Author: Holly Johnson / Source: Wise Bread
If you love swimming in the sea and observing ocean wildlife, scuba diving is for you. Once you learn to scuba dive, you can explore the depths of the ocean and see much more than you would during your average snorkeling session.
Unfortunately, you do have to get certified to enjoy this hobby safely.
The world’s biggest certification organization is the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). Once you get your PADI open water certification, you’ll be able to dive at thousands of dive sites around the world.Getting certified involves mastering written coursework as well as skills taught in a swimming pool that are then built upon in the open water — the ocean, a lake, or even a quarry.
In many U.S. cities, you can get certified by local instructors. That would certainly save you on travel costs, but it can be much more fun to learn to dive in a beautiful, warm destination.
Affordable learn-to-dive destinations
Why not combine your certification course with a vacation? It doesn’t have to be expensive. In many locations, the PADI Open Water certification course is the same price or even cheaper than the same course in the U.S., and you can take it while staying in affordable accommodations.
Of course, budget scuba destinations should also be affordable to get to. Getting certified on a budget won’t work if you have to spend thousands on airfare, right? (See also: How to Get Free — or Almost Free — Airline Tickets)
Here are five destinations that fit the bill.
1. Utila, Honduras
If you’re aching for a scuba experience you’ll never forget, check out the offerings in Utila, a Caribbean island that belongs to the Central American country of Honduras.
Utila offers world-class diving at the southern tip of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System — a series of reefs that stretch 450 miles across the Caribbean. If you’re in Utila in March or April, you even stand a good chance of seeing migrating whale sharks.Utila is often compared to nearby Roatan, which is also an island in Honduras, but Utila is even cheaper and better for diving. Some say it is the most affordable place in the world to dive.
The Utila Dive Center offers an open water certification package for just $349. This package includes coursework, dives, and certification, along with five nights of very basic accommodation in the nearby Mango Inn. Besides the course, you also get two dives, and unlimited snorkeling and kayak use for free.
Getting to Utila shouldn’t be too expensive, either. You can fly from New York to Roatan for around $500 round-trip, for example. From Roatan, you can take the Utila Dream Ferry back and forth to the island for $30 each way.
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