It's hard to describe the exhilaration of scuba diving to someone who hasn't tried it. Try submerging yourself in a warm bath, and picture Technicolor shapes floating past. The only sound you hear is parrotfish chomping on coral...
Learn to scuba dive on your gap year - Where to do it?
Hot spots include Australia, South East Asia and Fiji - beautiful countries even before you get to the coast. Turtles, leopard sharks, manta rays, barracudas, hammerhead sharks and pufferfish are just some of the creatures that might glide past you.
There is scuba diving around Britain, and lots of universities have clubs. But somehow, doing it in Plymouth isn't quite the same. So, why not make the aim of your gap year learning to dive?
Learn to scuba dive - Gain a qualification
Scuba diving is increasingly popular, and there are now internationally recognised qualifications to work towards.
These include:
PADI Open Water Course - a licence to dive anywhere in the world, to a depth of 18 metres.
Advanced Open Water Course - allows you to dive down to 30 metres.
Emergency First Response - a theory-based first aid course.
Rescue Diver - a more complex course that covers dealing with emergencies and identifying problems with equipment.
Divemaster - a qualification that allows you to work in dive schools or centres with an instructor.
Instructor -the ultimate diving qualification - a licence to work as a scuba diving instructor.
Even more exciting experiences!
Learning to dive can give you access to new worlds, and not just the underwater one. Real Gap has come up with programmes that allow you to combine diving with other activities, like underwater photography and conservation work.
Make it pay for itself
As well as being an inspiring hobby, scuba diving can be a source of revenue if you get the right qualifications. It could be a career you hadn't considered, or just an interesting summer job.
Learn to scuba dive on your gap year
Give your CV a boost
GCSEs - check. A Levels - check. Divemaster -??!! Having something different on your CV will make your job application stand out above the hundreds of others employers receive. And you can harp on about the skills you gained from it - responsibility, communication, first aid etc. If you fancy scuba diving, have a read of these...
10 trips have been found based on your filter/sort
Gain a basic diving qualification that allows you to dive all over the world. The course combines theory, dives and a three-day trip around the Great Barrier Reef. Look out for turtles, coral, tropical fish and more!
Choose a diving programme to suit you and learn or hone your skills in Thailand’s beautiful blue waters. Take the instructor programme and gain the necessary qualifications to work in a scuba diving centre.
Experience Thailand through a unique combination of activities. Take a PADI scuba diving certificate, trek through jungle and rainforest, stay in a Buddhist temple - a rare privilege for travellers - and get to grips with the Thai language.
Learn to scuba dive and help protect endangered turtles. Observe and record the turtles’ behaviour as they lay eggs and help clear the beaches of debris. Get an internationally recognised diving certificate too! Project Video Now Online
Earn your passport to explore underwater life in the warm waters around the Honduras. Master the basics or build on what you already know and qualify to work as an instructor.
Dive around Koh Tao, develop your media skills and earn money! You’ll be taught to record, edit and produce DVDs of the dive centre’s customers, and then to sell them to the customers.
Sample some of Africa’s exhilarating highlights. Camp in Kruger National Park with the big five, do a volunteer placement in Swaziland and learn to scuba dive in Mozambique. An adventure with a bit of everything!
Get up close and personal with whale sharks – they eat plankton, not humans! Learn to dive in tropical waters and collect data on whale sharks, coral reefs and turtles.
Learn or improve your scuba diving, live with a local family, help build a marine protected area and enjoy the country’s amazing beaches in a 6-week programme of activities that make for the perfect Fijian experience.
A ten-week course in Australia’s Byron Bay that allows total beginners to achieve internationally recognised diving qualifications. Among the bay’s many attractions are leopard sharks, manta rays and turtles.
Project Video Now Online
