Go Freediving Testimonials
Scroll down the page for testimonials from our freediving courses, trips and holidays. We are so proud of the service we provide our students and love hearing about their experience
I decided to do a freediving course to see what, if any, physiological benefits there might be from freediving exercise that I might be able to take into my rowing. The statistics that have been quoted for lung capacity for freedivers are in excess of those for elite athletes in my sport, so I thought there has to be something in that and I’d like to explore if there was something I could take out of a course. My initial focus was on breathing & relaxation techniques. The theory side, together with emphasis on flexibility and diet, is very relevant for me, so the information and explanations in this course, particularly the RAID manuals and Go Freediving’s material, will be of use, but it was important to me to test this in a controlled and safe manner where there were experts who could reinforce that information and identify whether what I was doing was dangerous or not. That is the biggest take away for me – so I can use that in my training, together with the wise words “relax”, “focus on the process, not the outcome”, and “gradual adaptation”!. And when I heard and read that you are training Olympians & Paralympians – I know I’m on the right path! There are these other sports that think freediving can offer them something, so I am not on a whim!
The benefits of the course are the knowledge transfer and opportunity to practice in a safe & controlled environment rather than going off on your own practicing going down to depths. There are some things such as equalisation that you can’t necessarily work out for yourself, and could potentially be dangerous without appropriate training & supervision. And this course emphasises that it is not a sport for egos and that you should not push yourself any further than you are comfortable with or than you need.
I would recommend this course to anyone who was interested in doing freediving. When I was doing my research into available courses, it was the front end – the website, the look and the professionalism of Go Freediving – that really caught my eye. It gave me the impression that here is an organisation that really knows and understands the sport and how to put it across, and is offering the right sort of courses for people. – Andy
I saw you on television with Ellie Simmonds and I thought it looked great. I Googled and was absolutely amazed that this was on my doorstep and thought ‘I have to give this a go!’
I’ve discovered that it is not as simple as I thought it was going to be, I feel as though I’ve taken the first steps rather than achieved a level, and think I would like to do it again, but somewhere warmer! It’s a very interesting bunch of skills that are required simultaneously.
What I’ve liked most about this weekend is trying something that felt completely different, and feeling that it is a challenge that I would be able to complete.
The benefits of this course are; health and fitness. I would have to get fitter and healthier to progress. And it’s given me confidence to break through a barrier. It’s also setting me up for my goal of swimming with large mammals such as whales and dolphins.
I would definitely recommend this course. I feel this is an orderly, yet warmly, encouraging place to come, where you can progress your skills without being pushed. It is where safety and encouragement are high.- Lucy
I saw a film of freediving, Googled it and found the Go Freediving club in Poole. I spoke to David who told me I needed to do a course in order to join, so I booked a course. As it was my birthday weekend I thought I’d treat myself to a new adventure sport.
I discovered that it is like learning to drive. You can do all the theory and little bits, but when you get in the water and have to do your duck dive and pull out your snorkel and prequalise and bend and kick, all that stuff it’s a real challenge. So yes, it’s harder than it looks.
What I liked most about the course was moving fast with the fins on. And I loved it when I first equalised properly, I knew there was no limit to what I could do then. I knew that once I could equalise properly I could progress gradually to go deeper and deeper and when I realised I could reach that 12 metre point where the plane was it was really exciting.
The benefits of the course is the individual attention, the characters of the instructors, the venue and the team spirit from everyone on the course.
I would recommend this course because of the quality of the instructors, the level of attention.
It’s a really tough course, but if you could do this course over a week somewhere warm, it would be heaven! – Stewart
I’d been doing some breath holding with some yoga bits and I was curious and interested in freediving. I was also curious about underwater juggling and then I saw there were various Guinness world records for this and I thought, well, I can’t hold my breath but I could be a much better juggler than other freedivers! So on one level I wanted to practice the breathing and then just exploring what I could do with freediving.
I’ve discovered that the learning is very practical. One the first day I almost failed in the water section. I realised that I was struggling. I’m not sure if I might have had fantasies that I would have been a natural! And that progression where Heather was helping on the bits where I was stuck, breaking things down and doing it in a slightly different way to find a way that fits for us. And the bits that have been surprising have been that it was very relaxing – there wasn’t the anxiety of going down to the bottom, there wasn’t any panic – it was all quite calm and I think that was helped by the fact that the ethos with you guys has always been safety, safety, safety, don’t push yourselves. If there were any uncertainties, just stopping. It was helpful knowing there was no rush. By doing that I think the stuff I was doing towards the end I would have thought would have been completely impossible!
The thing I liked most about the course was the development practising the technique, the calmness, and when you get something right and suddenly you’re five metres down before you know it! That was enjoyable and the relaxing part of it, just floating in the water, looking down.
The benefits of this course are the sense of safety and the fact that there was a sense not everyone is going to pass, but that’s okay, you can always come back and do it. There’s no rush. The sense that your safety is the priority. The learning experience too. There are very few things you can do where you see such a tangible difference in just two days. From having stepped in the pool thinking ‘what the hell are these things on my feet – I can’t do this’ to then be going down ten metres and pulling someone to the surface and taking your mask off. I can’t think of another example of learning that would feel as dramatic.
You have a nice relaxed style, with those very clear parameters which is a very nice teaching style. I would recommend this course for the experience and to push yourself in a place that feels very safe, but the dangers are real – you can’t bluff. And I think you can carry this to other parts of your life. I think everyone who did this course has surprised themselves. – Matthew
I wanted to a freediving course because of the breathing thing. I read that freediving improved my breathing. I watched your videos on breathing which worked wonders for my gas consumption as a scuba divemaster so I wanted to do the course.
I chose Go Freediving because of the publicity and I read the comments and one of the things that was important to me is that all of your instructors are taught by you. You read what the comments on your websites say and you can see this is exactly why Go Freediving has that trust.
What I have discovered is that my bad finning action has come home to roost. I can’t get away with it any longer and what I liked most about most about the weekend was the fun. You made it a very relaxed experience.
The benefits of this course is the breathing, relaxing and I think it improves your fitness. Your staff are wonderful and you can have a good laugh with them.
I would definitely recommend this course 100% – It is the safety. It has got to be safe and you have got to have total faith in your instructor. You know that if any issue kicks in they are going to be able to cope. The level of instruction is very thorough – especially for people who have never done this before. I am really impressed with your operation the safety and the training of your staff. – John
Since watching the film The Big Blue, freediving has been a fascination of mine – to discover this underwater journey. And the films of Guillaume Nery have been really impactful. I am working on a project as a fine artist for the search of silence – finding the acceptance of nothingness, and finding this quietness. After seeing an interview with Guillaume Nery, it made me understand that freediving is more than just going to adapt, it is a journey for outside and inside.
I chose Go Freediving because I really wanted to do a freediving course as soon as possible. It has been a pleasure this weekend because I have really been looking forward to this for a long time.
I have discovered that I need a little more patience in my life! That it is not the end result, the end product but what is important is in between – the journey that takes you there. I am the youngest of the team and have a lot of energy and was really hoping to swipe through this session, but that didn’t happen. But I got to a point where I was more accepting of this and was looking around and enjoying it rather than trying to push another two metres.
What I loved about this course was that everyone was from such different backgrounds, some were looking for better lung capacity, some for their rowing, some wanted to improve their diving, some wanted the peacefulness, I was more interested in the quiet part. So whatever you motivation is this course forces you to relax and has a lot of health benefits. It is 50% technical and 50% mental and I think that is what my barrier was. I would really recommend this to a lot of people who are stressed in work.
