Of all the ways to get wet, scuba diving is probably the most exciting. Travel is all about discovering what wonders the planet has to offer, and diving under the waves reveals another world entirely alien to our own: beautiful, mysterious, and utterly captivating.
First of all, whether you fancy a scuba diving holiday or want to help out on one of many scuba diving conservation projects around the world, you need to be trained in using scuba equipment for diving in open water. This is so you won’t die. The most common way for backpackers to learn to scuba dive is to take a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Open Water course.
This qualification trains you using both dive pools and ocean dives, supervised at all times by a professional instructor, taking you to a maximum depth of 12 metres (deeper than it sounds). It can be done all over the world, from Vietnam to Madagascar.
With a PADI Open Water certificate in hand you’re qualified to dive anywhere in the world. Some of our favourite countries for diving are Australia, Thailand, Belize, and the Galapagos Islands. If you want to see some of the world’s most incredible wildlife up close, in their native habitat, a scuba diving holiday is for you.