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Contact us

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Pricing

Key info

  • 3 days (approx.)
  • Incl. 4 dives
  • Dive site(s) determined on the dive day
  • English, Mandarin
  • Max. 4 students / instructor
  • Meet at given location
  • No cancellation
  • Show mobile or printed voucher

Highlights

The PADI Open Water Course is not only our most popular course but the most popular scuba course in the world. It’s the first level of PADI certification. Learn to dive with us and explore our magical underwater!

  • Become a licensed scuba diver in just a few days, no prior experience required.
  • Breathe underwater for the first time (something you’ll never forget!).
  • Have tons of fun under and above the water with your fellow dive students.

Dive center

Our PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre is on the idyllic Gaya Island, just 10 minutes by boat from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia. 

The  dive centre is right on the beach, surrounded by dense, tropical rainforest, from where we offer adventures both below the water’s surface and above. We cater to fun divers, pro divers and groups with tailored programs to suit your needs and all-inclusive packages means that once paid, there is nothing else to worry about. Our island operations are supported by our travel and dive shop on the mainland, where you can book accommodation, travel and buy any equipment you may need for diving, hiking Mt. Kinabalu or jungle trekking. If you’re visiting or diving Sabah, dive with Downbelow.

PADI 5 Star CDC Wi-Fi (FREE) Dive shop 12 PADI Instructors Max. 4.0 divers / guide

Address: 14558 Km from your location
Kk Times Square, Lot 33-G, Block F, Sabah, Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, 88100, Malaysia

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Package description

Inclusive of

  • 4 open water dives
  • 5 confined water dives (pool or shallow water)
  • Lunch
  • National Park Fees/Marine Park Fees
  • Open water dives
  • Surface interval refreshments
  • Confined water dives
  • Scuba equipment rental (full set)

Requirements

  • Minimum age: 10+
  • Min. certification: None
  • Min logged dives: None
  • No prior experience with scuba diving is required. You must be in good physical health and be able to float for 10 minutes and swim 200 m unaided and without stopping. You must complete a medical form and any positive (YES) answers require a doctors assessment and signature for dive fitness. You must complete PADI standard liability forms at the mainland departure jetty and dive centre. Parent or guardian must sign for participants under 18 years of age. After scuba diving, current PADI Flying After Diving guidelines state that you should not go to altitude (this includes flying and climbing) within 18 hours when completing multiple scuba dives.

What to expect

The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases: 1) Knowledge development: your dive center will provide you with all the material to start learning. It covers everything you need to know about basic techniques, terminology and safety procedures in scuba diving. For each concept, you read the explanations and watch the demonstration on a video. Your PADI Instructor will schedule time with you to check your progress and make sure you understand important scuba diving information. 2) Confined water dives: these are training sessions conducted in a pool or water with pool-like conditions. You’ll learn and practice the basic skills of diving as well as techniques to keep you safe and you’ll run though how to deal with a range of emergency situations should they occur. The sessions in the swimming pool are a lot of fun and give the opportunity to get familiar with the gear and techniques in a safe environment. 3) Open water dives: This is what it’s all about – making your first dives in the ocean! During the four open water dives, you will perform various dive skills both under water and at the surface to make sure that you are a competent and safe diver. The training portion usually only takes up the first part of the dive, meaning that you will get to spend a big part of your time diving with your instructor and exploring the underwater world. As soon as your open water training dives are approved by your instructor you will be certified as a PADI Open Water Diver! This means you will be allowed to rent diving equipment and dive anywhere in the world down to 18 meters, lifelong!

Other Information

Confirmation

  • We’ll send you a final Booking Confirmation Email on average within 24 hours. We advise you to not make any other travel arrangements before that
  • In the event that you do not receive an email from us, please check your Spam folder or notify us via email

How to get there

Our colleague will be waiting at the Waiting Hut, Sutera Marina Jetty latest by 0730 hrs. He will be wearing a Dive Downbelow T-shirt. This is the meeting point from where we guide you to our boat and whisk you away to our dive centre!

Address: Jalan Utama Sutera Harbour, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

View directions

Cancellation policy

  • No cancelations, refunds, or changes can be made
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