I try to get away from the UK once every year on a dedicated diving holiday and if you can find a good scuba diving resort to head to it can make all the difference as to whether or not you will have a lasting memory or not. These are some of my recent experiences:

2005 – I splashed out and went to the Red Sea for the first time. I dived from a liveaboard out of the scuba diving resort of Marsa Alam. What a fantastic week. The six days on the boat and the final day in the resort was a superb combination.

2006 – Enjoyed Marsa so much that I did it again – this time with my usual diving buddy so some fantastic dives!

2007 – I took my daughter to Majorca with my BSAC club and we had 6 pretty mediocre dives there. It was out of season and though the weather was fine during the day, both my daughter and I slept in our fleecey undersuits we were so cold at night time.

2008 – This time my daughter stayed at home and I went to Minorca again with my dive club. Again it was out of season and the dive centre was very quiet. Not to be repeated.

2009 – My buddy and I decided to return to the Red Sea, this time on a live-aboard out of Sharm El Sheik. What a fantastic 6 days diving the wrecks of the northern Red Sea. However, Sharm as a resort was a dump and as for the airport – I will never go there again and intend heading for Marsa again the next time.

2010 – Next year? Well my buddy and I have decided to give the Red Sea a break until 2011. Next year we are doing Scapa Flow – the UK Mecca for divers. My buddy dived there two years ago and I was last up in 1994!

Without a doubt the whole aspect of the scuba diving resort will affect your trip. Look for a good destination and ensure that you have a good time!

Then you get the chance to go on a scuba diving package. This could be a trip with Regal Dive to the Red Sea to shore dive from a hotel base in Marsa Alam. Alternatively it could be a live-aboard trip to the Deep South to try to encounter the big pelagic species – sharks and manta rays. You might get the chance for some Far Eastern diving in Phuket, or the Barrier Reef.

Wherever you are able to go, a scuba diving package means that the transport, accomodation and diving are all included in the holiday. This means that to get the most out of the trip you will probably do most if not all of the available dives that are on offer. This can mean up to four dives a day. I have even heard of some operators that allow five or unlimited dives, but I consider that it would be difficult to get more than four good and safe dives into one day unless you were simply splashing around in the shallows!

A weeks holiday with a scuba diving package can mean that you quickly add around 20 dives to your log book. In addition to having a fantastic time it also quickly launches you into the next experience level of your diving career. You will feel that after a week, your diving skills will have been well honed after the intensive diving routine. Your buoyancy skills will be better and you will probably find that you are more relaxed in the water.

Now with 50 or more dives in your log book you may find it easier to get onto the more experienced dives that are being planned by your club. Your added experience allows you to move to the next stage of your formal training and your diving takes on a new and interesting slant – it starts to become more challenging and more rewarding. An investment in a scuba dive package holiday can certainly help you to move your diving up a notch!