Though there are many wonderful reasons to travel to Belize, undoubtedly one of the most popular reasons is to experience our beautiful turquoise waters. Lots of travelers come to snorkel, but the best way to truly appreciate our underwater life, is to dive deep beneath the waves. If you’ve ever been curious about how to complete your scuba certificate, look no further. Ray Caye offers the perfect location to begin your diving journey and once you’ve experienced life in the depths, we can promise you’ll wonder why it took you so long!
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever – Jacques Cousteau, Explorer, Conservationist, Father of Scuba Diving
On Ray Caye, we are home to our very own PADI-Certified Dive Center – Pirate Reef Divers. This means there’s no extra travel to get anywhere once you’re on the island, not to mention that we have some of the very best dive spots within minutes of our shores. The team at Pirate Reef are highly experienced, and are happy for you to bring your own diving gear, or rent from their own inventory on the island. Though, surely one of the biggest benefits of diving with our private island center, is that we are able to offer custom experiences and private training with absolutely no issues of overcrowding. On top of this, our certificates take almost half the time to complete because there is such minimal time spent traveling to the reef from our beautiful island.
For those that are brand new to the idea of diving, and not ready to take the plunge into a full certification, you might decide that you’d like to try the Discover Scuba course. This quick and easy course is the perfect introduction into learning what it’s like to breathe underwater and requires no previous experience with scuba diving. You’ll get to learn the basic safety guidelines and skills needed to dive, as well as learn about the equipment used. You must be at least 10 years old to complete the Discover Scuba, and in reasonable physical health. The course costs USD$197 per person and takes just one day to complete.
If you already know for sure that you’re ready to dive deep beneath the waves, then the PADI Open Water Diver Certificate is the course for you. As the world’s most popular and widely-recognized scuba course, the Open Water Diver course teaches you everything you need to know to safely dive and get the most out of your underwater time. The course includes knowledge development and study time to understand the basic principles and science of scuba diving, some of which can be completed in advance from home should you wish. In your practical training you’ll learn how to use basic scuba gear, including masks, snorkel, fins, regulators, tanks and buoyancy control devices. You’ll also learn all the important hand signals used underwater to communicate with your dive buddy and dive leaders.
Once you’ve conquered the theory, you’ll complete some confined water dives to test your knowledge. Then once you are confident, you’ll have the opportunity to complete a series of open water dives to learn how to put your newfound skills into action in the depths. You must be at least 10 years old, in good physical health, and have adequate swimming skills, which will be tested during your training. The full course generally takes 4 days to complete, and costs USD$563 per person.
If you’re already a seasoned diver, then why not take a look at our 6-night all-inclusive Dive Package which includes 3 full days of diving at our beautiful dive sites, many of which are right on the Belize Barrier Reef. Or perhaps it’s been a few years since you’ve had the opportunity to go diving and you’re feeling a little nervous? In which case, the Refresher Course is the perfect option offering you the chance to go over all the skills you learned in the past and get you back to full confidence in the water.
Alternatively, consider taking your skills to the next level by completing our PADI Advanced Open Water Certification or even one of our Rescue Diver or Divemaster courses. No matter which course you choose to undertake, the team from Pirate Reef and Raye Caye will take care of all the details for you and make sure you have the best diving experience of your life!
