Beginner Scuba Diver in Acapulco

A devout snorkeler of many years I didn’t see much reason to try scuba diving. All that equipment and training seemed like a lot of hassle, and for what? Getting a couple of feet closer to some fish? Two things changed my mind: my cousin got certified and couldn’t stop talking about scuba diving and on a trip to New Zealand all the scuba divers talked about how they saw way more super cool marine creatures than the snorkelers did. I might have been missing out on something, and there was one way to find out!

A dozen dives later I can say that scuba diving is way superior to snorkelling in most cases, and I heartily encourage anyone who can to give it a try.

1. More fish! More coral! More of everything pesky and aquatic!

Most animals that live in the ocean have a healthy fear of humans, we often try to eat them or accidentally hit them with boats, stuff like that. Over time our aquatic friends have learned that if they stay down in the water deeper they are way less likely to run into us. If you think you’re seeing quite a few fish snorkelling, I guarantee there’s at least ten times more ten more feet down, you’re just seeing the daring ones. Some sea creatures require a deeper water habitat, so you won’t see them unless you visit. For example, in the Galapagos Islands, we snorkeled every day, and saw plenty of animals all over the place, but it was only scuba diving that anyone was able to spot hammerhead sharks.

2. Scuba diving isn’t difficult and doesn’t always require certification.

Great Barrier Reef Scuba Divers

All the equipment basically works without much effort on the part of the diver. You just breathe and check your gauge to make sure you’re not going to run out of air. A common misconception is that you need to be certified to scuba dive. This is sort of not true. Sometimes yes, you do need an appropriate certification for the dive conditions. Often you can do a discovery course (or resort course) which basically means, after a bit of primer on how to dive, you go on a guided shallow water dive. It is a good test run for more serious scuba diving and you’ll get a good idea if you like scuba or not. These courses are really common in Mexico and the Caribbean (where conditions are calm), and believe it or not, Viator has more 60 dive experiences for people who’ve never been scuba diving. I guarantee you will not miss accidentally inhaling some seawater through your snorkel.

3. Fortress of Solitude.

When you snorkel you hear lots of things, like people, waves, boats, your kicking. And the fish hear all that too, which makes them not so excited to hang out with you. The thing I like the most about scuba diving is that you hear almost nothing. You hear your breathing. The experience is really quite peaceful. Also, the marine life get a lot less worried about you, so they swim right by you, and often don’t mind you swimming right up to them. At times, I give up on swimming all together and just drift lazily with the current.

At the bottom of the sea its a different world, one well worth exploring, so ditch the snorkel and give scuba a try on your next trip!

–Kelly G

Convinced you need to take the plunge and scuba dive on your next trip? Check out all the scuba diving Viator has to offer worldwide.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 9:39 am and is filed under Travel Inspiration, Travel Wishlists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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