The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi is providing visitors with the unique pleasure of getting their feet wet with the fish and no diving experience is necessary. If you are not a licenced scuba diver, you may opt for the AED 1,210 Discover Scuba Diving Experience, which requires no prior diving experience. Dives take place at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. and visitors must arrive two hours in advance for training, preparation, and skill practice. The event is suitable for children aged 10 and up.
The adventure begins with a PADI-certified training session with a qualified trainer who leads you through the steps of your first dive. You learn the fundamentals of how to operate the respirator, the hand signals you’ll need while underwater, and how to quickly solve any difficulties that arise. As a first dive, this dive counts toward being certified for scuba diving – and you’ll most likely want to acquire your licence following this adventure.
You’ll also need to agree to some ground rules, such as not putting your hand in the shark’s mouth, not swimming away on your own, and not attempting to corner the creatures. If you follow these rules, you’ll be absolutely safe, even if some of the world’s most powerful monsters are swimming around you.
After completing some basic training, you put on your mask and get into the tank. Keep a lookout for friendly stingrays that may come over to say hello as you drop, and then follow your teacher into the habitat. You’ll be able to feed the animals, snap photographs at various locations with the aid of the underwater camera crew, and see the magnificent nature.
If you are already a licenced diver, you can skip the preparation and go straight to the Shark Dive option. The Shark Dive is only available to trained divers and costs AED 790. The diving times for this dive are 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm, and you must arrive one hour before the dive to prepare.
