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Daily Leisure Diving and Fun Dives Trip Kota Kinabalu
Leisure Diving Fun DIves in Kota Kinabalu
Leisure Diving Fun DIves in Kota Kinabalu
Leisure Diving Fun DIves in Kota Kinabalu

Daily Leisure Diving / Fun Dives in Kota Kinabalu

(28 customer reviews)

From: RM275

Scuba diving in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park is a popular choice for certified divers visiting Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The Marine Park is home to five islands fringed by tropical coral reefs. Go scuba diving in tropical waters along shallow coral reefs in search of marine life including Clown Fish, Barracuda, Blue Spotted Rays, Hawksbill Turtles and macro life including nudibranchs and seahorses.

To Book – Simply select the number of persons in your group and the date you require. The price displayed is then the group price including any Sabah Parks Conservation Fees required. Unless you are joining an existing group the minimum booking is 2 persons.

Dive computer rental

Monitor your dives with a dive computer rental. We offer Mares Puck Pro dive computers for rental. They are very simple to use and are also Nitrox/Enriched Air capeable. The replacement cost should you lose or damage it is RM 1000.00/unit.

U/Water Digiatal Camera Rental

Why not capture a few underwater memories with an underwater camera rental? We offer a Nikon W300 rated to 30m or GoPro Hero 11 with an underwater housing and float handle rated to 40m. Your images will be uploaded to a Google Drive, and a link will be shared with you. Photos will be available for download for approximately ten days. Please be aware that there will be a charge for loss or damage to the camera and housing RM 2500.00

Daily Leisure Diving and Fun Dives in Kota Kinabalu

Enjoy some relaxed Leisure Diving/Fun Dives in Kota Kinabalu with the Borneo Dream Team. All our daily local leisure diving and fun dives take place in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP). Scuba diving around Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) is an ideal diving trip for scuba divers looking for chilled-out diving along pretty tropical coral reefs. Suitable for beginners through to experienced leisure divers, scuba diving around TARP offers something for all divers. Join us for a Kota Kinabalu Scuba Diving day trip and let us show you our local marine park whilst you complete three dives – two before lunch and one after.

During your Kota Kinabalu leisure diving/fun dives trip to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park with Borneo Dream, we will take you to some of the 25 dive sites we have identified around the five idyllic islands in TARP Marine Park – Pulau Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik, Manukan and Sulug. We also go diving into the deeper, beautiful coral reefs at Edgell Patches sitting just outside the Marine Park. The dives range in depths from 5m to 25m and tend to have little or no current and good visibility. The water temperature is usually around 28 to 30C but during February and March, it can fall to around 25 to 27C – The local marine park is ideal for all divers who want to complete leisure diving/fun dives in a safe surroundings.

Book your leisure diving or fun dives in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park with Borneo Dream!

During your leisure diving or fun dive trip, you will find good quality coral coverage and a surprisingly wide variety of marine life – real divers find, considering you are only 15 minutes by boat from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Watch shoals of Fusilier’s dart through the water, schooling Barracuda, Puffer Fish peek out from under Table Corals, a Hawksbill or Green Turtle resting under a coral pinnacle and find every species of Anemone / Clown Fish (including Nemo!). That’s not mentioning the surprisingly rich muck diving, including Ornate Ghost Pipefish, various Nudibranch species, Banded Pipefish, Cuttlefish and Blue Spotted Octopus. You can enjoy some photos and videos from our scuba diving trips to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.

If you have not dived in a few years, or are new to diving as a certified diver, then you could consider joining the one day PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course to perfect your scuba diving buoyancy skills, followed by this day trip scuba diving in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. If there are three certified divers in your group, then check out our Group Special scuba diving package for our Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park diving trip.

Trip Itinerary – Leisure Diving or Fun Dives

08:45 Meet our Dive Crew at the Britsh Red Telephone Boxes on the left-hand side, just inside the entrance at Jesselton Point Jetty in central Kota Kinabalu.

09:00 Board our boat, and a boat safety briefing will be provided. Your Dive Guide will introduce themselves and outline the itinerary for your itinerary for the day. You will then be transferred to the morning dive l site in Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.

09:30 Arrive at our first dive site.

09:45 Your PADI Instructor will provide a full dive briefing for your first dive. You and your dive buddy will do your buddy checks before starting your first dive of the day. Enjoy a nice, long relaxing dive (dive length is a maximum of 60 minutes or a minimum of 50 bar).

