Scuba diving in Türkiye: how a first dive works, what a diving day includes, who can join and what certified divers can expect

Scuba diving in Türkiye is open to complete beginners. On a typical holiday diving day you are briefed and trained on the boat, then make two short, shallow dives with an instructor close beside you, while certified divers join the same boat and dive in their own group. This guide explains what scuba diving is, where Maxtoria’s diving tours run, how a diving day usually unfolds, what a first dive involves and how to stay safe underwater.

Each tour sets its own programme, minimum age and swimming rules, so treat the patterns here as a guide and read the tour page before you book.

At a glance

• Experience: none needed for a beginner dive; training is given before you go in

• Depth for beginners: shallow — Türkiye’s underwater sports federation limits dives for people without a certificate to five metres

• Dives: usually two in a day, each fairly short, with a rest and lunch on board in between

• Who can dive: the national minimum age is 12; tours that state a minimum set it at 12 or 14

• Usually included: hotel transfer, instructor, diving equipment and lunch

• Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before the start on every Maxtoria tour

What is scuba diving?

Scuba stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. You carry your own air in a tank on your back and breathe it through a regulator, which reduces the tank’s high pressure so you can breathe normally from its mouthpiece. That lets you stay below the surface at eye level with the fish instead of looking down at them from above.

Scuba diving, snorkelling and swimming are three different activities, and a diving day can include all of them:

• Scuba diving: you breathe from a tank while fully underwater. It needs an instructor for a try dive, or a certification course.

• Snorkelling: you float face down at the surface with a mask, snorkel and fins, and can only go under for as long as you can hold your breath.

• Swimming: no breathing equipment at all. Most diving days leave time to swim from the boat.

A try dive — also called a beginner dive or first dive — is a supervised introduction, not a qualification.

Where can you go scuba diving in Türkiye?

Türkiye has long Mediterranean and Aegean coastlines, and Maxtoria’s diving tours run from Side, Antalya, Alanya, Kemer and Marmaris. Underwater, the coast is rocky reef, rock formations and, in places, seagrass (Posidonia) meadows. There are no coral reefs in this part of the Mediterranean: expect usually calm summer seas, often good visibility and reef fish that often come close.

Side. Side lies on the Mediterranean east of Antalya, and its tours dive over the rocky reefs along this stretch of coast. A notable site is the Side Underwater Museum, Türkiye’s first underwater museum, opened in 2015 about 1.5 nautical miles off Side. Its more than 100 sculptures are modern works made for the site, not ancient ruins: figures from Turkish history and myth. The main sculpture groups lie at depths for certified divers, so beginners who dive there stay in the shallow part with their instructor. See scuba diving tours from Side.

Antalya and Kemer. Kemer, south-west of Antalya, is a well-established diving resort with many dive schools. Tours sail from Kemer marina to sheltered bays such as Aquarium Bay, often used for first dives, and Cave Bay, a rocky bay with overhangs (beginners do not go into the caves). If you are staying around Antalya, the Antalya-area tours collect you from your hotel and drive about an hour to Kemer; the diving happens there, not off Antalya city. Compare scuba diving tours from Antalya and scuba diving tours in Kemer.

Alanya. Further east, the Alanya tours sail from harbours on the Alanya coast, including Okurcalar, west of the town, and one tour sold from Side drives guests east to dive there. See scuba diving tours in Alanya.

Marmaris. On the south-west coast, where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean, Maxtoria also lists a full-day diving trip with hotel pickup in Marmaris and İçmeler.

How a typical diving day works

Maxtoria’s diving tours follow a similar pattern, though the order, times and sites vary by tour and on the day with the sea:

1. Hotel pickup — most tours collect you from hotels in their area, before the listed start time

2. Harbour or marina — you board the dive boat, sometimes after a road transfer of about an hour

3. Briefing and equipment — the instructors explain the kit and the dive plan

4. First dive — a shallow dive with your instructor beside you

5. Surface interval and lunch — a rest on deck, the break your body needs between two dives, with lunch served on board

6. Second dive — at a different site

7. Swimming and free time — most tours leave time to swim from the boat or relax on deck

8. Return and drop-off — back to the harbour, then the transfer to your hotel

For example, Maxtoria’s Side scuba diving tour runs from 09:30 to 16:00 from Side Harbour. The first dive is about 20 minutes at around five metres over a shallow rocky reef; after a surface interval of about 70 minutes and a hot lunch, the second dive of about 20 minutes is at the Side Underwater Museum site, followed by about 75 minutes of swimming and free time. Its guide languages are English and Turkish. Other tours start at different times, and guide languages differ too, so check the tour page.

Your first dive: what beginners can expect

Scuba diving for the first time is more about staying calm than being brave, and no certificate or previous dive is needed.

Briefing and equipment

Before the first dive the instructors explain the kit and the dive plan. Beginners are usually also shown a few hand signals for underwater, such as OK, problem, up and ear trouble. You may be asked health questions, and in Türkiye divers sign a declaration, in Turkish and a language they understand, that they know the safety rules and accept the risks of diving. Then you are fitted with your equipment — typically a mask, fins, a buoyancy jacket and weights, usually with a wetsuit. Ask for another size if anything pinches or feels loose.

Practising the basics

Beginners usually practise a few simple skills near the surface before going further down: breathing slowly through the regulator, letting a little water out of the mask, finding and replacing the mouthpiece, and equalising the ears by pinching the nose and blowing gently. The first minute can feel strange. Then it settles.

