Top 25 Scuba Diving Tips For Beginners
Scuba diving is an incredible experience that I believe every person should experience at least once in their lives if they are capable.
After diving around the world and doing ocean photography for years, I’ve learned the hard way a lot of tips that beginners should know before they get started.
These tips will not only make it easier to get started, but they’ll also help you to learn the best practices so you can start your diving journey the right way.
Let’s dive into it.
25 Scuba Diving Tips For Beginners
For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to list these in categories - these are:
Dive Preparation Tips
Tips For The Dive Itself
Post-Dive Tips
If you’re thinking this sounds confusing, don’t worry. It will all make sense once you’ve read through the points.
Pre-Dive Tips (1-7)
These tips cover everything you need to consider before you get into the water.
1. Get Certified
Ok, this one is quite obvious, but getting certified before you start diving makes everything a lot easier, and you’ll cover the majority of the tips in this article.
The alternative here is to take an introduction to scuba diving course, and you can learn more about this in my guide about scuba certification here.
2. Choose The Right Gear
Choosing the right gear can make all the difference in enjoying vs hating a dive, and it depends a lot on where you’re planning to dive.
When you’re first starting off, it’s likely you’ll be using rented gear, so make sure to choose gear that is easy to use and comfortable to wear. Your dive instructor will be able to guide this process, but don’t be scared of speaking up if something doesn’t fit or feel right.
To see my recommendations for beginner scuba diving gear, head over to the article I wrote on the topic.
3. Pool Practice Is King
Before you go diving, you’ll be taken to a pool to try out the gear and learn some of the basics.
My tip here is to make sure you get the basics down in the pool, and really listen to what your instructor is teaching you.
You’ll be surprised how much these basics translate over to the real deal.
4. Check Your Gear Before You Dive
You should ALWAYS check your gear before any dive.
This is one of the fundamentals of scuba diving, but it can be easy to forget if you are used to being guided by an instructor who will do the job for you.
5. Get Comfortable With Hand Signals
A basic knowledge of hand signals is required for scuba diving, but for beginners, the process of learning can be rushed.
If you feel like you haven’t got a full grasp of hand signals, make sure to spend some time learning them properly. This can make all the difference if something goes wrong during a dive.
6. Understand Your Dive Plan
Getting to grips with your dive plan will make the whole process a lot easier to understand, and it can help beginners get over any fear as well.
Make sure you understand exactly what the plan is, where you will be diving, what the conditions are like, how long it will last, etc.
7. Don’t Push Yourself
When you first get started with scuba diving, it can be hard to know exactly how much you can push yourself with a dive.
My best advice here is to take it easy.
Scuba diving should be enjoyable, not stressful. If you feel like you’re struggling with a certain dive for any reason (conditions, general stress levels, etc), then make a note and stick to easier dives for a while.
There shouldn’t be any shame in this, as we all advance at our own rates.
Tips For During The Dive (8-20)
Now it’s time to look at tips for when you’re actually diving.
For beginners, the experience can feel very odd, which can lead to stress and anxiety. These are some of my best tips for staying calm and enjoying the experience.
8. Equalize Often
One of the worst feelings for a beginner is ear pain and the other symptoms associated with difficulties equalizing.
This is especially common for beginners because they might not know which methods work best for them.
When you start off, take the descent slowly and equalize often, making sure to get rid of any discomfort before you carry on.
9. Control Your Breathing
Breathing is everything in scuba diving, and it's something a lot of beginners take a long time to realize.
Make sure to breathe slow and steady, aiming to breathe out for longer than you breathe in, with controlled breaths.
As you get better at this, you’ll enter an almost trance-like state.
10. Stay Close To Others
This one probably goes without saying, but always stay near to your dive buddies and instructor.
This makes it a lot easier to stay calm, and also to alert others in case anything goes wrong.
11. Make Sure Your Buoyancy Is Good
When you first start off diving, finding the correct buoyancy can make all the difference.
