Discover Scuba Diving in Tenerife

We have been going bananas here at Paradise with a very special dive for one of our returnees!

It was great to see Julie and Geoff back out diving with us and it was time for dive 100 for Julie! So after choosing where to go it was off for some afternoon fun at San Juan. We could not let this special dive go without a photo to remember! Geoff joined in the fun and they made a right pair of bananas! Great diving again with you- such fun!

We all started with dive No 1 and that’s exactly where these guys were at- completing their first breaths underwater with the Discover Scuba Diving Program. Accompanied by Jon and Paulo, John, George, (Paulo), Ines, Mario & Ramos all did a fantastic job!

It has been really great to have lots of divers going on to complete their PADI certifications and we welcomed Father and Daughter, David and Elspeth who after trying a dive in the pool launched into the PADI Scuba Diver Course. Dan was back again and this time he was in rescue mode. After he was put through his paces by Jon and I had been rescued in the pool we headed to sea. Meanwhile, Amanda and Jason took the chance to fit in a few more dives. Well done Dan on becoming a PADI Rescue Diver- I am not sure where in the manual it said about wearing your shorts over your wetsuit- no wonder your parents prefer to do their own dives!

It hasn’t been all training and it is always good to show qualified divers what diving in Tenerife is all about. We welcomed the Italian Gang! With a mixture of dive experiences and levels, all had one thing in mind- to get wet and dive! We headed out to El Puertito, Paraiso and San Juan and all in all got a great mixture. We spotted an electric ray, eagle ray, green turtle, barracuda, octopus, Atlantic ray and much more…..Lovely to have met you guys and I look forward to seeing the underwater video footage.

Ryane and Josh- both Junior Open Water divers called by to add some diving into their holiday plans and again sample underwater Tenerife! Also a shout out to Pete and family who were back out in Callao- great to see you guys- well done Richard on your exam results and Jack not too much card playing!!!

Finally I will leave you with this fellow- a cheeky Ocho!

That’s it for now- the sun is shining, my boots are nearly dry so it must be time for a dive!

Over & Out,

Kerstin & Jon

As promised, lots of divers all ready to claim the glory of appearing in Who’s @ Paradise Summer Part 2!!

It was Picnic time at Paradise when Russ returned with family to complete his Advanced Open Water Course. Judy and the girls- Alisha and Phoebie were not to be left out and got stuck into some scuba action with a Discover Scuba Session. Well done guys- we look forward to seeing the Paradise T-shirts on tour when you do your around the world trip!

Sue returned along with Stuart and Mac and this time she was ready to tackle the Open Water Course! Theory completed it was into the pool to master the skills and then off for the sea dives. In the mean time Stuart and Mac fitted in a few sneaky dives- including our new specialty in “reversing underwater” (into a deck chair!) pictures are surely to follow!

Also coming back for more was Mark, Heidi and Jack. Mark and Heidi took the opportunity to complete their long awaited rescue diver course and Jack took the plunge into his Open Water Diver Course. After doing an excellent job as distressed divers (the lifeguard didn’t even flinch) in the pool and successfully rescuing each other it was out for the sea scenarios. Jack got stuck into the knowledge requirements and pool, then he too was out to the sea. Fantastic job guys- well done!

We met Simon who was out with us completing his Open Water Sea Dives and also Hannah returned to continue her diving courses by upgrading her Scuba Diver qualification to Open Water.

Cris buddied up with Alan and enjoyed a few dives and John returned to Paradise for a couple of days in between relaxing with the rest of the family.

Ben and Elspeth were stopping onsite here at Tropical Park Resort and after joining in with our weekly free ‘Try A dive’ they were hooked! Ben did a fantastic job and went on to complete his Padi Open Water Diver Course and Elspeth, not to be left out, completed her Discover Scuba Experience along with some extra sea dives. It would be great to see you both again if you are out this way.

Chris, Adrian and Valev also sampled our ‘try a dive’ session and then booked in for a morning of Discover Scuba Diving fun. Thanks for the bananas Valev- look out for more about bananas in our next post!! Finally, we finish as we started, with a couple of familiar faces, Steph and Marie who joined in with a day out at El Puertito.

Well, that’s it for Part 2- we would like to say a BIG thank you to all our divers, new and returnee this Summer, for your continued support, for the dives we have done together and for the friends we have made along the way! We look forward to Summer 2011- make sure you don’t miss out on your chance to appear in Who’s @ Paradise Part 1 – Part 2 or maybe even Part 3!

