Freediving on a shoestring budget - The cheapest locations to go deep!

We all look for the best value freediving spots, and you may be surprised that by going somewhere a bit more tropical, you may actually be saving money overall!

Here you have the 4 cheapest places you can freedive at, from beginners to competitive freedivers. I can personally vouch for each of these locations and give you a breakdown of the approximate costs of training and living.

Best for: Freedivers with own equipment
Max depth: 94 meters

Water Temperature: 22-29C

How to get here : The closest airports are Sharm el Sheikh (2h away by taxi) and Eilat in Israel (3 hours by bus). Cairo is an uncomfortable 10h bus ride away, not recommended.

Freediving costs: FREE!

If you have a buddy and your own buoy and line, the freediving training here is for free! Transportation costs to and from the Blue Hole are about 1-3 € a day depending on how many people you share the ride with. If you need only up to 40m, then you need no transportation and can easily set up a buoy in the main bay of Dahab, in the Lighthouse area.

Living cost s : Approx 400€/month.

You can find cheap housing options through different Facebook groups. Renting apartment costs between 60€ - 200€ a month. Food in restaurants goes for around 2€ to 6€/ meal.

Best for: All levels

Max depth: 120 meters

Water temperature: 26-30C

How to get here : You can take the flight directly yo Panglao, or fly to Cebu (take a 2h boat to Bohol, and then a half hour taxi ride until Panglao)

Freediving costs : FREE / 350$ (approx. 300€)/month.

The way training works here is very similar to Dahab. You could just go here with a another freediving buddy and bring your own set up with buoy and line and train for free. Another way is to connect to a freediving school and there are a lot of them on the island. The cheapest schools however, M’Ocean or Free Soul diving, and there you can train for as little as 15 usd per session. M’Ocean is located at Almira diving resort, and its easiest to find it on google maps. Free soul is on the middle of the island and is also possible to find on google maps.

Living costs: 500€ /month

You can find cheap housing for around 100-300€/month around the island. Food goes for around 2-7€/meal.

Best for: Beginners - intermediate level

Max depth : 40 meters

Water temperature : 26-31C

How to get here : The closest airports are Koh Samui (1-3h boat ride), and Surat Thani (2-4h boat ride). You can also take a bus to Surat Thani from other locations in Thailand, and take the boat from there.

Freediving costs: If you are a beginner, the SSI level 1 course with Blue Immersion will cost you 149€. This is probably the cheapest option for you to learn freediving, covering all the freediving basics in two days.

Keep in mind that the sea around Koh Tao is not particularly deep, meaning it is not the spot to go to if you want to go deeper than 40m. But as a beginner, this is a great and price-worthy place to start.

Look at https://blue-immersion.com/ for more info!

Living costs : 500€/month

Koh Tao is a very budget-friendly place to live in, you can find housing for around 100-200€ /month and eat cheap and tasty food at restaurants or from the street vendors for around 1€-5€/meal.

Best for: Beginners to intermediate level

Max depth: 50 meters from shore, 100m+ with boat
How to get here: Amed is a 3h car ride away from Bali's main airport, Nagurah Rai (Denpasar)

Water temperature: 26-31C

Freediving costs: 200$ (approx. 170€) for a level 1 beginner course, with Apneista or Fusion Freediving school.

Amed is a sleepy fishing village in the north-east of Bali, surrounded by steep hills that plummets down to the bay of Amed, which has a depth of 50 meters and is easily accessible from the shore. For deeper depths, you can take a boat out, but this will be more expensive.

Apneista is recently built freediving center located on the main hill in Amed, and is probably the most scenic freediving center around. For beginners, Apneista runs a basic freediving course over two days which will cost you 200$. For the more advanced freedivers, they offers training sessions for around 20$ (17€) a session with a competent freedive buddy, although they do offer discounts for those who purchase several sessions.
For the most recent offers, have a look at: www.apneista.com

Alternatively, you can also find Fusion freediving at the bottom of that same hill. They also offer beginner courses for 200$,and you can choose from PADI, AIDA, and Pure Apnea freediving certifications.

Check out Fusion freedivings' website at: http://fusionfreedive.com/

Living c osts: 600€/month

Amed is quite affordable when it comes to housing. You can find a cheap room for as little as 200€/month and eat out in the restaurants for around 2€-8€/ meal. Amed has a really great selection of safe restaurants, so if you enjoy gastronomy and freediving, this is the place for you!