Name: 7 Day PADI Discover Diving Tour in Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Weligama, and Mirissa, Sri Lanka
Brand: Sri Lankan Tour Hub
Price: 2500 USD
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Check-in Time:

12:00

Check-out Time:

11:00

During this dive holiday, you have the option of staying in private rooms in 2 or 3-star hotels and private villas in Weligama, Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa, and Bentota.

Program

Qualifications / requirements

PADI open water certification
PADI discover diver certification
Age requirement: 12 years or older
Time commitment: Approximately 8 - 15 hours course prerequisites

Requirements for total beginner

Age requirement: 12 years or older
Time commitment: Approximately 8 - 15 hours course prerequisites
Able to swim
Medically fit for diving

The PADI discover diver course consists of three main phases:

Knowledge development (online, independent study / in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving
Confined water dives to learn basic scuba skills
Open water dives to use your skills and explore!

You may be able to get college credit for the open water diver course. Short on time? The PADI discover scuba diver course might be right for you.

If you've always wanted to try scuba diving, but don’t want to commit to the full PADI open water certification, then this is for you! Sri Lankan Tour Hub's professional team of international PADI instructors can introduce you to the equipment in the swimming pool, before taking you on your first underwater adventure! In the ocean, you can admire the wonderfully diverse marine life.

Schedule

Day 1: Colombo Airport - Bentota

Once you arrive at Colombo International Airport (CMB), Sri Lankan Tour Hub’s guides will pick you up from the airport. Then, you will directly be transferred to the Dive Camp in Bentota, Sri Lanka via E01 Express Highway.

This day, the guides will show you the city and beach around Bentota. You will check-in and meet the team. There, you will enjoy seafood, barbecue, local foods, and Sri Lankan style cocktails. Afterward, you can visit a beach or take a rest as you wish.

Day 2: Bentota (2 dives) - travel to Hikkaduwa City

Canoe Rock and Black Coral Point is one of the best dive sites in Sri Lanka. A favorite among adventure seekers and couples, it is the lobster valley cave, and the vibrant coral colonies that draw tourists into the ocean. The site is just a 20-minute boat ride away from the coast, and you can dive up to 20 meters deep here.

Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast of both Sri Lankan and western foods (changing daily as you wish). This will be day two of your diving career, so slap on the sunscreen, take your theory and practical lesson at the theater (the theory is every day and can be before or after the dive session), jump in a vehicle, and head to the dive school for either a lesson or guided dive in Bentota Dive Sites.

After lunch time, you will travel to Hikkaduwa City for the next dive camp center and then you will move to watch other beaches, dive shop, and accommodation. You will also have a chance to feel an evening sunset at the same point. You will have your dinner at the Hikkaduwa Beach and come back to your accommodation.

Day 3: Hikkaduwa (2 dives) - travel to Unawatuna Beach

With qualification, one can then visit the deeper sites, caverns, rock outcrops, reef, and ridges, as well as the shipwrecks that this area is famous for. Well maintained and populated with several colorful specie of reef and rock dwellers, the sites abound with plant and corals. Pelagic specie, like tuna, mackerel, bonito, trevally, and barracuda make their regular visits.

The grouper with their attendant cleaner wrasse and Morays peering out inquisitively from homes, live in symbiosis with colorful shrimp. Parrot fish constantly patrol, and trigger fish dart over the rocks, while several species of surgeon fish are ever present.

You will begin your day with enjoying a breakfast buffet, a combination of Sri Lankan and western foods (changing daily). You will have a discover diving lessons or professional dive guiding at a diving school near the beach for almost three hours, that you can collect your basic equipment and start your practice and discover diving at Hikkaduwa Diving Center with the team.

After lunch time, you will travel to Unawatuna city for the next dive camp center and then you will move to watch other beaches, dive shop, and accommodation. You will also have a chance to feel an evening sunset at the Unawatuna beach. You will have your dinner at the Unawatuna Beach and come back to your accommodation.

Day 4: Unawatuna (2 dives) - travel to Weligama City

This stunning diving site is located five minutes away from the dive center to the left side. This starts with six meters and you can go 18 meters under.

