Do You Need Advanced Cert to Dive in Blue Hole Belize
You're ready to learn to scuba dive, but you're not sure where to start. Here are the top-rated places to learn to scuba dive in 2022.
Our ocean planet is full of beautiful places to get scuba certified – even for those with limited time and/or money. Start your adventure, become a certified diver and you'll enjoy:
- Amazing marine life interactions
- Taking part in an activity that improves both your physical and mental health
- Meeting new adventurous friends and a like-minded community
- Doing something fun while supporting ocean conservation and protection
- Visiting interesting places and learning about different cultures
A PADI Open Water Diver card is the most recognized scuba certification in the world. With more than 6,600 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts worldwide, it can be hard to choose where to start. So, here are ten of the best places to learn to scuba dive – and a few tips on getting certified.
Become a Certified Diver in Just a Few Days
Here's a quick overview of what's involved in learning to scuba dive. Firstly, you'll start your adventure by learning diving fundamentals – via an online eLearning course or using a book and DVD. Next, you'll learn how to set up scuba gear and then practice basic diving skills with your instructor in a pool (or pool-like environment). Lastly, you'll make at least four dives in the ocean, local lake, or any open body of water suited to beginner divers. If you're not sure whether scuba certification is for you, ask your local PADI Dive Shop about a Discover Scuba Diving experience.
1. Bonaire
Bonaire is located just north of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean. This Dutch Caribbean island has protected its marine resources for more than 35 years. Because of this, marine life abounds with more than 470 fish species found in Bonaire's waters. Famed as one of the best places to learn to scuba dive in the Caribbean, Bonaire hosts amazing coral reefs and long-forgotten shipwrecks. Because the island's dive sites are protected from any currents, this is one of the top destinations to gain a new certification. Visitors to Bonaire can choose between either boat or shore diving. Most resorts have gorgeous reefs just offshore, but those visiting the further reaches of Bonaire National Marine Park will want to book a few dives from the region's dive boats.
2. The Maldives
When leaving the Maldives' main airport, you'll see more boats than taxis. That's because the country is made up of more than 1,100 small coral islands. After landing in the capital, Malé, visitors typically leave straightaway on a boat bound for a tiny island or atoll. The Maldives is a low-lying nation with dreamy white sand beaches and excellent reefs with an abundance of marine life. If you're looking to unplug from the wired world and immerse yourself in calm, clear, tropical waters, The Maldives is a beautiful, relaxing place to learn to dive. The only downside? The Maldives may spoil you forever as one of the best places in the world to learn to scuba dive.
3. Belize
Belize packs a hemisphere's worth of adventure within its borders. Located between Mexico and Guatemala, it's undeniably the perfect destination for exploration, relaxation and romance. With more than 400 islands, white sandy beaches, the longest unbroken barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and 386 kilometers/240 miles of coastline, Belize is one of the best places to get dive certified. While the Blue Hole is Belize's best-known dive site, there's much more to discover. The waters are rich, clear and warm, offering great conditions for beginners as well as some exciting diving for the more advanced diver. Plus, most dive sites are less crowded than other locations offering a similar standard of diving.
4. Egypt
Aspiring divers have plenty of options in Egypt. Many resorts in Hurghada have dive shops onsite and offer convenient diving packages. In Dahab, numerous shore diving sites give you the convenience to dive as much as you want after being certified (within safety limits). And those visiting Sharm el Sheikh can choose from around 30 different sites to explore on day trips alone, including some superb wrecks, walls and reefs. Egypt's reefs are teeming with life; bright corals and clouds of fish dazzle with a kaleidoscope of color. What's more, with wonderfully calm and clear conditions, Egyptian reefs offer ideal conditions for new divers, marine life enthusiasts, wreck divers or anyone simply interested in exploring light-filled reef systems.
5. The Canary Islands
For travelers based in Europe, the Canaries offer sunny days and warm, clear water that is closer to home. If you live elsewhere, the Canary Islands are an intriguing answer to the question, "where did you learn to dive?" Expect 30m/100ft visibility and ideal water temperatures because the Gulf Stream keeps water temps around 17-18°C/63-64°F year-round. The Canary Islands are one of the best places to learn to scuba dive in Europe, and a great place to spot bigger species such as angel sharks and rays. There are five common species of rays (common, round, marbled electric, eagle and butterfly ray) and occasional visits from bull rays, manta rays and skate.
