I’m not going to lie; I’m no pro diver, which is why I have accumulated so many scuba diving tips for beginners! And yes, I still consider myself a beginner, even though I’ve dove over 25 times, in more than 10 countries, and including with bull sharks!
In my opinion there’s two types of divers; the type that crave it and could spend all day every day casually gliding and looking at coral. And the type that starts to get fidgety after about twenty minutes, especially if they haven’t seen “something cool”…like a giant turtle or shark. I am definitely the latter.
Since I know I get fidgety, and since I’m very observant of how I feel (and look) after dives, I’ve learned what to do (and not to do) to keep myself calm and collected! I’ve also had to re-learn how to be comfortable breathing under water thanks to a lovely little panic attack I had while diving in a cenote a few years ago!
So if you’re a beginner diver, and especially the type that doesn’t just coast calmly for an hour, here’s some tips that will hopefully help you!
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Get Scuba Certified with a Reputable Company
The first of my scuba diving tips for beginners should seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard of people going diving without even being certified! If you find a dive company that’s offering to let you go diving without being certified, I would not recommend it!
Instead find a reputable company that is PADI certified! Yes, it’s a bit expensive (around $400!), but it’s worth it to have the knowledge and experience!
Below are a few dive companies I have used and recommend, plus where they’re based:
- Miami: Ani’s Dive Adventures (my cousin who certified me!)
- Mexico: Double K Diving (All Female Company in Playa del Carmen!) and Scuba Tony (Cozumel)
- Koh Tao: Big Blue Diving
For a full itinerary on planning a dive trip in Cozumel, check out my recent post from there!
Actually Learn the Process of Putting the Gear Together
Not going to lie, I memorized how to put the gear together for the certification test, then quickly forgot. I actually still to this day secretly hope that my guide will just do it for me. Mostly because I’m scared I’ll mess it up and leak oxygen or something.
But your guide usually has multiple people to check, so it’s best that you put yours together to save them some time! Well, and also so you know how everything works! QUIZ! What is a BCD??!!
Have Your Guide Double Check Your Gear
If you put your gear together by yourself, and you’re a beginner, always make sure your guide double checks it. It’s actually a dive rule to have someone double check your gear anyway!
Put Your Hair in Braids or Tied Back
If you have long hair, make sure it is secured! I know it looks nicer in photos to have it down. But the bubbles from your regulator will send it into a tornado, and you’ll come out with some major knots!
I’ve found that tight braids work best for me so far!
ALSOOO If you like my long-sleeve swimsuit, click here to buy it for only $10 on Amazon!
Practice Breathing with the Regulator Above Water
This is one of my scuba diving tips for beginners that I thought of after I started having anxiety from breathing under water. I also have extreme ADHD so all sorts of thoughts go through my head under water. Like what if I forget how to breathe with my mouth? Or what if I have to cough?!
Anyway, I found that practicing breathing with the regulator above water helped a bit. The only downside is that it wastes the oxygen in the tank…which is why I thought of….
Or Put Your Mask on and Practice Mouth Breathing
Unless you’re used to having a stuffy nose, you probably don’t breathe out of your mouth that often. For me, breathing out of my mouth tends to increase my heart rate…which I DO NOT want happening under water.
So what I started doing was putting the mask on above water to get used to breathing with my mouth only. I also went swimming a lot with a snorkel to get used to it as well. It looks way less awkward if you do it that way.
Get a Rashguard or Rent a Wet Suit
Here’s some important scuba diving tips for beginners! Expect to get cold, and plan accordingly! Even if you’re in hot ass Mexico, where the water is warm and tropical, it will get cold after you’ve been under for thirty minutes or more!
Usually in hot destinations I’m comfortable just using a rash guard, but it’s usually best to at least use a “shorty” wet suit. For deeper and longer dives, you’ll need a full suit!
Bring Your Own Mouthpiece
You never know about anything these days with covid running rampid… Most scuba companies are taking extra safety measures to sanitize and prevent it, which is where I even got this scuba tips for beginners tip from!
One of the companies I used in Cozumel (Scuba Tony) actually had disposable mouthpieces for their regulators! So every diver got a brand new mouthpiece, that they could also re-use later!
If you aren’t sure if the dive company provides new mouthpieces, you can easily order one from Amazon for between $7-25!
Use Baby Shampoo to Clear Your Mask
You have a couple options for keeping your mask from fogging up. You can use whatever soap the boat gives you, however I’ve experienced sometimes it ends up stinging my eyes. You can spit in your mask. OR!
You can remember these valuable scuba diving tips for beginners, and bring your own travel-sized bottle of baby shampoo! It will keep your mask AND your eyes clear!
Get a Waterproof Case, Red Filter, and Floatie for Your Camera
Despite what you may think about GoPro’s and action cameras being ideal for diving, they’re not the best. I’ve not only water-logged and killed about 5 of them from diving, but the footage isn’t always the best because everything just looks blue. Oh and let’s not even talk about how many people drop and lose them!
Solution for your underwater scuba photography needs:
- Waterproof housing case
- Red filter
- Floatie
Also, if the photos still look too blue, you can use an app called Dive+ to fix the color!
Put Yourself In a Positive Mood Before You Go Scuba Diving
Anxiety can straight up ruin your dive. Which is why it’s important to put yourself in a positive mood before you go down!
Listen to your favorite music and dance on the boat. Verbally say how excited you are. Watch funny videos or memes. Remind yourself of how amazing it is that you get to be a mermaid for the next hour!
If You Get Anxious, Try Counting
This is one of my scuba diving tips for beginners that I made up and personally use each dive. Again, I have severe ADHD, and a million thoughts go through my mind unless I’m doing something or focusing on something.
