Imagine for fun, the world had to decide upon the best hobby. This hobby has to tick the right boxes and sit above the rest as a hobby everyone should consider. This hobby would be fun, teach you new things, take you to new places and keep you fit and healthy, to name a few of the key elements. To cut a long story short, we think scuba diving is the best hobby — and here’s why.
You’re probably thinking that as a scuba diving company, we were always going to say scuba diving was the best. So don’t just take our word outright for why scuba diving is the coolest hobby, let us prove it. Below you’ll find our justification of this potentially outlandish claim, and why (if you aren’t already) you should get PADI certified.
1. Divers Have Access to a New World
Yes, snorkeling may let you explore the water’s surface and freediving, depending on your skill level, gives you several minutes of access to further depths, but scuba diving is something else altogether. Whether it’s coral reefs, sunken wrecks or underwater caves, having a tank on your back gives you physical access to environments you would otherwise never be able to reach.
2. Divers Learn Unique & Transferable Skills
Scuba diving as a hobby teaches you a range of unique-to-the-hobby and transferable skills. During your PADI Open Water Diver course, you’ll learn how to use a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, as well as how to orientate yourself in water and how to deal with a number of the potential pitfalls.
3. It’s Available Worldwide
If you want it to, an interest in scuba diving can certainly remain a local endeavor. However, it’s more likely exploring the underwater world will take you to the far reaches of the world. Want to dive with sharks in the Bahamas? Want to see WWII wrecks in Micronesia? Colorful coral reefs in Indonesia? It’s all within your capabilities when, at the very least, you become a qualified PADI Open Water Diver.
4. Divers Enjoy Increased Mental and Physical Wellbeing
It’s well known that being active is good for your body and your mind. Throwing a tank on your back, jumping in the water and kicking your legs for 30+ minutes is a comfortable way to be active. Additionally, getting in the water is a great way to calm your mind and forget everything going on topside, whether that’s the pressure of social media, family drama or work-related stress.
5. There’s a Community of Like-Minded People to Meet
Step into any dive shop or onto any dive boat, and there’s a good chance you’re going to meet someone who’s on a similar page. The diving community is full of people who love everything in, around and under the water’s surface. It could be seeing unimaginably large megafauna or just taking part in a weekly beach clean. In addition to the unique skills you’ll learn, you’ll likely pick up some life-long friends along the way, too.
6. Diving Can Become a Career
You may not realize it at the time, but the moment you sign up for your PADI Open Water course could be the beginning of a life-long career. A career in the scuba diving industry can range from being a PADI Instructor and introducing new generations of divers into the hobby to using your scuba diving skills in a practical capacity, such as underwater welding or restoring coral reefs.
7. It Can Have a Positive Impact on the World
While partaking in some of the most popular hobbies can undoubtedly be fun, few allow you to have a positive impact on the world in the same way scuba diving does. Climate change, pollution and overfishing are just a few of the issues facing our oceans. As a responsible, PADI-certified diver, you can choose to help save the ocean every time you step in the water. From carrying a bag for incidental trash found during dives to taking part in organized cleanup events (such as Dive Against Debris surveys), there are lots of ways to pair the hobby with environmental action.
8. There Are Plenty of Ways to Mix Things Up
In terms of the variety of activities available to the average hobbyist, scuba diving is difficult to beat. As a qualified PADI diver, you’ll be able to choose where, when, how and why you want to dive. Bored of diving in tropical, bath-like water? Sign up for the Ice Diver Speciality Course. Feeling overly familiar with your local dive sites? Jump on a plane and head to almost any corner of the globe. Tired of tiny, macro marine life? Plan a trip in pursuit of the world’s best pelagic creatures instead.
Ready to get your PADI and join millions of certified divers exploring the wealth of underwater environments across the world? Find your local dive center or sign up for your PADI Open Water Course online. It’s time to take the first step and learn to #LiveUnfiltered.
