Mactan Beach Scuba Diving Experience for Beginners, Cebu

Overview

This beginner scuba experience on Mactan Island is the easiest way to breathe underwater for the first time in Cebu. No diving certificate is needed. An experienced, insured English-speaking instructor gives you a personal briefing, practises the basic skills with you in shallow water and then guides you on two beach dives over the reef, with a surface break in between. Full scuba equipment, underwater photos and videos, the dive site entrance and the use of showers and lockers are included, and we collect you from your hotel on Mactan. It suits curious beginners, couples and families with older children who want a safe, unhurried first dive close to their hotel. A shorter one-dive option is also available.

Highlights

• Your first scuba dive in Cebu, with no certificate or experience needed
• Two guided beach dives with a surface break, about four hours in total
• Personal briefing and skills practice in shallow water before you descend
• Reef fish, corals and, with luck, sea turtles and sardine shoals
• Underwater photos and videos of your dive to keep
• Full scuba equipment, hot and cold showers, lockers and changing rooms
• Hotel transfers within Mactan Island, with a choice of start times

Itinerary

1. Pickup from your Mactan hotelWe collect you from your hotel lobby on Mactan Island at your chosen start time, between about 9:00 and 13:00.
2. Arrival, forms and briefingA short health questionnaire, equipment fitting and a relaxed briefing with your instructor, about 30 minutes.
3. Skills practice in shallow waterYou try breathing from the regulator and a few simple skills while standing, until you feel ready.
4. First beach diveA guided dive along the reef with your instructor at your side, usually 30 to 40 minutes underwater.
5. Surface breakRest, rehydrate and look at your first photos before the second dive.
6. Second beach diveA second guided dive with more time to relax and enjoy the reef life.
7. Shower and returnShower and change at the dive centre, then transfer back to your hotel; about four hours in total.

What's included

• Full scuba equipment
• Experienced, insured English-speaking dive instructor
• Underwater photos and videos of your dive
• One beach dive
• Dive site entrance
• Hot and cold showers, lockers and changing rooms
• Hotel transfers within Mactan Island

Not suitable for

• Pregnant travellers
• People with heart, lung or ear conditions, epilepsy or recent surgery, unless cleared by a doctor
• Children under about 10 years old
• Travellers flying within 24 hours after the dive
• Non-swimmers who are uncomfortable in water

Meeting point

We pick you up from your hotel on Mactan Island at the start time you choose, between about 9:00 and 13:00. Please wait in the lobby 10 minutes before pickup. For hotels in Cebu City or elsewhere, transfers are not included, but we can arrange a private transfer on request.

Important information

• No diving certificate or experience is needed, but you should be comfortable in water
• You will fill in a short medical questionnaire; some conditions need a doctor's approval before diving
• Do not fly for at least 18 to 24 hours after diving, so avoid booking this on your departure day
• Bring swimwear, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen and a change of clothes
• An environmental fee is paid locally on the day
• Food and drinks are not included; eat a light meal beforehand
• Never touch corals or marine animals; sightings are not guaranteed
• Dives depend on sea and weather conditions and may be rescheduled for safety, mostly between June and November