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5 Myths about Scuba Diving - The UAE Edition - divecampus

5 Myths about Scuba Diving - The UAE Edition

 You dive only once a year

If you are someone who thinks diving is for your tropical island holiday, you are surely missing out. Being an adventure junkie's paradise, UAE offers a variety of options to experience Scuba Diving. With over +75 dive sites across the Emirates, there's plenty options to match the taste and desires of different divers.

There is a big scuba diving community right here in the country where all diving enthusiasts get together every weekend at popular diving sites at Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi to explore UAE’s interesting underwater world.

 Scuba diving is expensive

Let's do a comparison shall we? PADI Open Water Diver certification that allows you to dive anywhere in the world to up to 18m actually costs cheaper than getting a driving license or one of those spontaneous shopping sprees. In fact learning scuba in UAE may cost you cheaper than any tropical island’s touristy (and often rushed) training courses.

And no, it is not mandatory to buy any diving gear, you can always rent it out from your local diving centers at a small fee. If you do decide to buy, diving gears may seem expensive at first look, but with proper care and storage (more on that soon) it will last for years even if you dive every week.

 It’s too hot

The UAE water is just the perfect 28-30°C in summers and a comfortable 22-25°C in winters making it an ideal place to have good long dives. With the water temperature on an average 10-15 degree lower, why wouldn’t you want to dive?

Always opt for wetsuit less than 2mm or a rash-guard so you are comfortable even on the boat during surface intervals.

 The water visibility is not ideal

There are days when you can barely see up to 3-5 meters but on good days the visibility does go up to 15-20 meters. Yes, we know it’s nothing when compared to Red Sea where the visibility is over 100meters but diving in low visibility makes you more focused and often you see details that you may otherwise miss amongst the abundance of beauty.

Also training yourself in such conditions means you are more equipped to handle similar situations that may arise when on a holiday.

 You need to be a good swimmer

This is very common myth about scuba but we think this is more relevant for the residents of UAE as we have a diverse population of expats and not everyone had swimming as a sport/skill they learn back home. So first, yes you do need to able to swim but you don’t have to be a pro. As long as you can float or tread water for 10 minutes and swim (any style you like) for 200 meters at your own pace (no time limit), you are good to go!

This skill is to only ensure that you are comfortable in the water so your dives will be more enjoyable. We recommend taking a few swim lessons to improve your confidence ahead of your course. 

So when are you booking your next dive? :) 

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