I would recommend the course, it gives a good basis for freediving. All the instructors were really, really helpful. We had direct reflections, the groups were small. it worked very well. I only wish the course could have been longer! – Aron
I’ve always fancied freediving but never got around to it, so decided to start looking this year. And then I found the Try Freediving course and really enjoyed that and thought it would be really good to do it with some depth and do a bit more of an advanced course. I’ve done scuba for about 2 years but gave up scuba in the UK because of all the kit.
I’ve discovered you can do a lot more than you think. If we tried holding our breath on land we would probably get to a minute and think we need to breathe, but actually you can do more than you imagine. It’s resisting those urges. Before I thought the urge meant I needed to breathe, but it doesn’t mean I need oxygen.
I enjoyed yesterday because I didn’t have any problems with my ears. I enjoyed the swimming down. The pool was really good, but it was good to do the depth work because it was completely different and then trying to think of everything while doing that, so the equalising and the breath hold. So I enjoyed it when we swam down and touched the plane for the first time. That was an achievement. It was like ‘yes! I went down to 10 metres!’ That was the best part.
I liked that the theory was online, so you could do it on the weekend or fit it around work. I think this course would be very good if you are not a very relaxed person because it would make you relaxed. And, it helps you not think of anything else other than the course, because you are under the water and can’t think of anything else. You’re free. It’s just you and the water.
I would recommend this course if someone wanted to feel more relaxed or more comfortable in water. And if you do snorkeling and you wanted to improve. Because when you snorkel you go down and think you have reached your limit and pop back up. And learning to do it safely as well. Because if you haven’t done the course, you wouldn’t know how far to push it. We get to practice pushing our limits with you guys watching and you guys are going to stop us way before we get to any limits. You can’t practice this on your own. – Sarah
I’ve done scuba diving before and decided to challenge myself at something else. I’ve always been interested in freediving but never really looked into it all that much. And then Sarah said ‘Let’s go and do it’ so I said ‘yes’. Sarah is the one that did the main research into it and she said that Go Freediving had a really good reputation, so we booked onto the Try Freediving course about a month ago and really enjoyed it. We spoke to Emma a little more and were made to feel really comfortable, really happy, really kind of safety conscious from the instructors. And talking to Emma about the other courses it sounded like the RAID Freediver course was the best kind of course around so carried on diving with Go Freediving.
On this course I’ve discovered I can hold my breath for a lot longer and I’ve discovered how to zone out – which I thought I was pretty good at, living in London. But actually, it’s not until you have to concentrate on zoning out and focusing on what you have to do to achieve the depth or breath hold that actually, you need to focus on it a lot more than I actually did.
What I liked most about the course was the instructors – they have always made us feel really at ease. And we’ve had a joke with them and they can take a joke and can also give one too. It’s been a really nice, relaxed atmosphere. But they still keep pushing you to achieve the next step which is really nice.
The benefits of doing this course are that it really gives someone a chance to look at their health and how they are living their life. It certainly has me. It’s not about who can go the deepest or hold their breath the longest it’s actually encompasses food, dietary habits. It’s been really nice to step away from life and just focus on ‘right let’s not hyperventilate, let’s take those breaths and go for a dive’. Other benefits; I think the friendship and I’ve never felt that I can’t ask questions. And being able to eat really hot, stodgy food to warm you up! Also, for me I think learning the equalisation techniques for when I am teaching in Australia and also getting my future students to calm down and give them the confidence to do it. One day I am hoping to become a freediving instructor – there are not many in Australia and what an amazing area to do it!
I would definitely recommend this course. My brother is not interested in scuba diving at all, but I think I could get him to come on a course like this because he wouldn’t have to think about equipment or gas and things like that. I think my parents would really enjoy it too. – Alice
I decided to a freediving course because my cousins spearfish in Greece and I always wanted to join in.
The reason I chose to do it with Go Freediving because you seem like the best freediving school and you are the closest to us, which is convenient.
I discovered that freediving is not all about the breath holding, but I find the equalisation is much harder. But I am slowly getting it with the help of all the instructors and how they are so friendly. Freediving is not just something you do on the weekends, it’s all about your mental state and stuff like that.
The best part was when we had finished free immersion and were coming back and we weren’t doing any depth diving, we were just diving down looking at the fish and the underwater scenery and that was amazing!
I think one of the the main benefits of this course are that is calms you down as it is all about the breathing which helps you stay calm and number two is the physical benefit – you get fit and get more control of your body. And, number three, you really get to know yourself – your strengths, your weaknesses and how to improve.
I would highly recommend this course. Definitely! Of course! All the instructors were so friendly, so much help. It was great! – Ben
The kids in my snorkeling group out-beat me, so I needed to come on a freediving course! You are the only one’s on the internet that in reasonable driving distance that offers the whole course over a weekend.
I’ve really enjoyed the atmosphere. The instructors, the students, the lot! It has been really good.
I now know that I can hold my breath a lot longer than I initially thought and I can teach my snorkeling students techniques that are correct and makes sense. And I will be coming back!
I would absolutely recommend this course, it is perfectly safe, good fun and you learn an awful lot. Theory is done in advance which makes perfect sense. If it wasn’t so far away I would be here every week. – Volker
A friend sent me a video of a couple of people freediving around a wreck and thought that looks pretty interesting and that was it, I started having a look. I found three places that taught it. Your email was really enthusiastic, that really made a difference. It made you more approachable.
I discovered that I can’t equalise…yet! I’ve also discovered that I am not quite as calm and relaxed as I think I am – particularly when I’m 10 metres underwater!
What I enjoyed most was touching the plane. It plays such a big part of your videos, and I knew it was within reach. And especially after yesterday and not getting on with equalisation and not getting any way near the plane, to hit it several times today was fantastic. I was well pleased!
The benefits of this course is it is really relaxed, all the instructors are great! David has managed to help me without even realising he’s helped a couple of times. The facilities are great as well. It’s great down here. Even when it’s busy there is still enough room for everybody.
I would recommend this course because it’s approachable, great instructors and good facilities. In fact I’ve got a friend who I would bring when I come down to do the next course – they can do the beginners. – Peter
I’ve been wanting to freedive for a long time. I’ve always put it off because life has been very busy for the last 6 years, but over the last year or so I’ve just been thinking about it more and I’ve read that people do it not just as a sport but as a way to relax and for me I took it up thinking yes, I could learn a new skill and also relax my mind because of my autism. I’ve come away with a really great mindset and I’ve learned some great skills as well and that’s why I took up freediving.
I chose you over all the other people because of your website. It has videos, the way it is presented – it looks and feels professional, but doesn’t look business-like. It is personal, inviting, friendly and has your character. For me when I read something and think, that’s good, I want to be a part of that organisation. And for me, it was the right choice.
I haven’t been at peace for a very, very long time and although I haven’t passed the course, I have achieved so much and look forward to working with you, to build upon my skills, learning more and keep doing so well into the future, It’s been brilliant.
People who know me, know that I have to work twice as hard as everyone else because of the way my brain works. So I have a certain way of doing things. So for me, this has been absolutely brilliant.
I’ve discovered that whilst I was reading some of the pre-course notes about the breathing element, I found a new way of concentrating, for someone with autism that was brilliant. And then, being out on the water with great instructors who know their craft and have masses of experience over the years, I find that I’m really confident. They want to teach, they want people to move forward and I felt really comfortable, and this is a new skill that I can achieve and keep progressing with.
