A question is never dumb too small bad stupid

Scuba diving is one of the easiest things to learn. It is like going on a sightseeing walk in Rome, but now you are gliding around enjoying the underwater sights. In the end there are only three basic skills: floating, kicking and breathing. Of course, it is a little bit more than that; safety is a big factor to pay attention to, we want to be proficient in using our equipment and developing knowledge of scuba concepts and procedures. If you can breathe through your mouth… chances are that you are all set to go diving. 

The skills we teach are necessary and not that tough for people to master. During your course, you’re taught about the effects of increasing water pressure and about the safe diving practices. Paired with learning equipment-related skills in a controlled water until you feel comfortable.

If you’ve snorkeled, you are already familiar with the mask, snorkel and fins. There is no reason to be intimidated by all the gear many divers wear as it is all very straightforward. The scuba unit consists of an air cylinder with compressed air, buoyancy compensation (BC) jacket for flotation at the surface and to maintain your desired depth underwater (the astronaut feeling), and a regulator for breathing. In the Netherlands we will always dive with an exposure suit that will keep you warm.

Being a strong swimmer or an athlete is not necessary to become a diver. However, some degree of comfort in the water is always helpful. For the PADI Open Water Course you will have to swim 200 meters and float for 10 minutes. But by the time we start and finish, your comfort level will be greatly increased.

Learning to scuba dive is mostly a matter of attitude. If you are motivated to step through the door and go on an adventure, then the experience will prove both energizing and confidence-building.

A whole new world of incredible sights awaits the scuba diver, no matter what the underwater environment — fresh or salt water; tropical or temperate; ocean, quarry, lake or river.

Here in the Netherlands most dive sites are man-made, or at least organized in the sense that you might find ropes that you can follow which will lead you to sunken bus’s, ship wrecks, and even the cockpit of a Boeing 747.

Marine life is very dependent on the location and how busy it is but the most common marine animals you will come across while diving in the Netherlands are: pike-perch, bass, pike, catfish, crayfish, and many more!

With all the proper training and experience, the limit for recreational scuba diving is 40 metres. Beginning scuba divers stay shallower than about 18 metres. Although these are the limits, some of the most popular diving is shallower than 12 metres, where the water’s warmer and the colors are brighter.

The pool for confined water sessions is 2.7 meters deep, with a platform at 1.7 meters to allow most of our clients to stand.

Anyone with the physical ability to handle the equipment and the emotional maturity to comprehend the rules and take responsibility for his or her safety and that of his dive buddy, can scuba dive safely and enjoyably.

There is no upper age limit on learning scuba. Before the start of a dive course we ask all students to fill out a medical form. Certain conditions may preclude those of any age from diving, temporarily or permanently, especially conditions associated with lung functions or anything that may impair your ability to perform effectively underwater. It is never too late to learn to dive, as long as you maintain relatively good physical and mental conditioning, it’s never too late to learn scuba.

Minimum age restrictions do apply, for non certification programs for children as young as 8 years old can take part. These programs allow enthusiastic kids to get a taste of scuba diving under strict supervision and depths not exceeding about 6 feet (2 m).

In general, children must be 10 years old, with PADI, to be certified as “Junior” divers, who may dive only under restricted conditions (i.e., limited depths and supervision by a scuba professional or certified adult diver). From the age of 15, students receive the same certification as adult divers. Of course, children mature at varying rates and only parents can decide whether their child is emotionally and physically ready to shoulder the responsibility inherent in scuba diving.

Your PADI cards do not have to be renewed periodically; they are good for life, and even if you loose one; we can always find it back in the system. A certification card is required in order to rent scuba tanks or have tanks filled, and also when renting gear or booking space on a dive boat.

However, many dive operators also require proof that the individual has been diving within the past six months or a year. That is why you start filling in your Logbook from your first open water dive on. In case a long time period is noted between dives, the operator may require a checkout dive with a scuba instructor to verify that your skills are sufficiently current to dive safely without supervision.

If you feel like it has been a while since your last dive, or you would simply like to focus on the fun part of diving while on a holiday, we are more than happy to help you out with a ReActivate session – please contact us for more information.

We conduct our dives in several ways. Due to our partnership with several dive centers, we are able to provide our clients discounted course prices as well as access to the best equipment. What makes us cheaper you might ask? Well, we don’t have the same fixed costs as a diving center and we offer private courses against the regular prices of most centers. 

We make use of pools both near Zandvoort, as well as, Naarden. We do realize that this might be a bit far away from Amsterdam for those who do not have a car available. However, there are great connections with public transport and of course, since we conduct individual courses, we could also see if there is enough space to travel with us. 

Our open water dives are conducted within and around Amsterdam. The dive sites being Vinkeveen Zandeiland 4, Toolenburgerplas, Haarlemmermeersebos (2), Het Twiske and Sloterplas (2).

Once you have requested your desired course with us and prospected dates have been confirmed, we will send you an invoice with all the relevant course information and payment details. We make use of the Mollie payment system which offers you a variety of payment options.

• IDEAL
• CreditCard
• Direct Transfer
• PayPal
• ApplePay
• and more!

Once we have received your payment, we will go ahead and obtain all the learning materials required to be send your way! And we will also ask you to fill in some more info and a medical statement.

In case we cannot conduct a course, or you decide not to take the course anymore, we will be more than happy to refund you if a payment has already taken place in accordance to our general terms and conditions, and our diving policy. Mind, that if a course has already started no refunds -full or partial- will be given. In we have already sent you the learning materials for a course, and the course has not started yet, we will have to deduct this from your refund.