Scuba Diving in the Andamans as a Complete Beginner
1 August 2026 · TravelJar
The Andamans are among the more accessible places in India to dive for the first time — warm water, good visibility and reefs close to shore.
Two things are worth understanding before you book.
Discover dive versus certification
A discover or introductory dive lets an uncertified beginner dive to a shallow depth accompanied closely by an instructor. It takes a morning and requires no prior experience.
A certification course takes several days and leaves you able to dive independently within limits. If you expect to dive again, doing the course here rather than a single introductory dive is usually better value.
- Introductory dive — half a day, no experience needed
- Certification — several days, useful long term
- Snorkelling reaches plenty of the reef if diving is not for you
The rule people find out too late
You should not fly for a period after diving, and that interval is longer than most travellers expect. Booking a dive for the day before a flight home is a genuine problem, not a technicality.
Dive operators will refuse on that basis, which is the correct outcome but a disappointing one. Plan diving for the early part of the trip.
Some medical conditions also rule out diving, and operators require a health declaration. If anything on it applies to you, speak to a doctor before you travel rather than on the beach.