How to become a traveling diver: A step-by-step guide

By Sehrish Yunus

Marine life is one of the most amazing things to see in the world. Beneath the sea, there are many species of life, coral, and other beautiful structures formed by sediment deposits over decades. Everyone should take a trip to the world down below at least once. It is very exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

Scuba diving is a life-changing experience for most individuals who go alone or with their loved ones. For some, it requires a lot of mental strength in order to convince themselves to go for an activity like scuba diving, since it does come with certain risks. 

The Traveling Diver

A traveling scuba diver is someone who goes to a particular location in order to train and then visit the world beneath the sea. These individuals tend to go diving as an adventure, which is different from marine experts who do so for the purpose of research and for protecting wildlife. There are regular and expert scuba divers who have a list of the places they want to go diving. Secondly, there are those who do it once or twice in their life just to get a flavor of what it feels like. 

Some very famous locations for traveling scuba divers include Thailand, Corsica, Maldives, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the USA. These locations tend to attract dozens of tourists in the warmer seasons for diving and seeing marine life in all its glory. Whether it is schools of blue-colored fish, sharks, a wide range of individual fish species, octopus, or coral, you can see it all once you take that dive in those very clear waters. 

Planning your diving excursion

A scuba diving excursion needs to be very well planned with time set aside for the training needed before going on the actual dive. There is no list of rules for making your diving experience perfect, but there are certain guidelines that should be followed to make it a pleasant experience. 

The entire activity of scuba diving has a lot of costs involved, including the equipment, the training, and the actual diving activity. The checklist that you should have prior to finalizing your diving booking includes:

Renting or purchasing equipment

Scuba diving equipment is very pricey when it comes to purchasing the whole set of gear. Your decision to rent it versus purchasing it would mainly depend on how often you go diving. If you are a tourist who is doing diving as a one-off adventure activity, then it is not practical for you to purchase your gear. You can just pay the rental fee to the company that is organizing your dive. Since rental equipment is used by other people as well, make sure it is in the right condition for your diving experience and not damaged in any way. Furthermore, if you are an experienced diver who does advanced level dives, then it is always better to bring your own gear that is made for you and you are comfortable using it. 

If you are carrying your gear along, it is important to carry it in the right manner. The gear is already heavy and packing it in a heavy suitcase will make it really tough to carry around for travel. It is better suited if the gear is packed in a light and easy to carry backpack. 

Essentials checklist

You definitely need your diving gear for the excursion. However, that is not the only thing you need once you have planned this activity for yourself. If it is not only a diving trip and you will be visiting other places as well, then like any tourist, you would need many sets of clothing, personal care items, and medications. Your clothes should ideally be comfortable, for example, sets of jeans/shorts and t-shirts. 

You can refer to an online packing checklist to help you pack all the essentials for your trip. Certain things tend to slip your mind when you try to remember it yourself. Having a checklist makes packing a lot easier. 

What is your timeline

A vacation should be planned in advance, so you are able to get the right bookings for flights, accommodations, and your excursions like diving. Leaving things until the last minute can force you to accept average or below average services in all areas of your travel, which can make for an unpleasant experience. 

You should also plan your diving activity while keeping in mind the weather and the tourist seasons. It is not a good idea to dive into the ocean’s depths in winter; summer is generally best for this activity. You should also know the popular tourist seasons at your destination of choice, so you can book your required accommodation, flights, and diving services in advance. 

Training

Diving is a sport that requires training, even if it is of the most basic level and not very deep in the ocean. Your travel should include booking training before the actual date on which you plan to undertake the dive. 

Depending on your ability to pick up skills for diving or the level of dive (beginner or advanced) you are choosing, your training period could be shorter or longer. At times you may suffer from bad luck and are unable to go through with the training completely and must cancel your dive. This happens rarely and is more common with first-time divers. 

One element divers often miss is matching the dive they undertake and the level of training they book for themselves. You may be doing an advanced dive, but end up booking beginner level training. Research your diving locations to know how advanced your dive is and book the training that matches it.

Conclusion

Planning a travel trip that is only based on a diving activity or has diving as a part of it is a long process. Bookings for flights, accommodation, and activities should be made well in advance of the travel date. 

Furthermore, since this is diving-related travel, extra care is required in packing gear and other diving-related essentials. The above article is aimed at assisting you in becoming a traveling diver and making your travel planning process easier for you. 

Have fun exploring the stunning and beautiful views of the ocean when you go for your dive. Everyone should do this at least once to be able to see the magic of nature in the oceans.