Underwater with your instructor

Your instructor stays close to you, sets the pace and the direction, and keeps contact with you throughout; on the Side tour, for example, the instructor works one to one with each beginner. Signal if anything feels wrong — an ear that will not clear, a mask that lets in water, or simply wanting to go up.

How deep do beginners go?

Not deep. Türkiye’s underwater sports federation (TSSF) defines an introductory dive for people without a certificate as a shallow dive, supervised one to one by an instructor, to a maximum of five metres. That is deep enough to feel properly underwater and shallow enough for plenty of light and colour. On the Side tour, for example, the first dive is at around five metres over a shallow rocky reef.

Diving as a certified diver

If you already hold a certification, many of the same tours take you too. You usually join the same boat and are grouped separately once the dive plan is set; on the Side tour, for example, deeper and longer dives can be arranged with the guide on the day. Mention your level and your last dive when you book.

Bring your certification card, and your logbook if you keep one; some tours ask for the card before you can dive at your own level. If you have not dived for six months or more, training agencies such as PADI recommend a refresher, so say so before you get in.

In Türkiye, certified visitors dive under the supervision of the dive centre’s guide rather than independently, and solo diving is not allowed. Depth limits follow your training: as an agency norm, an Open Water diver is qualified to 18 metres and an Advanced Open Water diver to 30 metres (adult limits; junior certifications can be shallower). At the Side Underwater Museum, the sculpture groups lie at about 11, 18 and 24 metres, according to Turkish news agencies.

Scuba equipment explained

Diving equipment is normally included and handed out on the day, so you do not need to bring any gear of your own; check the tour’s inclusions to be sure.

What’s usually included — and what isn’t

Each tour page lists its inclusions; the common pattern is:

Usually included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off within the tour’s area

• Two guided dives, usually at different sites

• A diving instructor throughout

• Diving equipment, and on some tours a life jacket

• Lunch on board

• The boat trip itself

Usually extra

• Drinks on board

• Photos and videos of your dives — optional photos can often be bought, so bring a little cash

• Personal expenses and tips

Insurance varies. Some tours list insurance among their inclusions, while others list personal travel insurance as not included. Check the tour page, and make sure your own travel insurance covers recreational scuba diving.

How long does a diving day take?

Most of Maxtoria’s diving tours are full-day trips, starting between about 09:30 and 10:00 and returning in the late afternoon, plus the hotel transfer before and after; at least one Kemer tour is a shorter morning trip. Only a small part of the day is spent underwater. On the Side tour, for example, the two dives add up to about 40 minutes; the rest is the briefing, sailing, the surface interval, lunch and time to swim.

Diving safety and health

On a beginner dive your instructor handles most of the rules, but these are worth knowing before you board:

• Listen to the briefing, and tell the team if any of your equipment feels wrong.

• Stay with your instructor and your group. In Türkiye nobody dives alone.

• Learn the hand signals and use them, especially for a problem or ear trouble.

• Equalise early and often on the way down. If an ear hurts, stop and signal your instructor, who will take you up a little so you can try again — never force it.

• Never hold your breath. Breathe slowly and continuously, and come up slowly as your instructor directs.

• Avoid alcohol before diving, and do not dive if you feel unwell.

• Stay within your training; a beginner dive is not a certification.

Health and medication. Tell the dive team about any medical condition or medication before you book; several tours, including the Side tour, ask for this. Dive centres use a standard diver medical questionnaire, and a “yes” to certain questions usually means you need a doctor’s approval before diving. If in doubt, ask a doctor, ideally one familiar with diving. The standard questionnaire advises against diving while pregnant, and the tours in this category that mention pregnancy say diving is not suitable.

Flying after diving. Divers Alert Network (DAN) guidance is to wait at least 12 hours after a single dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives in a day or diving on consecutive days — and a two-dive day counts as multiple dives. Some tour pages advise a longer wait; where a tour’s advice is stricter, follow it. Do not book your dive day just before your flight home.

Local rules. Türkiye protects its underwater heritage strictly. Touching, moving or bringing up anything from the seabed, whether historic or natural, is prohibited; sport diving is banned in designated protection zones except at approved sites; and spearfishing with scuba is illegal. If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask your instructor.

What you may see underwater

On the rocky reefs of Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast you may see schools of bream and bogue, wrasses and small damselfish, and with luck an octopus, a cuttlefish or a moray eel tucked into a crevice. Groupers, barracuda and stingrays are also recorded along the Antalya coast, and loggerhead turtles are occasionally seen by divers in summer. Nothing is guaranteed: it depends on the site, the season and the day.

Two newcomers are worth recognising. Lionfish, an invasive species with venomous spines, have reached Antalya Bay. The silver-cheeked toadfish, a large invasive pufferfish, is poisonous to eat and can bite. Look at both, and touch neither.

Diving responsibly

• Touch nothing: reef life is easily damaged, and some residents sting or bite.

• Take nothing: shells, stones and anything historic stay where they are.

• Keep your fins off the bottom and away from seagrass meadows, which shelter young fish.

• Do not feed fish or other wildlife unless the dive team specifically allows it; feeding changes their natural behaviour.

• Give turtles and other large animals space, and never chase or touch them.

• Keep hoses and gauges tucked in so nothing drags across the reef.

• Leave every site exactly as you found it.

How to book

Choose a tour from the list on this page, pick a date and add your group; your pickup time is confirmed after booking. Most tours can be booked up to five hours before the start. Depending on the tour, you can pay online by card or, if you are signed in to your account, on the day. Every tour can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start. Before you book, check the tour page for its minimum age, swimming requirement and what is included, and ask Maxtoria support if anything is unclear.