Where and with whom to start scuba diving

Where and with whom to start scuba diving

This at first may seem a silly question, but naturally people living along the coastline are more aware about snorkeling, spear fishing and even scuba diving and the marine life that accompanies these activities.  People living much further away inland also scuba dive, they just don't have the frequent scuba diving opportunities that people on the coastline have, unless they live near a fresh water lake or dam that is suitable for scuba diving such as the Great Lakes in North America.

Each person wanting to become a scuba diver has to consider a couple of things before embarking on this exciting, life changing adventure.  First of all determine how many scuba dive schools are in your immediate neighborhood, town or city.  To do this you can find a local directory that may list the scuba dive schools or clubs such as the DiveDeals Southern Africa website located at http://www.divedeals.co.za that lists all the scuba dive schools, scuba diving clubs, shops and charters in South Africa and Mozambique.  You should also consider approaching an independent scuba dive instructor that makes use of various facilities.  The benefit of this is that their independence makes it easier to take you different facilities should the original facility chosen be unavailable.

Email or phone these scuba diving businesses for advice and more information on the scuba dive training and trips they offer.  Make appointments with a few and visit them, ask them for a tour of their scuba diving training facility.  You may want to ask questions such as how frequently they offer training programs (scuba dive training can be very flexible) and how they can accommodate you if you have a busy schedule.  Also find out about the scuba dive gear they stock and the process involved in servicing equipment should you decide to buy from them as scuba dive gear should be serviced regularly.  Some of these scuba dive schools may also be able to do air fills or enriched air fills.

Other factors for consideration should be if the scuba dive school has an active scuba diving club and if this club organizes frequent scuba dive trips.  Of importance is how much training you can obtain from the scuba dive school and to which accredited scuba diving association they belong.  I have listed a few associations below, but remember many more reputable scuba dive associations do exist:

CMAS:             World Confederation of Underwater Activities

NAUI:              National Association of Underwater Instructors

SDI:                 Scuba Diving International

PADI:              Professional Association of Diving Instructors

SSI:                  Scuba Schools International

It is important to do your homework and learn as much about what is going on in the scuba diving community before you start making your decision of where you'll go for your scuba dive course.  You should also talk to scuba diving friends that most definitely will make some recommendations from their experience.  Consider buying copies of the latest scuba dive magazines and if you do happen to drive by a scuba dive charter while on holiday why not stop and find out from them if they have knowledge about scuba dive schools or independent instructors near your home town?

There you have it, go find your scuba dive school or independent instructor and get on that scuba dive course.