Scuba Diving: Tips and Tricks for the Modern Woman!

For our get-away this year, my family decided to road trip down to the Florida Keys. The drive's not too tough but we definitely all needed a change of scenery and a break from routines!

Look at that gorgeous water after our afternoon dives!

The main attraction (for my dad and I anyway) was that our hotel has one of the best scuba programs in the Keys. We got Open Water certified (the first level of scuba diving certification) back in 2012 but had yet to test out our skills past that. My dad's obsessed with fish, boats, basically anything that involves being on or in the water. We decided to get our Advanced Open Water certification and I'm happy to say I'm officially certified after four days of diving!

However, it was during this week that I noticed the crazy lack of women in this recreational activity. I started wondering why and I decided to write up a quick guide to scuba diving for women! I mostly geared it towards people who are just getting their Open Water certification or going on their first dive without an instructor. Just some dos (and plenty of don'ts) for being on and in the water!

• Don't wear make-up or do your hair nicely. You'll see plenty of people but they're not interested in what you look like, only how you handle yourself on the water
• Take off all your jewelry and don't worry about having a nice cover up or anything like that. You spend most of your time in your wet suit anyway :)
• Make sure your comfortable in your bathing suit (I prefer one pieces when diving but it's totally your decision)
• Learn any and every thing about the gear your using. There are no stupid questions (I asked about mouth calluses today...with no shame at all)
• Be calm! Panicking at any stage is going to over-exert you, causing you to be tired and use more air from your tank once you get in the water
• Yep, you'll see sharks, some mean looking barracuda, sting rays, and much more. Focus on observing how they swim and they won't come anywhere near you!
• Don't be intimidated by anyone (other divers, captains, teachers, etc.). They all learned to dive at some point and love teaching as well as encouraging newcomers!
• Take the time out of each dive and boat ride to marvel in what you're looking at. Skills are super important but so is appreciating what you've worked so hard to be able to observe

Comment with any questions about scuba diving or maybe fun suggestions for where my dad and I should dive next!