Diving Trips for the Deaf

There are few companies that offer diving trips for the deaf and hard of hearing. Siren, Worldwide Dive and Sail is one of them. The company has been doing one major trip in Southeast Asia for the deaf each a year since 2004. They've taken divers to spots like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The next trip is scheduled for September in the Maldives, some 500 miles off the southern tip of India. Founder Frank van der Linde first decided to expand his business to the deaf community after working with a deaf British dive instructor. Hearing guests are encouraged to learn at least the basics of the sign-language alphabet to be able to communicate with the deaf patrons. The trips are focused on guests who use either ASL or BSL (British Sign Language). Deaf or hard of hearing customers get a 20-25% discount on trips. Find out more here.