Drift Diving Destinations Catch On

Jupiter Scuba Diving Drift Diving Flying the Drift

Those who practice it assure that drift diving is like flying underwater -if you are not flying the drift then your fighting against it – a vane attempt considering the strength of the ocean. Naturally marine organisms utilize drift, tides, currents and ocean dynamics to travel the distances. Drift diving does just that. The best locations and destinations for the specialty are those where tides and currents pick speed through a tricky environment. From the boat ride to the descent all it takes is to go with the flow…no matter how fast and strange it goes. 

When On Earth included in their 20 Must-See Diving Spots in Southeast Asia of August Puerto Galera, Philippines for its high-voltage drift diving for the advanced and adventurous diving elements. The site is not the only diving site catching on to the dive-drift waves. The speciality becomes every day more appealing as the sensation of “flying” in water lets diver not only cover more “ground” but experience firsthand drift dynamics.

Regal-Diving assures that drifts of Palau and Tobago are not to be missed. Drift-Diving Discovery goes into more details on locations and destinations with over 1.5 thousand sites. The best drift dive locations could to the day still be a very well-kept secret.

As all diving specialties visualization, self-control, controlled breathing and buoyance techniques are key. In high drifting currents the adrenaline flow will kick in to make things more interesting. In simple words flow with it because it is impossible to go against it. Some divers have displayed incredible techniques in drift diving conducting all kinds of unlikely underwater body movements, rolling over head first, drifting inverted, running the ground, cascading walls, moving through caverns environments and taking it all in.

Drift-Dive-Discover lists Pacific locations, Fiji, Indonesia famous "washing machine", Komodo island and its neighbor Rinca Island, Maldives as well as other must see destinations.

“Drop down in current waters and just relax, let the water move you along… an underwater experience worth living,” the organization says.

Some dive instructors fail to mention that the drift may not flow nor take the diver in the direction he may wish or think to go. Drift diving can be tricky, high current drift diving can be extremely dangerous.

PADI says that best locations for drift diving include Cozumel, Mexico, Palau, Fiji and others which have stronger currents that require experience in drift diving.

"Drift diving is often performed more for the experience of underwater flight than for sightseeing. Although it is typically conducted from a boat in open ocean, drift diving is also possible from shore in rivers and areas with strong tidal currents. While it is an effective way to dive, it is typically difficult or impossible for divers to swim against currents for anything more than a short distance while drift diving. This raises potential concerns including staying together as a group, maintaining contact with the boat or (in the case of shore-based drift diving) not missing the exit point,” PADI Dive Instructor warns.

"The best way to learn drift diving is to do it,” PADI concludes.