Over and Out

Jon & Kerstin

It’s the Summer holidays and we have had a flying start- or should I say giant stride! It has been fantastic to meet some great new divers and many have been keeping Jon busy with training courses! So here goes… El Raton wreck has been a popular destination and is ideal for Advanced Courses!

It was lovely to have Graham back with us completing his Advanced Open Water Course- after completing the required Deep and Navigation dives, he then added Underwater Photography, Wreck and a Night Dive. Well done- great stuff! Graham also introduced us to Nick, keen to get into diving; he got his head down, completed the theory and was ready for the pool and sea dives. Nick is now a proud PADI Open Water diver and ready to get stuck into Scuba!

Another couple of newly qualified Open Water divers are Victoria and Alistair. Victoria, visiting us from the States and Alistair from the UK both took the opportunity to get qualified whilst on holiday. Superb job- excellent students and we look forward to seeing you again on your next visit.

David stopped by and joined us for a few morning dives- he hadn’t really planed to do any (but mysterously had some kit with him just in case!!!)……. and we welcomed back Beverly who was eager for some more turtle action.

Finally I will leave you with some bubble fun! Father and son, Derek and Lewis had a session in the pool to practice their underwater tennis and a few scuba skills as well whilst Emily brushed up on her underwater egg & spoon technique!

Well that’s a quick catch up- lots more diving going on so keep a look out for Who’s @ paradise Summer Part 2!

Over and out for now

Jon & Kerstin

Summer is almost here and we have had a good mixture of Scuba newbies and qualified divers out with us enjoying the warming waters and calm seas.

Howard took full advantage of our 2 dive morning package, in order to be all dived out and back in time for lunch and an afternoon of pool fun with his wife and young family! Similarly, we met Karin who was very sneaky to fit in 5 mornings with us whilst her Dad was out having his golf lessons.

We welcomed back Julie who brought along William for a Discover Scuba Diving Experience. After the short briefing and jump in the pool it was off to the sea for their first dive together. Great job William- well done! Also returning to us here at Paradise were familiar faces, Amanda, Dan and Jason. Amanda and Jason chilled out with a few pleasure dives and let Dan do the action holiday with a night dive and wreck dive! We will see you again in 6 weeks! I could have done with Amanda to pretty up this somewhat ‘butch’ picture of Dan, Jon and Jason.

Sam, tempted by her friends Min and Laura (qualified divers), also completed a Discover Scuba morning. After completing the pool session with Sam, we all went to El Puertito and were treated to some fantastic turtle action. Sam definitely seemed to get the dive bug and Min and Laura treated themselves to another dive the following day!

Sergey joined us to complete his PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. This is a great course to fit in whilst out here on holiday and with just 5 adventure dives and just a little theory it can be easily fitted in around your holiday plans. Well done and we hope to see you next time you are out this way!

Finally, it was great to see Mike again who was back out visiting family.

I will leave you with these great shots- Jon has been out snapping at Morays- or should I say the morays have been snapping at Jon!

Over & Out

Jon & Kerstin

Time for a catch up on who we have seen, where we have been and what is going on underwater here in Tenerife! Andy was back out diving with us and after a quick refresher in the pool it was off to El Puertito.

It was great to meet with Kathrin & Stephan who were staying here onsite at Tropical Park Resort. Kathrin decided to bite the bullet and complete her PADI Open Water Diver course. She did so in fine style and then went onto become a new ‘buddy’ for husband Stephan who is already a qualified diver. I managed to snap this sneaky picture of some hand holding which summed it all up! We look forward to seeing you both again on your next visit!

We also met with David, who had taken the opportunity to complete his Open Water training dives out here in sunny Tenerife and become a dive buddy to partner Jo- already a Rescue Diver. Having already completed the pool training sessions & theory it was straight to the sea to complete the Open Water dives. Before you could say PADI Open Water Diver, David was enjoying an extra day of pleasure diving alongside Jo! Great job David- well done!

Anne managed to squeeze a dive in and also Paul who returned to Paradise for a quick day of diving whilst here with family. All our dives are guided so myself and Jon are ready made buddies for any of you that are ‘buddyless’ or firmly agree that keeping their better half out of the water is the best thing!

On with some scuba newbies! As always the Discover Scuba Diving Experience program is a popular option and great if you are looking to share a diving experience with someone. Sarah, who completed her Open Water training with us last year, was back with friends Ben & James- who both did a great job (although Sarah did laugh a little when it was time to put on wetsuits- nothing like moral support!!!) Simon brought Johanna along and they both completed the experience together. Sally, a returnee, ‘persuaded’ Steve to have a go! Watch out Sally, I think Steve might now be hooked though!!

