Sandals Jamaica offers scuba diving for disabled tourists

Disabled holidaymakers will now have the chance to discover the Caribbean's magnificent underwater world as Sandals Resorts in Jamaica offer specialised training sessions and excursions with certified scuba diving instructors.

Diving instructors from Sandals resorts in Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios attended seminars where they learnt the techniques required to assist disabled tourists taking scuba diving holidays. The instructors became certified after taking part in courses that were carried out by Handicap Scuba Association (HSA) from the United States.

Image by : Lee Boxall, on Flickr.

Sandals' Water Sports Director, Michael Clarke, said: "We are really happy to work with the HSA to provide training for our instructors and allowing us to provide this service to persons with disabilities."

The results of the newly-certified instructors will allow disabled tourists to enjoy scuba diving in Jamaica whether they are learners or certified divers. Clark added that there are a large number of disabled people who are already certified and "we are now happy to be able to accommodate them. Our instructors enjoyed learning this new skill and are eager to be a part of this exciting new era."

The Course Director of the Handicap Scuba Association, Mark Rausch, conducted the certification courses and said: "It's a tremendous opportunity for me to be in Jamaica and working with the team, they are professionals and were excited to learn the new skills."

Image by : EveMac, on Flickr.

Sandals Resorts operates several luxury all inclusive resorts in Jamaica including Sandals Grande Riviera, Sandals Royal Plantation, Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Royal Caribbean, Sandals Carlyle Inn, Sandals Negril and Sandals Whitehouse.

Rausch added:

"Jamaica is such a wonderful scuba diving destination and I have worked with so many divers in the United States who would love to come here and dive. Well, now they can come to Sandals and Beaches Resorts and do so. I am pleased with the attitude of the divers who I worked with, they were very receptive to the techniques I taught them and embraced the training."

The Caribbean is famously known as one of the most exotic scuba diving destinations in the world and Jamaica is a popular choice for scuba diving holidays with its turquoise crystal clear waters and abundance of marine life.

Top diving sites include Wreck of the Kathryn, a 140-foot-long WWII Canadian minesweeper; Widowmaker's Cave, an underwater cave with a chimney; and the Throne Room, a 40-foot-wide cave located 65 feet below the surface of the ocean. Divers can swim alongside an array of beautiful marine species such as snappers, eel, barracuda, nurse sharks, huge yellow sponges, parrotfish and turtles.