Did you ever dive in India? Are you a certified diver who wants to develop your skills, learn new ones and become a more confident diver? Are you trying to decide between taking a core PADI course or a specialty?
The good news is that as a certified diver you have plenty of options to dive in India. We have a diverse range of sites in our country for you to explore; all while you develop your skills and learn new techniques.
Deciding on which course to take next depends on your current certification level. It also depends on your interests and what you want to get out of the program.
If you are a PADI Open Water Diver, the next course for you is the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. This is our recommendation for all Open Water Divers who want to dive India or anywhere else in the world! You’ll make 5 incredible dives with your instructor, including a deep dive and underwater navigation. The other three dives are yours to choose from a wide range of options. In fact, you can start learning most of the courses from home straight away! Get in touch with us to know how.
For those who are already Advanced Open Water certified, the next step is the PADI Rescue Diver Course. Do you want to become a PADI Divemaster or Instructor? Then you’ll need to become a PADI Rescue Diver first. It is a requirement for all pro courses.
Here are some other programs that might be of interest to you when it comes to developing specific skills…
Reactivate:
With the current Covid-19 situation, in all probability, it has been a while since your last dive. Do you want to recap some of the essential basic underwater skills before moving on? No problem, the PADI reactivate program is specifically designed for this purpose. It will get you back in the water and make you feel confident about your abilities!
Enriched Air Specialty:
It seems so unfair when you have plenty of air left and your computer tells you to shallow up. Ever wished you could stay deeper for longer? Diving with Enriched Air (Nitrox) increases your allowable bottom time. This means you can admire the depths of your favorite dive sites in India, for longer!
Emergency First Response:
This program is a complete CPR and first aid course. It is mostly known by its abbreviation: EFR. The course deals with all aspects of emergency assistance, not just those related to diving. You’ll learn about handling accidents at home and in other daily situations too. Topics covered include CPR, spinal injuries, serious bleeding, choking, shock, splinting… It also includes first aid assessments and many more techniques that can extend a patient’s life. This is a great certification for anyone as it teaches essential lifesaving skills.
PADI Divemaster:
Are you already a PADI Rescue Diver? Thinking of a career in the scuba diving industry in India? Then the PADI Divemaster Course is your first step into professional diving! Unlike other PADI Courses, you’ll be mentored and work alongside your instructor. You’ll gain insight into the workings of the industry and behind-the-scenes at a dive center. You’ll also develop the skills required to assist PADI Instructors with PADI courses. And also learn how to guide certified divers independently.
Digital Underwater Photography Specialty:
It’s hard to explain to non-diving family and friends about some of the beautiful life we see underwater. But with amazing images, you don’t need to! Master the techniques required to produce sharper and more colorful images which will impress your buddies and land-loving friends! The best part is that you don’t have to travel too far to get fabulous photographs. There are many sites that you can dive in India too for some amazing clicks and memories.
Other PADI Specialties:
Is there a particular type of diving you want to learn more about? We also offer a full range of PADI Specialty Courses. These allow you to learn more and develop knowledge in specific aspects of diving. Here’s the list of additional PADI specialty courses: Boat Diver. Deep Diver. Drift Driver. Night Diver. Peak Performance Buoyancy. Search & Recovery Diver. Underwater Naturalist. Underwater Navigation. Wreck Diver.
Are you feeling inspired to take your diving to the next level? For more information, send us a message through our online contact form. Or you can email us at: holidays@planetscubaindia.com and we will get right back to you!
By Sarah Wormald, PADI
Aqua Lung Pro HD BCD – A review by Dive India
By Vandit Kalia, Dive India Scuba & Resorts, Havelock Island
The Aqualung Pro HD BCD is a personal favorite of mine. I owned the previous version of this (Seaquest Pro HD, before they were re-branded) for several years and found it an extremely comfortable jacket-style BCD.
The air pockets have some structure to them, so the air bubbles doesnt move all over the place (as in some other BCDs) and robust tank support and structure in the back means that the tank stays firmly put, without rolling from side to side.
This BCD has integrated weights and one feature i consider near-essental – trim pockets. These are weight pockets located around your shoulders: by storing 1-2 kg there, you can move the center of your buoyancy higher up, which allows you to get a better, neutral trim (in other words, you can hold any body position you want – horizontal or inclined – without any issues).
