Top travel tips for your next diving adventure

Scuba diving is so much more than a water sport — it’s a portal to another world. With tanks of air on your back and a buddy by your side, you can glide through electric blue waters. It’s also a cultural experience, offering a unique way to experience a new country’s history, geography, and wildlife.

From sea safaris in South Africa to coral reefs in Costa Rica, many top-rated dive spots are just a short distance from central cities, making it easy to add scuba diving to your travel plans or study abroad experience. Prepare for an underwater adventure with our top tips for your next scuba diving trip.

Pick your dive

No two underwater experiences are the same. With the many vastly different shorelines around the world, you can bet that every location has a different adventure to offer. Whether you're looking to spot sea creatures or are interested in more adventurous technical wreck exploration, there’s a diving destination for you.

Great Barrier Reef in Australia

The Great Barrier Reef, just off the northeast of Australia, might be the ultimate bucket list dive spot. It boasts wild coral structures, incredible marine life (think: fish of literally every color, shape, and size), and swims with turtles and manta rays. Cairns is the gateway to the reef — just a short flight from Sydney. Remember to wait up to 24 hours after your dive (heed the advice of your instructor) before flying back to avoid getting sick. Or, better yet, grab your besties and combine the dive with an unforgettable coastal road trip.

Submerged shipwrecks in Malta

The crystal-clear Mediterranean waters around Malta are perfect for divers of all abilities. Board a dive boat or take advantage of shore-based dive sites to explore the remains of fantastic shipwrecks. Local sites include a huge oil tanker, a military minesweeper ship, a passenger ferry, and even a Second World War plane. If you’re located in St. Julian’s, you’ll find numerous PADI diving centers in and around the area, offering an array of dive sites and experiences.  

Hanauma Bay marine sanctuary in Hawaii

Hawaii’s stunning blue waters make it one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations, and those living or studying in Honolulu have the chance to explore these waters year-round. At Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, vibrant coral, colorful fish, bottlenose dolphins, and green sea turtles can be seen from various dive locations in the bay. To dive in the bay, you’ll need to book a tour with a licensed operator and secure reservations for the nature park, as access is limited to prevent overcrowding.

Thrilling cage dives in South Africa

South Africa’s coastline boasts a range of underwater environments, from vast octopus-filled kelp forests to reefs and wrecks. Diving in Cape Town is famous for megafauna — AKA the big sea creatures like rays, seals, dolphins, and sharks. Here, it’s easy to choose your thrill level, from chill shore-based entries to deep water shark cage dives with great whites.

Sea turtles in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is great for divers of all levels, with good visibility and interesting marine landscapes. Explore golden sands, jagged rocks, and dramatic underwater towers teeming with marine life. The nutrient-rich waters around Bat and Catalina Islands make them ideal for diving with sharks and rays, and they can be reached by boat from Playa Tamarindo. The nearby beaches are protected turtle nesting sites, with local conservation programs helping hatchlings make their way safely to the sea.

Underwater caves in Spain

The waters off southern Spain give off a bit of a sci-fi vibe — volcanic formations are everywhere, and that otherworldly terrain doesn’t stop at the shoreline. At the base of a rocky cliff, the landscape of the underwater Cantarriján Caves is easy to explore with a guided dive or snorkel trip. Beginner divers are well looked after in Malaga, with heaps of opportunities to dive into the region’s calm, sheltered, and glittering Mediterranean waters.

Know before you go

Feeling inspired? Get a few steps closer to putting on your fins (flippers) with some practical advice for planning your dives.

Choosing a licensed dive shop and instructors

World-famous diving areas often have more diving businesses than any other kind of shop. Look for dive centers and instructors accredited by organizations like PADI or SSI, which ensure safety and proper training standards. And ask around! Other travelers, students, or friends in the local community will be able to share their recommendations.

What to pack

While you’ll bring your own swimsuit, most dive shops rent everything else: wetsuits, masks, fins, and dive weights. If you’re doing lots of dives, you could invest in your own so you’re always using gear you feel comfortable in. Long hair? Hair ties are essential to save you the agony of getting tangled in your mask strap. Even in warm waters, a rash vest (rashie) can stop dive equipment from chafing your skin or your back from getting sunburned while snorkeling. And if boats make you queasy, stock up on motion sickness tablets or ginger sweets.

Pick a buddy

You should always dive in pairs, so bring a friend. You and your ‘buddy’ stick together underwater, watch out for each other, and can help if the other gets into trouble. If you’re traveling solo, don’t worry — dive schools will make sure you’ve got a buddy.

Respect nature

You’re a visitor under the water, so don’t be a bad house guest — lots of noise and disturbances can cause marine animals stress. This means keeping quiet, giving wildlife its space, and definitely don’t touch any creatures (and that includes coral!). Standing on the reef can kill coral, which is actually a living animal. Be sure to protect wildlife by only wearing reef-safe sunscreen, too, to prevent unwanted chemicals from getting into the ocean. There’s an important saying in driving, which is “Take only pictures, leave only bubbles.”

Diving adds a whole new dimension to your travels, so take the plunge and explore exciting destinations both above and below the water’s surface!