So! When my mind wanders to “Omg what if I just forget how to breathe?” or “Wow we are reeaaallllyyy far down here, what if I want to go up?!” I start counting. It’s usually either 1-2-3 for my inhale, and then 5-6-7-888888 for the exhale.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll start counting to 60, then keep track on my fingers of how many minutes go by…until the dive is over… hehe.
Also! Counting the same type of fish or coral can help keep you focused on the dive, and not about dying!
Or Use Meditative Breathing
Some more personal techniques I use for breathing while scuba diving are somewhat meditative breathing.
When I start to get anxious, or feel like the air isn’t flowing as much (it is, it’s just in my head that it isn’t), I’ll do what I think is a “baby birthing breathing” technique. I do two short inhales in, and one long inhale out. Like you see in the movies! Hee-Hee-Whoooooooo.
I also make a vocal “Ooooommmmmmm” on the breath out. I don’t know why it helps calm me, but it does.
Don’t Forget that Your Breathing Regulates Your Floating Too!
Something that’s easy to forget is that whenever you inhale, your body floats up slightly. When you exhale, it goes down. Like a balloon! Keeping this in mind will help keep your breaths steadier and deeper.
And also will help you avoid crashing into any coral on an exhale.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask to Surface
I’ve had to ask to surface twice in my twenty-five dives, and it was never an issue. If you get cold, if you think you’re running low on air (even if you’re not), if your ears hurt, if you have a cramp, etc. etc., just ask to surface.
And don’t forget the sign for wanting to go up, is a thumbs up!
Tell Yourself to “Just Keep Swimming”
Another thing that helps keep me calm when diving, is literally to sing “Just keep swimming” in my head. Think of how fun the ocean looks in Finding Nemo and pretend you’re a fish, or something.
Stay With Your Dive Buddy
Before you start your dive, you will acknowledge someone as your dive buddy. If you’re in a group, it’s important to stick with your dive buddy at all times. This is for safety reasons, like if you happen to drift off, or in the unlikely case you need to use their oxygen if you were to run out.
You should also let your dive buddy know if you are an anxious diver or beginner diver. Most of the time you can also ask to be the guides dive buddy if you’d like!
Big shout out to my recent dive buddy Claire from ClairesItchyFeet who went Bull Shark diving with me! Not only did she notice me getting fidgety and gave me her GoPro to distract me, but when I was filming the sharks and drifting, she held onto my arm! Haha.
Try Keeping Your Hand on the Inflator/Deflator
Even though most advanced divers and guides put their hands together when they dive, it’s not for everyone.
Take me for example. I either need a camera in my hand and a task to do, or I need to hold onto the inflator, just in case I exhale to fast and crash into some coral. Being able to externally control your flotation also helps you to feel in control! Just make sure you don’t inflate too much and rise up!
If You Can’t Equalize By Plugging Your Nose, Try to Swallow
Equalizing is weird. It’s also sometimes uncomfortable, and even painful! The easiest way is to plug your nose with your fingers (outside of your mask) and blow, so that your ears un-pop. But sometimes that doesn’t always work!
If it doesn’t work, you can try putting yourself vertically with your head facing up, and then blowing your nose. And if it still doesn’t work, try to swallow!
Important Scuba Diving Tips for Beginners: Don’t Touch ANYTHING!
I thought this tip was a bit obvious, but then I saw a guy the other day pick up a conch shell, so I guess it’s not.
Basically, if you touch anything under water, you’re going to damage it. So if we all touched things, there would be nothing left to look at.
I don’t care how pretty that shell looks or how cuddly that sea urchin seems. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING.
Also, about my photo choice for this tip — don’t worry, it is highly unlikely you will see a shark like this one. It’s a bull shark and you have to do a specific deep dive to see them. You might see a nurse shark, but they are harmless. Regardless, if you see something big, try not to flail around too much or you’ll scare it away! (Or look like food).
Don’t Wear Sunscreen Unless it’s 100% Reef Safe
Fun fact; sunscreen not only destroys the sun’s harmful rays, but it also destroys coral reefs as well!
Unless you get sunscreen that’s 100% reef safe, you should never wear it while you swim in the ocean!
I did an entire post on what exactly about sunscreen is harmful reefs that you can read here. There’s also links to some sunscreen that reef-safe, like my favorite, Sunology!
If You Have Your Period, Use a Menstrual Cup
In case you didn’t already know, most of us traveling ladies swear by using menstrual cups! I’ve used one for four years now, and have not bought a single tampon since! They’re seriously life changing, especially if you’re active, or planning on being in water!
That’s why one of my scuba diving for beginners tips is to use a menstrual cup if you’re on your period! You won’t have to worry about a soggy string or having to change it, since cups are good for about 12 hours!
Read my full post about why menstrual cups are amazing here!
Rinse All Your Gear and Swimsuit with Fresh Water Afterwards
Your scuba guide will likely ask you to do a quick rinse of all your gear in fresh water after you’re done diving. If not, remember to do it!
Also remember to rinse all of your own stuff as well! Especially if you wore a wet suit over your bathing suit! If you don’t rinse it, it will end up smelling really bad! Rinse any camera equipment as well, as the salt can cause a build up!
Don’t Forget to Tip Your Guide and Boat Captain!
Your guide and boat captain likely go out every single day! While I’m sure they love it, I’m also pretty sure it’s exhausting! If you enjoyed your dive, be sure to tip your guide and boat captain between 15-20% of the cost of your dives!
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Thank you so much for sharing those invaluable scuba diving tips for beginners! As someone who’s been contemplating taking the plunge into the world of scuba, your insights have provided me with a solid foundation to start my journey.