DSD (2 Dives)
The full first taste: a pool session, then two ocean dives off Mirissa with an instructor at your side the whole way. One to find your breathing, one to actually look around (and, this being Mirissa, to meet a turtle or two). No licence needed.
Your first time underwater, done properly. You start in shallow, controlled water learning to breathe and to be comfortable. Then, with an instructor beside you the entire dive, you go out to the reef. This is the moment most people remember for the rest of their lives; the reviews say it plainly. No card needed. No experience assumed. Choose one dive to try it, or two to really settle in.
What’s included
- Full equipment: regulator, BCD, wetsuit, mask, fins and a 12-litre tank of air
- An experienced instructor or guide
- Drinking water at the centre, plus tea and snacks after
- One-on-one instructor supervision throughout
- Free GoPro photos and video of your experience
Not included
- Certification: this is an experience, not a course (to get certified, see PADI Scuba Diver or Open Water)
- DAN dive insurance (recommended)
Good to know
No certification or experience needed. That’s the whole point.
Highlights
- Breathe underwater for the first time, with an instructor at arm’s length the whole dive.
- Start shallow, then dive a real reef (not a pool).
- Keep the memories: GoPro photos and video included, free.
- Add a second dive when one isn’t enough.
Requirements
- No certification or experience needed. That’s the whole point.
- Minimum age 10 (PADI standard for a Discover Scuba Dive).
- You must be comfortable in water and in reasonable health.
- A diver medical questionnaire is required. You complete it during booking. A “yes” to any question means a physician must sign the medical form (bring the signed form on Day 1).
- Maximum depth 12 m (PADI Discover Scuba Dive limit).
Programme & duration
- 08:15Arrive and get ready
- 08:30Briefing and confined water session with your instructorpool
- Dive 1 from the boat, once your pool session is done
- around 13:00Back at the dive centre, lunch break
- 14:00Dive 2 from the afternoon boat
- 16:00Back at the dive centre
Times on the water are approximate and follow the sea and the group on the day.
Boat departure and return times may vary with sea conditions and the day's schedule.
Roughly a half day in total, including equipment, briefing and the boat; your in-water times are in the schedule above.
Medical, flight & insurance
Most people answer “no” to every question on the diver medical questionnaire and are cleared to dive. A “yes” to any question means a physician must sign the medical form confirming you’re fit to dive. Bring the signed form with you on Day 1.
Planning to fly after diving? PADI and DAN recommend waiting at least 12 hours after a single dive, 18 hours after multiple dives, and ideally 24 hours for complete peace of mind.
We recommend DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network) dive insurance: recommended, not required, and no sign-up is needed to book. Dive safe, dive insured. Get covered with DAN →
What to bring
- Swimwear
- Towel
- Sunscreen
Meeting & pick-up
- Arrive 15 minutes before your start time for registration, briefing and equipment fitting.
- Meet at the Mirissa Collective Diving centre. Optional tuk tuk pick-up within 12 km, priced per tuk tuk by road distance. The exact fare shows at checkout when you enter your address.
- Your confirmation email carries the exact meeting point and time.
Who it’s for
For: Curious first-timers, nervous beginners, anyone testing whether diving is for them.
Not for: Not a substitute for certification if you want to dive independently.
Dive sites & marine life
Our south-coast diving is rock-and-reef diving: boulder formations, channels and swim-throughs rather than open-water big-game water. The reef starts just off our centre, and green turtles are usually the first thing you see. A few of the sites we run:
- Batic Rock (~12 m): large rock formations with reef fish, moray eels, lionfish and the occasional turtle; an easy Open Water depth.
- Athule Gala (~8–20 m): a rocky reef of channels and formations with schools of fish, morays and the occasional ray; the range of depth suits mixed certification levels.
- Diyaba Para: a rocky offshore reef with strong fish life and a chance of larger schools, rays and turtles.
- Goda Para: rock and reef formations with plenty of tropical fish; turtles, morays and rays turn up now and then.
- Atharamba Rock: an interesting rocky landscape, good for the smaller finds: reef fish, nudibranchs and morays.
- Magedi Rock (~14–30 m): a deeper site for Advanced divers, with rock formations and the best chance of larger marine life.
Around Mirissa you may also come across eagle rays, stingrays, turtles and big schools of fish. Whale sharks pass through from time to time, but they're rare and can't be guaranteed. As always, the sea gives what it gives. Nothing is ever promised.