Insider tips Learn to dive on holiday

Conservationist, scuba diver, shark activist and PADI’s global director of brand Julie Andersen shares how to get certified on your next holiday.

Get PADI certified anywhere in the world

The best way to make the most of your trip to become certified is to complete all of your training locally – online and in a pool – ahead of time.

Those who get certified to dive while on a trip are usually the ones who make diving a part of their lives.

As someone who was certified in a lake near Chicago in 4C water, I’m always jealous of someone who saw a whale shark on their first diving experience in Mexico. Especially since I spent seven years chasing that experience.

Of course, it does make me more appreciative of tropical destination diving.

2023 is the year of the sea

Learning to dive on holiday provides people with a chance to truly disconnect from the outside world and be in the moment – focusing on themselves and being with nature. And as a bonus, diving offers an incredible wellness experience too, physically and mentally.

The ocean is one of nature’s greatest kingdoms, and taking that next step towards scuba certification gives you unlimited access. You’ll see our ocean planet through new eyes and become an explorer and ambassador for the underwater world.

Choose your own adventure

Diving is a ‘‘choose your own’’ adventure experience, since no matter what you are passionate about – whether that means getting into the water with marine megafauna like orcas navigating fjords in Iceland or swimming with whale sharks in the crystal waters off the coast of Madagascar with lemurs calling in the distance – you can create your own ideal destination.

For PADI divers, one of the most important things when diving is knowing they are making sustainable and responsible decisions.

Choosing to dive in marine protected areas, participating in citizen science initiatives like shark counts, or even staying at a five-star resort that is training local dive pros is important to those of us who carry a torch for our blue planet.

A great diving destination and a great diving experience mean not only are we seeking adventure, but we are doing our part to save the ocean as well.