The best underwater moments are the ones that stay with you long after you surface. These memories might include a rare marine life encounter or a particularly breathtaking landscape, making them unforgettable. But, what really takes such moments to another level is sharing them with the people you love.
To celebrate the personal connections that happen beneath the surface, we asked PADI AmbassaDivers to tell us about their most meaningful underwater moments. From family reunions and student breakthroughs to conservation work and unexpected meetings, these stories show the value scuba diving can have in bringing people together.
Brothers Beneath the Surface
Hassan Khayal’s favorite underwater moment also took place on the Great Barrier Reef. However, his experience was defined by calm rather than adrenaline. Khayal recalls being next to his brother in the water, ”[We drifted] side by side above the coral, surrounded by schools of fish and the quiet rhythm of our breathing; it felt like a shared pause from the world above.”
“There was no need to speak,” he explains. “Just glances, hand signals and the comfort of knowing we were experiencing something rare together.” Khayal also said how the moment served as a reminder of how diving can strengthens bonds and turn silence into a connection.
A PADI Women’s Dive Day to Remember
For PADI Women’s Dive Day 2025, Mariyam Firusha helped coordinate a remarkable underwater event, bringing together 27 female divers of varying experience levels for a single dive in Maagiri, Maldives.
Firusha explains, “It was a planned dive, and it was my pleasure to be with so many women divers diving at the same time.” Firusha’s example shows what can happen when community, planning and shared passion come together underwater.
Recognition of Sisterhood in Stillness
For Szilvia Gogh, a dive in Sipadan, Borneo, became a turning point in her relationship with her sister. “We’d grown up in communist Hungary with a complicated relationship shaped by scarcity and competition,” she explains.
Living on opposite sides of the world, Gogh and her sister had made a pact to meet once a year to dive together. “Sitting on that dive boat in Mabul, all geared up with turquoise waters stretching behind us, we shared a look that said everything,” Gogh recalls.
“Every dive we do together reminds me that the ocean gave us something we couldn’t find anywhere else,” she says. “A place where we’re finally equals, where we can just breathe slowly and be present with each other.”
Building Relationships and Rebuilding Reefs
Frank Mollel is the co-founder of the Zanzibar-based coral restoration initiative Linda Bahari. He has found that some of the most memorable moments come from helping the ocean heal.
Frank recalls one of his favorite underwater moments, which took place with Malou, a fellow PADI Instructor who is also a co-founder of the restoration program. “With the last coral bleaching we were not sure we had enough stock in reserve on our coral nursery,” he says
Thankfully, the dive ended in relief rather than disappointment. “So it was not a surprise but rather a long-awaited plan,” Mollel says, as their restoration work continued successfully.
From Nervousness to Confidence
For Khalid Alrazooqi, a PADI Instructor in the United Arab Emirates, one of his favorite memories came from observing his students in the water. “One of my most meaningful underwater moments was watching my students transform from nervous excitement into calm confidence during a dive,” he says.
Diving off the rocky, marine life-filled reefs of Fujairah, Alrazooqi and his fellow instructors witnessed their students grow right before their eyes. “Seeing them apply their skills, trust the process and begin truly connecting with the underwater world reminded me why shared experiences are at the heart of diving,” recalls Alrazooqi.
“It’s a reminder,” he adds, “that the ocean often gives us more than we anticipate.”
A Family Fun Dive Worth Waiting For
The setting for Karol Yela’s most memorable moment was Providencia Island in Colombia. Her long-anticipated dream came true when she finally got to scuba dive with her family. “My favorite underwater moment was being able to dive with my dad and my brother,” she says.
“I was counting the days and even the minutes for this moment to finally happen,” Yela adds, describing how the encounters with grey reef sharks as part of an experience made it all the more meaningful.
In addition to her family, Yela also shared the dive with other divers from her hometown, making the moment even more special.
A Giant Moment With an Ocean Giant
Encountering a whale shark when you’re looking for one is special. Encountering one when you’re not even looking is something else entirely. For Julia Aveline Rabenjoro, a routine dive turned extraordinary in the marine park near Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. “I had just finished a reef cleanup earlier in the morning with my teen diver group Bubbles of Hope,” she says.
During a post-cleanup fun dive, the group unexpectedly encountered a whale shark. “We weren’t even looking for one since the whale shark season was over,” Aveline Rabenjoro explains.
The moment was especially meaningful for one young diver. “It was the second whale shark for our 11-year-old member who had less than 20 dives,” she says. “Best experience ever for all of us.”
Face-to-Face With an Apex Predator
Adam Sellars’ most memorable moment took place at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, in the waters around Lady Elliot Island, Australia. It also involved one of the ocean’s most maligned creatures. “I was at Lady Elliot Island swimming in a school of fish capturing the moment when a great white appeared,” Sellars recalls.
Facing one of the ocean’s most feared creatures led to a heart-stopping moment. Sellars explains, “I had always wondered how I would react… First was intense adrenaline as we have all been tainted by Jaws.”
What followed was a brief mental standoff between two apex predators. The resolution, however, was a peaceful one. “Once we had sorted out that we both were not a threat to each other, we spent a good 10 minutes swimming on the same reef,” Sellars says, while his freediving students observed the excitement from the surface.
The once-in-a-lifetime encounter had a lasting impact on Sellars. He continues, “It left me with the most euphoric feeling and a deeper connection with the ocean, having swum with one of its apex predators, a dinosaur and a friend.”
Ready To Create Your Own Underwater Connection?
Scuba diving is a powerful way to bring people together, whether that’s with family, friends or a dive community you haven’t met yet. From the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef to the megafauna-filled waters of the Galápagos, adventure is everywhere — and it’s waiting for you and your friends.
If you want to amplify your underwater memories, refer your friends or family members to become scuba divers today. When you do, they get 20% off the PADI Open Water Diver eLearning course on padi.com, and you get 20% off select continuing education eLearning courses for 30 days.