What I have liked most about the course is the amazing people, everyone is like-minded, I never felt under pressure, the student to instructor ratio, the way you delivered the course. It was friendly. It’s just been really good. I’ve learned new skills, basics like putting on a wetsuit. Being out in the water, having the confidence. I feel really comfortable. Finning skills, how to breathe, concentration on what you need to do. Basically, all the skills are going to come in and I’m going to feel yes I’ve got it! Maybe the Red Sea should be something I should be thinking of next!
The benefits of this course for me personally are inner peace, calm, a new skill to go and explore the oceans, seas and inland sites. Enjoy myself while doing it and continue to learn new skills and things about myself.
I would recommend this course because it is an ideal way to come into freediving. By exploring and learning about that environment in that way it also makes you feel at one with it.
It takes you out of your head and into your body. You’re learning new skills and about yourself and you focusing on things you want to do. I would recommend Go Freediving because the way you instruct people, your method of teaching, the website it is all done really friendly. There is a lot of vicarious learning. You have a package that all comes together, to make freediving students very welcome to this new sport. I would definitely recommend it! – Kristiana
I’ve always loved snorkeling when I’ve been abroad. I always liked the marine life and the sea. And when me and my brother were younger we used to have competitions like who can hold their breath longer, who can do more lengths in the swimming pool and he always used to beat me, so I thought I’ve got to do something about this! I came back from the Caribbean where we dived down on a boat and thought I really actually want to get good at doing something like this, so I did the Try Freediving course and then I’ve been practicing for about 6 months at the Poole club and then I thought I want to do the course and learn to do the depth. Because it’s completely different going down instead of doing lengths.
It’s a lot harder than I thought, to be fair. In the pool my contractions happen a lot later than they do here. I didn’t think I’d get as deep as I did, but I was surprised at how quickly they came on. But I’ve loved it!
I liked swimming through the two parts of the plane. It was a really comfortable depth where you could just swim along and explore.
The instructors are all brilliant. You are all laid back and have such a good laugh. It’s fun. It is a course, but you are having fun. Some courses are really regimented, but this was more laid back. I would definitely recommend this course. It shows you what is happening to your body when you are going to any depth, and the safety aspect of it – which is pretty important, really. – Mike
I wanted to do a freediving course one; because it looks really, really cool, two; because I wanted to conquer my fear of being underwater and three; just because it will get you closer to nature.
I came to Go Freediving because you were at the top of Google and seemed like the best instructor to go with and from the discussions we had on emails you kind of got where I was and just reassured me that I should give it a go.
I’ve discovered that I can hold my breath a lot longer than I think and go deep and down and do lots of different things – and it doesn’t have to be hard. It can be relaxing, it can be lovely! It is a couple of steps much closer to overcoming that fear of water. I’ve come out of this feeling very exhilarated and just want to do it again. Definitely do it again!
The thing I enjoyed most was the last free immersion dive, when I was pulling down and was streamlined, it was so much easier just going down, I reached that level of relaxation that I hadn’t before and it was fine, it was lovely. I saw the fishes. I was able to come up completely controlled and had a moment before I came up for air knowing I could have done more, and that was just wonderful for me.
Beyond the practical things you learn, the benefits of this course is being able to relax because that is central to this and then linked to that is breathing. Freediving is not about holding your breath, actually you learn a lot of techniques about how to become efficient with how you use your body, how to move your body, how to conserve energy. That kind of efficiency side of things is a real benefit.
I would recommend this course without a doubt because you are very well looked after, so if you are a bit unsure about it this is the best place to go. A very knowledgeable team, the tuition is great and David was fantastic today. That one-on-one tuition was perfect for me. You have a flexible team to adapt to different types of people and different types of tuition needed. Doing something like this one or twice or however many times is useful for you as a person. – Femina
I love being in the water and when I go on holiday I like to sit at the bottom of the pool and see how long I can stay there for. But now I know that is not wise, because I need a buddy. I decided to come on a course with you because of my brother. He found you and told me all about it.
I’ve discovered that it is not how long I can stay under the water it is about doing it safely. What I’ve liked most about the course is the people. I’ve had a really good laugh.
The three benefits of doing this course are that you learn how to do it properly – safely. You have a great time. Good people. No-one is hard to get on with. Everyone is natural and normal – apart from my brother! And the location is awesome! When I saw it online and I was seeing all the things that had been sunk in the water for you to dive around, I was so excited! I’ve done the boat, three parts of the aeroplane, the crushing works, some of the platforms and a car as well!
I would recommend this course 100% because it is fun and great people! – Matt
I’ve been scuba diving a lot and you get tired of having to carry all the stuff around. And with my son, who is five, we do a bit of diving in the swimming pool so, so I want to be confident with him when he is underwater.
I saw you on the TV show Wild Weekenders, and I had always been thinking about doing a course and there was just none around London, so I thought if you are on TV you are obviously a decent company.
As result of this course I have discovered, like most people, you can hold your breath much longer than you think you can. I’ve learned to realise when you feel you need to breathe, you don’t actually need to breathe, so I have been trying to recognise what that feels like and to work on that mentally. Quite often I’ve been swimming and thinking I’m running out of air and then start rushing to the top, but when I come up I’m not gasping for air, so I could have probably stayed down longer.
I love the location. It’s a one-stop shop and your instructor to student ratio was probably one of the best things. The last thing I wanted was to be in a large group – it can introduce a lot of stress when someone tries to push the entire group. I worked with all the instructors at one point which was good so you could see all the techniques and styles, the mental preparations. I liked that because of the small groups you weren’t waiting around.
The benefits of doing this course are that it is a recognised company, it’s got a good reputation and that’s definitely important when someone has got your life in your hands. The ratios was one of the best things. And training to realise you can do more than you think you can. You think actually, no, I can push myself.
I would definitely recommend this course to my swimming competent friends. I think you have to have a slightly adventurous personality to do this. Coming from New Zealand we’re born in the water so are very strong on water safety. It would be amazing for people who want to push themselves.- Mike
I went to see basking sharks with Heather and she went to the bottom with the seals and at that point I thought right, I am going to do the course. So it’s to improve my water skills. In surfing I am also starting to do underwater photography of surfers so it is to improve my water confidence in big waves where I haven’t got a surfboard, I’ve just got fins and a big wave. But also to do freediving on its own as a sport as well.
I knew I was going to struggle with this course. I think I should have done more breathing exercises, weeks in advance. I think I kind of expected I would struggle a little bit, but today was good and this afternoon, and I think the more you are in the water, the more comfortable you get, the easier it becomes. I learned a lot of the physiology stuff, which I didn’t expect. When I opened the coursework I thought shit, science!
What I liked most about this course is that I progressed. I started doing meditation recently and I think the breathing exercises from this will make me calmer. I want to improve my lung capacity anyway. So, I think calmness and increasing lung capacity are a health benefit. And you meet like minded people.
I would recommend this course. It is chilled out, all you guys are so nice. The instructor capacity to student was amazing. I didn’t expect there to be so many instructors. It’s good that you liveaboard and things like that.- Ros
I want to swim around sharks, that is a dream, so to me freediving is a really good way to go down in the water without all the equipment and see all the wildlife and hang around with the fish and the creatures. I also have a buddy here in Livia, and she wouldn’t have come if I didn’t come.
