Questions, answered.
The things people ask before their first time in a tail, and the answers we give them.
About mermaiding
No. Adults are some of the most dedicated mermaids, and mermaiding is a real fitness sport and a performance art. Our first courses start at 6, and adults of any age can learn.
No. You need to be comfortable in water. Mermaiding builds core, back and leg strength as you go.
No. A tail ties your legs together, so it changes how you swim. Royal Life Saving Society Australia warns that tails can increase the risk of drowning. Used properly, in a pool, with supervision and training, they are a joy.
It does, and that is exactly why it is dangerous. Over-breathing delays the urge to breathe while your oxygen keeps falling, so you can black out without warning. Breathe normally instead. See Breath-holding and shallow-water blackout.
Not for breath-holding. Blackouts are often reported in water less than 5 m deep, and can happen in a pool you could stand in.
Yes. A lifeguard watches the whole pool. A watcher watches only you, every breath-hold, and for at least 30 seconds after you surface.
No. PADI's mermaid programme stands on its own; you need no scuba or freediving certification to start.
Yes. Mermen take the same courses.
Our courses
Most lessons are one student and one instructor, which is how Aliyah prefers to teach: her attention stays on you, and the lesson moves at your pace. Friends can book a class together, never more than four, each at the usual course fee.
Yes. Discover Mermaid (PADI) and Basic Mermaid M (MFI) need no swimming test and stay in water where you can stand. The other courses ask for a short swim first, listed on each course.
From age 6 for most courses; each course lists its minimum age. An adult must be at the pool for children under 16, and anyone under 18 needs a parent's consent.
Start from what you want. To pose, perform and move beautifully in a tail, look at MFI Mermaid. To dance to music without a tail, Underwater Dance. To build water skills step by step, towards basic freediving in a tail, PADI Mermaid. Both mermaid paths lead to a recognised certification. Not sure? Ask us.
A swimsuit and a towel. Everything else for the lesson is lent to you.
At a pool in Singapore. We share the location with you once you have booked.
No. A tail, fin and mask are lent to you for every lesson.
PADI's online lessons, done at home before your pool sessions, so pool time goes on swimming. It is included in the fee.
From Basic Mermaid upwards, yes: a PADI certification, recognised by PADI centres worldwide. Discover Mermaid is an experience, without a certification.
Advanced Mermaid teaches the skills underneath it, including basic mermaid freediving, but our courses are all in a pool. Open water adds waves, currents, cold and poor visibility, so take a tail there only with a trained buddy watching, in calm conditions, and never alone. Our guide Pool or open water? explains more.
Yes. M1 and M2 each end with performed routines, rescue and safety skills, and a written test you pass at 75% or above. Aliyah prepares you for every part of it.
A place in MFI's community: events and performances across Asia, and further training as you grow. MFI regards M2 graduates as professional underwater performers.
MFI regards M2 graduates as professional underwater performers. M1 gives you the skills; M2 gives you the show.
It prepares you for professional performance, so Aliyah starts it at 18.
No. Underwater dance is your own body moving in the water, with no tail.
No. D1 starts from the basics, on land first, then in the water. Dancers find it a new way to move; non-dancers find it surprisingly natural.
That depends on the pool. You learn to be calm at the bottom before you dance there.