Scuba Diving at Goa for an active family holiday fun. Explore the aquatic world or hone your dive skills at these popular dive sites.

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Duration

Depending on the program of your choice, the duration can be anywhere from half a day to four days.

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Best Season To Travel

The scuba dive seasons starts in October and goes up to May. The water temperatures can range from 27 to 30 degrees and dives are in the 10 to 15 m range. The visibility varies between 5 to 10m over the season.

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Highlight of the Tour

A great way to holiday for the entire family, scuba diving will help create eco awareness even among youngsters. If you’ve never been scuba diving, there’s nothing like the present to start off! With a beginner’s program which even non-swimmers can opt for, there’s nothing stopping you from exploring the wonders of the underwater realm.

• Experienced divers can opt to explore specific dive sites such as the wreck of the S.S. Rita, Navy Bay rocks, St. George’s Reef, Davey Jones’ Locker, Grande Island, Sail Rock, or Lobster Rocks.  
• Situated on the southwest side of Grande Island, Sail Rock is home to plenty of fish species including snapper, barracuda, and groupers. Comprising of a rocky pinnacle with depth ranging from around 16 meters/52 feet to 24 meters/78 feet, the site is a visual delight.
• The S.S. Rita is believed to have gone under near Grande Island sometime in the 1950s. The bow section of the vessel can be found near the southwest part of Grande Island. Big groupers have made the hold of the ship their home while scorpion fish can be seen on the deck and the railings. Depth ranges from 10 to 13 m and this is considered an easy dive.
• The stern of the S.S. Rita had broken off and is now resting about 600 m away. This dive site is known as Davy Jones Locker. Depth is from 5-15 m and is recommended mostly for advanced divers owing to the currents and low visibility.
• Also known as Umma Gumma Reef, St George’s Reef has rocky channels that are characteristic of the dive site at a depth of 10-14 m. The remains of a wooden Portuguese ship carrying wooden tiles are found here and the cargo stays scattered at the bottom.
• Characterized by a rocky reef encrusted with soft coral, Navy Bay Rocks are great for some lobster-spotting!

 

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Pre-Requisites

Beginner’s Program:

It is not mandatory to know swimming for this program and anyone over the age of 10 can participate so long as they do not have a fear of being in the water. There is no specific weight requirement so long as participants are medically fit. Before you sign up, you will have to download, print, and fill out a medical statement. This is simply to check that you have no medical conditions that would make it unsafe for you to go scuba diving.

Advanced courses require you to be a certified diver.

Note: You cannot travel by air up to 12 hours after the dive. However, there are no restrictions on road travel.

 

The dive visibility in Goa is in the 5-10 range owing to the confluence of the two rivers – the Mandovi and the Zuari. Since there is a continental shelf in the waters off the coast of Goa, diving is limited to a maximum of 24 m due to the shallow waters and thus minimizes the risk of Decompression Sickness. Coral gardens, pinnacles, and shipwrecks await those who dive into the pristine waters off the Goan coast. It is said that the waters off Goa conceal around 600 shipwrecks, though there is no definite figure available.