The reason we came to the UK was to get into Marine conservation more and there are more opportunities here than in Croatia. Livia did the RAID scuba diving in Croatia, but as we are living here now so it made it sense to do the course here. And, she found out one of the best instructors was you!
I discovered that at ten metres – as frightening as it looks like and feels like at first – after a couple of times it gets easier and I’m already thinking about when we can have two weeks somewhere nice, in warm water where we can get these new skills nailed.
The whole course was really nice. The last bit was the most fun for me. Today was much more relaxed, especially after we had done everything we had needed to do for certification, the freedives we did were very relaxed – it was very laid back.
It’s much cooler to be freediving than scuba diving. I saw this old man in the water and I thought I am not going to be one of them. It is also important that your body is enough for everything you need in life. You do not need tanks on your back. It is what I thought it was going to be and in the long term, It is about body awareness. If you are not doing this you are limiting yourself.
I would recommend this course because it is fun. Because most people just go to work and do their stuff like I do, but this weekend I didn’t think about work at all, not my creative work either. So you turn off everything that is just furniture in your life, you get rid of those things, so it is you and your equipment and the water. – Robert
I really want to have close up interactions with animals that are afraid of scuba diving bubbles like sharks and rays, whales and dolphins, so that was the main motivation to get closer and collect a DNA sample or to see any behaviour.
I wanted to do the course in Croatia, but the girl at the camp said that she is not an instructor, and there are not too many options in Europe, so when we decided to move to the UK I checked you out, and the reviews for you were better and obviously there is all this stardust around you and I was like ‘oh my God I am going to be trained by a superstar!’ The website was nice, the package was good, so yes, that’s why I chose you.
I discovered that I can go down to 10 metres and how awful this urge to breathe can be, but how you can kind of get used to it and it’s nice to have this body communication, because when you are on the surface and you are holding your breath or doing yoga this body communication is not the same, but when you are there underwater you trust your body and it knows what it has to do, evolution has done it perfectly. You have to keep the mind calm and just be part of it. Let it do what it needs to do. It is such a perfect balance – this is when you are really in the moment. If there is something else you are not in the moment and you come back. But if you are there, it is just your body and you, you are in balance.
I loved the fact that you were really patient with us, and I always felt safe – which was really nice, and the fact I got to 10 metres!
The benefits of this course are that you can trust your body more and that you can love your body, especially in the 21st century it’s a huge problem everyone hates their body. You are mind blowing even if you don’t have the shiniest hair and this is mind blowing and the fact that you can control this. You get this ego boost. You can say, I can control this, I am a superhero. It’s calmness but you feel like a superhero so it is a balance. So even if you don’t want to do it as a competitive person, for psychology training it is fantastic. You get more self confidence. It’s nice to get out and is good exercise.
I would recommend this course for all of the reasons above and because if you want to be a freediver, you can be sure you are in safe hands. And if you happen to live close by you have a chance to progress more after the course on the club days. – Livia
I love swimming, I love being underwater. I moved to the Portsmouth area about a year ago, and wanted a good hobby I could work on. I like that with freediving is that it is very mental as well as physical. If you are weak in one area you can’t ignore it you have face it, overcome it and work on it.
I chose Go Freediving because of the locality and if you go on your website there’s lots of information, lots of bits and pieces, you’re quite active on social media and you come here.
I’ve discovered that I need to work on my contractions, but I really enjoyed it. I didn’t want to leave the water!
I like how the course is divided, you’ve got theory, pool and here (Vobster). It felt quite fluid – nicely organised. The benefits for me is that you guys are close to me, everyone is very friendly, very approachable, so I never felt like I could not ask a question.
I would recommend this course because I really enjoyed it. It’s well run, really well organised, the pre-prep you get, the instructions you get are really clear. Nothing has been unexpected and I haven’t felt unprepared for anything. – Cassie
I had done an introduction to freediving with you about a year and a half ago and I love everything to do with open water – swimming, surfing , snorkeling, whenever I am on holiday, but I know I can’t equalise, so whenever I dive down it just gets too painful. I thought it would be good to get on a course, Emma recommended it, so I did the course. I have loads of new tips now of how to progress with the equalisation, so lots to work on, but some good knowledge gained.
I chose Go Freediving as I had done my taster freediving session with you and you are only half an hour away.
Doing the course I discovered there is a lot of technique involved, it’s not just about how long you can hold your breath and with equalisation there are a few different ways of doing it for example the Frenzel technique which I can’t do at the moment, but that’s something to work on.
I liked the relaxed nature of the course. It was very informative in a relaxed, fun way and the very act of freediving I found very relaxing as well, so that was the cool thing about it.
The benefits of this course are it’s relaxed but there’s lots of information – very informative. Knowing there is a club involved so that you can keep on developing in your own time and there are more levels to go to take it as far as you want to go. And the holidays too – it’s great to know there are people going to Egypt and other places.
I would recommend this course because it is fun and relaxed. You definitely trust your coach straight away which is very important. I always felt safe. Before I came here I read about other companies that pushed people which I don’t think may have been safe, but there is no way you felt like that on this course. – James
I originally came here as a scuba diver and was doing a lot of diving, but my interest was starting to wane and I wanted a new challenge a new experience and something that gave me freedom in the water and freediving seemed to be the obvious answer.
I have a bit of a connection with Vobster Quay. I would see Emma come here and the courses she would run. I found out about her book and her big reputation as a freediver and it seemed like an obvious choice for me.
I discovered doing the course that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was going to be. I didn’t think I was going to be amazing, but I thought my background as a scuba diver would have given me more of an advantage and more of an understanding, but I realised quickly that they are two completely different disciplines and you have got to treat them like that and you’ve got to keep trying and learning and not get down and just keep going.
David as an instructor is a great instructor. He was a brilliant instructor for me and I would say that was the best thing about this course.
The benefits of this course for me are; location – Vobster Quay is a great place to learn – a good environment to learn in, and I’d have to say Dave again. A good instructor – that was a major benefit.
I would absolutely recommend this course. I think the lead up to the course materials was good, the training environment in Glebe House was good, the open water training environment was good and I couldn’t really fault it. – Ben
I decided to do this course because I scuba dive, and I wanted to make my scuba diving better. I also snorkel a lot because we have part share of a catamaran in the Caribbean, but the snorkelling and diving is actually really demanding there because it is very choppy and there are often currents, so I wanted to use freediving techniques to make this better, and be better at scuba too.
During the course I’ve discovered that I can hold my breath much longer than I ever thought. And that I shouldn’t use my determination so strongly!
The instruction has been really good. I think the instructors worked very hard to help us through our fear or apprehension.
This course has taught me how to be better at scuba diving, better and safer snorkelling -and I’ve had fun!
I’d definitely recommend this course because of the quality of the instruction. Also Vobster is a very good venue, because you’re able to practice without the hazard of waves, currents, wind, tiger sharks etc. I wish I’d known about this place years ago. – Carol
I’ve done quite a lot of scuba diving in the past and when I found out about freediving it appealed to me. The fact that you’re much less encumbered with heavy gear getting in and out of the water. That feeling of freedom – being able to dive in with the minimum of equipment.
I had a look around online and liked the look of your profile and reviews. And the winner for me was the location.
As a result of this course I’ve discovered a level of confidence in deep water. I’ve never attempted to hold my breath before in my life and I found it easier than I thought – which was a pleasant surprise.
I liked learning new skills, finding out about something I knew absolutely nothing about – which is harder as you get older, challenging myself and being in a new environment with new people.
