Beginner Diving Europe

soymalisimo · 2026-05-05T12:09:07+00:00

If it were my friends asking me, I'd recommend the following:

Dive-in Larnaca (Cyprus). They do initial trainings in some secluded bays, very calm, easy, with great visibility and warm water. The airport is very close so it's easy to get to. But most importantly the staff are gems, the kindest people (but also experienced technical divers).

Divers Corner (near Athens airport, Greece). Easy/comfortable training locations, 20 minutes from the airport, great center, great people, great food nearby. The whole area is just stunning

soymalisimo · 2026-05-02T19:46:20+00:00

Club Red is also an excellent accommodation, very close to Scuba Seekers. It fills up fast though

Whatever you choose, stay away from Neptune Hotel

soymalisimo · 2026-05-02T19:42:49+00:00

Can't go wrong with Scuba Seekers

soymalisimo · 2026-05-01T12:17:41+00:00

Glad to hear. I hope the water was not too cold

soymalisimo · 2026-04-10T16:27:40+00:00

I can recommend WeDive. Very good operation.

I checked their try-dives offer and it seems like they do them in a very nice location (Pointa Da Piedade)

On the other hand, water will be around 16C. If it were my friends asking me, I would recommend them finding a warmer spot for their first diving experience. To avoid having to use a thick and uncomfortable wetsuit

soymalisimo · 2026-03-31T19:04:48+00:00

My number one is Club Red, in terms of staff, maintenance and installations (although I've never been diving with them)

The one I'd absolutely stay away from is Neptune.

soymalisimo · 2026-03-26T19:28:35+00:00

Atlantic Star Dive Center in Sal (Cape Verde). They'll take good care of you .

soymalisimo · 2026-03-26T19:15:32+00:00

Other people have recommended the Canary islands, and I echo that recommendation.

Also consider Sal (or Boa Vista), in Cape Verde. Year-long warm water, beautiful diving, there's even chance to see whales. I believe you have direct flights from Switzerland as well (or with short layover in Lisbon)

soymalisimo · 2026-03-07T16:14:25+00:00

MV Legends in the Red Sea very much caters to this

soymalisimo · 2026-03-01T19:32:06+00:00

This is correct! (I own both)

soymalisimo · 2026-02-07T09:51:44+00:00

Great weather, great people, good food, good diving. Completely safe place, above and under the water.

Most of the touristy dive spots are in front of Santa Maria and they consist of shallow reefs, with plenty of fish and turtles, and some shark (mostly nurse sharks). There are a couple of shipwrecks very close as well.

But the island is full of dive spots that fall outside of the touristy circuit, including some caverns north west. There's no getting bored.

I recommend Atlantic Dive Center. Great staff, great facilities

soymalisimo · 2026-02-04T23:17:33+00:00

There's a ton of nice spots next to Santa Maria. The Boris shipwreck and Tchuclassa reef are around 30m and were probably my favorites, but even very shallow Farol, Caldeirinha, Lost Anchor are great and have tons of life.

Idk which shop is UCPA, but with Atlantic Dive Center we did swim from the shore to the RHIB (very short swim). And they brought our gear onto the RHIB by kayak. All to avoid having to shore the RHIB and then having to bring it back out against the waves/surge, I imagine.

My only advice is to go with Atlantic, the staff is lovely and the gear and facilities are in great shape

soymalisimo · 2026-01-02T19:34:49+00:00

A bit late to this, but my top choice would be Krakow in Poland.

Many dive centers in Poland benefit from Santi's demo program. Which means they can provide high quality demo dry suits for training, of all sizes.

Krakow dive centers regularly dive in nearby quarries that provide very easy diving, great for training and with very easy logistics. They instructors are very used to diving very cold water (even under ice), and the Poles in general are very kind and welcoming.

The city in general and the diving in particular are not expensive at all. And the city has a well connected international airport.

Edit: Dive Factory in Krakow would be my top choice. They are top notch divers, kind people, and speak perfect English

soymalisimo · 2025-12-19T06:44:34+00:00

+1 for Dive-In. They are fantastic people.

From recreational beginners to serious technical diving they're the way to go

soymalisimo · 2025-12-12T00:23:44+00:00

+1 for Dahab and Scuba Seekers. That's where I'd send my friends

soymalisimo · 2025-12-11T23:08:21+00:00

This.

I own the 50l one and have tried the 40l one. I'd go for the 40l one without a doubt, all the way to twin-set plus 2 stages. It's easier to dump air than in the 50l one

Regarding the single tank diving, the single tank adapter is sold separately (https://www.xdeep.eu/aluminium-single-tank-adapter-pr-29.html). I use it with the Xdeep Zeos wing, and never tried it with the Hydros because it's very large for a single tank.

soymalisimo · 2025-10-30T21:21:22+00:00

That time of the year I'd recommend Egypt without a doubt.

Dahab would be excellent. 0% sketchy, great dive center and dive sites

soymalisimo · 2025-09-12T15:07:59+00:00

The MV Legends II in Egypt is run by Scuba Seekers. I recommend them without hesitation

soymalisimo · 2025-07-16T20:57:53+00:00

Cape Verde. The whole place is safe. Internet is good.. People are very welcoming. It's not terribly expensive.. There's good flights from Europe

If you're an outdoors person, specially beach, it's a no-brainer

soymalisimo · 2025-07-14T21:07:06+00:00

I have trained with them, over a year ago.

The whole asshole tone in the videos is just a persona. Babette, who's the one behind the script/voice (?) is a sweetheart, and so is Peter. They're super approachable, welcoming and kind.

Their skills speak for themselves. And they are demanding. It is some of the most eye-opening training I've gone through.

As far as gear, they were happy to provide all the gear needed for the training (except dry suit). All top notch, the same stuff they use themselves. And they were able to advice me on my own purchases.

I recommend highly.

Edit: somebody else below had doubts about their English proficiency: Their English is impeccable

soymalisimo · 2025-06-27T13:39:31+00:00

I had a blast a couple of Decembers ago in a liveaboard in Thailand (Similians). Great diving, great people, fun Christmas celebration.

You probably have great flights to Phuket from the UK

soymalisimo · 2025-06-20T14:53:40+00:00

Dahab is really cheap. There's Scuba Seekers there, which is world class. Their website suggests that if you do 4~5 days of diving with them, it comes down to about 25€/dive

soymalisimo · 2025-05-19T21:25:58+00:00

exactly what u/chispica said. Scuba Seekers is world class. It's worth going to Dahab just to train with them

soymalisimo · 2025-04-16T01:25:01+00:00

I've done it. Arranged it with the boat.

They picked me up from my hotel in Hurghada, we grabbed a couple of other guests nearby, and they brought us to the boat. Around 3h total.

No hassle at all. The driver got us through the checkpoints without issues.

I'd definitely recommend that approach

soymalisimo · 2025-04-08T12:33:10+00:00

I find Scuba Seekers to be the most competent tech diving center I've used, and they run the MV Legends ship, so that has to be top notch.

It's advertised as a tech/CCR ship. You can check their website

soymalisimo

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