Now that we're in the depths of winter you may be thinking that it's a bad time to learn to dive right? Wrong. Learning to dive is the ideal winter activity.

If you live somewhere cold you probably won't want to go diving outside, but that shouldn't stop you from completing your confined water training and theory. All of the basic skills are learned in a swimming pool and in winter this will usually be a heated indoor pool. It's possible to split your open water course by using what's referred to as a universal referral – meaning that you can complete your theory and confined water training with one instructor in one place and your open water dives with a different instructor in a different location. Many certification agencies can do this – check with your local dive shop.

Of course, the other option for learning in the winter is to take a holiday somewhere hot – Caribbean, South Pacific, South-East Asia perhaps?

Read all about Open Water Certification and Certification Agencies.