The benefits of doing this course is that it can boost your confidence, teach you something about yourself and it helps you to relax which is an added benefit, because you can’t really do freediving unless you are relaxed.
If someone wants to do freediving I would wholeheartedly recommend this course. The quality of the tuition is very good, the environment is very good and it is well organised. – Tony
Mark told me how wonderful freediving is and how relaxing it is – and I need some relaxation, and I live in the Middle East, so I want to do it out there, too.
I have discovered some relaxation techniques and some breathing techniques and discovered that snorkelling without knowing how to freedive is probably not a good idea because I end up trying to go down and not knowing how to do it properly. Now I feel I know what to do. I feel safer.
The best part of the course for me was the freediving in the water. Seeing other people going into the water with their scuba diving gear – I don’t envy them at all. It just feels much nicer to be in the water with nothing else. I’ve have done scuba diving before and it was enjoyable, but I prefer this – especially when I get to depths that would be more exciting. The course was very well run, the instructors were brilliant and so were the facilities. The information pre and post course has been great and the facilities at Vobster were equally as impressive.
The benefits of this course is that the tuition was relaxed, friendly and very, very professional. Certainly much better than any scuba diving training I have had. Much safer. And, the location – the water is amazing. I’ve really, really enjoyed it.
I would recommend this course. This was a mixed group of ages and abilities, but everyone was catered for and I felt completely safe at all times, and I’ve seen people succeed who were apprehensive at the start. It was really good.. If nothing else, the course will teach people how to breathe properly and also for those that snorkel it will improve their experiences no end. The safety techniques should be mandatory for anyone who enters the sea, particularly dealing with Rip tides, black outs and hypoxit fit. Simply knowing how your body is reacting to a lack of oxygen will hopefully prevent many accidents, perhaps this should be taught in school to all kids as part of the curriculum.
I very much enjoyed the course, despite my sinus problems and am determined to come back and get my skills signed off. The sinus block now appears to have been the start of a cold that I knew nothing about!! Hey ho, it is what it is. I’ll be practising the CO2 tables and regularly swimming to see when the block goes so that I can get back to Vobster asap.
That aside, I can’t wait to get in the water, free from sinus issues and experience what it is like to go down more than just a few feet, in a safe and controlled way – clearly with a buddy and once I have passed level 1. – Steve
I think this course helps me control my anxiety with surfing – I’m always scared of getting caught under so being able to get myself out of it instead of panicking, I feel a lot calmer now just for that safety reason. I would be panicked after every dunk of the wave.
This course has taught me to deal with the unknown when you’re being crushed by a wave and just being able to say ‘it’s OK’ – being in control and being able to trust yourself.
The best part of the course is that the trainers are very calm when they explain things, so it doesn’t stress you out. They made you feel like you’ve done ok and tells you what you can work on, so you feel like you have achieved something. It was really good.
I think this course gives you a good skill to have, because you don’t know what’s going to happen – if you have to save someone in a scenario and knowing how to do it. You make good friends and to share the information with someone, to show them what they can do.
I would definitely recommend this course. All my friends definitely need to hear about this course and they need to do this course! We need trainers in Australia teaching this. – Novita
I grew up along the sea, and have always snorkeled and done some spearfishing, but felt it was time to do something to improve the quality of my snorkelling and spearfishing. Also, because I play underwater rugby I wanted to improve that and learn how to equalise because I can’t get deeper than 5 metres.
I have realised I have not equalised before, I still cannot equalise, but it will take a while to learn, but now I can do 10 – 12 metres, which was a great feeling. I think that was my best learning of the week. I loved being down there. It was great!
The benefits of this course is that you feel safe – every teacher is really confident. You can see they are like fish so you are in good company on this course. It was a great learning curve and it was a great atmosphere. I was very happy to be here. I enjoyed it lot.
I would recommend this course because there are quite a lot a spearfishers in my area, but not many freedivers, and I think we go about it in a bad way without knowing any rescue – I don’t think we have proper techniques for diving properly or equalising. So for that I would definitely advise them get to this course and at least learn rescue so that everyone is safer. – Sven
The main motivation to do this course was to improve my scuba diving. I did some snorkelling a couple of years ago and didn’t get to grips with the snorkel so thought I would give it a go and see if I could get better. The course is different than I thought it would be. I didn’t think I would make it through the skills test but did in the end because the Go Freediving Instructor was really good.
What I liked most about the course was that the whole team was really great at looking after us and making it a good experience, helping us all through our individual problems. That was really the best thing.
The benefits of this course is that it teaches you a lot about yourself, you get better in the water, no matter what water sport you do, and I think controlling your breath helps you with that.
I would recommend this course because it was an interesting experience, the team was simply fantastic, and I felt safe all the time and very well looked after. I made a lot more progress than I thought I would. Brilliant. – Andreas
I’ve been interested in freediving for a while. I moved to Bristol for work and wanted to do some recreational activity and found the freediving course. I did a Try Freediving course first, and now I’ve done a freediving course – which I passed!
I’ve learned a lot about the oxygen in your lungs and how you shouldn’t breathe it out, as opposed to scuba diving.
I liked the very structured way in the course was taught, there was a lot of support and help and people around you.
I would recommend this course because it is safe, it is a controlled environment – the location is great – and the equipment is provided. I liked the instructors a lot. – Mark
It was Sam’s idea to book a snorkelling holiday and so we’re going to dive with humpback whales in the Dominican Republic. So we’re doing the course to build our confidence up and learn to swim underwater properly, get that depth, be confident doing it safely. I’m not the kind of person who will just do something without knowing what I’m doing so I really feel like I need instruction. I’ve just got over a fear of water so wanted to know how to do it properly. It will stop me panicking.
I’ve learned how to hold my breath – which I think was my big fear with water. And now I can hold my breath and I should have confidence in my own abilities, so even though I haven’t got to deep depths, that hasn’t bothered me at all. My confidence has grown. And Sam is amazing so I know she can rescue me on holiday if I need it! I loved pushing my limits. I’ve come on leaps and bounds. The last three dives for me were the best. I’d got deeper on some of the other ones, but the last ones, when David said ‘it’s fine you can’t equalise your ears, just go down until you feel the pressure and then swim along’. And so I was racing along and I had the confidence to feel the twitches in the tummy, to feel all of that but I loved it! I was pushing my limits by myself, but the water was just an inch above me. Two years ago I wouldn’t even put my face in the water! At the end, we were getting out, my snorkel was out and I just put my head in the water to see where the rocks were and I shocked myself, because I wouldn’t have even done that in the swimming pool. This is amazing for me. Because the instructors are cool and calm.
The whole course is a benefit. The breathing training is absolutely amazing, the guys are so good. They give you the confidence to do it. And it’s funny because they don’t push you to do it. The breathing training was absolutely amazing. I know the Dominican Republic is going to be 100% better than it would have been now that we have done this course. And because we both did the course we can look at each other and go ‘did I do that right?’. It’s brilliant, awesome, ten out of ten.
I would definitely recommend this course. 100% . And if I know anyone who has a fear of water, this is what I’ll tell them to do, not what I did, spending a whole year of jumping in and out of swimming pools and having heart attacks. I should have just come here! I need to write to my hypnotherapist and tell them to send people freediving! – Jennifer
So, last year I went snorkelling with Whale Sharks. Lots of people were swimming with the Whale Sharks and diving down but I wasn’t confident enough even to leave the surface, so spent a lot of time swimming behind Whale Sharks! So when I came back I said to Jen there’s a holiday snorkelling with humpback Whales in the Dominican Republic, I’m definitely going and you should come too.
