Planning a diving holiday with kids

The most common worry before booking is: “That’ll eat up half the holiday.” It won’t — if you plan it right. A Bubblemaker takes one boat day, a full certification three to four days. Here’s how to lay out the week.

How much time each course needs

Good to know: a course day isn’t a day at the reef from morning till night. You’re back at the hotel around 4pm — the afternoon and evening are yours.

The golden rule: never the last day

Between the last dive and the flight there must be at least 18 to 24 hours. That’s not a recommendation, it’s a safety requirement: cabin pressure drops during a flight, and residual nitrogen in the tissue can then cause problems.

In practice that means: for a return flight on Saturday at midday, the last dive is on Thursday at the latest. So never schedule the last course day for the day before departure.

A suggestion for a holiday week

This is what a well-planned week looks like where a child does the Junior Open Water Diver and a parent does the Open Water Diver at the same time:

• Saturday — arrival. Arrive, hotel, beach. Nothing planned.
• Sunday — acclimatise. Beach, snorkelling, getting to know the water. We’ll get in touch in the evening with the pick-up time.
• Monday — course day 1. Theory and swim test.
• Tuesday — course day 2. First open-water dives at the house reef.
• Wednesday — course day 3. Boat day, two dives.
• Thursday — course day 4. Final dives and exam. Certification.
• Friday — buffer day. Beach, excursion, sleep in. If a day fell through, it gets made up here.
• Saturday — departure. Over 24 hours since the last dive.

This week has two free days plus the afternoons. That’s a lot more holiday than most people expect.

Two weeks? Then more is possible

With two weeks, it makes sense to do the Junior Open Water Diver in the first week and a few pure fun dives in the second — no course pressure, just looking around. In our experience, those are the dives children remember most fondly.

Alternatively, go straight into the Junior Advanced in the second week, if your child is at least 12. There should be at least a day’s break between the two courses, though.

The right order with several children

If a younger sibling does the Bubblemaker and an older one the Junior Open Water Diver, we like to put the Bubblemaker on a day when a boat is going out anyway — then the whole family travels together, and the younger child has their Bubblemaker adventure right there on the spot.

What doesn’t work: both courses at the same time on the same morning if only one parent is coming along. Tell us at booking who needs to be where and when — we’ll build the plan around it.

Best time of year for families

Diving in Hurghada works year-round. For children we recommend March to May and September to November: water around 24 to 27 degrees, pleasantly warm on land rather than scorching hot.

High summer, with a water temperature of 28 to 29 degrees, is glorious, but very hot on deck — shade and plenty to drink are then a must. In winter the water drops to around 22 degrees; that’s perfectly fine for diving, but noticeably cooler for children. We then give them thicker suits and shorten the dives.

More on this under Hurghada & getting here.

Planning for weather

The theory sessions go ahead practically always. Boat trips can be cancelled at short notice in strong wind — the decision is made by the captain together with the port authority.

That doesn’t happen often, but it happens. That’s exactly what the buffer day is for. Anyone who puts the course into the last four days has a problem if a day falls through; anyone who starts early doesn’t.

Doing the theory at home beforehand

For the Junior Open Water Diver and the Open Water Diver, the PADI theory is available online. Working through it before the trip saves about half a day to a full day on site.

For families with limited holiday time, that’s by far the biggest lever. Let us know when booking, and you’ll get the login details in good time.