How to Get Scuba Certified Before Your Next Vacation!
How to get Scuba Certified- Scuba Certification Vacation
Exploring the ocean’s depths can be done in many ways—whether through snorkeling, free diving, or scuba diving. For me, I chose to get scuba-certified before my next vacation, I am excited to dive into a whole new world beneath the surface. Here is the process of becoming scuba certified, so maybe you will consider it before your next vacation or on your next vacation. Let’s get scuba-certified.
Who can become scuba-certified?
To get scuba certified, you must be at least 10 years old, able to pass a medical questionnaire, and demonstrate basic water skills. The basic water skills you will have to demonstrate are swimming 200 meters without stopping and treading water/floating for 10 minutes.
Some certification agencies may not have these same requirements.
For those who are ages 10 – 15, some of the certifying agencies will receive a junior certification.
How to get started scuba diving?
Many agencies can assist you with your scuba diving certification. Certification is done through PADI, SSI, NAUI, SDI, NASE, PSAI, and BSAC.
I chose to get my certification through PADI at the South Florida Diving School after a recommendation from a friend.
What are the steps to become scuba diving certified?
First, you must take an online course that can take anywhere from 6 – 10 hours. If you do not want to take the online course, there are dive shops that offer the course in person.
Keep in mind that this is not a course you can watch Netflix and click through; there are built-in quizzes and a test at the end that tests your knowledge of the material. In the course, you learn scuba diving theory and skills.
After you finish the course, you need to complete the pool section of the certification process, where you learn how to put the e-learning into action before you head out for your open-water dive. This can take 1 – 2 days or more depending on where you are getting certified.
Finally, you do your open-water dives. These are done in a large body of water that can be a lake, quarry, ocean, or even a large aquarium.
For my PADI certification, I had to complete four open-water dives. I will do these across 2 days.
How long does it take to become a certified scuba diver?
This is dependent on the location. Some locations will offer you just the pool, and you may need to go somewhere else to do your open-water dives, whereas there are some locations where you can complete both parts- the pool and open water within a weekend to four days.
Depending on the time or if you have a vacation coming up, you can find a dive shop that will fit your needs while on vacation.
Keep in mind, if you are traveling for your certification, it was recommended to me not to fly for at least 18 hours after my last dive.
How much does it cost to get scuba-certified?
This is dependent on where you do it. The PADI online learning course costs $246.00. The dive shop that I used gave me a discount on it for doing the pool and open-water dives with them, so it cost me $176.
Once you have paid for the course, you will need to pay for your pool/open-water dives. Many of the places I researched had one price, and that would include the pool/open water,r but if they were not able to do the open water, they provided a referral to another organization within their certifying organization for you to complete the open water after you did the pool dives with them.
I chose a shop in Florida, so I will have some additional costs due to needing to fly and stay at a hotel. I chose them because most of the dive shops near me during this time of year, February, were not offering open-water dives. This pool and open-water dive cost $700 for everything, including the gear at this dive shop. I will be having a private session with the instructor over two days.
Do I need to purchase gear for my scuba diving certification?
It depends on the shop. Some will require you to purchase your mask, snorkel, and fins, and many suggest you should purchase those. The shop I chose included it in the price.
Many dive shops will allow you to rent and/or buy those items.
I would reach out to the dive shop to see what they offer before making any decisions about what to purchase.
In addition, you want to make sure you are purchasing the right equipment based on your needs and comfort.
Can you go scuba diving without a certification?
While you can, most dive shops will not allow you to rent gear or fill tanks without certification. Completing the scuba diving certification will equip you with the essential safety knowledge and skills to dive confidently and safely
Conclusion-How to get Scuba Certified!
Getting scuba certified can change the way you vacation by allowing you to explore the world around you in a different way. Scuba Certification Vacation is a great option if you want to begin to explore the ocean and all its marvels. Let me know in the comments where you got certified and what your favorite place to dive is!
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