I’d been googling a lot about freediving courses and you had come up before, and I was being stalked around Facebook by Much Better Adventures who advertise your courses. I was with Jen at a concert in Hyde Park and we were sat there and I said ‘Shall we just book it?’ So we booked it. We wanted to do something that was certified and in a safe environment, and everything about what you did sounded relaxing and controlled. There’s a structure to it. A lot of other companies you read, and you just go out in the sea and do a bit of freediving. That’s not what I want. I want someone to tell me exactly what I’m going to do and then I’ll do that.
I love the breathe up! I’ve discovered that, just hanging in the water and focussing down, and I think that could be a new meditation technique for me, it was amazing. And you can just feel everything, I think that’s why I did okay at it, because I felt so relaxed. There was no point where I felt scared and I really thought I would! I loved the feeling of it, the diving. I was very excited to touch the plane! Just feeling that I had achieved that. At one time I thought it was out of reach, but I did it. In one weekend, it’s incredible really.
When you’re bobbing around in the water it kind of empties your head for you, it just makes sense. So when we go away and do it, I’ll just be visualising that, the line disappearing. It’s so relaxing!
The benefits of this course are being able to swim under water. Even if I never freedive like this again, when I go on holiday I’ll be using what I’ve learnt, when I go snorkelling and that will be amazing, immense. – Samantha
Taking this course was a natural step. The next thing. The bit between what I have and what I want! It was there deliberately as a stepping stone forwards and the reason I did it prior to my instructor course was because I needed more experience, more competitive experience. A instructor is all well and good, but an instructor with no experience isn’t really worth much, especially for something like this.
The biggest thing I discovered doing this course is that flexibility is king. Flexibility is the number one thing. So being relaxed is good, but if you’re super flexible you’re going to be relaxed. And performance-wise if you’re flexible it makes equalisation a lot easier. Perfect case in point; I always knew stretching was important, but because I never really pushed myself at depth, I never really saw the difference between doing stretches prior to a dive and not and then on the Masters course we did a stretching session before actually pushing my physical limit and the difference was pretty huge. It’s the first time I have done the stretches and then tried to push the dive, so that was the first time it made a direct impact on my actual performance and it did make equalisation a lot easier. I thought ‘I can do 30 metres and not struggle!’ It was good!
I liked being with buddies and instructors that are doing the same as me. Now, I am on the same level as them. My capabilities are exactly the same as the people I am diving with, so it’s nice, I’m pushing myself. Now I’ve got something to train for!
I also liked the practical application of advanced theory. You can read books, but you need the teaching, people who have got the experience doing what it is you’re trying to do. You need to get in the water and do it. This course has the ability to progress – that is the number one benefit of this course. And having people with the experience to help you do that. This course is for this purpose, you can’t make as much progress without a dedicated course. And the celebrities – having the best of the best training you. The mouthfill training David did was very valuable. The constant reminder of techniques that you have learned but might have forgotten was very useful
I would recommend this course. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who has just completed the Advanced, even if they are good. Simply because, for example, if you learn the mouthfill too soon and nail it, you’re going to not apply as much importance to other techniques. The course is not easy. Physically I found everything doable, but in my mind I was apprehensive. I would recommend someone qualifies as an advanced freediver and dives for a year or two before doing the course. The experience would give them lots of confidence. – Tom
After doing the Advanced Course I realised that I wasn’t close to my personal potential and had to fulfill that. Having done the Master Course I still haven’t filled my potential. What I am finding with the freediving courses that I’ve taken with you guys is that once you reach a certain level then another door instantly opens. Yesterday was a particularly spectacular day for me because I’d broken through with the mouthfill equalisation technique. The technique was new to me and it was a revelation as to how I will be approaching my dives from this point. I didn’t even know about it until I took this course.
I was amazed at how much I learned, and not just techniques for diving, but for things for myself applying to day to day things in life, calmness, dealing with stress in a much more capable manner and on the other side of it, from a training perspective, I didn’t realise how much other training things you can do not even being near the water. Just lying on your back in the living room. There’s so many things to practice. I’ve learned from everyone I’ve spoken to. They’ve offered me something and I’ve taken and thought ‘goodness that’s fantastic advice, and valuable’.
For me, the overall confidence I feel when I’m doing a dive has doubled since taking this course. I’ve always felt confident, but with that added confidence I feel even freer. That was a really big step for me and with the mouthfill revelation it has really opened a portal for me.
I was thinking I had plateaued a little before this course, but I was thinking this is where I am at, that’s good, I love it and enjoy it, but no, there is a whole way to go and I feel like I could keep going! It’s exciting to think what the potential is.
The benefits of this course is firstly, you are certainly much more aware of safety and you can see potential scenarios that would not be safe, more quickly. Secondly, socially I’ve met some really cool people that are very like-minded souls which is few and far between. Meeting freedivers when you are going through life is rare, so when you meet people who are on a very similar path to you that’s invaluable especially with diving because you rely on diving with buddies. The instructional team as always is first class and there is potential to go even further. A big door has opened – that was the most exciting thing out of everything. The master level doesn’t mean master level. It means a bigger door has been opened for you.
I would recommend this course for anyone who is curious about their personal potential because of the feeling when you reach a personal plateau and then progress. This is a fantastic course. The team that you have got together to help us realise those goals is second to none in my opinion and that personal reward you get from achieving that goal is why you should do the course. – Nick
I wanted to do the Master freediver course because I wanted to learn more training techniques, and I’ve realised that there is a lot you can do in the pool or on dry land without having to come to Vobster or anywhere else.
I enjoyed being challenged more and diving with people who are quite a lot better than what I have been diving with on the training weekends. So it has been a lot more challenging.
The benefits of this course are that you go deeper, you can challenge yourself, learn more while having fun. Henry
I like swimming and like being in the water but not too deep, so I like freediving because you can go back up and come back down. I can use these skills for snorkelling – and I can make bubble rings! I discovered that I can hold my breath for longer, and I really enjoyed being underwater.
I loved learning new skills, pulling on the rope, duck dive, rescue. The benefits of this course are that you can freedive with a buddy and you know what to do. You are just going to enjoy it more than swimming. The location of the course is really nice. I would recommend this course because it is real fun! – Adriana
It’s taken a long time for me to do this course. I did my first course seven years ago. I was afraid and I stopped for a while. I thought it was a good time to start again with Mela (Adriana), and I don’t want to let her go through it on her own.
I’ve done so many things over the years, I thought I’m never going to go back to it, but it was fantastic! I loved being in the water when it was raining! I really feel it is a release to be here and to dive.
It is not only the sport itself, it’s trying to improve your health. I want to change my diet. It makes you question things about nutrition, and I want to get back into yoga.
Freediving is one of the best things in my life. I’m thinking all the time, but when I’m diving I’m at peace. If you love water and being in water there is no way you are not going to love freediving. Freediving – that’s the way! – Ciprian
I’ve always liked the idea of freediving and wanted to try it. I’ve discovered that I can hold my breath – for quite some time. I’ve surprised myself. I think the biggest thing I discovered was that I did have psychological barriers. I’ve never really had that before, so it was new to find myself stopping myself and realise that’s fine and get over it. I liked that a lot.
