Late last July I completed my PADI – a worldwide recognized dive qualification – in Mallorca and am itching to get back into the water having not had the opportunity so far this year and not having the inclination to brave the UK’s chilly waters.

Most of my friends had done their PADI in the Caribbean and Egypt, and I’d heard some pretty scary tales, but as my sister was booked to do her advanced diving course and had been searching through available villas in Mallorca to find a base, I thought I’d tag along and try to get my basic PADI Open Water qualification. Having listened to her stories of warm, clear waters, lots of marine reserves, short boat trips to dive sites and little or no currents in Mallorca, it seemed like a good place to learn to dive.

Luckily my sister had done all the research into the company we used and checked out their 5-star PADI certification. As she leaves no stone unturned and is fanatical about diving safety I was quite happy to follow blindly as there seemed to be a large number of operators on the island and I think I might have ended up being tempted to just stick a pin in a map if it had been left to me.

She also found a PADI open water course online so that I could do all the theory prior to leaving the UK and just do the practical diving bit in Mallorca. It’s a really good tip so you don’t have to sit in the shade doing bookwork on holiday and that you feel a bit short-changed if you’ve paid to be abroad and can’t really enjoy it to the full as you have bookwork to do. It also splits the cost so you pay to do your coursework online and then only need to pay the dive school for the actual practical dive training.

We looked at holiday villas in Mallorca and ended up settling on a lovely Mallorca rental villa close to Port de Pollenca and the well-established Scuba Mallorca that offered us the best of both worlds – a great location and close to the dive school. I was banned from getting the beers in at the local supermarket for the duration of the 4-day course, as apparently it’s best not to drink and dive – not only for all the normal reasons but also as alcohol-produced dehydration, one of the prime causes of decompression illness.

The course itself was great fun and the English-speaking instructors ensured there were no language difficulties. I had a few problems removing my mask under water - one of the required skills - but got it sorted out fairly fast with a few tips from the instructor. The fact that it happens regularly made me feel better. We had a great group and quickly bonded – I think much due to the fact that we were sharing a new experience together.

During the couple of half days off I went hiking on the Dragonera Nature Reserve in the southwest of the island with a couple who were also on my course. Walking on the island is stunning as it gives you a really good opportunity to get away from the busier coastal areas.

I was rather envious of my sister’s story of her night dive - apparently the sea was alive with fluorescent algal blooms - and the way she could ‘ID’ various wrasse and jacks as it was all I could do to remember all the checks and keep an eye on my depth, air and buddy, although I did see a rather impressive barracuda and that was one story she couldn’t match.

Can’t wait to get back to Mallorca for some more sub aqua but might leave it until the end of the summer this year as the prices come down in October at the tail end of the tourist season making this an even more cost-effective dive location than it already is. Bargain!