I’m always dreamed of scuba diving, so with all the time off we’ve had recently I decided to use one of the Discover Scuba Diving Experience (DSD) coupons in Entertainer Oman to try it out. I am SO glad I did!
In fact, there are Discover Scuba Diving Experience 2-for-1 coupons in Entertainer 2012 for Omanta, Bluezone, and Global Scuba Dive Centre but Bluezone never answered their phone and I personally found the gentlemen at Omanta more helpful with providing information and getting back to me pronto. (It’s all about customer service, folks! 😉 )
Omanta Scuba at “The Boat House”. The easiest way to get here is to drive in Al Jawharat Mall parking (go in the parking lot back of O Sole Mio) and drive along the beach to the right where the parking meets the ocean. The Boat House is about 200 meters up the beach.
A pic of the Intercon from the Beach House taken from the equipment room where they suited us up with all the rental gear. In case you were wondering, the Discover Scuba Diving Experience cost us 50 rials (for 2 people!) and we also went with an additional dive on the same day for another 15 rials (again-this covered both of us!), so the whole awesome experience only cost 65 rials for 2 which gave both of us credit for “Confined Water Dive One” and “Open Water Dive One” towards PADI qualification! In addition, one person gets a discount towards the PADI qualification if they sign up within a week of the DSD, which I did!
Another great reason to sign up with Omanta Scuba is that they were the 1st Scuba Diving Academy to set up shop in Oman and they come with a wealth of knowledge, experience and professionalism.
Once we had all our gear picked out, it was a 20 minute drive to Marina Bander Al Rowdha where we got on the boat. Our first destination was SeaHorse Cove at Bandar Al Khiran.
Gorgeous, or what? By the way, you might naturally assume (as I did!) that there must be lots of seahorses at Seahorse Cove, right?…well, you’d be wrong. Maybe there used to be lots of seahorses here but not anymore.
If you do decide to go out diving or snorkelling in Oman, make sure you bring a camera!
Never thought my first time scuba-diving would be with an Anglican pastor, hahah! (Pastor Chris Howitz from the PCO) How cool is that?! Can I get an “Amen”? 🙂
Ready to descend!
This great pic of the warning device (to inform boats that divers are present) and our bubbles as the instructor teaches us the basics while we’re underwater was taken by our boat captain, Zacharia. I am not even going to try to put into words the incredible experience of diving for the first time. This quote I found does a good job of summing up the whole experience: ”
As a diver you are weightless and can move in all directions. You approach the freedom of a bird as you move in three dimensions in a fluid environment. (Dennis Graver, Scuba Diving)
Our Captain (and part time photographer), Zacharia, as we leave SeaHorse Cove for our next dive spot. What is our next destination?!. Stay tuned for Part 2 to find out!
Andy in Oman 
Hi Andy, we have only been here less than 3 months and have been following your blog even before we go here. Can you tell me where you got the Entertainer Oman book from? Is it only available online?
Both my wife (Julie) and I are really looking forward to discovering this country, the adventure is half the reason we are here! The SCUBA diving does look fantastic and it’s definitely something we want to do.
Rob
Hi, Robert!
First of all, welcome to the Sultanate! Sounds like you have the right atttide and I’m sure you and your wife will continue to love it here. I will be posting several posts on scuba-diving as I take the steps to get PADI qualified so stay tuned! 🙂 About “Entertainer Oman 2012” – I’m pretty sure you can still buy it at Borders Express near the food court in Qurum City Center. Let me know if you find it there, please. I hope your adventures here are even more exciting than you ever dreamed they’d be! Thanks for the comment and feedback. Scuba-diving is such an incredible experience!!! UPDATE-Went to Borders yesterday and they no longer sell the Entertainer Oman 2012 book!
Andy, this looks like such fun and something I have also wanted to do for a long time! Can you give me an idea of what whole course costs etc. (Of course you are now going to need an underwater camera from Father Christmas!! ha ha!)
The Discover Scuba Diving experience is 50 rials and the PADI Open Water Course runs anywhere between 150 and 200 rials depending on several factors such as whether you’ve done the Discover Scuba Diving Experience before, whether you want a copy of the PADI training videos (as I did) and several other factors. You really should call different scuba centres and compare prices to get the deal/package/location that works best for you. Yes, you must have read my mind about the underwater camera, haha! No cameras are permitted during training for safety reasons of course. After a few dives I’ll start trying to get a bit into underwater photography. I think I’ll stick with the 4.5 rial underwater cameras sold in my camera shops in Muscat as the underwater housing for most cameras is double the price of the camera itself!!!
thanks for that share! Looking forward to seeing your ‘Nemo’ shots!! Perhaps an entry or two on underwater photography for ‘wannabees’ like me when you get round to it?
It might take a while as I’m just a “newbie”. They say you should get at least 20 dives in before messing about with underwater photography.
Well done Andy: I guess I will see you on a diving trip or two this season!
Thanks, Alessandra! 🙂 Definitely hope to make a few dives! Would be nice to see you out there!
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Hi Andy,
Great blog there! I had no idea that (cheap) underwater cameras were available in Oman. I could definitely use one.
Could you please direct me to a shop from where I could purchase one? I live in Muscat.
Thanks a lot.
Keep writing!
umar,
Thanks for stopping by the blog. Cheap underwater cameras are available at Omanta Scuba, in their shop where the Intercon meets the beach. I’ve also purchased one once at the film store in Sabco. They sometimes have them in Foto Magic across from Carrefour in Muscat City Centre Seeb. Kind regards! 🙂