For most guests the group day is the right answer, because our standard is already small: three to four divers per instructor, with the guide within arm's reach the whole dive. A private arrangement, which we organise on request, is worth asking about in narrower cases: a genuinely anxious first-timer, a family that wants everyone kept together at one pace, an underwater photographer who needs to stop and wait, or a certified diver with a specific plan. Everything else about the day is identical either way, so this is a question about pace and attention, not about safety or equipment.
What the standard group day actually looks like
People hear the word group and picture a queue of strangers following a guide down a rope. That is not this. On a full-day boat trip the boat carries a mixed load, but in the water you are split into small teams, and each instructor takes three to four divers at most. In practice that means the guide can hold a beginner's BCD strap for the first two minutes, sort out a mask that keeps flooding, and still show the rest of the team what is under the ledge. Two guided dives, all equipment, free two-way hotel transfer, lunch on board and full insurance are included whichever way you dive.
The group also does something a private dive cannot: it gives you other people's nerves to measure your own against. First-timers who arrive convinced they will panic tend to relax the moment they watch someone else roll off the boat and come up grinning. That social effect is real and it is free.
When a private arrangement genuinely helps
Real anxiety, not ordinary nerves
Ordinary nerves are handled well in a small group. Real anxiety is different: if the thought of putting your face in the water makes your chest tighten, having an instructor whose entire attention is yours changes the day. There is no clock pressure, no sense of holding anyone up, and the descent can take as long as it takes. If that describes you, read our piece on non-swimmers first, then ask us about a private option.
Families and mixed-ability couples
A confident parent and a cautious ten-year-old have very different ideal dives. Privately, one instructor can shape a single dive that works for both, staying shallow, staying slow and turning back the moment the youngest has had enough. In a group the instructor has to serve the average, which usually works fine but occasionally leaves someone stretched or someone bored. Age and readiness rules are set out in our age limits guide.
Photography and specific dive plans
Photographers need to stop, wait and come back to the same subject. Certified divers sometimes want a particular profile, a longer safety-stop routine, or a skills refresher before a bigger dive. Both are easier with an instructor who is only managing you. Certified options are described on our certified diver trips page.
What stays the same either way
- Depths. Beginners stay at five to eight metres on the first dive and go to about thirteen metres maximum on the second, private or not.
- Equipment. Tank, regulator, BCD, wetsuit, mask, fins and weights are provided and checked the same way.
- Safety. Full briefing, diving medical questionnaire, passenger and diving insurance, no diving when pregnant or with severe asthma, heart or respiratory conditions.
- Logistics. Morning hotel pickup, exact time confirmed the evening before, no flying for 24 hours after diving.
Honest advice on cost
We publish a single, simple price for the group days: 45 EUR for the Side Underwater Museum, 43 EUR for Kumkoy, Kemer and Alanya, and 50 EUR for Antalya, each with two dives included. A private arrangement is quoted individually, because it depends on the group size, the trip and the day, so we do not publish a number we would have to hedge. Ask and we will give you a straight answer. All the standard pricing sits on our prices page.
Pick this if
- Group if you are curious rather than frightened, travelling solo, on a budget, or you like the atmosphere of a busy boat.
- Private if anxiety is the main obstacle, if you are diving with children, if you are photographing, or if you want a specific plan followed exactly.
Not sure? Just ask
Tell us who is diving, what worries you and where you are staying, and we will tell you which one we would actually recommend, including when the honest answer is that you do not need a private dive. Reserve free online and pay on the day in cash or by card, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup. Start with our trips, read more on private diving, or message us via contact.
