Is Scuba Diving Expensive

Scuba diving is one of the best ways to explore the underwater world. A fun, relaxing, replenishing, and one of the wholesome sports you’ll ever engage in. If you love being in, on, or underwater scuba diving is a great sport to explore and discover marine life. The number one question I always get from non-divers is scuba diving expensive?

Yes, scuba diving is expensive. From learning how to scuba dive to taking it up as a recreational hobby it can be quite expensive. On average you’ll spend about $300 for a diving certification from one of the training agencies. Scuba gear costs about $200 on the lower end and about $2000 on the higher end. The scuba gear costs will vary depending on whether you are buying the full gear or only the basics. In addition, many scuba diving destinations charge $75 – $200 per dive.

Costs may vary depending on your level of training, place of training, mode of training, diving location or country, quality of training, and facilities available.

Diving agencies may have special offers which may lower the costs by a small margin.

In this article, we’ll explore

is learning scuba diving expensive
How much does it cost to start scuba diving
Is scuba diving an expensive sport compared to other water sports
Is scuba diving worth it

Is learning scuba diving expensive?

As a beginner, you may wonder how much will it cost you to learn scuba diving?

Expenses in scuba diving lessons include certification costs, training, and diving gear costs.

Getting your first scuba diving certification, will cost you between $300-900 depending on your location, mode of study, and diving school of choice.

Many diving agencies offer eLearning courses meaning you can train on your own without visiting the agency. However, beginners are not recommended to take the eLearning courses alone, they should at least have someone with some scuba diving knowledge with them as they take the classes.

Online lessons are cheaper because you do not incur gear and instructor costs.

Discover Scuba Diving lessons costs

Complete beginners can first take up a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) lesson before investing in a full course. This is the most basic training level for adults; kids aged at least 10 years may need to take different classes designed for kids.

DSD classes at PADI cost about $75 – $200. The cost varies based on whether you only take introductory lessons in controlled water or combine open water and controlled waters in the DSD lesson.

All DSD lessons are taken under the supervision and guidance of a qualified dive instructor.

The most cost-effective package includes a pool and open water session. This package is also most suited for complete beginners and non-swimmers. The pool environment prepares you for the open waters and helps you get comfortable underwater.

Other scuba diving lessons will also vary in cost depending on your country, mode of study, and diving location.

PADI for instance has diving facilities in many countries with varying costs. An example is an open water diving certification course, this will cost you about $550 in the US and $520 in the UK.

The good thing about certification courses is that you only have to pay the cost once in your life and once you get the certification you can dive anywhere in the world. Consider it a once-in-a-lifetime investment.

Certification Costs

The first diving certification in scuba diving is open water certification which costs about $200 – $600.

These costs are broken down to cover pool training, open water training, theory lessons, online exams, and open water dive sessions.

To get your open water certification, one must pass both sections of the test.

The open water session involves passing a 200-yard swimming and floating session for 10 minutes, displaying that you are comfortable underwater, in good physical health and shape, and on must be at least 15 years old.

Extra costs you can incur include getting a medical certificate from your doctor. You must have a clean bill of health to go scuba diving. This is usually a requirement when you first start taking diving lessons.

If you happen to take a long break from diving, refresher courses are always available starting from $60 -$100 dollars.

Don’t worry you won’t forget how to scuba dive just like riding a bike the skills come back to you as soon as you hit the water.

Refresher courses can also be taken as online courses.

Scuba diving Gear costs

Diving gear and equipment do cost a lot. Luckily, there is an option to rent diving equipment instead of buying your own.

In most places renting a full scuba gear will cost you anywhere from $50- $250 per day.

As a beginner investing in diving gear may not be in your budget or a top priority. You first want to gain the skills and get comfortable being underwater.

