asane

How Fiji turned my family into divers

Online Niel November 7, 2024

I’m a late-life scuba diver: I’ve spent my 20s, 30s, and 40s traveling the world and loving all water activities—kayaking, SUP, snorkeling, tubing—but there was something about scuba diving that always clicked with me. at hand. And as someone with frequent ear infections, I thought diving wasn’t for me.

Then, when I turned 50, I realized that I had traveled to all seven continents and over 100 countries, but I was still looking for something new. It turned out to be scuba diving. Getting certified changed my travel life because now I can go back to my favorite countries and vacation spots and explore in a completely different and unique way: underwater.

MAKE MEMORIES: 50 Family Vacation Ideas for the Best Trip Ever

Making diving a family activity

Once I realized why I missed out, I was determined to get my family on board. But my teenage boys, ages 13 and 15, were on the fence. It wasn’t that they were against diving; being kids from New York, scuba diving wasn’t on their radar. I was hoping to change that with an epic family adventure.

TRAVEL PARTNERS FOR LIFE: Why vacationing with my grown son is my new favorite way to travel

The adventure came in the form of a summer holiday in Fiji. My kids agreed to try it and did the advanced courses. My younger son received his certificate before he left, while his brother opted to do his training on this trip. The plan was for my younger son and I to dive every morning while my older son trained. We then spent the rest of the day enjoying Fiji with my non-diving husband.

The magic of scuba

People often ask why I like diving so much. It’s partly, I think, because I came to it so late. For three decades, I have traveled the world and listened to divers talk about their amazing encounters. I didn’t feel jealous because I had my own surface encounters, snorkeling in the Maldives, Belize and Tahiti.

I wasn’t prepared for how much diving really changed my perspective on travel. For me, diving is not about excitement and adrenaline. In any case, it’s the exact opposite: its magic lies in listening to the sound of my breathing, underwater, with no cell phones, no arguments, and no busy mind wondering what I should do next. Instead, scuba forces me to be in the moment, focusing on what’s right in front of me, whether it’s a shark, a seahorse, or a colorful coral.

Why I wanted my kids to love diving

This meditative quality is also why I wanted to share it with my teenage boys. Their lives are so busy – with school, sports, friends and obligations – that I wanted them to have a chance to slow down and be with nature.

There was a second reason why I was hoping to turn my children into scuba enthusiasts as well. As a mother of two active, sports-loving boys, I often felt like the odd woman out. My husband spends a lot of one-on-one time with my boys playing and watching sports, and I loved the idea of scuba as my chance to share a special activity with them.

Tools that fit: The best snorkel gear for kids

If I’m being honest, there’s a third reason. Anyone with teenagers knows that traveling with them can be a challenge – there’s the constant back-and-forth of why-do-you-need-to-do-that. Scuba diving was perfect – spending time together underwater, a place where there is no talking or arguing, with everyone just enjoying the moment. I hoped.

How Fiji turned us into a family of scuba divers

Judy Koutsky's son gets his scuba certification. — Judy Koutsky’s son gets his scuba certification.

When trying to decide where to certify my son in Fiji, I landed on Jean-Michel Cousteau resort. Not only is it one of the best family resorts in Fiji, but it also has some of the best diving in the country.

FIRST THE VISITORS: New to all-inclusives? These are best for beginners

It was a great fit and turned out to be one of our most successful family trips because we mixed that alone time together in the morning on our dives and still had time together as a family in the afternoon and evening.

Making the most of our days

The resort is known for its strong kids program (called Bula Buddies), but anyone with a teenager knows it can be hard to wrangle them into group activities, so I didn’t have high hopes that my boys would join. children’s club activităţi. But Sefa, the Bula Buddy for teenagers, was a perfect fit. He was young (26), active, fun, and had a strong “cool” quality to him (without trying). In other words, to my boys, he was the perfect big brother.

My boys quickly started diving with me in the mornings (the oldest got certified in a few days), but they spent an equal amount of time having fun without Bula Buddy diving, activities like fishing, tubing, hiking, and building. and piloting your own rafts.

AMAZING STAY: All inclusive that comes with extra-cool advantages

I was worried that my husband wouldn’t enjoy the trip since he didn’t go diving, but he was more than happy to have some alone time in the morning and we were able to enjoy family time the rest of the day. The resort has planned daily family activities, including visits to a local village and school, a kayak trip to the salt lake, a hike to nearby waterfalls, and daily snorkeling trips. And since these activities included other families, everyone made new friends.

Fiji would be our first family diving trip together, but it certainly won’t be our last. And maybe one day I’ll even get my husband to join in on the underwater fun.

Becoming a diving family in Fiji originally appeared on FamilyVacationist.com.