You’ll practice this skill first in a pool, but once you’re in the ocean, it is quite a bit different. The major difference is the salt water, which makes it easy to become buoyant.
Take your time getting your buoyancy right when you’re doing your first dives and you’ll find the rest of the dive a breeze.
12. Check In With The Dive Leader
When you first start out diving, it can be stress-relieving to stick near to the dive leader.
This way, they can easily check in on you to make sure everything is ok.
13. Descend/Ascend Slowly
This one is very similar to equalizing often - when descending and ascending, take your time.
This makes it easier to equalize, and it also gives you time to get used to the process and how it feels.
14. Never Hold Your Breathe
It isn’t recommended to forcefully hold your breath while scuba diving, and this is something a lot of beginners can sometimes do without realizing.
Take your breaths nice and slow, and remember to keep breathing.
15. Monitor Your Air Supply
When you’re first starting out, you may find yourself using a lot more oxygen than you would expect.
This is completely normal, and it’s why I always advise beginners to check their oxygen supply regularly - at least every 5 minutes.
16. Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
It can be easy to get carried away while diving, even for the most experienced of us divers.
When you’re just starting off, learning spatial awareness is a great habit.
17. Use Your Fins Efficiently
One thing I see a lot of beginners do (and I was guilty of this when I started) is using their fins incorrectly.
You shouldn’t need to use much energy to propel yourself - stick to long, controlled movements to conserve energy while moving at a comfortable speed.
18. Get Used To Clearing Your Mask
It’s an inevitability that your mask will get some water in it while you dive, and this is even more common for beginners as it’s likely you’ll be renting a mask that may or may not fit correctly.
This gives you the perfect chance to practice clearing your mask, so make the most of it.
Every scuba diver should be 100% comfortable with clearing their mask when needed.
19. Keep a Safe Distance from Marine Life
I’ve seen a lot of beginner divers want to get up close and personal with marine life, even trying to touch things on the ocean floor.
I highly recommend keeping your space, especially if you don’t know what you’re going to touch.
20. Stay Calm
The last tip to make things easier when you first start diving is to remain calm.
The underwater environment will seem like a completely new world when you first jump in, but focus on your breathing and keep calm.
Tips For After The Dive (21 - 25)
Now you’ve done with the dive, it’s time for some tips to use afterward.
You might be wondering if there is even anything to think about when you’re done, but you might be surprised.
21. Hydrate
You’d be surprised how easy it is to exert a lot of calories while you’re diving, especially if you’re facing strong currents or diving for an extended period of time.
Getting some hydration in right away will help you feel much better.
22. Rinse Your Gear
After any scuba dive, you should always rinse your gear to keep it clean and stop salt or other debris from building up in it.
This habit can be hard to build for beginners because you’ll typically be renting gear, but it’s worth getting into the routine of it earlier before you get your own equipment.
23. Ask For Feedback
If you’re looking to improve quickly, a great thing to do is ask your instructor for some feedback.
They’ll be able to let you know if you’re making any beginner mistakes, which can be addressed sooner rather than later.
This includes things like fin action, hand signals, buoyancy, and much more - you might be surprised at how much stuff you get wrong when you first start.
24. Keep Track Of Your Progress
Keeping a dive log might seem a bit extra, but it’s a great habit to build early to keep track of all of your dives, including the conditions, duration, and more.
This can also be crucial for getting certain qualifications, so if you’re serious about advancing in the diving world, this is a must.
25. Continue Learning!
Last but certainly not least is to continue learning and diving in new places as much as you can afford to do.
I myself have scuba-dived all across the world, from Raja Ampat to Cuba and even South Africa, and I’m still planning new trips all the time.
Scuba diving is such a rewarding hobby as there are endless places to explore, and lots of types of diving that you can get into.
And That's It!
So that’s a wrap.
I hope this guide has been helpful for the beginner scuba divers out there.
It can be nerve-wracking to get started, but once you get the bug for scuba diving, you’ll find yourself exploring places you never would've expected.
Use the tips in this guide to form good habits early and start your journey on the right foot.
