‘Can you scuba dive without being certified?’
Scuba diving is an amazing experience. Diving allows you to witness some of the most incredible sights on the planet. But can you scuba dive without being certified? Good question! Lets dive into this wonderful underwater world to find out!
What to expect
Diving for the first time is strange. Breathing while your head is submerged underwater is a totally surreal experience. Being surrounded by colourful corals and beautiful tropical fish makes the experience even better! Here are a few things you can expect when you go diving.
Weightlessness
One of the greatest things about diving is the feeling of weightlessness. Scuba divers can glide through the water – Up, down, left, right! As you relax and become used to the feeling of weightlessness you start to feel like a bird soaring through the air over a strange and beautiful new world.
Breathing Underwater
When scuba diving, you breathe through a regulator that you hold in your mouth. This can take a few moments to get used to. Usually after 2-3 minutes it becomes completely natural and you no longer need to think about it. For your first dive our dive instructors will spend that first couple of minutes on the surface of the water to help you get used to the feeling.
Water is Denser than Air
Water is much denser than air so movement can be much slower than you are used to. There is however no need to move quickly underwater. Every movement should be slow and controlled otherwise you can tire yourself out quickly. Once you get used to movements in the water diving becomes an incredibly relaxed experience. Almost like floating in a dream.
Information Overload
You are about to experience sensory overload. The feeling of weightlessness, breathing underwater, beautiful marine life all around you. It is completely normal to forget things like hand signals and other instructions that your dive instructor may have told you. Don’t worry! That is exactly what they are there for and they are experts at helping you feel calm and relaxed under the water. The only thing you need to do is to breathe. Your instructor can do the rest for you.
Can you scuba dive without being certified?
So, to answer the question – ‘Can you scuba dive without being certified?’ – YES! At Mantaray Island Resort we offer intro dives right off our house reef. That means that you don’t need to have any previous diving experience to be able to dive. In fact you don’t even need to know how to swim! Our amazing instructors will guide you through everything that you need to know prior to the dive. They will be with you for the entirety of your dive and will take you on a guided tour of our beautiful reef. Most people love it so much they go on to become certified divers!
Check out this video of Richard and Robyn experiencing diving for the first time!