This system of distributed weights (2 integrated weight pockets and 2 trim pockets) gives you more ditch options: if you are diving in cold water where you need to plan for the contingency of dropping weights, this gives you more options as compared to a weight belt (which is all or nothing).
The Aqualung Pro HD BCD uses a high-denier fabric, which is more robust, more abrasion-proof and less likely to fade or look raggedy over time. Lastly, the BCD comes with more than enough lift to handle cold water diving as well (13kg of lift for a size M).
And it has more than enough D-rings and attachment points to hold all your accessories. As I mentioned earlier, I used to own this many, many years ago and sold it because i was diving with a tech harness only. In terms of price/performance, this is probably one of the best BCDs in the market today, period.
For more information on Aqua Lung Pro HD BCD, please contact us.
Yet another scuba diving spot
Netrani is about 10 nautical miles from Murudeshwar
Bangalore: After emerging as a trendsetter in wildlife tourism in the country, the State-owned Jungle Lodges and Resorts is now planning to start a scuba diving camp near the famous Netrani Island.
A popular place for scuba diving in the country, the Netrani Island in the Arabian Sea is located about 10 nautical miles from Murudeshwar. A good destination for snorkelling and diving activities since it has a coral reef, the island boasts of a vast variety of aquatic and avian life.
“We will set up a nature camp at Apsarkonda, near Honnavar, which will act as a base camp for those coming for scuba diving,” Managing Director of JLR N.D. Tiwari, told The Hindu. Apsarakonda, incidentally, also has waterfalls also.
The JLR is planning to provide tent accommodation with about 20 to 30 beds for those undertaking scuba diving. “Scuba diving groups would be roped in to operate diving camps,” he added.
At present, the Indian Navy is using a portion of this small island for its target practise, which is being opposed by environmentalists stating that the coral reef, which is among the only few near a mainland, would be damaged. Only those with prior permission from the Indian Navy can access the island for scuba diving and snorkelling activities.
With regard to the permission from the Indian Navy, Mr. Tiwari said they would initiate talks on this issue and were hopeful of getting the permission.
The camp, he said, would commence in November. “There was a demand from the adventure enthusiasts for a scuba diving camp near the Netrani Island since it is the only place in mainland India where such opportunities can be provided.” At present, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep Islands offer opportunities for scuba diving, he said.
On other projects, Mr. Tiwari said the black buck resort at Vilaspur near Bidar with a 15-cottage accommodation was ready for inauguration and 15-cottage resort at Talakalale near Jog Falls would be ready by May.
Drift Diving
As promised here is a write-up on drift diving speciality. This will be available on the Maldives Trip and it highly recommended as Maldives is one of the best places to enjoy drift diving.
If until now your experience has been that current are something you fight to swim against; drift diving will give you a whole new perspective. Drift diving grew out of the philosophy, “if you can’t beat them,join them” and is the prevailing practice in many areas with nearly continuous strong currents.
Drift diving can give you a real adrenaline pump. At some drift dive sites,the current rips you along far faster than you could swim, or even cruise with a DPV (Dive Propulsion Vehicle), sailing you along effortlessly. Some divers compare drift diving in clear water to hand gliding or horizontal sky diving but no airplane needed and you don’t have to worry about your chute opening.
Advantages of Drift Diving
- Drift diving usually requires little effort. During the dive, you just go along for the ride, buzzing through the scenery with the current “swimming ” for you.
- Drift diving opens up dive sites that are nearly impossible to visit any other way. In particular, rivers and some reefs are constantly in strong current that precludes non drift dive techniques.
- Since you are floating along in the current, you cover more area and see more on a drift dive.
- Many types of drift diving relieve you of having to return to or look for a specific exit point. The boat travels with you.
All you have to do right now is contact us and book for your drift diving speciality for the Maldives Dive Trip happening this month. Don’t miss out on a great oppurtunity!!
Soon to a blog near you.
Well, which goes to say is this blog, but yes coming soon i will be putting up some dive specialities that one can learn and master, i will start with a few that you can do right away at our up and coming Maldives Trip. Stay tuned, Also leave a comment if you are looking for any particular specialties or want something particular to be highlighted (scuba diving related and NO! Girls in bikinis have nothing to do with scuba diving). Stay tuned avid divers.