Finding a great scuba diving resort is essential when seeking a diving break away from the cold and unpredictability of your own country. Your reasons for taking a break may be to learn to dive, to take the next step up with a higher scuba qualification or to simply enjoy some new sites with fantastic visibility in a holiday destination.
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!
There is no question about it – scuba diving is an expensive sport. However, it is possible to achieve great savings with top quality diving gear simply by shopping around before you buy. It must be emphasized however, buying discount scuba diving equipment is not the same as buying cheap diving gear!
With the Internet available for searching for the best bargains and on line availability of all different items of diving gear, it is now very easy and usually highly reliable to buy good value scuba gear online. Not only that, many diving shops that stock goods for the visiting diver to browse and mull over before selecting, also sell online. This has turned out to be a fantastic result for the average diver who needs to watch every penny he or she is spending – a couple of great outcomes are:
1. By adding online scuba gear shopping to a dive shop’s sales methods it is able to increase its turnover substantially. This means that it can buy in larger quantities from the manufacturer, get better terms and pass these onto the customers. The upshot is that online selling can mean lower priced discount scuba diving equipment.
2. Not only can the online prices be kept low, but these prices can be continued in the shop also. As the business overall is turning over more, it can cover the overheads in the shop and keep the shop prices the same as on its web site. Now customers have the option of coming to browse the scuba equipment – or they can have the convenience of buying the item at the same price on line (plus postage usually).
Unfortunately the move by enterprising dive shops to sell online means that those that don’t, the dive shops that tend to remain expensively priced, cannot trade so well.
There has always been a criticism of the big online scuba gear retailers that they do not offer the same level of service as your local dive shop. It is not possible to handle the goods, try them on for size and comfort, before buying. Customers will go into more expensive local dive shops and try the gear – then order from an online retailer who offers bigger savings. The result – local shops with local advice and servicing facilities (not to mention air and gas fills) are at risk of disappearing. However, those local dive shops that diversify and add online selling themselves, will both keep the prices down and offer the customer service that all divers want.
