Scuba diving is the act of swimming underwater while using
Self-
Contained
Underwater
Breathing
Apparatus. By carrying a source of breathing gas (usually compressed air), the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breath-holding techniques used in snorkeling and free-diving, and is not hindered by air lines to a remote air source. The scuba diver typically swims underwater by using fins attached to the feet.
Explore underwater coral gardens or swim with dolphins and sharks
At some resorts scuba divers can just walk offshore, sink downward 30- to 40-feet and be in a coral garden or swimming through a school of fish. Once you’ve learned to scuba dive, you can also arrange to swim with dolphins in the ocean or protected bays, and even take a highly structured dive with the sharks. But before you start scuba diving alongside coral walls that are 90-feet deep, or with dolphins or sharks, there's a lot you need to learn. Here’s an quick primer outlining how to get started.
Ways to Get Certified for Scuba Diving
Take a scuba-diving course in a pool near your home, then follow your dive master’s suggestions for the open water dives required before you can be certified. The choice for an open water dive can range from the popular Pulau Perhentian, a tropical underwater coral gardens off the shores of Terengganu and Pulau Payar underwater marine park in Langkawi.
Wrap a vacation around getting certified. You can take a scuba diving course anywhere from Pulau Redang, Pulau Kapas in Terengganu or fly to Sabah for a dive at Sipadan, depending upon how exotic a trip you want to take. Keep in mind that if you plan to take the full certification course during a week-long trip, there probably won’t be much time to do anything else, including laze on the beach or explore the locale.
Take a resort course. These scuba diving certification courses range in length from one-day to three-day courses. If you take the shortest course, which usually includes a shallow dive in the afternoon, understand that your training is limited. Even the two- and three-day courses don’t give you as much experience in dealing with underwater emergencies as the full courses offered by PADI and NAUI, two of the major scuba-diving certification operations.
What’s it going to Cost?
The cost of a scuba-diving certification course varies considerably, depending upon where you are taking your certification course. If you take a course in a pool near your home the cost of getting to where you’re going to take an open-water dive for final certification will impact this price dramatically. The two- or three-day resort courses can cost around Rm600 to Rm1000. Hiring a private tutor at a hotel or resort to take a full certification course, which can take up to a week, is much more expensive. But, doing all of your book work sitting in a lounge chair beside the ocean is a really great way to study.
Where to Learn More
There are many dive shops around KL and in most major cities that offers full package certification trip, or you can head straight to the beaches and islands where you can sign up from any of the on-site dive operators.
* AdventureMalaysia welcome any dive shops or dive operators who would like to contribute their experiences and share their opinion on this subject. Please contact us at:
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Pursuits 
