You can learn to scuba dive as a fun addition to any vacation, or as a lifetime hobby for your adventurous spirit. You've probably seen plenty of colorful fish or brushes with sharks on the Discovery Channel, but why not take the leap and see for yourself?

Did you know that for as little as $350 and in as little as three days, you can get your scuba diving certification? If you love the water, have an interest in biology and a never-ceasing curiosity, then scuba diving could be a rewarding hobby, providing you with the kind of peace that can only be found at the bottom of the ocean!

You can learn to scuba dive in just a few hours, but if you want to be swimming ancient ruins in Egypt's Red Sea or investigating Australia's Great Barrier Reef, you will need diver certification.

There are a number of valid certification agencies out there (such as PADI, SSI and NADI) that all pretty much provide the same service for $350 to $450. You will experience a combination of classroom, pool and open water instruction, while learning not only about swimming and breathing techniques, but also about equipment and first aid information.

Some people visit their local scuba dive shop, while others prefer to spend vacation time learning something new. While it may seem like an expensive hobby at first, most divers say that it's comparable to ski resort and golf course prices.

Why would one want to learn to scuba dive, you ask? Aside from it being a mind-blowing vacation addition and rewarding hobby, there are career and practical reasons too.

Commercial divers build boats and docks, excavate ancient ruins and shipwrecks, survey tectonic plates and underwater volcanoes, construct pipelines and dams, or repair bridges and submarines.

Scientists dive all the time to study marine biology, underwater species and habitats and archaeological finds. Additionally, combatant divers have completed military assignments underwater for centuries.

Whether you plan to scuba dive just once or you would like to learn to scuba dive as a rewarding, long-term hobby, it's something definitely worth looking into.

It has been estimated by the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration that approximately 95% of the ocean floor remains unexplored. Wouldn't you love to boldly go where no man has gone before?