10:00 till 11:00 Dive #1

11:00 till 12:00 Surface interval and time to relax between dives.

12:00 till 13:00 Dive #2

13:15 till 14:15 Lunch on Padang Point choosing from a menu.

14:30 till 15:30 Dive #3

15:30 – After your afternoon dive, you will board our boat and get out of your dive gear. Time to shower and dry yourself before heading back to Jesselton Point Jetty.

15:30/16:30: At the end of the day’s leisure diving/fun dive trip, you will be returned to Jesselton Point jetty.

Trip Pre-requisites

You need to be a certified diver to join this diving trip. You will need to bring your diver certification card to show your Dive Guide at the start of the scuba diving trip.

Trip Inclusions

  • Return boat transfers from Jesselton Point Jetty.
  • Jesselton Jetty fee.
  • Free use of our rental dive gear (mask, full foot fins, shorty tropical 3mm wetsuit, BCD, regulator & gauges, weight belt with weights, 3x cylinders filled with air).
  • 3 Guided boat dives with our experienced and friendly PADI Dive Crew.
  • Meals – lunch (choose from a range of local dishes).
  • Drinking water – Please bring your own drinking bottle
  • Sabah Parks Conservation Fees and Permits

Trip Exclusions

Anything not mentioned.

Recommended Packing List For The Trip

The diver certification card, dive logbook, swimwear, towel, dry clothes, suntan lotion, sun hat and sunglasses. You can choose to rent one of our underwater cameras with housing to take photos during your dives.

Notes for your Leisure Diving / Fun Dives Trip

Please note that during late January – mid-March the diving conditions in TARP can be impacted by plankton blooms and the sea temperature reduces slightly to 25C – 27C. During these times we will do our best to show divers the nicest diving conditions in the Marine Park. We will also provide divers with full length 3mm bodysuits (along with shorty wet suits) to provide extra thermal protection.

28 reviews for Daily Leisure Diving / Fun Dives in Kota Kinabalu

  1. Rachael –

    Diving experience
    A good experience !! Friendly and professional coach !! Clean seawater, which can look at fishes and corals clearly!!

  2. Tania G –

    Great!!
    Review of: Leisure Diving, 3 Dives at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Kota Kinabalu. Wonderful crew and beautiful dive sites. Got to see some of Pulau Gaya’s less frequented dive sites, that was definitely a treat! – Oct. 2021

  3. Mel –

    Beautiful day at the sea after several months at home. Did 3 dives with 5 friends, a much needed one ❤️
    5/5 This is my 5th booking with BD & as usual I enjoyed the outing especially when you have people like Amir & Easter. I will surely stick with them in the future too. Highly recommended for those who want to learn diving they are very passionate people & very2 helpful too – Oct. 2021

  4. Szamelissa –

    Amazing service
    Review of: Leisure Diving, 3 Dives at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Kota Kinabalu
    We book LD, 3 dives at TAR Park with BORNEO dream on 16/10. Had amazing 3 dives with Esther as our DM. She was amazing DM, and the weather and vis was so nice too. Amazing service by Borneo Dream Crew, highly recommended – Oct. 2021

  5. Evelyn –

    10/10 would recommend
    We had so much fun on our 3 fun dives. The professionalism and guidance shown by our dive leader Esther was excellent from the registration, to the briefings, to providing feedback through a debrief which really made all the difference.

    Everything was well organized, the boat was very well equipped, Zul the boatman was very friendly, accommodating and helpful and the entire team took extra initiative to guide and show us things underwater. A trip we will remember for a long time and will definitely not be the last! – May 2021

  6. Kael Lee –

    Excellent service
    Review of: Leisure Diving, 3 Dives at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Kota Kinabalu
    Excellent service and friendly staff. The guide will keep sharing their experience with you and lead you on how to improve your diving skill. Good job! – May 2021

  7. sawkahchun –

    10/10 !
    Review of: Leisure Diving, 3 Dives at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Kota Kinabalu
    Had so much fun with them! Amir is very helpful and informative, will definitely dive with them again! – May 2021

  8. Roslee –

    Exciting
    Review of: Leisure Diving, 3 Dives at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park in Kota Kinabalu
    Such an awesome day together! We had an enjoyable and fun diving experience, all thanks to our instructor Mr Basir Turabin. He’s great at finding awesome/ unique sea-creature spots. His experience also helps to improve our diving skills. Thank you! – May 2021

  9. Andrew Evans –

    Had an absolutely class time today, your two blokes “Basir & Jason” are absolutely brilliant, thanks so much, wish I was going again in the morning.

