Introductory dive
Discover scuba diving in Crete.
Photo: Nadiia Astakhova / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Heraklion
- Start town
- Heraklion
- Typical duration
- 4–5 hours
- Type
- Introductory dive
A discover scuba session in Crete is an introductory dive for people who are not certified. You meet at a dive centre, usually around Heraklion or a nearby harbour, and the first hour is paperwork, a medical questionnaire and a briefing on the surface. You then try the equipment in shallow water with an instructor beside you. The actual dive is short. Most of the four to five hours on the clock is the briefing, the kitting up, and the boat or the drive to a sheltered site. You stay with that instructor for the whole time you are underwater. This is not a course that leaves you qualified to dive again tomorrow, and it is not a sightseeing boat with a mask.
The site is chosen for beginners: a sandy or rocky patch in a few metres, with a line or a guide to follow and no current worth mentioning. You will not see a wreck on the first outing, and you should be suspicious of a listing that promises one. What you do see is the ordinary life of a Cretan seabed, close up, which is the point. If you already hold a certification card, book a guided dive for certified divers. The taster will bore you, and it uses a slot that someone else needs. If you have never put a regulator in your mouth, this is the correct first step, including the part where you decide you do not like it and end the dive early. That is allowed.
The day suits healthy adults and older teenagers who are comfortable in the sea and can follow instructions when they are nervous. It is the wrong product if you cannot equalise your ears, if you are pregnant, or if a cold has blocked your sinuses. The centre will turn you away for those reasons, and they should. Children have a minimum age that the centre sets. Do not turn up hoping they will make an exception. Bring the morning as a single activity. A winery or a long drive afterwards is a bad combination, because you will be tired in a way a swim does not make you tired.
Is it worth it
It is worth it once, if you have wanted to try breathing underwater and you are willing to spend the morning on a briefing. It is not worth it as a cheap way to “see the fish”, because a snorkel morning shows you the same coast for less fuss. It is also not worth it if you already know you want a certification. In that case ask the centre about a proper course and use a different day. For a first try from Heraklion, a calm morning and an instructor who stays next to you is the whole product. Judge the operator by that, not by a photograph of a cavern.
What to bring
- Swimwear under your clothes, and a towel the centre may not lend
- Any certification card if you have one, so they can move you to the right dive
- A list of medication you take. The questionnaire is not a formality
- Soft ears. If you are congested, postpone. Forcing a descent hurts
Tips
- Say you are a beginner when you book. A certified boat is a different trip.
- Eat a light breakfast. A heavy one and a first regulator are a poor pair.
- Leave the afternoon empty. Most people want a sit-down, not a second excursion.
Related tours
- Snorkel
A snorkel stop on a calm morning
Lasithi3–4 hours
A calm morning swim. Not a dive course.
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FamilyCretaquarium and the Heraklion coast
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A hot-day plan when a gorge is too much.
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Top pickKnossos with a guide
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The guide is what makes the rooms readable.
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FAQ
Questions.
- No. The session is for people who are not certified. An instructor stays with you in the water. If you already have a card, book a guided dive for certified divers instead of the taster.
- Allow four to five hours from the meeting time. The underwater part is much shorter. Briefing, equipment and the move to the site take the rest.
- The centre trains you in shallow water before the dive, and you can stop. It is still scuba diving. Tell them about asthma, ear problems, pregnancy or a current cold. They can refuse you, and that refusal is the safe outcome.
- To a sheltered site the centre uses for beginners, often a short boat ride from the coast near Heraklion. The exact spot depends on the wind that morning. You should not expect a named wreck.
- Some centres take older children on a taster, with their own age limit and a guardian present. Ask before you book. A snorkel trip is the better plan for younger swimmers.