Our Partnership with Scuba 2000 is Great News for You.

Updated 17/11/2021 

IMPORTANT: this post includes offers now extended until December 2022! Read below for full details.

If you’ve read the About Me page, you will know that scuba diving and Kenya are two major passions of mine. I also explained about my vision for the website – which is to merge my passion for Africa, travel, scuba diving and photography.

That’s exactly what I’ve done!

In late 2020, I had an amazing opportunity to link up with Scuba 2000 – a UK based SSI Dive Centre, that has been in business for over 25 years. Scuba 2000 was also a major part of my life too for many years, having learned to dive with Karen (Scuba 2000’s founder) in 1998. I progressed through the ranks and became Crew Manager for several years, where I led the professional team and junior programmes.

As you can imagine, I’m really happy about this opportunity and want to share all the details with you!

This partnership is big news for me and presents massive opportunities for Travel Tribe Africa. That, of course, ultimately means huge benefits to YOU, as a follower and supporter of this site!

I’ve put this short post together, which explains a bit more about Scuba 2000 and how this relationship will benefit you – both right now and as the relationship matures. For me, this is very much a long term partnership that will bring many more opportunities for us in due course.

Experience the magical underwater world with Scuba 2000

Let me first explain a little more about Scuba 2000.

It was founded by Karen Parrott in 1995, in East Sussex, UK. With a strong team behind her, Karen evolved Scuba 2000 into a very successful business, with an outstanding reputation for quality, professional and safe training.

Through a long-standing partnership with Scuba Schools International (SSI), Scuba 2000 open up the magical underwater world to you through a full range of scuba diving courses, suitable for those aged 8 years plus. They also offer family-friendly diving trips and holidays, have an active dive club and stock a range of professional quality equipment, from suppliers such as Mares and Cressi.

In 2017, Scuba 2000 relocated to a new base in Cornwall, which is renowned for hosting some of the best diving in the UK and is a popular tourist destination. From 2021, they are offering courses in Leicestershire too!

Here are just a few reasons that Scuba 2000 are a great match for us:

• 25+ years in business with a reputation for safe, professional training
• Family friendly, welcoming and inclusive
• Small classes as standard or VIP 1:1 training
• Teaching goes beyond the standards
• Learn in Cornwall or Leicestershire, UK (or warmer waters, if you prefer!)
• Flexible training and travel schedules to suit your needs and budget
• Friendly and active dive club
• A highly experienced, dedicated and passionate team
• Able to work with us to showcase the best Africa can offer, above and below the water!

Scuba diving is great for children and families!

Contrary to common belief, Scuba diving is a safe, regulated and enjoyable activity that pretty much anyone can take up.

Diving provides a range of benefits for children, who can start from an early age and begin a lifelong adventure. With over 70% of our planet covered in water, there’s always going to be plenty to explore! The reality is that very few people will ever get to experience the world’s last unexplored frontier – the ocean – in all its magic and glory.

I learned to dive when I was 14 and have taught many children and families to dive over the years. It’s a fantastic way to create a natural educational journey for children, providing benefits that go well beyond just scuba diving.

In today’s age of technology such as mobile phones, computer games and social media, diving provides an escape from these distractions. Children have an opportunity to develop critical skills and fulfil their human desires for fun, adventure and learning. It’s a great activity to do as a family, with friends and provides plenty of opportunities to build new friendships.

Here are just some of the benefits that scuba diving offers children:

• Builds water confidence, knowledge and safety awareness of aquatic environments
• Develops an awareness of marine life, protecting endangered species and taking care of the environment
• Builds social confidence and develops leadership skills
• Allows children to feel a sense of empowerment
• Provides a unique way to relax, build relationships, play and have fun
• Promotes a healthy and active lifestyle
• Builds self confidence, discipline and self esteem
• Understanding real world practical applications of physics and mathematics
• Supports the journey to teenage years and adulthood, by developing core life skills such as organisation skills, responsibility, problem solving, communication, cultural awareness, an open mind and independence.

Let us show you the best of Africa above and below the water!

Africa is world-renowned for the epic wildlife offered across the continent. Kenya has been consistently voted the world’s best safari destination and is the true home of Safari – a Kiswahili word that translates to ‘journey’. The East and Southern Africa region is home to some of the best wildlife viewing anywhere in the world. People travel far and wide to go on a real, authentic African ‘bush’ holiday and to witness signature events, such as the annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti / Maasai Mara ecosystem.

Kenya also boasts the best beaches in Africa! In fact, beautiful, dramatic and sometimes very remote coastlines outline most of the continent. There’s no doubt that Africa offers some of the best land-based adventure, sightseeing and travel opportunities.

But what about the underwater world? Well, that in my opinion, is one of Africa’s best kept secrets!

In the North, you have popular and well-known diving resorts of the Egyptian Red Sea – which really offer spectacular diving for all levels, with beautiful crystal waters and colourful corals. South Africa is renowned for ‘adventure’ diving, such as shark diving and epic annual  wildlife events, such as the sardine run. In truth, South Africa offers some excellent quality diving and has never disappointed me!