  10. intl-eater (TripAdvisor) –

    Great SCUBA Diving – My travel buddy and I booked a dive around Gaya island with Borneo Dream.

    First, let’s start with the booking process. You give them a time and they respond quickly on availability. Then you are expected to pay upfront to book a specific time. Throughout the booking process, they were very accommodating. They allowed us to change our reservation last minute due to an illness and they were flexible with the payment. So a good start.

    Meetup at Jesselton point involved hunting for the Borneo dream divemaster. I saw them sitting at a table and I was met with a friendly greeting. The paperwork was fast and efficient, and we were led to the boat at the scheduled departure time.

    The boat was very nice. It has a bathroom and a small closet area to store your stuff and where you can change your clothes. The captain was nice and they blasted awesome music on the ride.

    I rented SCUBA equipment and the equipment they had was of good quality. I did not have any equipment issues.

    The divemaster we had was Basir and he was awesome. He was friendly, funny, and very competent divemaster. I had less than 10 dives coming in and he helped me find a perfect weight for the weight belt. I now know what to use in the future. He also is a master at spotting wildlife. Lastly, he was very patient and made sure to choose dive sites and routes according to our experience. We felt very comfortable.

    We did 3 dives and had a lot of fun. The crew was great. I highly recommend them for your SCUBA diving needs in Borneo.

  11. EUN JIN J (TripAdvisor) –

    Just AMAZING! – The crews were so nice and awesome. I had a such a good time. They are professional and very humorous. Excellent!!

  12. Eirlys T Machynlleth, United Kingdom (TripAdvisor) –

    Amazing scuba diving experience! – We were on our honeymoon and had been diving a couple of times before so we were hoping for a good experience. We had a very friendly diving guide called Baz, he was excellent! They were very thorough when explaining and we felt in safe hands! We had two excellent dives where we saw much different fish and coral and even two sharks! We were allowed to be quite independent which we loved, but Baz was always keeping an eye! He showed us many wonderful underwater creatures! We were down for about 45 mins and up to about 13/15 m. Overall a fantastic day and would really recommend to anyone from a first-time diver to a PADI refresher!

  13. Roman S (TripAdvisor) –

    Perfect Dive Trip – I did 3 Fun-Dives with Borneo Dream and would totally recommend it. Very good organized, perfect facilities and very friendly people! And the price is reasonable as well.

  14. Alfeen Singapore (TripAdvisor) –

    Still the best – This is my second review for Borneo Dream, did nitrox and fun dive this time around. And once again never fail to put smiles on our face.

    Our instructor Luke, did a good job explaining and keeping us comfortable. In fact all the crews were really friendly, and helpful. 2 days after the dive trip when we were back at our home country, we received an email from Joanne, the director to congratulate us on becoming enriched air certified and also to share feedback about the dive site and also the marine life that we saw. That really makes our day, especially when you are combating post diving/vacation depression. There will definitely be more dive trips with Borneo Dream.

    However, try to avoid rainy season and international school holiday, other than that all is great.

  15. Nick C (TripAdvisor) –

    Scuba – We stayed at Gaya Island Resort and used Borneo Dream Travel for three days of diving for my son and me who are both BSAC Sports Divers and a PADI Junior Open Water course for my youngest Son. Firstly and most importantly these guys know what they are doing…..they are well prepared, well trained, have a good boat and equipment and find the right balance to be serious enough on safety but making the day fun. The Open Water course was first class and the guiding on general dives was excellent……we saw so much good stuff. Thanks to Sabri, Basir and Azul for making our trip so great.

  16. Lotus_Khoo, KL (TripAdvisor) –

    Enjoyable leisure diving – Had a lovely time diving with Borneo Dream. Well organised and very convenient dive spot in KK where there are lots to do after they drop u back at the jetty. Special thanks to dive master Jason for being patient, reassuring and coming to our rescue many times. Held back on giving a 5 star only because on one of the dives thought we spent too much time at one place looking for a seahorse with too many people in a small area because of low visibility. Having said that would still dive with Borneo Dream again of course if I’m ever in KK again.