The reef spreads one kilometer and you can see rocks and the reef area. There are many different kinds of reef fishes. You can see napoleon fish; one fish is 40 kilograms or more. There are many groupers, moray ells, various types of sea plants, and slugs. This is one of the great and stunning dive sites located in Unawatuna.

You will begin your day by enjoying a breakfast buffet, a combination of Sri Lankan and western foods (changing daily). You will have a discover diving lessons or professional dive guiding at a diving school near the beach for almost three hours, then you can collect your basic equipment and start your practice and discover diving at the Napoleon Reef with the team.

After lunch time, you will travel to Weligama City for the next dive camp center and then you will move to watch other beaches, dive shop, and accommodation. You will also have a chance to feel an evening sunset and practice beginners surfing lessons there. You will have your dinner at the Weligama Beach and come back to your accommodation.

Day 5: Weligama (2 dives) - Dispa Rock - Bridge Rock - staying in Weligama (1 basic yoga class)

Dispa Rock is a massive rock formation that rises above 15 meters from the sea bed. Its pinnacle is about 5 meters from the surface. And this is the deepest and most exotic diving site accessible for now from Weligama and Mirissa area. Spotted are wide range of marine life including triggerfish. You may be lucky to spot blues and sperms (whale) too at this spot.

Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast of both Sri Lankan and western foods (changing daily as you wish). This will be day five of your diving career, so slap on the sunscreen, take your theory and practical lesson at the theater (the theory is every day and can be before or after the dive session), jump in a tuk tuk, and head to the dive school for either a lesson or guided dive in Dispa Rock.

After dives, you can chill in the afternoon with some beach games such as surfing. You may explore Weligama, shop, relax at the beach, or grab a board and jump in for a free surf. There are optional adventures for you to do in the afternoons if you don’t feel like surfing again.

You will have your dinner on the beach. You can have your rest or go to enjoy the DJ music in the night as per your choice.

Yoga class: 6 p.m.

Day 6: Mirissa Moray Point and Mirissa Point (2 dives) - back to Weligama Beach (1 basic yoga class)

Mirissa Moray Point is just outside of Mirissa Harbour. Spotted are, among many others, angelfish, parrotfish, groupers and giant bufferfish, whale shark, turtle, and triggerfish. Maximum depth is at 17 meters.

Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast of both Sri Lankan and western foods changing daily as you wish. This will be day seven of your diving career, so slap on the sunscreen, take your theory and practical lesson at the theater (the theory is every day and can be before or after the dive session), jump in a vehicle, and head to the dive school for either a lesson or guided dive in Mirissa Moray Point.

After discover diving, you will visit Mirissa beach restaurants for have lunch. In the spare time, you may relax on the beach, go snorkeling, or go shopping. You also have a chance to see an evening sunset at the same point as well.

After this evening, you will move back to Weligama for yoga class at 6 p.m. You will have your dinner (barbecue) on the beach. You can have your rest or go to the party, enjoy music in the night as per your choice.

Day 7: Weligama - tour end

You will have breakfast in the morning. After all the lessons are finished, hopefully you will be able to catch your own dive at your own dives spot. Check out is by 11:00 a.m. Grab some photos to show off to your friends. Make sure you’ve got everyone on Facebook and Instagram and say goodbye to your dive camp family. They miss you already.

Included excursions

Discover adventure dive excursions

Bentota
Hikkaduwa
Galle Dutch Fort visit tour
Unawatuna
Weligama
Mirissa

Instructors

Ranga Shrimal

Ranga Shrimal is a host, the founder, and managing director of Lankan Tour Hub (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to meet friends from all around the world and make them his good friends for a lifetime. He was born in Negombo in 1988. He has always liked to surf and live near the beach and nature. His home now is also located within the mountain range. There, he always finds peace through his meditation sessions. Ranga looks forward to welcoming you very much, and to talking and relaying the many things that he has learned in life, and at the same time learning too.

Sahan Damayantha

Sahan is a PADI Diving Instructor (License S407801). He was born in Weligama, a local Sri Lankan who knows all about the local scene and the diving instructing. He will make sure that everything is perfect for you to enjoy a great diving holiday in Sri Lanka. Currently, he is a diving instructor of a 5-star dive center in Weligama and your dive host as well as diving instructor since 2015. He loves to teach clients how to practice diving, offering great company at his place and an insight into my breathtaking culture.