Moreover, recreational diving only requires basic gear. These include;

diving masks
fins
air tank
scuba suit/ wetsuit
snorkel
diving computer
scuba BCD
regulator
weights

Gear/equipment	Cost (in USD) $
Fins	50 – 250
Masks	50 – 200
Snorkel	30 – 100
Air tank	250 – 1000
Wetsuit	60 – 700
BCD (buoyancy compensation device)	300 – 1000
Weights	10 -100
Dive computer	150 – 1500
Regulator	225 – 2000

Advanced divers such as deep-sea divers and rescue divers need more advanced gear and equipment which are more expensive. Deep divers require special air tanks and may require underwater flashlights or cameras depending on the diving reasons.

Diving Costs

As a beginner, don’t worry about diving costs at your training agency, these are usually covered in the full amount you pay for the course.

Diving costs vary based on location, country, and facility or diving agency.

The costs will also vary based on the packages offered. From my experience, many international diving spots charge a diving fee that’s inclusive of the diving gear.

In addition, costs are calculated as a single dive per person. In some cases, you could find agencies offering group discounts which are more cost-efficient when traveling with friends or family.

The international dive costs range is about $70 – $400.

How Much Does It Cost To Start Scuba Diving

Based on the information shared above, it will cost you anywhere from $150 – $1000 to start scuba diving.

If you only want to go scuba diving in a beautiful site while on vacation you only need to cater for DSD lesson costs. Choose a diving agency that offers a pool and open water diving package, this way you get to pay only once for the whole training and diving session with an instructor.

If you want to learn and get a diving certification, it will cost you about $350 – $1000 depending on your training agency and location.

For travelers, Scuba diving costs will vary depending on the country, packages offered, and diving location.

Is Scuba Diving an Expensive Sport Compared To Other Water Sports

Compared to other water sports scuba diving is an averagely priced sport. I wouldn’t say it’s very expensive but neither is it on the lower price scale. It falls somewhere in the middle of the price range for water sports.

Looking at other water sports Jet blading, flyboarding, jet skiing and water polo will set you back a couple of hundreds of dollars.

In Water Polo for instance you are required to pay monthly fees to participate in the competitions, this may cost anywhere from $200 – $500 per month.

In addition, equipment used in most of the luxurious water sports costs over $5ooo- $50000 to buy. Most of the high-end water sports charge per hour to participate which can end up costing you a lot if you want to get the full experience.

Most of these water sports are also available in a few high-end resorts which may not be affordable to everyone.

On the downside, you can only participate in these water sports at the location offering the equipment.

Therefore scuba diving compared to other water sports is quite affordable for many people. The main advantage is that there are no monthly fees required to scuba dive and you can also take trial scuba diving lessons commonly known as Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) to get a first-time experience.

Scuba diving gear is also available for hire in many diving destinations making it quite popular among tourists and locals.

Is Scuba Diving Worth It

Yes, despite it being considered an expensive sport scuba diving is worth it. It’s the only sport that gives you an opportunity to explore the underwater ecosystem and doesn’t require a lot of energy use.

Most of the costs in scuba diving are only made once so despite the high costs required to learn, you never have to make these payments ever again, unless you decide to advance your diving skills.

You go scuba diving on a budget by renting diving gear and selecting diving agencies or locations that offer affordable packages.

If you have considered taking up scuba diving lessons, I would say go for it. It’s worth every penny and can’t measure up to the experience and exposure you get while diving.

Parents with young kids aged 10 years and above, can enroll them in a scuba diving class if they are enthusiastic about it.

Always do your own research, read reviews and visit the scuba diving agencies before signing up. Also, take time to compare the different training agencies and pick the one that fits your budget.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve looked into the costs incurred in scuba diving lessons and dives in general.

Scuba diving is an expensive sport when you are starting out since you have to get the necessary certifications. It’s also expensive in terms of diving costs and gear costs. Buying your own diving equipment can be expensive but it will last you a long time and you could as well rent it out to friends when you are not diving.

I hope this article answered all the questions you had about scuba diving and how expensive it is as a sport and hobby.

I can assure you the experience is all worth the high training and gear costs.

Is Scuba Diving Expensive