Basically, there are no ‘golden rules’ you can follow when you choose a dive school. It is all about intuition. The most important thing about the people you go for a dive with, is that you feel you can trust them, especially when you are not an experienced diver. Scuba diving is a risky sport, which means that you should make sure that you can very well communicate and cooperate with your buddy and / or your dive guide or instructor.

Since we are partners above and below sea level, is it never hard for us to choose a buddy. We always dive together. Because confidence and trust make diving so much more relaxing, we strongly recommend you ensure you are totally on the same plan as your buddy. It is very important that you do not lose sight of each other under water and that you can help each other out in a possible emergency.

We also recommend that you first make a visit to the dive school you would like to dive with to see whether you fancy the staff, the equipment and the plans for the dive. Do not just make a simple phone call for a dive deal and run the risk of feeling disappointed or even a little scared later.

Questions to ask your dive school.

A couple of things you could ask when you are about to choose a dive school for scuba education or a fun dive are:

• Where are you going to dive?
• Which equipment will you use (if you do not have your own)?
• How long will the dive(s) and surface interval last?
• Who will be the dive master / instructor?
• How much experience does this person have?
• How many divers will be with one instructor / dive master?
• How much experience is ideally required to do the dive(s)?
• How will you get to and from the dive spot(s) and how long will this take?
• What sort of marine life can you expect to encounter?
• What is the total cost for the dive(s) / lesson(s) and equipment?

If you feel comfortable after this initial chat, there is no reason why you should not go diving with this dive school. You could also ask other people about their experiences with a certain dive school, but since different people are comfortable with different things, you should rely on your own intuition before you go on a dive.