TAR Marine Park Half-Day Scuba Dive from Kota Kinabalu

Learn to dive in a beautiful island environment

Experience breathing underwater

See colorful marine life and a wonderful coral reef environment

Relax on the beach at Gaya Island

Earn credits toward your PADI dive certificate

This half-day PADI Discover Scuba Diving program is a highly supervised and relaxed way for you to experience scuba diving off the coast of Borneo.

Under the guidance of a PADI professional instructor, new divers can learn about basic safety, how to wear diving equipment and - under close supervision - get to swim around underwater.

Divers can also earn credit toward their PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver certification, providing certain criteria are met.

The Dive Center is located on Gaya Island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park of Kota Kinabalu. An ideal environment for beginners, your diving experience will include a morning lesson, with time on the beach in the afternoon, following a freshly prepared lunch at the Dive Center.

The beach fronting the Dive Center runs down to a shallow, confined water environment, from where it gently slopes to deeper coral reef habitat teeming with marine life.

Home to many species of crustaceans, scorpionfish, pipefish and cuttlefish, you may spot frogfish and blue ringed octopus. March and April brings whale sharks to the Marine Park. Look out too for sea turtles, barracuda, pufferfish and rays.

After lunch, you can relax on the beach. If you opt for the full day program, you will be taken on an extra pleasure dive in the afternoon, during which you will dive to a depth of 12 meters, with an instructor by your side.

You don’t have to book the afternoon dive in advance. Try before you buy, and if you get the bug in the morning, you can decide on the day of your Discover Scuba program to extend it to the afternoon.