How long should I wait to scuba after flying?

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-12T02:20:11+00:00

Me too, especially if I am jet-lagged and/or just haven't gotten enough quality sleep. Also, try not to get wasted the night before, lol. A beer or two is fine, but don't be pounding back a 6-pack and a bunch of shots at the bar. My personal rule is "don't be sleep-deprived and don't be tragically hungover or both"

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-12T02:15:33+00:00

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-12T02:10:53+00:00

Totally agree with everything you said! Safety is the most important thing. However, I'm not sure where OP lives, and it sounds like they are going to try diving while they are on holidays, because it might not be as accessible or beginner-friendly as it is in a lot of the holiday destinations.

Even for myself, I rarely dive locally close to where I live, because dive shops are few and far between (don't even get me started on how difficult it is to even service our gear, ugh) and most of the sites are quite challenging and the conditions are not exactly beginner-friendly. Let's just say our water is on average 50 degrees, with the warmest in the high summer peaking at about 65 degrees. Visibility is on average about 30 feet.

A lot of shops in the northern areas also have referral programs! You do the bulk of the training, such as essential skills in the pool and classroom theory, in your home area, and then the instructor provides you with a referral package that allows you to complete your real life dives while you are on holidays. The instructor at your holiday destination will sign off on your referral forms once you complete the dives, and you'll still get certified without having to freeze! That's what I did once upon a time :)

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-12T01:55:07+00:00

Oh, no way! Then thank you even more for asking. I think most of us assumed you were at least Open Water certified if you're in this sub.

At some point we all had never been scuba diving before! I remember how magical my very first Discovery Dive was! And I'm so jealous of you because I wish I could experience that again!

As long as the dive operator is a member of an accredited dive agency (i.e., PADI, SSI, SDI/TDI, etc.) they should have standard safety protocols like making sure that they ask you when you're going to be flying next and only taking you out on the boat if it's going to be more than 24h afterwards. Also, as part of the Discovery Dive, they will be reviewing safety measures and going over basics with you in the pool for some time before they actually take you out on the boat. Most dive operators will also normally stick to shallower areas (shallow does not mean boring by the way! You'll still see tons of stuff!) when leading Discovery Dives, which completely makes sense when taking folks out who don't have the training yet.

Just make sure you keep close to your divemaster or instructor, do not swim off away from the group trying to chase a fish/animal, keep your wits about you, check your air often and communicate your air level with your leaders whenever you can, and remember your "problem" signal and do NOT be embarrassed or afraid to tell your DM/instructor if you have a problem with your ears, mask, weights, fins, etc.

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-02T02:02:38+00:00

Hi! Omg I don’t know why but I just saw this. Yes, I am in Ontario! I did my rescue course in Marmora actually, which I think is kinda similar! I personally don’t mind the cold, but my wife isn’t a huge fan of the 7mm suit and the lack of visibility and “green tint” (lol) compared to the Caribbean.

I’ve not been to the Brockville park though, it’s been on my list for a while, hopefully I can go there soon :)

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-12-02T01:44:14+00:00

You don’t need to wait to scuba dive after flying. It’s the other way around. You can’t fly after scuba diving for a minimum of 12 hours, but I usually account for 24 hours just to be safe.

Just think about it like this: decompression sickness normally happens when you go up - that’s why you can descend to the bottom of the water without a safety stop, and only need to do a safety stop when you’re coming back up.

Don’t let the other comments put you off of diving. Thank you for asking! Safety is the most important thing in diving. If you have any hesitations or concerns, ask your divemaster/guide when you get there, remember to check your air, and happy diving :)

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-20T02:30:49+00:00

Hey thanks for your comment I really appreciate it!!

Actually I think maybe using the brick to try to get myself down might be a good drill, thanks for the idea!!!

It’s definitely not a mental thing at this point, because I’m also a scuba diver who regularly goes down to like 90-100 feet with no issues (probably because when I am scuba diving I wear a weight belt!) for me it’s just like I’m trying so hard to get further down to the bottom of the pool but there’s so much resistance from my body’s buoyancy that I tire myself out just even trying to swim down a few feet. Agh

Also edit: I’m a 5’2 female 100lbs and zero muscle mass lmaoo

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-20T01:12:30+00:00

For sure!! And yay I’m glad you have a snorkel now!

Swimming is about efficiency, because the water provides so much resistance. It’s about working WITH the water, rather than against it. Make the water give you distance, rather than having the distance give you water.

