Boracay is a great place for water activities and one of the more fun ones is helmet diving. I had never heard of it, but when my friend Jonell told me about it, it sounded absolutely hilarious! You get to walk on the bottom of the ocean, 16-22 feet below surface, with a glass helmet on and fishes swimming around you. The helmet looks a lot like an old-fashioned diving bell with a hose strapped to it for air supply. The pressure of the water keeps the air trapped inside the helmet.
Before getting in, we had a quick briefing about what was about to happen, how we could communicate with the dive instructor under water and how we equalized (released pressure through the ears).
Two other crew members assisted us one by one when we got in the water. As soon as the water hit my shoulders, they gave me the helmet on, while the dive instructor in the water guided me down the ladder. The helmet weights 24 lbs. when it’s out of water but only 4 lbs. under water.
The underwater dive instructor had a camera and he took a lot of pictures which was included in the price.
There were lots of fish in the water and the dive instructor handed us some bread to attract even more. They got really close and nibbled my hand – it was so much fun!
We were under water for about 20 minutes, and if the helmet hadn’t felt so heavy on we would have stayed longer. It was an amazing experience that I would gladly do again, and it’s a great way to check out if diving is your thing. I for one got hooked!
Practical info:
We paid $30 per person for the trip and it lasted about 40 minutes in total.
The trip included:
* Boat ride to the site
* 2 PADI dive instructors (one on the boat and one in the water with you)
* Underwater photos
* Helmet dive equipment
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