Scuba Diving Article

Best Scuba Diving Locations for Beginners

You might think that as a beginner or basic scuba diver your choices of truly amazing or exotic aquatic experiences are somewhat limited. Not true, indeed even for the beginning Scuba Diver holding an entry-level Scuba certification the world truly is your Ocean - or River, Lake or Stream for that matter.

Some of the most exotic and popular dive sites in the world like Costa Rica, Fiji, Thailand even Australia have sites for beginners as well as the advanced or experienced diver. A little closer to home Florida and the Florida Keys offer some of the most extensive dive areas and different Scuba Diving environments that are easy enough for beginning divers but diverse enough to return again and again. For example Scuba Diving Magazine rated Islamorada in the Florida Keys the number one dive site for beginners. There you can find many dive sites like the fully protected Alligator Reef Sanctuary, this 25 ft dive is located only 3.5 miles off the coast of Islamorada and is ideal for snorklers and beginner Scuba Divers. Safe and easy and crystal clear, Alligator Reef - don't worry it's named for a nearby wreck the USS Alligator not the reptile - is home to the largest variety of fish species in the keys. This is a great beginner dive for fish lovers and underwater photographers alike. There are dozens of other sites throughout Islamorada where even beginner scuba divers can see large pelagic fish like groupers, exotics like blue parrot fish and even have close encounters with a variety of Sharks. Another amazing experience that can be had in Florida and should not be missed by any diver is to dive with the Manatee in Crystal River Florida. The Manatee or sea cow is a docile and gentle sea mammal that many believed inspired the first tales of mermaids. Crystal River boasts the largest population of Manatee in the world and is the only place where you can snorkel or scuba dive among these gentle giants of the sea.

Jamaica and many other sites throughout the Caribbean are also relatively inexpensive places to experience some truly excellent beginner dive sites. Any and all of the popular and well-known typical tourists sites and island chains such as Curacao, the Turks and Caicos, the Caymans, even the Bahamas offer not only exciting nightlife and lots to do, but also great scuba diving for the beginner. There are some islands however that may not be as familiar sounding to you as the usual fare that are consistently rated as the top destinations specifically for Scuba, and there too, the beginner can experience the best that Scuba Diving has to offer. Bonaire a small island off of the coast of Venezuela in the Dutch Caribbean is generally recognized by Scuba professionals and Dive magazines as one of the top Scuba destinations worldwide. All of Bonaire's waters have been legally protected since 1979, and as such sports some of the most pristine reefs and diversity of exotic marine life on the planet.

The bottom line is, once you have become a certified Scuba Diver, even as a beginner the possibilities of where you can dive and what you can see are almost as limitless as the open waters themselves.