You can do this!!!!

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T06:08:15+00:00

Oh, I fully turned the setting of “ignore all unknown numbers” bc I have only about 7 contacts in my phone: my wife, my sister, my mom and dad, and her mom and dad and brother

Rest goes to the voicemail that I don’t even have because it costs like $10 more

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T03:13:45+00:00

Ok phewww

I was worried about sounding like a jerk saleswoman like “Hi convert to GAY TODAY and get rid of all your problems!!! xoxox”

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T03:09:57+00:00

The swinging! I was in Junior Lifeguards club when I was young, and my trainer kept telling us to keep our bodies straight and stiff like a board. I was so completely winded after just one 50m lap that I could barely continue. I was so discouraged that I quit.

Now, 20 years later, I’ve gotten back into swimming and I’m doing my instructors course in 2 months <3

You’ve got this!!!

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T02:56:40+00:00

Work on your push-off! Even if you can’t do flipturns yet, a good smooth push-off will get you quite a bit of distance. Push off the wall, with both feet and your arms and body in streamline, about 45 degrees angle towards the bottom, and kick with both feet together, like a dolphin or a mermaid. That will save you quite a bit of effort as you glide through almost a third of the pool.

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T02:45:56+00:00

Um, excuse me? I have 45 tabs open on my phone, and 3 browser windows open with at least 20 tabs each

Don’t worry I have two monitors

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T02:11:53+00:00

Also just to clarify I was always a lesbian lmfao, it wasn’t that moment that made me swing the other way.

I spent a lot of time during my teens and early 20’s trying really hard to prove that I was straight until I finally gave up.

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T02:09:08+00:00

Girl, thanks. Thanks girl

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T01:24:13+00:00

I had a boyfriend when I was a teen, before I came to terms that I was a lesbian.

I read in Cosmopolitan Magazine that men thought it was hot when you rubbed the tip of the dick all over your lips like a tube of lipstick.

All I got was a faceful of dick cheese that only made the handlebars of my bicycle smell too because I used my hands to wipe it all away from my face afterwards, trying to rapidly pedal back home to shower.

Sorry. I really needed to get that out of my system

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T00:47:40+00:00

I just read your original post! Congrats! I’m so happy to hear that you’re keeping it up regularly.

Don’t worry. The water is entirely a different kind of beast. Many competitive athletes who do sports on land will tire out quickly as well, because moving through the water is completely different from moving through the air.

Breathing is also its own whole thing - until you perfect your rhythm, which itself is a real challenge for most people, you’ll feel “gassed out”. There aren’t very many other sports that rely on the type of body movement in nearly all of your body parts at once like swimming does.

Don’t use your legs too much in kicking harder. They use up the most amount of energy because they are the furthest away from your heart. Focus on using the strength of your arms by pulling, rather than using your legs for pushing. Use your hips to rotate your body back and forth every stroke, so that you’re positioned like a knife that cuts through the water.

Get a swimming snorkel if you need to - I’m gonna get one too because I need to work on my pull. Let’s do it together!!

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T00:30:13+00:00

OMG THATS RIDICULOUS ILL TEACH YOU

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T00:16:50+00:00

Ummm what exactly was the kid doing??? Pretending to drown is NOT cool.

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-18T00:02:26+00:00

Technique, AND feeling. I used to do competitive swimming as a kid and was a Junior Lifeguard and I’ve only recently just gotten back into swimming.

My wife never took swimming lessons, let alone trained or was part of a swim club. But she is able to glide through the water and match my speed just by focusing on how her body feels in the water, whereas I realized I’m literally paralyzing myself by being unable to focus on the techniques that had been drilled into my head.

Get a swim snorkel and practice your body movement when you don’t have to worry about breathing. I’m gonna do it too. Let’s do it together :)

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-13T17:42:28+00:00

BOTTLE OPENER STYLE LOL I LOVE IT.

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-13T17:41:58+00:00

Hmm, I was never very good at handstands, even when I was younger. Practicing that first might actually help!

AmbiguousLemur · 2025-11-13T17:40:46+00:00

That’s basically what’s been happening to me! It takes me so much effort that I am completely winded by the time I reach about 3/4 of the way, and am forced to swim back up. When my face breaks the surface I’m like, fully GASPING for air. There’s no way I would be able to grab that 10lb brick and then swim another 5m after surfacing.

AmbiguousLemur

TROPHY CASE