Interestingly though, the rest of the East Coast (from Sudan to Mozambique) provides some beautiful but less well known diving spots! The Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar, Mafia and Pemba are perhaps a little more well known than other locations along this coastline. Both Kenya and Tanzania offer excellent diving for all abilities and are great for families too, as there’s lots to do besides diving. Generally, October through to March will offer the best conditions for diving and also brings excellent opportunities to spot whale sharks – the largest fish in our oceans!

Our partnership with Scuba 2000 means we can bring you amazing content and inspiration from above and below the water! There’s going to be much more coming – potentially even our very own ‘bush to beach’ family-friendly safaris – you’ll have to watch this space 🙂

Learn to dive before you travel!

Sure, there’s scuba diving centres in Kenya and all around the world, where you can learn to dive. But taking an Open Water Diver class means sacrificing a chunk of time out of your trip. It often also feels more rushed, with little time to really get comfortable and build your confidence. During the ocean dives, you’ll not be as relaxed and therefore, won’t appreciate as much of the magic around you.

If you plan to incorporate scuba diving into your holidays, it’s far better to learn before you travel. This way, you can save time during your holiday, learn at a your own pace and have a much better experience diving during your trip!

Scuba 2000 make this really easy for those based in the UK. They are based in Cornwall and Leicestershire but can also run private courses anywhere in the UK upon request. It is recommended to complete the whole course in the UK. However, if you don’t like the idea of qualifying in colder waters, they also run trips to warmer destinations such as Lanzarote, Egypt (and very soon, Kenya)!

In some circumstances, it may be possible to organise a referral for you. This means you can complete all academic and pool training prior to your trip, then just complete the open water dives when you arrive at your destination.

Anyone from 8 years old can take part in scuba classes but the minimum age for diving in open water is 10 years. If you are interested, we recommend you take a look at the entry level courses for more information.

You may already be a qualified diver and want to brush up on your skills (which is highly recommended if you don’t dive often) or perhaps you want to gain some more experience or additional training. Scuba 2000 can also help you with all that too – take a look at all their training courses here.

How about some FREE training!?

Scuba 2000 run and promote Scuba Schools International (SSI) programmes. One of the great things about working with SSI, is that they are constantly leading the way in diving education. Over the past few years, they have built a complete digital framework, with almost every aspect of the customer delivery moving online (except that actual diving, of course!)

You can get access to the MySSI app and website, complete with some free digital training content. All you need to do is register for access here.

Everyone who signs up will get immediate access to the following digital training free of charge!

• SSI 50 years
• Snorkel Diver
• Try Freediving
• Try Scuba
• Scuba Diver
• Blue Oceans

This training allows you to study all of the course materials and gain the knowledge behind these courses free of charge!

If you want to learn more about how this works and the MySSI app, you can also check out this post.

We have a special discount, just for you!

To celebrate our new partnership, we are pleased to announce that you will receive a £30 discount on your SSI Open Water Diver with Scuba 2000 in Leicestershire, UK. Better still, this discount applies to each person under the same booking – so if you’re a family of 4, you can save £120 off the regular price!

Full details about the course can be found here. To take advantage of this offer, simply mention that you were referred by this article on the Travel Tribe Africa website when booking. The best bit – you can book right now by contacting Scuba 2000. Although we’re still in lockdown, you can still make a start on the online academics right now!

Please note: this offer only applies to bookings with Scuba 2000 and does not apply to other SSI training centres. It is a discretionary promotional offer, extended until 31/12/2022 but we reserve the right to withdraw it at any time, without notice.

Not based in the UK?

It’s not a problem if you’re not in the UK. SSI have a global network of dive centres, so simply find one that’s more convenient for you right here.

You can still register for the free digital training, as this is delivered online, so your location is not important!

There’s also much more to come from this partnership, so we hope to make more available for all our readers around the world very soon!

Join our Facebook group

We’ve recently set up a Facebook Group for all those interested in Africa travel and scuba diving. This is the ideal place to seek inspiration, ask questions, connect with others or post your own photos and stories.

Click the image below to join.

Finally, a little underwater inspiration!

We proudly present to you the magical underwater world! This is what makes up over 70% of our planet! Click to enlarge and scroll through the photos.

Closing comments

I really hope you enjoyed reading about this exciting new opportunity for us. This is the first of what will be a long-term, mutually beneficial and successful relationship. There will be lots more exciting things coming up, including diving and travel opportunities across Kenya and the wider African continent! The benefits of scuba diving, travel and experiencing unique cultures is a really powerful combination for families and children.

These plans are still in development right now but we hope to announce more very soon. If you haven’t done so, please do subscribe below, to be the first to hear of any news or updates!

In the meantime, please do take advantage of the free training offer and special discounted course pricing, exclusively for supporters of Travel Tribe Africa!