Finally, onto our youngsters that are showing us all how it should be done!Holly jumped in the pool for some bubble action and was a star! Little brother and wannabe buddy is still a bit little but great at learning underwater signs and helping out with games! Max and Stephen also had some bubble fun and did a fantastic job! So much so Stephan then went onto complete the Discover Scuba Diving program and got a taste for the salt water!

Wow- well that’s it for now!

We are now gearing up for the Summer, so it will be great to see you if you are heading out this way. Maybe you have someone that you would like to introduce to diving or share a dive with….just let us know….if not, and whilst we are in the spirit of sharing-someone once said to me ‘diving is my only chance to get away from her indoors!!!!’

Over and out

Kerstin & Jon

Time for a catch up on who we have seen, where we have been and what is going on underwater here in Tenerife! Andy was back out diving with us and after a quick refresher in the pool it was off to El Puertito.

It was great to meet with Kathrin & Stephan who were staying here onsite at Tropical Park Resort. Kathrin decided to bite the bullet and complete her PADI Open Water Diver course. She did so in fine style and then went onto become a new ‘buddy’ for husband Stephan who is already a qualified diver. I managed to snap this sneaky picture of some hand holding which summed it all up! We look forward to seeing you both again on your next visit!

We also met with David, who had taken the opportunity to complete his Open Water training dives out here in sunny Tenerife and become a dive buddy to partner Jo- already a Rescue Diver. Having already completed the pool training sessions & theory it was straight to the sea to complete the Open Water dives. Before you could say PADI Open Water Diver, David was enjoying an extra day of pleasure diving alongside Jo! Great job David- well done!

Anne managed to squeeze a dive in and also Paul who returned to Paradise for a quick day of diving whilst here with family. All our dives are guided so myself and Jon are ready made buddies for any of you that are ‘buddyless’ or firmly agree that keeping their better half out of the water is the best thing!

On with some scuba newbies! As always the Discover Scuba Diving Experience program is a popular option and great if you are looking to share a diving experience with someone. Sarah, who completed her Open Water training with us last year, was back with friends Ben & James- who both did a great job (although Sarah did laugh a little when it was time to put on wetsuits- nothing like moral support!!!) Simon brought Johanna along and they both completed the experience together. Sally, a returnee, ‘persuaded’ Steve to have a go! Watch out Sally, I think Steve might now be hooked though!!

Finally, onto our youngsters that are showing us all how it should be done!Holly jumped in the pool for some bubble action and was a star! Little brother and wannabe buddy is still a bit little but great at learning underwater signs and helping out with games! Max and Stephen also had some bubble fun and did a fantastic job! So much so Stephan then went onto complete the Discover Scuba Diving program and got a taste for the salt water!

Wow- well that’s it for now!

We are now gearing up for the Summer, so it will be great to see you if you are heading out this way. Maybe you have someone that you would like to introduce to diving or share a dive with….just let us know….if not, and whilst we are in the spirit of sharing-someone once said to me ‘diving is my only chance to get away from her indoors!!!!’

Over and out

Kerstin & Jon

If you are heading out this way and looking for a good deal for your accommodation then check out www.logitravel.com. Have just had a quick look and they are offering accommodation deals at Tropical Park Resort for €12 per person per night and Atlantic Resort in Callao Salvaje also €12 per person. It may be worth a look!

Remember, we are also in contact with several owners of apartments here in Callao Salvaje who have some great value deals- just email us your requirements and we will see if we can match you up with any.

Kerstin & Jon

Wow- where is time flying to? Here we go with a few shout outs to those that have graced the doors of Paradise and have been out and about sampling the saltwater of Tenerife! Jenna stopped by for a quick brush up on her scuba skills. A qualified diver but out of the water for a while it was time for a scuba review. So after a quick recap of some key theory it was a test of the memory to screw the kit together and then into the pool to run through the skills. It all came back no problem so it was out to the sea to enjoy a dive! No stopping you now Jenna- we look forward to seeing you again when you are back out.

The diving diva action continues with Nicola- a great new diver who took advantage of a slightly longer holiday than planned (all thanks to a certain ash cloud!!) and fit in a Discover Scuba Diving Experience and a couple of extra dives. We swam through the Roncadores at Alcala and also fit in some turtle action as well.

