Diving, diving, diving – I love diving! I think it's one of the coolest sports ever. As soon as I'm underwater, I'm in a completely different world that has nothing to do with our ‘normal’ life on the surface. Unfortunately, I don't get to do it very often, because I've never been enthusiastic about our local lakes. Under the thermocline at 4 degrees and, with a bit of luck, maybe a trout or a catfish? Nah. I'd rather invest my holiday time and go to the sea. And you should do the same, whether you already have a diving licence or want to take a diving course. There are so many great reasons for a diving holiday. You can find my top 7 here!
1) The holiday location is looking for you, not the other way around.
Those who focus on diving look for local diving schools or the best diving spots. Of course, accommodation and beautiful beaches are also important, but first and foremost, I don't want to drive 50 kilometres to get to my diving boat. So it's a completely different approach to choosing a holiday destination than usual. And that often brings with it really positive surprises and ‘insider tips’. In Elba, for example, we had two restaurants to choose from on the beach where the diving school was located, which we would NEVER have gone to under normal circumstances. But diving makes you hungry, so we decided to give them a try. And lo and behold – it turned out that these two ‘shabby restaurants’ were the best fish restaurants of our entire trip. We also had a super cool apartment with a sea view on Elba, which was only available through the diving school. We wouldn't have stayed anywhere else as nice.
2) You will meet many like-minded people
Sport brings people together. This is even more true for an ‘extreme’ sport like diving than for everyday sports. A diving trip brings together a wide variety of people. From young to old, from newbies to old hands, from wreck diving pros to ice divers. Every mindset, every income bracket and every attitude is mixed together in a colourful blend. And they are all united by their great love for their shared sport. They talk shop and tell stories from morning till night. For non-divers travelling with them, this can be quite exhausting. But for me, this sense of togetherness is one of the best reasons for a diving holiday.
3) From television to reality
Since I had the privilege of diving for three days at pristine dive sites on Australia's Great Barrier Reef in 2006, I have viewed documentaries about reefs with a completely different perspective. Many people may frown with concern when they hear reports about the coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef – I could cry every time. No diving experience has ever been as lasting and impressive as this abundance of fish and coral.
Reports about coral reefs on television are truly beautiful. But linking them to your own memories is something else entirely.
4) Fun for the whole family
I don't have children, so I'll have to speculate a little on this point. The ‘classic diving licence’, the Open Water Diver, can be obtained from the age of 10, but there are also diving programmes for younger children, such as PADI's Bubblemaker . I am convinced that it is a very intense experience for a family when everyone obtains their diving licence and experiences real diving for the first time together in the open sea or in a lake.
Note a few years later, now that I am a diving instructor: Diving courses for children are fantastic! Not only for us diving instructors, because children learn incredibly naturally and quickly, but also because they absorb everything you tell them and really develop a passion for it! Be sure to let your children try diving, they will love it! 🩷
5) Being active on holiday
Hands up, who actually manages to exercise on holiday (unless it's a designated active holiday)? Just recently in Strasbourg , my friend and I had our running shoes in our luggage. Well, we took them home again without having worn them.
Diving is more of a ‘sport you don't feel’. Well, you do after diving, because after two dives you are completely exhausted. But the exercise itself takes a back seat to the experience. So I don't even notice that I'm burning calories in the water. By the way, diving burns just as many calories as jogging!
6) Meet Nemo in person (in fish)
Since ‘Finding Nemo’, the clownfish has become the most famous fish in the world, one that everyone can name (‘Nemo’, that is...). But it's especially exciting to learn more about the inhabitants of the coral reef. From the thick, sedentary grouper at the entrance to the elegant bannerfish and the shy whitetip reef shark – zoological knowledge comes automatically. After all, I want to know exactly what I've seen (if only to be able to show off to other diving enthusiasts after I get home 😉 ). And whether young or old, everyone is happy when they see a fish on television and can say, ‘Look, I've seen that one in real life in Egypt!’
7) Now one of the most important reasons for a diving holiday: Raise awareness!
Most people are now aware that our plastic waste problem is one of the most serious environmental issues of our time. From TV reports about the plastic island in the Pacific to requests such as ‘Please put my cold cuts in my Tupperware box instead of wrapping them separately!’, our inner demons are enormous. Experiencing first-hand how plastic waste floats around in the ocean between marine animals and you as a diver is an experience you won't soon forget. This moment of shock changes your attitude, no matter how seriously you took environmental protection before.
But even without such an experience, which I wouldn't wish on anyone, having seen the fragile ecosystem of a reef for yourself should greatly strengthen every diver's desire to protect the environment and avoid plastic. And after all, it doesn't take much extra effort to take Tupperware containers for sausage and a cotton bag with you the next time you go shopping. 🙂
So, now I've actually managed to end my reasons for a diving holiday with a moral finger-wagging. I hope you don't hold it against me!
If you're not divers yet, give it a try! Seriously! At least to experience what it's like to be at eye level with the sea creatures.
Do I have to take a course right away? Or: How to get started
This is my addendum to this article from the perspective of a dive instructor.
I understand that people hesitate to take a diving course if they have never tried diving before. The course is not cheap, and what if you don't like it?
That's why I recommend starting with the Discover Scuba Diving programme. Here, you learn only the most basic (and most important) skills, such as clearing your mask if water gets in (also useful for snorkelling). And you are taken on a real dive by a diving instructor – naturally with all the necessary safety precautions and a depth limit.
Anyone who is enthusiastic after this day and would like to start the Open Water course can usually have the DSD credited towards it (as long as they stay at the same diving school). The theory is now done online, so it can be completed on a smartphone or tablet on the beach instead of in the classroom. One day of pool exercises, and then it's off to the sea!
A tip: If you already know before you go on holiday that you want to get your diving licence, you can do the theory and pool sessions at home and then just do the ‘real’ dives on holiday. That's a great idea! You just need to make sure that both diving schools, i.e. the one at home and the one on holiday, teach according to the same system (e.g. PADI, SSI, CMAS, etc.), otherwise the credits cannot be transferred.
PS: The only reason not to go diving: you don't exactly look good in photos. 🤣
