PADI courses are a great way to improve your dive skills, but there are some things you can’t learn in class. With each dive, we gain insight into our own skills, new goals for the future and the environment around us as well. We asked scuba divers on Facebook and Twitter to share their favorite scuba diving tips by posting with the hashtag #scubatips. Our favorites are pasted below – thanks to everyone who participated!
Top Tweets
- From @scubaisme: “Practice. As with any sport, performance improvements come with practice.”
- From @scubacoach: “Diving is an activity for two or more people, we should never dive alone, but it can be more fun to share this beautiful activity with your better half. Studies indicate that couples who dive together stay together for many years. So what are you waiting [for]? If your partner does not dive, it is time to encourage [them] to do so.”
Top Facebook Replies
- From Courtney Seeley Hooker: “Take only pictures, leave only bubbles.”
- From Ralph Turre: “NEVER turn your back on the ocean.”
- From Noel J. Bergman: “Download the manuals for all of your gear, especially dive computers, and carry them on your phone, tablet or laptop.”
- From Marc Andre Du Plessis: “My safety tip: Always check your SPG regularly to ensure that you have air to breathe, so you won’t be tempted to try to breathe water.”
- From Karen Pereyra Crannell: “Pack your reg in your carry-on, add hoses to your save-a-dive kit, have travel and gear insurance.”
- From Mark Walker: “Pack your mask with your carry-on if you have prescription lenses.”
- From Paul Whyte: “Always take your own serviced, looked-after regulators! Nothing worse than jumping in to the sea to discover the depth/air gauges stop working halfway through a dive!”
- From Chris Widdows: “Make sure the dive operator has your wetsuit you pre-booked on board before the boat leaves.”
Whether you’re a beginning diver or have thousands of underwater hours logged, we think these tips are good ones to keep in mind. You can also get more tips from PADI Dive Centers and Instructors around the world – no matter your question, they’re the local diving experts. If you have tips about a specific dive site (best place for a post-dive snack, closest bathrooms, etc), please head over to www.scubaearth.com to share your knowledge with other divers in the community.
