Have you ever experienced that you were on the beach and you feel that your missing something? Probably, it’s scuba diving?
Then you decided to take this up as your career and get your PADI course immediately. But how long do you think you can take to learn scuba diving?
Scuba diving is one of the easiest and coolest sports that you could lean. But of course, that is with the help of a professional instructor.
PADI is one of the most popular and offers the best courses for scuba diving. They will offer you the best courses that you need when it comes to scuba diving.
Here, I will tackle those important details that can help you in your beginning career in scuba diving. At the end of the article, you will get the answer to the frequent question ‘’How long does it take to learn to scuba dive?’’. So, without getting a bush, let’s get started!
Steps You Must Prepare Before You Planning on Scuba Diving
Make sure you meet the Age & Good Physical Health Requirements
Many individuals on their age can securely figure out how to dive if they have advance knowledge about medicine, equipment, and training.
Furthermore, they can dive if they have a basic level of good physical health. As well as if they are comfortable in the water they can scuba dive.
However, there are few medical conditions that are contraindicated for scuba diving.
Make sure that before you enroll in a scuba diving course you know the physical fitness and the age requirements.
Choose a Scuba Diving Course
If you decide and plan to go scuba diving you make sure to choose the course that you need.
Since diving is like other sports that have some inalienable dangers, these dangers can be successfully overseen when divers figure out how to check and utilize their rigging appropriately. As well as to follow safety scuba diving rules and guidelines.
There are many scuba diving courses that are available and allows their student divers to start enjoying the underwater world safely.
Many diving courses focus to offer the ‘’try dives’’, where a newbie or curious people can try diving in their pool with no commitments to any of their open watercourses.
The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba certification.
If you’re thinking to learn diving PADI Certification Agency offers 3 options;
PADI Discover Scuba Diving Experience
In this option, you will see and feel what it’s like to wear scuba equipment. While under the guidance of a PADI Professional you can take your first breath underwater in a pool-like environment.
PADI Scuba Diver Course
These are the Open Water Diver course version called “CliffsNotes”. This option is for divers who want to learn to dive but don’t any have time for the whole Open Water course.
They will offer you some knowledge development and two Open Water dives which you can only dive to a max depth of 12 meters/40 feet. Of course, under the direct supervision of a PADI Pro.
PADI Open Water Diver Course
If you want to be certified diver you will earn here the scuba certification that will prove you’re a diver who can dive on your own, without the supervision of a PADI Professional.
Check this How long does it take to get PADI certified?
Choose a Scuba Diving Certification Agency
Choosing the right scuba diving certification agency is one of the most important steps that you should know before starting in scuba diving.
Before you enroll the course that you want to make sure that you check if the certification agency is established by WRSTC (World Recreational Scuba Training Council) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
Also, by choosing the right scuba diving certification agency, you will be confident that your instructor is certified by a reputable scuba training agency.
PADI: Professional Association of Underwater Instructors
PADI offers both a few forms of technical training and recreational training. Their entry-level course is known as ‘’PADI Open Water Diver’’.
- WRSTC Member? Yes
- ISO Certified? Yes
- Recognized Worldwide? Yes
Rent or Buy you own Dive Gear
Before you start diving, you will need to have a full set of well-maintained and fitted properly gears.
Since almost scuba diving courses include the rental gear you do not need to have your own a complete set of gear.
In fact, numerous divers never bought their own scuba diving gear as most of them prefer renting than purchasing their own gears.
Although, some also might prefer to purchase their own personal things such as masks, wetsuits, and fins.
However, there are many advantages if you have your own diving gear, they can make sure the function, maintenance, and fit of their gears.
Additionally, they will be more confident and comfortable wearing their own gear while exploring underwater. Here are the dive gears you must need to have;
- Fins
- Mask
- Regulators
- Snorkels
Learn Essential Dive Theory
Before you start diving you must know and understand how diving can affect your body. Learning some of the essential dive theory is important to be prepared and safe while you are diving.
- What are the Side Effects of Scuba Diving?
- How to Get Rid of Blocked Ears After Diving?
- Nitrogen Narcosis vs The Bends
- How to Increase Buoyancy?
- How to Breathe while Scuba Diving?
Practice Simple Skills with an Instructor
After you have explored a dive hypothesis with an educator and acquired scuba gear. You will have the choice to take your first breaths underwater. However, you are not yet prepared to hop off the boat right now!
Figuring out how to dive requires the mastery of aptitudes, for example, clearing water from your scuba mask and regulator which is your breathing mechanical assembly.
Many certified scuba instructors will help you to learn these skills, as well as problem management and underwater communication.
How Long Does It Take to Learn to Scuba Dive?
Becoming a scuba diver is a superb adventure! For the entry-level course, which is typically “Open Water Diver” which trains you to dive in the open water with a certified instructor. Scuba certification includes three phases:
Phase 1: Knowledge Development (online, in a classroom or independent study) to understand basic principles of scuba diving.
- Knowledge is online (“eLearning”) an app (“Touch”) or a book.
- Knowledge Review for each section (5 sections)
- 5 combined quiz
- 4 Quick Quiz
Which this is all designed for a 10-year-old
Phase 2: Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills (5 sets of exercises)
Some essential skills you will learn are:
- Setting up scuba gear.
- How to clear water out of the masks.
- Entering and exiting the water.
- ONC control
- Safety procedures.
You will practice all of these procedures with a certified instructor until you become confident, comfortable and ready to proceed to open water dive sites.
Phase 3: Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore!
These usually done over two days which you will do four open water dives under the direct supervision of the PADI instructor, you will practice what you learn and can find water. As well as exploring what the local environment has to offer.
Once you complete your open water dive you will be a certified diver.
Check this How long does it take to get PADI certified?
POINTS OF VIEW:
That’s it! Basically, you’ll need to do 4 to 5 open water dives to earn your certification.
All in all, you need to expect:
- 10 to 15 hours of self-study,
- 8–10 hours of confined water training, and
- 4 to 5 dives one weekend to prove that you are a diver.
In addition, the complete minimum requirements by RSTC and ISO affiliated agencies are four (4) actual open water dives and five (5) confined water practices.
Overall, it depends on how the individual can take, meaning as long as it takes to master the skill proficiencies and knowledge necessary for qualification.
Conclusion:
Learning scuba diving is one of the coolest things you will have. Millions of people take first scuba diving courses in order to be a certified diver.
It is not important if how many days, weeks or months it takes when learning scuba diving.
Because a good diver is the one who knows that they can never learn enough but the willingness of learning more and more.
PADI is one of the best and most popular certification agencies that will teach you to learn scuba diving.
So, what are you waiting for? Take your first step on PADI, learned to scuba dive and go on to travel the breathtaking underwater world through this course.