Returnees Catherine & big brother John were back at Tropical Park and this year Catherine was ready for her first taste of saltwater action! Fantastic job guys-looks like you have a new buddy now John. See you for some more dives on your next visit.

Rob and family joined us for some scuba fun. Rob a qualified diver made the most of our morning dive package and managed to fit in his 6 dives across 3 mornings before anyone even noticed he was gone. There was even time to enjoy some afternoon scuba for Tanzie and Poppie who followed in dads “finprints” and jumped in the pool for some bubble action.

Next we welcomed back, Steve, Lyn and Jamie. Steve enjoyed a couple of dives with friend and work colleague Katy (pictured) who was also out completing a scuba review; however the star of the show though was Jamie who definitely got the bubble bug!

Finally, I will leave you with this great shot- a seahorse found at Paraiso by eagle eyed Jon!

That’s it for now……. The sun is shining, the sea is calm and there is more diving to be done!!

Over & Out

Kerstin & Jon

It was great to meet again with Christian from PADI Europe who called in on his tour of the Island. These visits are vital to us as they provide the perfect opportunity to discuss new PADI initiatives, educate ourselves on new PADI strategies and also to glimpse the bigger picture on the way that PADI worldwide is moving forward.

As a PADI authorized Dive Center we are supported by PADI with the latest in Dive Industry thinking, training procedures, safety regulations and above all providing diver satisfaction! The PADI brand is recognized world wide and as such ensures you the diver that whether you are diving in the UK, here in Tenerife or even a remote isle that when you are diving with a PADI establishment that standardized procedures for training and diving are adhered to and most importantly regulated. As a PADI Dive Center we are listed in and linked from the PADI Dive Shop Locator.

PADI Dive Shop Locator

The PADI website receives more than 1.6 million monthly page views and through the dive shop locator provides a comprehensive list of those PADI Dive centers that have met and often superseded the set standards as determined by PADI. Not only do these cover the facilities provided by the center, the staff, the training that is conducted but most importantly for you that all the necessary safety policies and procedures are in place; including insurance!!!  If you need assurance that a PADI dive center is who they claim to be; then check them out.

Meanwhile we continue to work with PADI to provide you our divers with the best all round dive experience possible!

Feel free to drop us an email if you have any further questions about us, our association with PADI or if you just want to come diving!

We are often asked am I too young or getting too old to go Scuba Diving? This Easter we have seen divers of all ages and experiences out diving with us! Michael was keen to get his first taste of salt water action and completed the Discover Scuba Diving Experience program during his school hols. He took to it like… well…..a fish to water and looks so chilled out in this picture! Well done- a natural!

Chris- another newbie diver took the opportunity to jump in the pool for some bubble fun! It is great having the pool just outside for these sessions and the underwater Frisbee competitions always seems to gain some interest from bemused onlookers! Of course underwater Frisbee technique is a key skill! (Seriously it is great for buoyancy practice!)

Taking the opportunity to complete his PADI Open Water course, Andy was put through his paces by Jon. Again we can use the pool onsite for all training dives so it is ideal to be able to work through the confined water skills before heading out to sea. Andy did a great job and left Tenerife as a PADI Open Water Diver!

Helge and Tom called in for some leisurely diving. Both qualified, experienced divers, although had never dived in Tenerife before, were looking to see what we had to offer! Well they made an ideal buddy pair and after 2 long dives and a lot of pleasant surprises we were well and truly ready for a cup of tea and muffin. Helge also managed to squeeze in another morning of dives!!!!!!

Stuart and ‘camera’ graced the doors of Paradise to see what diving in Tenerife is all about. Having dived all over the world and with a photographic catalogue of evidence of the most stunning pictures; we knew we had a tall order to meet. It is great to be able to chill out in the water and just observe how these fantastic pictures are captured; and after visits to Paraiso, El Puertito, San Juan and Alcala I think we had a happy snapper. Ok- so yes I did find a sea horse and of course that was total skill on my half and of course there was no luck involved whatsoever! Lovely to meet you and family and we look forward to seeing the shots on your website. They will appear on here www.stuartgibson.net at some point in the future if you are interested to see…….

Finally- well what can I say the picture sums it up! Mick was back sporting his fantastic Orange Paradise Shirt accompanied here by John also a Paradise Returnee!

So I hope I have answered the question regarding too young or too old??????

We have pool sessions for those from 8 years and well I am not telling you how ‘young’ Mick is- he would kill me!

If you have any questions then as always just drop us an email and we will give you all the details you need.

Over and out for now……..and of course Happy Easter.

Kerstin & Jon