tanabanana -

Ever heard of Snuba? Good place for a beginner to start.

My husband's first introduction to scuba was a Snuba excursion in Hawaii - he fell in love with the whole underwater thing and never looked back.

He's now a dive master.

Cod Hole is great but very expensive to get there

Dive Master wow very cool! I have not heard of Snuba until now I'll look into that thank you! Georgie I am not against snorkeling it's just not my thing! In truth I am a little more weirded out by snorkeling fearing water will get in the tube. Same as bungee jumping I think it's far scarier than leaping out of a plane! Maybe that's my subconscious telling me if I'm going to die doing this I better be sure I'm dead. Not to be morbid or anything:)

I would love to hear more about your time in Cod Hole if you see my reply again please! Thanks

Where are you based? I have taught diving all over for many years and have found one thing to be true... Having the perfect location, perfect conditions, dream trip can sometimes be the worst thing for your first diving experience. People can over plan and end up putting so much pressure on themselves that they stress out and don't achieve their goal.

Try a local dive (if there is somewhere nearby). Also go to a local dive shop and do a pool session to see if you can relax with the gear on in a swimming pool, with nothing else to think about... If you can't deal with it in a swimming pool, then the best dive spots in the world, under the best conditions aren't going to help you.

Having said that, if you plan to try, head out and do a discover scuba diving with a private instructor (maximum of 4 per instructor anyway, but you don't need the extra pressure of 3 others all staring at you as you conquer your fear).

Good Luck. It's a wonderful sport, with so many spectacular places all over the world. The perfect conditions depend on the dive, with some of my most memorable dives being muck diving and cave diving.

<<With an "iffy stomach for waves and motion" are you sure SCUBA is your sport? >>

Nor would the GBR be the place to start - takes 1.5 to 2 hours to get to the reef from shore at Cairns or Port Douglas.

Thanks! Muck diving eh? I'll look that up doubt it's what it sounds! My SCUBA plans were derailed by my husband who finally convinced to skydive instead and let me tell you I'm never doing that again!!!!!