Location

Sri Lanka is a great place to learn to dive with the PADI open water diver course. The PADI advanced open water diver, PADI enriched air diver, PADI deep diver, and PADI wreck diver courses are popular to dive many of the sites and wrecks off the coastline of Sri Lanka. You can also become a PADI divemaster or PADI instructor from this island paradise.

This dive camp will take place at Weligama Bay Diving Center in Weligama, Sri Lanka. The camp is located near the beach that will give you easy access to the surfing spots. It is also less crowded, giving you a hassle-free time to learn surfing properly or enjoy the waves to the fullest. As well as sunrise surf, the sunset surf is the most awesome experience to do. It is one of the best places to go dolphin watching during the whale season Nov - April.

Seasonal averages: 22 degrees Celsius / 72 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and 33 degrees Celsius / 93 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. West coast diving is best from around October to May, and the east coast is best from around May through to October.

Bentota

Bentota is a resort town on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast. Its long Bentota Beach stretches north, where it becomes a sandy strip known as Paradise Island, parallel to Bentota Lagoon. Coral-rich dive sites include Canoe Rock.

On Bentota River, centuries-old Galapota Temple has a large Buddha statue. Southeast is Lunuganga, the estate and gardens of architect Geoffrey Bawa. Northeast is his brother Bevis's Brief Garden.

Hikkaduwa

Hikkaduwa is a seaside resort town in southwestern Sri Lanka. It’s known for its strong surf and beaches, including palm-dotted Hikkaduwa Beach, lined with restaurants and bars. The shallow waters opposite Hikkaduwa Beach shelter the Hikkaduwa National Park, which is a coral sanctuary and home to marine turtles and exotic fish. Inland, Gangarama Maha Vihara is a Buddhist temple decorated with hand-painted murals.

Unawatuna

Unawatuna is a town in southern Sri Lanka. It’s known for its coral reef and its palm-lined beaches, like Unawatuna Beach. Nestled in nearby jungle, the Japanese Peace Pagoda has a stupa with ocean views.

The Sea Turtle Farm and Hatchery south of town protects endangered species. North across the bay is the city of Galle’s fortified old town, founded by the Portuguese and expanded by the Dutch in the 17th century.

Weligama

Weligama is a town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Matara District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The name Weligama, literally means "sandy village" which refers to the area's sandy sweep bay.

Mirissa

Mirissa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in the Matara District of the Southern Province. It is approximately 150 kilometers south of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 4 meters above sea level. Mirissa's beach and nightlife make it a popular tourist destination.

Distances

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI), 110 kilometers - 2 hours and 18 minutes
Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), 171.4 kilometers vis Southern Expy / E01 - 2 hours and 19 minutes

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Food

On this camp, you will be served with daily breakfast included in the price. For the rest of the meals, you can have the best local food experience as well as the western foods in the local restaurants.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Coffee
Tea

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Vegetarian
Seafood
Whole food
Ayurvedic

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

Things to do (optional)

Night dives
Surf and yoga classes

What's included

Explore 5 dive sites - Bentota, Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Weligama, and Mirissa
10 bottles diving in 5 dive sites per person
Galle Dutch Fort tour
2 yoga classes in Weligama
Free use of diving equipment during lesson hours
Professional dive photographer joining you with some lesson
30-minute video to share via social media
6 nights accommodation
7 buffet breakfasts
Free coffee, tea, and king coconuts
Transport for whole tour 7 days
Free guide
High-speed Wi-Fi
Airport pickup

What's not included

Airport transfers to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
Flights to and from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
Lunch and dinner for 7 days
Massage and spa treatments
Optional activities

How to get there

Recommended Airports

CMB

Bandaranaike International Airport

85 km

Transfer included

HRI

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport

124 km

Transfer included

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) or Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI). Transfer from either of these airports is included. Sri Lankan Tour Hub will pick you up from the airport. Only pick up is included in the package.

Airport: Bandaranaike International Airport Airport transfer included: Bandaranaike International Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Airport: Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport Airport transfer included: Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.

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