I would recommend this course. The benefits are the people, the location is pretty good and the teaching is great. I enjoyed it! – Michael
I love being in the water and I’m interested in different aspects of how I can improve my health. I’m interested in a lot of the psychological side of freediving and the breathing exercises. And it’s a bit of an adventure. It’s tapped into some of my limitations. I had some preconceived ideas of what I’d be able to do and some of things I’ve done better at and some not so, so it’s been a good mix – even today, things I thought I could do, I couldn’t and had to re-evaluate -which has been really good. I know I can be a bit gung-ho, but there was definitely a part in my brain today that said it’s not worth it, there’s plenty of time, if you’re not happy come back up and by doing that I’ve accomplished what I couldn’t do before, but still recognised 17 metres is not a depth to mess about with.
The best part for me was being in the lake, pushing our limits, doing the depth dives, It’s only a short space of time, but it’s been a good bunch of people so I think we’ve all bonded quite well. It’s the nature of buddying. You’re putting your life in someone else’s hands.
Benefits of doing the RAID freediver course for me are building confidence, pushing your limits, getting outside your comfort zone and meeting new people and new communities.
I would definitely recommend this course. It’s been run really professionally, there’s a nice bunch of instructors – a good mix. I felt safe all the way through, but you’ve allowed us to be ourselves too. – Jon
I’ve heard that you’re brilliant and you’ve trained all the trainers and I’ve just had a series upon series of injuries and just wanted to get back my confidence in the water. And I thought it would be the safest, nicest environment at Vobster to get back in the water.
I’m not very good at relaxing, and I know I rush things, so that is something I’ve learned – to not go past my limits and to slow down and enjoy the moment – which is the whole reason to freedive.
Gaining more confidence in the water and knowing that I can get to the depth I want, but I just need to get everything right. I just need to do it in a timely manner.
Having you as an instructor makes you really relaxed. I feel more confident and will go to the club training sessions in Poole knowing what I’m doing. I know that I now want to keep it up.
I would definitely recommend this course because of your way of training and teaching. – Michelle
I’m a cameraman and I use freediving for work as well as recreation but I don’t practice enough, so I thought it would be really good to get a reminder of the basics and get some practice and refine my technique. I discovered how quickly you can increase that improvement curve with a bit of practice and training – that improvement curve can be really steep!
I like how easy everything is here at Vobster. It’s nice having access to the depth, the visibility is great, the water temperature is great. We’ve been lucky with the weather too.
Price, convenience and location are the three benefits of doing this course. The training has been great and everyone has improved massively over the two days. – Dan
I had the course as a birthday present. I love water – so it was a good choice! Freediving is so much harder than scuba – it’s a whole different experience. I didn’t know how long it would take to master it. My ears messed up the weekend a bit, but I think if me and Dan came back again in the week we can practice our skills.
I thought you were good because you helped me through it, but you didn’t take any nonsense. Firm but fair! This is the first time I’ve been to Vobster, and I really like the set up. The water is a beautiful temperature. I would recommend the course – there is a lovely feeling of freedom that you don’t get with scuba. I can really see it could be something I could get hooked on. – Gina
I really enjoy scuba diving, but don’t enjoy the amount of kit that you have to carry around with you. I just want to be able to be spontaneous when we’re travelling and just be free in the water.
Freediving is much harder than I thought it would be. It is something I was to practice and keep going with. For Katy and me, we now both know how to look after each other safely, and that is actually the most important thing we will take away from the course.
I liked getting back in the water, and just having a play about and having the chance to do something a bit different. I like the environment at Vobster and it wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be. It has been very relaxed. The whole experience has been great and I like that you are no-nonsense. I would definitely recommend this course. – Tamsyn
I’m not new to freediving, but wanted to understand a little bit more and how to develop. All the feedback, all the material on the site – the diving videos, the feedback from the people showed that Go Freediving was a live site, not just dry facts on a site – this is what made me come to you.
The main discovery for me was relating to equalising my ears – I didn’t know how to do it and I was going to quit it otherwise.
This is the first time I have dived in freshwater and I like the place here. I don’t think it would be the same experience somewhere else. I like the atmosphere here, the instruction was lively, I liked my class mates. It was nice.
As a result of the course I feel more confident, I have tried monofins and I have learned more about what I can do above water – Yoga, CO2 tables, review my diet and train more often.
I would definitely recommend this course. I was pleasantly surprised and want to continue. I can’t think of any way you could improve this course. It was perfect. – Vlod
I wanted the qualification and really enjoyed the idea of freediving. I heard about Go Freediving through Vobster – Amy recommended you and so had a few other people.
I really, really, really did like just being able to test my limits with someone who I knew was going to look after me. I liked someone with further ability pushing me harder. There were a few more rescue techniques I learned, different techniques, buddying at depth I didn’t know about.
The reasons I enjoyed this course: You learn the correct techniques, you can push to your limits, you can do it safely and you do it at Vobster – why would you not want to do it, here?! – Lucy
I’ve been spearfishing without any training and advice I’ve heard from other people is to do a course. Go Freediving was recommended to me and I’ve discovered a lot of the safety aspect of it. It really is enjoyable and relaxing.
I enjoyed the exploring at the end and playing around. It’s not about the depth, it’s about the exploring for me.
The divide between pool work and open water work was really good. Having half a day in the pool and the rest of the time here was a perfect divide. It wasn’t too paperwork heavy. It was a good laugh!
I’d recommend this course. Me and Lucy came with a bit of experience, I think looking back the things we were doing were nowhere near as refined as they are now, and the safety aspects are there. I would definitely recommend you. – Jack
I have always loved diving and exploring life and I was doing a swimming a lesson once and saw people doing scuba diving lessons. And then I thought I don’t want to dive with a whole lot of equipment and then I thought about freediving. I watched a few videos and it really, really gripped me.
I have discovered that if I have the right confidence I am capable of doing what I believe in. I loved the monofin because it’s a lot easier and I like the way it makes you move.
The instructors were absolutely amazing. They didn’t let me give up – especially David. I would never have been able to dive the way I have dived without the instructors. Vobster Quay is amazing and I really want to come more often. There is so much I enjoyed! There was a lot of theory, but if you hadn’t done that first I think you would be hopeless on the course.
I would recommend this course because it has really helped me a lot. I really, really progressed and even though it is only two days, it has been really good fun and I really got along with everyone.
Thank you so much for the freediving course. This has been one of the best experiences of my life (13 years). You have showed me that with the right motivation, I can exceed my expectations and grow in confidence. You two have now made freediving my obsession and, perhaps, daily hobby. Thank you both! – Areti
I like snorkelling and freediving, but got stuck at a certain level and realised I was doing everything wrong when I took this course. So it was really worth taking this course which was greatly instructed. Initially I thought it would be nice to be doing it somewhere warmer, but actually the weather here in summer is beautiful.
I discovered a lot about my body – like you have the ability to go a lot further. I liked the atmosphere during the course. There was no stress. It was very relaxed. Nice people. A small group. I was very happy with it.
I would recommend these RAID Freediver Courses in the UK because you are very experienced, you react very well to the students. It was very comfortable. – Felix
I like snorkelling but I started to realise I was probably doing it wrong because I wanted to go deeper but it was hurting. On holiday in Egypt there was a freediving course at the hotel I was staying at –which I didn’t realise at the time so I came home, saw the freediving video Freefall and that was it. I had to book onto a freediving course. I chose Go Freediving as it was the highest rated and I researched Vobster Quay and it it had very clear water.
On the course I discovered I was doing it wrong – dangerously wrong, but was probably never in real danger of really hurting myself – I would have been hurt by bad equalisation. It’s opened my eyes a lot and gone way beyond my expectations.
