Scuba diving FAQ

You need to be comfortable in the water, not fast. Most agencies ask you to swim 200 metres without stopping (or 300 metres with mask, fins and snorkel), in any stroke and with no time limit, and to float or tread water for 10 minutes. Being relaxed in the water matters more than speed.

An Open Water course usually takes three to four days: theory (often online beforehand), pool skills, and four open water dives over at least two days. Some people spread it over several weekends. The scuba certification levels guide explains each step.

Children can earn a Junior Open Water certification from age 10, with tighter depth limits and adult supervision. Some agencies run supervised pool programmes for children from 8. There is no upper age limit, but older divers should have a medical check.

No, recreational certifications do not expire. If you have not dived for six months to a year, a refresher course or an easy check-out dive is a smart way to get your skills back.

Open Water divers are trained to 18 metres (60 feet), Advanced Open Water divers to 30 metres (100 feet), and the recreational limit, with deep diver training, is 40 metres (130 feet). Deeper diving is technical diving and needs different training and equipment.

It depends on your depth, your breathing and the tank size. The deeper you go, the faster you use air. A relaxed diver on a shallow reef might stay down an hour; the same diver at 30 metres will use air several times faster. You always end the dive with a reserve in the tank.

That is pressure, and you relieve it by equalizing: gently pinching your nose and blowing, or swallowing and moving your jaw. Start at the surface and equalize every metre or so on the way down. If an ear will not clear, go up a little and try again; never force it, and do not dive with a cold.

Yes. You can dive in soft contact lenses, or buy a mask fitted with prescription lenses; many popular masks take ready-made corrective lenses. Glasses themselves do not fit under a mask.

Sometimes, with a doctor's approval. Every course starts with a medical questionnaire, and some answers need a physician's sign-off. Talk to a doctor who knows diving medicine rather than guessing. Diving while pregnant is generally advised against.

Most new divers buy a mask, snorkel and fins first, then a dive computer, and rent the heavy items until they dive often. Our scuba gear checklist explains the order and why fit matters most for the first pieces.

It depends on the region. The Caribbean is calmest outside the Atlantic hurricane season (1 June to 30 November), while many Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean destinations have monsoon seasons that change from coast to coast. Check the season for the exact place you want to go.

Divers Alert Network's general guidance is at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives or multiple days of diving, and longer after decompression dives. Many divers simply keep their last day dive-free.

Most sharks divers meet, such as reef sharks and nurse sharks, are wary of people, and many divers travel specifically to see them. Serious incidents with divers are very rare. Follow your guide's briefing, keep your distance and never feed or chase marine life.

Take seasickness medication that does not make you drowsy, ideally one your doctor approves for diving, before you board. Stay on deck in fresh air, look at the horizon, and gear up last. Seasickness usually eases once you are underwater.