Why Should Scuba Diving be Your Next Adventure?

Scuba diving is something that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime. It allows you to explore the largely unknown and awe-inspiring world of underwater life without the filter of a screen. Scuba diving is also one of the most inclusive water sports, accessible to potential divers of all ages and abilities. Additionally, scuba diving provides physical and mental benefits, both immediately and long term, when done consistently.

Table of Contents:

Who Can Learn to Scuba Dive?

Diving With Disabilities

Scuba Diving Is Fun For All

Benefits of Scuba Diving as a Hobby

Does Serious Training Ruin the Fun?

Try Before You Buy - Discover Scuba Dive

The Perks of a DSD

Who Can Learn to Scuba Dive?

Whether you’re looking for an adrenaline rush or want to overcome your fear of the open ocean, Scuba diving is for you! Scuba diving is much more accessible and inclusive than most people realize. It’s one of the few sports in the world where everyone is on the same playing field regardless of age or gender.

To learn to dive, you must be at least ten years old. That means that even teens and preteens can experience the thrilling sport. In fact, Scuba diving is a great activity that the whole family can do together.

On top of the age requirements, divers must fill out a medical questionnaire to ensure they don’t have any preexisting conditions that would make diving dangerous. Even if you answer “yes” to some of the questions on the medical questionnaire, you may still be cleared for diving. You’ll need to visit a physician to evaluate whether you can safely learn to dive or not.

The main requirement for learning to Scuba dive is the ability to swim and stay afloat. But that doesn’t mean you need to be Michael Phelps to get your license. Potential divers must pass a swim test that consists of swimming 200 meters and treading water for 10 minutes. However, there is no time limit for the swim test, and you can either tread water or float for the float test.

For most people, even if you can’t accomplish this now, with a few weeks of practice, it should be no problem. Plus, maneuvering underwater and learning buoyancy is a completely different ball game than swimming at the surface.

Diving With Disabilities

One of the best things about diving is that people with disabilities are included. Plus, the weightlessness of the underwater world can even cause some relief for specific disabilities. There are various organizations and adapted equipment that make diving accessible for people with a variety of disabilities.

For example, a diver with paraplegia can use specialized webbed gloves to be mobile underwater. Divers who are blind or with quadriplegia can join a certified instructor who will assist them through the dive while allowing them the therapeutic benefits that come along with it. Whether you have a physical or mental disability, an organization like Disabled Divers International can most likely help you learn to dive with varying levels of assistance.

Scuba Diving Is Fun For All

Where do we even start? Diving is an exhilarating hobby, from your first course to the boat ride to the dive site, and of course, once you’re underwater! During your diving course, you’ll first be introduced to the friendly world of divers. Your classmates and your instructor will likely become dive buddies of yours for life.

If your idea of a great day is soaking up the sun, feeling the spray of seawater on your face, and gazing out into the never-ending blue horizon, you’ll also love the boat ride out to the dive site. Even when you can make a wading entry, you may get to spend your intervals on a gorgeous beach.

Once you dip below the surface, you’ll be greeted with an entirely new underwater scene with each new dive site. Depending on where you are in the world, you’ll find a whole new array of coral, sea plants, and marine creatures. No two dives are ever the same!

Benefits of Scuba Diving as a Hobby

Scuba diving can benefit our mind, body, and soul. It’s simultaneously physical and relaxing, plus it brings us closer to mother nature and fellow divers.

Improves Concentration

Swimming underwater requires excellent concentration. You must follow the rules and common sense to avoid accidents. Maintaining complete muscle control and paying attention to the marine environment around us is necessary as well. By focusing on all these aspects while diving, you can improve your concentration abilities.

Relieves Stress

Muffled sounds, the sinuous movement of sea creatures, the contact with water - it is, by all means, an otherworldly escape into the beauty you rarely see or never see at all. What’s more, the problems of work and daily life cannot reach you underwater! Plus, the slow and controlled breathing while diving mirrors meditation and can help balance the central nervous system.

Exercises the Mind and Body

Diving is a continuous test of problem solving and organization. It also requires a minimum level of physical fitness while improving it at the same time. Since water provides resistance to movement, the body must adapt to new movements. Divers also may lower their blood pressure or improve their cardiovascular endurance.

Fosters an Appreciation of Nature

Our planet is inhabited by fascinating life forms - an impressive amount of which are underwater. Only diving can bring you into contact with these unique gifts of nature. With each dive, you’ll meet new creatures and discover a part of our planet that only very few visit.

Encourages Social Connections

Diving courses give you the opportunity to meet new people with shared interests and rely on others as diving companions. Exploring what truly seems like another planet often creates bonds among our students. As a community, divers are some of the most inclusive people out there, and it can be enjoyed by all ages, genders, and abilities.

Does Serious Training Ruin the Fun?

Although diving has strict responsibilities and rules to follow to avoid serious accidents, the training you go through only adds to the fun, not ruins it! Whether you’re in a group of students or learning one-on-one with an instructor, it’s much more enjoyable than trying to learn something on your own. You have an experienced person to guide you through the process and maybe other students to empathize with you when you face challenges.

The courses are fundamental, and you should always pay close attention when learning new concepts or skills. What you learn in scuba diving can be applied to everyday life. Respecting your limits, getting out of your comfort zone, and acting in the safest possible manner spills over into our personal lives.

Underwater, self-control is always necessary to cope with any problems that may arise and to avoid creating them on purpose. Consistent practice is critical in learning how to respond to stressful situations. Throughout your course, you’ll practice new skills repeatedly and begin to build upon these skills to become more advanced. The more you practice, the more seamless diving is, and thus more enjoyable.

Try Before You Buy - Discover Scuba Dive

Many people are very intrigued by the underwater world of diving, but it can be daunting to dive right in. Luckily, there is a beginner’s experience that is the perfect sample you can try before making a big commitment.

During a Discover Scuba Dive (DSD), or try dive, an instructor will teach you the very first fundamentals of diving and guide you through your first ever underwater breath! They will explain the number one rule of diving (never hold your breath), hand signals, equipment use, basic diving skills, and how to properly behave when underwater.

Once you understand the basics on land, your instructor will take you to a pool or shallow water area where you can practice what you’ve learned in a calm and controlled environment. Here, you’ll practice breathing underwater and operating your gear for the first time. Then you will practice the first three basic skills - clearing your mask, clearing your regulator, and recovering your regulator.

When you are successful with these first skills, you can head to the open water. Now you’ll feel the real excitement as you swim underwater and see the breathtaking underwater world up close and personal. Your instructor will be with you the entire time, ensuring you’re safe and comfortable throughout the whole experience.

The Perks of a DSD

Because getting your open water divers license comes with a cost and requires a fair amount of time, a DSD is a perfect way to ensure you’re genuinely interested before committing. You can do a DSD in only a few hours, and the price is lower than doing a full course. This experience is perfect for people who aren’t sure if they’ll enjoy diving or don’t have time to do an entire course.

We will warn you, though - most people who try a DSD become hooked! After your first taste of the underwater world, you’ll probably want to learn how to dive on your own. If this is what you want to do, you’re already prepared with your first three skills!

Scuba diving is inclusive, unique, and absolutely thrilling! Since you can test the waters before committing, there’s nothing stopping you from trying Scuba diving as your next adventure!