6. Mexico
There is undoubtedly a reason Mexico always appears on lists for the top-rated places to learn to scuba dive. If your diving dreams include schools of colorful fish and a party on the beach, head to the Caribbean side of Mexico. If you're looking for something bigger, such as a manta ray, or friendly seal, set a course for the Pacific side. Can't decide? Then visit both! Your PADI certification is a passport to never-ending underwater adventure. Mexico's two coasts are ripe for exploration, from vast kelp forests in the Pacific to the Caribbean's reefs and wrecks. Meanwhile, glassy cenotes await inland. Mexico's marine life has it all, from gorgeous reef fish to great white sharks. There is so much to see and explore, you can never get bored.
7. Greece
With nearly 230 inhabited islands and a significant coastline, you'll find a wide variety of diving in Greece that includes wall, wreck, cavern and reef. There's also considerable life in the seas, particularly if you slow down and think small. The Peloponnese Wreck off Mykonos is one of the most iconic dives of the islands, so be sure to dive this 1930s shipwreck. On Naxos, see the seaplane wreck, the Arado 196. The Koundouros Reef is teeming with marine life, and the visibility can be excellent. In addition, for those with the necessary training and experience, take some time to do a cave dive while on Crete. The El Greco Cave offers an expansive channel to swim through, as well as a contained air pocket where you can surface.
8. Australia
At 2,250km/1,400 miles long, the Great Barrier Reef is probably the most famous dive destination on the planet — so what better place to begin? With around 3,000 coral reefs and 600 islands, there's certainly no shortage of sites to learn new skills while surrounded by creatures great and small — from turtles and triggerfish to dugongs and dolphins. Elsewhere, Ningaloo Reef (Western Australia) is a hotspot for whale sharks, while South Australia is the place to go for leafy seadragons. If you prefer a city break, then shore diving in Sydney brings the underwater world within easy reach of food, shopping and nightlife.
9. Indonesia
In the heart of the coral triangle, Indonesia's 17,508 islands offer biodiversity unlike any other place on earth. Bali caters particularly well for beginners, with some of the world's best shore diving and the USAT Liberty shipwreck starting at just 16ft/5m deep — look out too for mola mola. Lembeh Straits provides a perfect introduction to the ocean's weird and wonderful: mimic octopuses, pygmy seahorses, frogfish, mantis shrimps, bobbit worms and ribbon eels, to name just a few! And, once certified, these waters offer excellent opportunities to advance your diving skills further – from underwater photography to night diving.
10. Thailand
The 'Land of Smiles' is one of the world's top travel destinations, especially among backpackers and the budget-conscious. Relaxed vibes, sheltered beaches and shallow fringing reefs also make Thailand one of the best places to dive for beginners. Off the east coast, islands like Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are renowned for sightings of turtles and even whale sharks. To the west, the Andaman Sea is a popular liveaboard destination, while Phuket and Krabi are home to hundreds of tropical flora and fauna, including rays, cuttlefish, sea snakes and leopard sharks.
Learn to Scuba Dive Locally or Start Your Scuba Training at Home
Earning your scuba certification close to home can be more convenient and less stressful than trying to squeeze a 3-4 day scuba course into your vacation. Also, if you plan to dive locally once certified, it makes sense to complete your training at home. The friendly and helpful people at your local dive shop can help you choose the right equipment, introduce you to local marine life, and give you the confidence and skills to explore the underwater world – wherever you choose to dive later on.
Can't decide between doing your scuba training at home or on holiday? Good news, you don't have to choose.
Ask your local PADI Dive Center for a referral and maximize your warm water diving time. Here's how it works:
- Step 1: Start your "classroom" studies online with PADI eLearning and do your pool training locally.
- Step 2: Complete your certification by making four open water training dives with a PADI Instructor anywhere in the world.
With a referral, you can take as much time as you need to get comfortable with your in-water skills. You'll also get to enjoy more of your vacation exploring and relaxing rather than studying or stressing.
Find the Best Places to Learn to Scuba Dive
Where is the best place in the world to learn to scuba dive? Well, with more than 6,600 PADI Dive Shops around the world, you can start your adventure and become a PADI Diver just about anywhere there's water. If you don't have a dive shop near you, contact the PADI Travel experts 24/7 by chat, phone or email and find the best scuba diving destination for your interests and budget.
Related Reading
- How to Prepare for Your Open Water Course
- Frequently Asked Questions About Learning to Scuba Dive
- What's the Difference Between Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver
Source: https://blog.padi.com/best-places-to-learn-to-scuba-dive-in-2022/
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