Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures

Tucked onto idyllic Gaya Island — just 10 minutes by boat from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia — Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures is a PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre set right on the beach and ringed by dense tropical rainforest. With 12 PADI Instructors and English and Chinese spoken, it's a welcoming base for fun divers, pro divers and groups alike.

Courses and dive sites

The full course line-up runs from Discover Scuba Diving and Scuba Diver through Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver and all the way to a 12-day Divemaster programme, alongside ReActivate e-Learning and Full-Day Dive Trips. Beneath the surface you can explore sites such as Nudi Garden, Ribbon Reef, Padang Point, Turtle Patch, Hanging Gardens and Magic Rock, with chances to spot sharks, whales, turtles and ocean fish.

An onsite training pool, classroom, house reef, dive boat and onsite accommodation make this a self-contained spot for anyone visiting or diving Sabah.