Hello everyone.

[VijayKrishnan]

I'm Vijay Krishnan. And I would like to learn scuba diving,as since my childhood I always wanted to go deep into the water. So now I'm very much fascinated by this sport. So,I would like the expertise to guide me in the course to choose and training in India.

Thank you
Vijay

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[ShootingUnderwater.com]

Hello Vijay, I'm new to posting in a forum so hopefully this information isn't redundant. Have you looked into the NAUI certification? They offer part of the training online (the book portion) and you do the pool and ocean sessions with an instructor. You can also contact them directly for recommendations to a local dive shop in your area, if you don't already have one.

Congratulations making the decision to accomplish a childhood dream. You're going to love it.

~ R

 

[donarundas]

Scuba Diving in India may be broadly divided into two categories (and possibly a tiny third):
1.) Mainland Diving
2.) Island Diving
3.) Freshwater Diving

Since you want to know about a dive course, dive centres in Goa, Netrani, Bangalore, Pune, Pondicherry, Delhi, Andaman Islands and Lakshadweep Islands offer them.

The dive centres in Bangalore, Delhi and Pune will do the course in a two stepped process: confined OW skills in the pool, and then off to the nearest beachhead for the mandatory 4 ocean dives. They are a good option if you want to maximize the time spent on you vacation holiday doing other fun stuff (I wonder if anything would be more fun than diving though ).

P.S with the e courses made available by PADI, the above factor actually doesn't come much into play. Plus, the lag period between the pool dives and the ocean dives might not be a good thing.

Goa has a lot of dive centres, and all of them are great. The problem with Goa is that the average depth is very less. (PADI OW limit is 18mts, but you would generally stay at around 6-10 mts.) That may sound safer, but with the swells, you would have a real tough time of maintaining buoyancy, because of no fault of yours. The viz is average and you would help you to become a more confident diver. The diving season in Goa is from October to May/June only though.

Netrani is the only coral island off the coast of India. Naturally, you get excellent marine life along with excellent viz. The conditions are really calm and provide for a good learning experience. Two dive operators (and maybe a third) operate in Netrani. The diving season is same as for Goa.

Pondicherry has the only dive centre in the east coast. The shallow sites border around the OW limit. It provides excellent conditions for learning (read: you never know what you will find there) eg: 1st dive: 10 m+ viz, no currents. 2nd dive same site after 1 hr SI (surface interval) -1m viz, strong currents. And thats the usual in Pondicherry. So, if you are certified from Pondicherry, rest assure you can be confident enough to dive anywhere in India (respect your limits and certifications though). P.S. The marine life is extraordinary in Pondicherry, not to mention a couple of beautiful artificial reefs.

On a side personal note, I did all my courses in Pondicherry (after OW), and will keep on doing so as the learning opportunities are tremendous there.

Andaman and Lakshadweep Islands provide the best diving in India, in terms of viz, marine life and all. The instructors there are some of the best you can find in India.

But personally , I would learn how to dive in a place which offers me the maximum variations in conditions. Plus, after travelling to an exotic destination (Andamans and Lakshadweep), I would rather spend my time fun diving, then do a course . (Please note that, even when fun diving you are constantly learning- buddies, DMs and everyone)..

As for Freshwater diving, a lot of places have quarries and lakes where some local agencies may take you to experience diving. Just make sure they are certified before doing a course with them.