The instruction is very relaxed. The course flowed perfectly. I learned more and more as I went along, and I was very comfortable on the course. I cannot see how any other course could be better than this, your experience is vast. I will be recommending you to anyone interested in freediving. My message to anyone thinking of learning to freedive is don’t leave it as late as I did! If you’re possibly thinking of freediving then get in touch with Emma and the team. Experienced, professional but most importantly, relaxed. When you look up from 12m under whilst driving the upside down truck and are completely chilled about it, you know you’ve been taught by the best!
I knew I wanted to get to 20 metres, I thought that was a prerequisite of the course. Everything at the bottom was great! It was absolutely perfect.-Wayne
I’ve done a freediving course before in Thailand a couple of years ago but haven’t dived since. There was so much going on in my life and I just put it off. I thought once I build my confidence up again, I’ll enjoy it more so I thought it best to come and do a course again and refresh my skills. I’ve discovered I am a really anxious person and I need to work on that. If I can overcome that, it will change so much. I loved challenging myself even though it’s been hard. I’ve been happy, mad, frustrated.
It’s so friendly, there’s a club atmosphere, so you know you can come back and practice – like a community which I think is really important when you are starting a new sport. Finding other people that are interested in what you are doing. There is so much scope to develop your skills. I would absolutely recommend this course. It has been fun. And if you can try something that is not within your comfort zone – it gives you so many opportunities to look at how you address other things in your life. Hayley
I had a bit of previous experience of freediving and thought it was really interesting and got the impetus from there. I know it is something I want to be better at. A friend told me about the course and I discovered more about physical self-awareness and how the body feels a different depths and how to deal with it. It has increased my confidence in the water, you get a completely different perspective of diving – you don’t need all the kit and admin that goes with it, which is good. It’s just a nice experience.
I would recommend this course 100%. It is very professionally run, and there is no pressure to push beyond your limits. It was delivered in a very mature and professional way. Matthew
I tried scuba diving but I wanted a more free experience of diving. I searched on Google and you seemed to be the best. This course taught me we are more capable than we think we are.
The instruction on the course has been really good. I think the benefits of this course are increased confidence in the water, ability to dive unencumbered, all the aspects really. I would recommend this course because of the quality of the instruction and you know what you are talking about. Matthew
I wanted the experience of diving without all the clutter and I’m interested in the way a body can be trained to do things that are out of the ordinary. I discovered it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I usually find things easy to pick up, but I didn’t find this so easy!
I thought Emma looked after us beautifully. I liked the fact it was a small group, I felt totally safe and thoroughly taught. I think this course taught me to overcome fear, mastery of breath and relaxation. I would recommend this course because of the quality of the teaching. Miranda
I’ve been observing freediving coming up in popularity in the last ten years and wanted to give it a go. I’ve snorkelled with wild dolphins in the Bahamas about 12 years ago and saw how much they played with freedivers and so I want to be able to do the same! I can see if I keep going it could be quite zenish. I found it very hard mentally to go down, even though I wasn’t running out of air because it didn’t feel natural.
For any person doing this course, Go Freediving is about freediving. It is your focus, so you are the experts. You are doing courses regularly, you have a good stock of equipment and for me the facilities are great. I would recommend this course – it’s been an interesting journey personally, so if anyone wants to challenge themselves, this is unique. Joanna
I have always wanted to spend as much time underwater as possible. I’ve done a quite a lot of scuba diving. I wanted to do something uncluttered without all the gear. I wanted something that was to do with long term wellbeing. I like the idea of there being a discipline that I can develop with myself.
It’s a lot harder than it looks. It’s about more than being comfortable in the water and being determined. I set very high expectations for myself, so it was hard on some levels not to achieve some things, but on another level it would have been disappointing if it had been easy because I do like a challenge. I think that I am my main piece of equipment which was both liberating and quite terrifying! I’ve been a bit like a child in a sweet shop – “..I’m going to learn more stuff!!..”
Three benefits of doing the course with you would be that you will laugh a lot, you will be taken out of your comfort zone in a safe way and I think it makes you start to develop a different relationship with yourself. I would recommend the course because you’re in safe hands, all the credentials are there – and I didn’t feel like I was competing with anyone.
Thank you for making it all such good fun, and a huge thank you to Emma and Heather for such a heady mix of laughs, challenge, wonderfully clear teaching and explaining of concepts and skills, gentleness and directness Tamsin
I wanted to do freediving for ages, and then I saw Emma on ‘The Wild Weekenders’ and thought instead of sitting there saying I really want to do it, get on and do it! I was really pleased you were teaching.
It’s a lot harder than I thought, I love it, but it is mind over matter – so it’s the discipline and the relaxation the whole package. For me the best part was meeting new people and getting down to both planes! Three benefits of this course are learning a new skill safely, pushing yourself and doing something different – and if you get it right, it’s relaxing. I’d recommend it because it is a safe way to learn, doing something that is fun, but you do need to learn how to do it properly. – Jacqueline
I am a qualified freediver but there was quite a long break, so I wanted to review my skills under a supervised eye to regain confidence
Go Freediving Instructors are passionate people, aiming to help people to discover themselves – there was not a single moment in the whole two days when you would try to impose on others what you yourself would think is best for them. Previously, when I learnt to freedive, most people put a great emphasis on competing, which in the end of a day takes a joy away, creates a tension. Thanks for proving there are no two snowflakes alike.
What drags me into free-diving is the feeling of a joy when I am in, that I want to go deeper, stay longer. I am very happy about the course to have met you guys and cannot wait to getting under the water with you again. I would definitely recommend this course. The course increases confidence and improves your techniques, It is also good meeting new people. – Gosia
I’ve always been interested in freediving. I thought it would be a good course to have and become qualified. Spearfishing is my main interest. I’ve always been interested in hunting and freediving is a logical step for spearfishing. I could just jump in the water, but that would never be safe.
I’ve learned there is so much more to freediving than you would think – the things that happen to your body and so on. I like the way that the course is run with other people. It was nice to meet other people with different aims and different goals – which makes it such a good course.
Three benefits of doing a course with Go Freediving are: safety – you massively underestimate safety. It’s not about just jumping in the water. Equipment – learning what each bit of equipment is for, and Knowledge -It’s horrible doing something at first, learning something new, because it doesn’t feel natural or right, but once you repeatedly drill it, it is the most efficient, most effective way of doing things.
I’ve really enjoyed this course and would absolutely recommend it! The last 2 days have been massively informative, I’ve enjoyed learning new things, Vobster is a really good place and I’ve just had a really good time. – George
I’ve always been interested in freediving. I’m an advanced open water diver and have a lot of experience in swimming (I’m a former Welsh champion in freestyle and butterfly) and sea swimming and triathlons and wanted to learn how to stay under for longer. It was very humbling, personally for me with my strong swimming background, as I have had to unlearn what I have learned over many decades. A steep learning curve!
Vobster Quay is awesome, the water clarity made a big difference. The instruction I very much enjoyed. The casual approach, you go to good lengths and successfully make everyone feel very relaxed. In a course like this it’s of paramount importance. The benefits for me were the breathing exercises and techniques – for my triathlons, sea swimming and so on and now I’ll have a few skills to stay down and do it more professionally when I next go to Europe and go sea swimming.
I would recommend this course. I’ve learned a lot – safety is paramount and I can see that clearly with Go Freediving. You can’t get a better location and instructors. – Andrew
