Snorkelling/ scuba destinations

[Eve]

Has promised a few years ago to take DS2 to Sharm to see the reefs and for him to learn to dive.

Reluctant to go there but are there any other destinations we could consider.

Caribbean?

Lanzarote or Malta and/or Gozo. Both amazing. I'd recommend Safari diving Puerto del carmen in Lanzarote, or any company in Marsalforn on Gozo. The company we used in Malta weren't brilliant but the diving was great.

Gozo is good, but not a huge amount of fish life compared to the Red Sea. Sharm is tricky to get to at the moment but hurghada and marsa Alam still very much open for British business and both would be awesome places to learn to dive. Other than that I'd be looking long haul - Thailand, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Caribbean.

I learnt to dive in Thailand. All round there plus the South Pacific islands are amazing for diving but yes long haul and pricey.

Lanzarote is a nice place to learn to dive but it doesn't have the "Wow" factor of somewhere like the Red Sea. Lots of fish but an awful lot of sand too!

We dived through lava tubes, saw shipwrecks, angel sharks, barracuda, rays, sea horses, loads of multicoloured fish, cuttlefish, all sorts in Lanzarote.

Diving in Malta we took a boat trip to Comino to dive in the caves and there's also a wreck that has been sunk as an artificial reef and to provide a dive site that is accessible to everyone as it is only 20 metres deep and can be seen from the surface the water is so clear. We were regularly surrounded by 'millions of fish'.

No it's not the Red Sea or the tropics but it does have the wow factor, especially for beginners. It's not necessary to go long haul for great diving.

Cayman Islands, you used to be able to snorkel with stingrays and even dive with them. I don't know if you still can or not.

Belize

If you don't fancy sharm how about Marsa Alam which is 800km south of sharm. We have been twice and the place is filled with people from red res divers so it must be pretty good. FLights are only from Gatwick though.

I have been diving in the Maldives which was awesome - also saw whale sharks and mantas.

Caribbean, Barbados has great snorkeling.

We had fun snorkelling in Sardinia.

Belize was fabulous for this. we first went snorkelling in Florida keys so might be another option.

Diving strongly recommend doing PADI course in your home country, then PADI dive centres abroad (have had bad experience with poor equipment with non PADI )

Diving is an expensive hobby and addictive !

Diving ensure you have insurance

Ref snorkelling, fish like to be near rocks or a food source

Some resorts offer a dive-style experience where a whole head helmet is worn connected to air supply in sea or aquarium

We are probably a few pages behind you on the "let's get the kids diving thing". We are about to go away for 1/2 term and I an wondering whether this is "the year". I'm not sure (DD is 9). I MIGHT let her try a BCD in a swimming pool. She swims a lot so she is good at managing her breathing.

If DS is a complete newbie, I would go somewhere with good snorkelling too. If diving isn't great for him at least he can see some fish (I now struggle with sinuses...I let my PADI lapse).

Double check and double check your insurance, then have fun!

It's also worth looking for your local BSAC club. I struggled with a PADI course due to the pressure to learn all the skills in a few days.

Then DP found out about BSAC and we joined our local club, where the instructors are volunteers, so once you've joined the club, training costs are limited to a small fee towards pool hire or entry to a dive site and you can take as long as you like to master the skills (there are several lakes in the UK where you can practice diving in open water in a safer environment than the sea).

We are now both BSAC Sports Divers, which is roughly equivalent to a PADI rescue diver.

Maldivrs are brilliant for snorkelling

My friend learnt in Thailand and recommends it. DH loves The Maldives but very expensive!

Dcs all really enjoy snorkeling and are happy to dive down to look at things.

BVI are very good, so are the Tobago Cays off the Grenadines. You want somewhere with reefs or rocks, not just sandy beaches for good diving.

DS did his PADI at the minimum age in Thailand, took 3 days for the classroom stuff iirc. He did the dives on the same holiday.

Dds learned to dive in the UK one weekend, they did lots on line as you can now and then all the pool stuff & the final exam at a special dive centre pool. They did the qualifying dives in holiday. Girls were older, 13 & 16.

Maldives, Queensland are sensational.

Gozo, Malta are very good for beginners

Malta and Gozo

Belize.