Scuba Diving is gaining popularity all around the world and is one of the water sports activities on everyone's bucket list. The best part about scuba diving is one does not need to know how to swim, anyone can get their way through it. In India, the best places to do Scuba Diving are Pondicherry, Goa, Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Recently I went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands so I will share my experience of Scuba Diving in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in this article.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands are known for their crystal clear water and a large variety of marine life with corals. In Andaman, you can enjoy Scuba Diving in many places like Port Blair, Neil Island, Havelock Island and North Bay Island. We heard a lot about the Scuba experience on Havelock Island so we decided to dive on Havelock Island. Note there are a lot of dive shops in Havelock and you are in charge of choosing from where you want to dive. One more benefit of this is the negotiation power, if you are a good negotiator you can dive at a discounted rate.
Scuba Diving costs anywhere between Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 6,000 based on the dive type you are opting for, these were the rates when we visited Andamans in October 2021. You may find a lot of websites that will promise you an early bird discount for a dive in Rs. 2,000 or even less than that but I would suggest not to go for online booking as there are chances of they might give you a basic shore dive at that cheap price and you will not enjoy and simply waste your money.
My suggestion would be to find someone who knows about the area like hotel staff or the person from whom you are renting a bike. They all have contacts with the dive shops and they would suggest to you all types of options available. Now I am not sure if they have their cut or commission in between, but even if they do so what. Your Scuba experience should be amazing and you should not look at such a small amount.
You can choose from Shore Dive or a Boat Dive. Shore Dive starts from the beach itself and you don't need a boat to go to the spot. Generally, Shore Dive is cheaper than Boat Dive anywhere from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,500 they may charge you for one Dive of 30 minutes after 15 minutes of training. One thing that makes it not so enjoyable is that on the beach due to unstable water you might not see the marine life and corals clearly as the mud is unsettled on the shore.
On the other hand in Boat Dive you will end up paying more bucks around Rs. 4,500 to Rs. 6,000 but the experience is worth it. I was skeptical to pay more but in the end, everything seemed worth it. We booked a Boat Dive from the person we rented our bike from. He was charging us somewhere around Rs. 5,500 for one dive but as were four people we negotiated a bit and slashed the price down to Rs. 4,750 now you can get even more discount based on your negotiating skills. All of us were not good negotiators, so we did the best we could.
Our dive was scheduled at 7:30 am in the first batch. One thing I would like to suggest is the type of dive you are choosing whether Shore or Boat. Please make sure to dive in the early morning in the first batch as the mud in the water is settled and you can see the marine life and corals more clearly and enjoy the best. So we reported at 7:00 am to the dive shop and filled all the required forms with our details and suited up the dive suit and were ready for the dive. At 7:30 am they started giving training like how to use oxygen cylinders and breathe through the mouth, if water is stored in the dive goggles how to breathe out and remove the water, they also taught us some hand signs as a way of communication when we are underwater.
Finally, after 15-20 minutes of training, we went to a dive location far from the beach on the boat. We started to dive, when you are underwater you are scared but eventually get used to it. The only problem I faced during my dive was the water used to get accumulated in my dive goggles and I had to remove them frequently as I was unable to see through them. There was a time when I was unable to breathe through my mouth and my heart started beating fast, so I called the dive instructor by signing up with my hand and he immediately took me above the water surface. He asked what the problem was and helo me relax I believe I am not used to breathing through my mouth so when I was unable to breathe I got scared and started to panic. You should not breathe heavily when underwater try to take it easy and calm and breathe slowly through your mouth. Try to keep your heartbeat normal as you move underwater.
After almost 30 minutes underwater when we headed back to the boat we all were living the ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ moment and the dive crew gave us some snacks and water to drink. The whole experience was amazing for us and I overcame my fear of entering the water on that day as I don’t know how to swim. We even got a participating certificate from the Dive Shop which I kept as a souvenir and I feel proud of myself whenever I see it.
So, this was just a summary of my diving experience on Havelock Island. I hope you enjoyed and liked it. If you need any more information on Scuba Diving on Havelock Island let me know in the comment section below I will get back to you. Thanks for your time and good luck with your dive, you can do it.
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