You will first learn the principles of scuba diving such as underwater signals, what each part of the scuba equipment does and what to look out for when diving.

You will start off your diving experience in a shallow part of the sea to practice breathing underwater, personal air supply management, how to clear your goggles if they fill up with water, regulator purges. There will be a lot of practice of different regulator scenarios too such as sharing your air source with your buddy, how to recover your regulator if you drop it and how to remove gear underwater. 

Yes there are. The UCPA Exploration scuba trips offer opportunities to gain dive experiences from deep walls to shallow reefs, there is something for all levels.

There are some amazing dives in the wreck graveyard of Sha'ab Abu Nuhas, Egypt, drift dives and even the chance to dive surrounded by dolphins! If you are looking to stay in the South of France, you can also expect to dive in spectacular sport in Giens and Porquerolles; wreck dives, drift dives, deep coral filled walls, underwater caves.

Most dive centres here in the UK and abroad require this before anyone can dive. UCPA will not allow you to dive unless you have a letter from your GP stating that you are fit to dive. It must be valid within 6 months of you traveling.

This is important to arrange before you go, otherwise you will need to sort it out upon arrival which could be costly and end up losing time diving.

Don’t let this stop you going. Lots of divers get motion sickness on dive boats, but the best thing to do is as soon as you stop, get your dive gear on as quick as possible and tell your instructor you want to get in the water. Once a diver is off the boat, sea sickness usually disappears because you are moving with the water instead of bouncing around on top if it.

We’d suggest if you know you are sea sick, do speak to your GP or pharmacist about what remedies there are to help so you can try to prevent it. It is very important to avoid medicines that make you drowsy though as you need to be alert when diving.