. There are several types of diving:
Recreational (for fun and relaxation)
Technical (deeper dives, more complex equipment)
Commercial (working)
Sport (competition)
Most people start with recreational diving. With normal recreational diving you can get up to 40 meters below the surface. This will give you the chance to explore underwater reefs, peer into shipwrecks or watch sea creatures including sharks (from a reasonable distance of course). It opens up a world that most people only know from TV. Imagine swimming among coral reefs, surrounded by schools of colourful fish, or watching turtles, moray eels or octopuses in their natural habitat.
Where to learn to dive?
Many dive schools offer courses. The biggest is PADI, but SSI and NAUI also have a good reputation. It doesn’t depend so much on the specific school, but rather on the location and the instructor.
Don’t believe that any school is fundamentally better or worse. They all teach similar things and follow similar standards. A certificate from any official school will allow you to dive anywhere in the world. You usually choose the location of your course based on where you live. We have several dive centres in the Czech Republic too, mainly in big cities. However, many people prefer to combine their first course with a holiday in a warm region. Why? Because there you have clear water, pleasant temperature and lots of life under the surface. The most popular are Egypt with its Red Sea, Thailand with its Andaman Sea or even Croatia with its Adriatic Sea.
Which course to choose?
You have two routes to choose from:
A test dive sometimes called “Discover Scuba Diving” takes a couple of hours. You’ll get a basic briefing, have a bit of a go in a pool or shallow water and then go with the instructor to a maximum depth of 6 metres. It’s like a taster – you’ll see if it’s a good fit for you at all. It costs about two thousand.
During the test dive, you learn only the most basic things – how to breathe from the regulator, how to equalize the pressure in your ears and how to move underwater. The instructor is right next to you the whole time, practically leading you by the hand. It’s safe and easy, but limited.
The basic course (Open Water Diver) is more serious business. 3-5 days of theory and practice, first in the pool, then in the sea. You will learn everything you need for independent diving (always with a partner, of course). After passing the exams you will get a “diver’s license” for dives up to 18-20 meters. It will cost you 6-12 thousand.
The course teaches you not only practical things like breathing underwater or using fins, but also theory – how your gear actually works, what happens to your body at depth, how to plan a safe dive and what to do if something goes wrong. By the end of the course, you’ll usually complete four real dives in the sea, where you’ll try everything out with an instructor at your back.
You’ll save yourself time and money by going straight into a proper course instead of just a test dive. And if you’re hooked on diving, you can follow up with advanced courses later – for example, diving to greater depths (up to 30 metres), night diving or underwater photography.
Can I do it physically?
This is a common concern, but an unnecessary one. You don’t need any extra fitness or swimming records to dive. You should know the basics of swimming and be in decent shape, but it’s not extreme.
You don’t need any age limits for diving – you can start from about 10 years old, and there is no upper limit. Some health limitations can be a barrier (such as asthma or heart disease), but most common health problems can be dealt with. Do you wear goggles? It doesn’t matter at all – either wear contact lenses or there are masks with dioptric lenses. And you don’t have to be an athlete. Diving is surprisingly comfortable – thanks to the vest and fins, you move with minimal effort, and most of the time you’re actually just “hanging” in the water and observing your surroundings. You just need to know how to swim a little and not be afraid of the water.
Is it safe?
Of course it’s safe! Otherwise nobody would do it. Statistically, scuba diving is safer than, say, skiing.
Accidents happen mostly where people don’t follow the rules or do something they’re not trained to do. In the course you will learn how to handle common situations, so nothing will surprise you underwater. The whole system is built on safety – you have back-up air, you always dive in pairs, and you can come to the surface slowly at any time. Unlike rock climbing, where one wrong step can mean a fall, scuba diving is much more forgiving. Even the gear is designed to be as safe as possible – the breathing apparatus has a backup mouthpiece, a special vest helps you control the depth, and a computer watches to make sure you don’t stay too deep for too long. Most divers will never experience anything more serious than water in a mask or a cramp in the calf – and you’ll learn to deal with that in the course too.
How much does the equipment cost?
Initially, you can rent everything. But you’ll probably find that owning your own gear is more convenient. Basic kit:
Mask and snorkel: 1-3 thousand CZK
Fins: 1-4 thousand CZK
Neoprene: 5-30 thousand CZK (depending on the type)
BCD (vest): 10-25 thousand CZK
Regulator: 8-20 thousand CZK
Diving computer: 8-30 thousand CZK
Bottle: 6-15 thousand CZK
To start with, just get a mask and fins, and rent the rest. Gradually buy other things depending on how often you dive.
A mask is the first piece of equipment you should get. It’s important that it fits you perfectly and doesn’t leak – everyone has a slightly different face shape, so what fits one person may not suit another. Fins are also a personal choice – depending on your kicking style and leg strength you may prefer stiffer or softer, longer or shorter.
If you’ll be diving more often, it’s worth investing in your own wetsuit too. Not only will it fit you better (which you’ll appreciate on longer dives), but it’s also more hygienic than using rented wetsuits that many people before you have sweated in.
You can rent more expensive pieces of gear like a regulator, BCD and computer for a long time, but if you dive more than 10-15 days a year, owning your own complete set of gear starts to make sense. The advantage is that you know it, you know how it behaves, and you can count on it being well maintained.
What will you experience underwater?
Diving offers experiences you can’t get anywhere else. It’s like visiting another planet without having to fly into space.
The first thing that strikes you is the silence. Underwater, all you hear is your breathing and the occasional crackle of coral or the flapping of shrimp. This silence is almost meditative, and many divers say that this is one of the main reasons they dive.
Another unique experience is weightlessness. On land, we are constantly tethered by gravity to the earth, but underwater, with the right balance, you can float like an astronaut. The feeling of bouncing slightly off the bottom and then just floating above the reef is indescribable.
And then, of course, there’s the underwater life. The coral reefs are full of colour and movement – brightly coloured fish, waving anemones, majestic turtles, curious octopuses. If you’re lucky, you might even spot larger creatures like manta rays, dolphins or even sharks. All of these creatures behave very differently in their natural habitat than they do in aquariums or documentaries.
What else?
Diving is not just a sport or a hobby – it’s an entry into another world. A world of silence, where you float as if weightless, surrounded by life that is so different from that on land.
Try it. Find a class, call and ask. Or combine your first dive with a holiday in warm waters – Egypt, Thailand or Croatia are great places to start.
After getting your basic certification, you will discover that scuba diving has many different branches. You can focus on photography, wreck exploration, night dives, cave diving or even ice diving. Everyone will find a direction that they enjoy.
Diving also connects you with a community of like-minded people. Divers are usually friendly and enthusiastic about sharing their experiences. On diving expeditions you will meet people from all over the world with whom you will share a love of the ocean.
And remember – it’s never too late to start something new!