  17. Ola –

    Thank you for a very pleasant and enjoyable day of diving. Fantastic crew, high class professionalism. Special thanks to Amir for perfect, friendly and pedagogic guidance. Having been without diving for three years due to medical reasons it was very comforting to get the well leveled guidance and attention allowing me to fully enjoy it and making sure I can go back into water again. See you again.

  18. Amr –

    Thank you Borneo Dream team for the amazing diving trip and river cruise trip you are the best.
    Also i purchased some diving gear and the quality is very good. The team is very well trained and experienced, the diving sites incredible and we were very lucky to see green sea turtle for the first time. Simply it’s unforgettable trip.

  19. Urs F., Switzerland –

    This was my second stay on Gaya Island, and one of the reasons to come back was the wonderful experience with the Borneo Dream diving team. This year I did two days with three dives each, and both trips were well organized and made for relaxing and fun diving. Unlike other places I have been to, the groups are kept small and the dive guides make you feel welcome the moment you step on the boat, and show you how much they love their job. All in all a great experience, and definitely planning to come back sometime.

  20. Dominik&Daniela –

    The trip was very well organized, the equipment was good and the staff is friendly and competent. We joined in for two days and we’ll definitly do it again. Highly recommended

  21. Kristine –

    In connection with our recent stay in Gaya Island Resort we went diving 2 of the days with Borneo Dream. Since it had been 5 years since my last dive I was a bit rusty on my skills. Luckily that was not a problem at all since both we had very experienced, friendly and patient diving instructors in Basir and Amir. They took the time to brush up on all the safety exercises etc which made me feel very safe and comfortable during our 5 dives. If we come back to this area we would not hesitate to go diving with these guys again – can highly recommend. Thank you for some very good, safe and comfortable dives 🙂

  22. Maria Safonova –

    Infrastructure during diving was good, lunch tasty, boat was comportable, marine life which was shown to us by instructors was rich.

  23. Kristin Ng –

    The service from Borneo was great. Instructions from the team was very clear and i have an ease of mind.

  24. Maria Tullberg –

    The first day we were on Elvis and that is the nicest dive boat we’ve ever been on! Divemaster (Basir?) was amazing and went out of his way to tell our sons about the fish and coral we encountered. The captains (we had different captains for the different days) were all professional and attentive. The whole experience was great!

  25. John Tan Poh Soon –

    Instructor and coxswain were patient and helpful. Thank you for a great Day J

  26. Luk Hang Ying Jasmine, HK –

    There were many aspects of the diving trips that we liked a lot. Our diving instructors, Rebecca and Eugene were very professional and friendly. They ensured we performed the safety procedures before diving and were very attentive during the dive. The staff on the boats and counter were also very friendly and informative. The service was excellent. The boat and gears felt very spacious, new and clean too.

  27. Ahmad Rizal Bin Ramlan, MY –

    The service was good and the boat was comfortable. Having fun on the boat and great dive

  28. Amanda Fleming, Australia –

    The experience we had with Borneo Dream was outstanding. They are extremely professional and safe. Service and friendliness is amazing. We had both Eugene and Richard on different days. Both need to be commended. Thanks for everything.

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Kota Kinabalu Diving

  • Do I need a scuba review or a refresher?

    We often get asked, Can I have a scuba refresher? or Do I need a scuba review? The simple answer is it is up to you and your abilities. There is a massive difference between a diver who has not dived for 2 years and had logged 75 dives to a diver who completed his diving course 2 years ago and has not dived since. I’m sure many of you would now be quoting me section from various diving agency manuals and instructor guides, telling anyone who has not dived for 6 months should take a refresher or scuba review.

    Well, this is great advice. But that is all it is. At Borneo Dream, we have seen literally thousands of divers, new and old, since we began in 2006. And what I would say is this: If you are very comfortable in the water, you are in control of your own destiny, such as ascents and descents, with no assistance, and you are able to control your position in the water, buoyancy. Then we are happy to take you leisure diving in Kota Kinabalu.

    It is worth noting that on leisure diving or fun dive trips, your guide, whether it be a Divemaster or Instructor. They are there for the group as a guide, not your personal assistant. He is there to keep the group safe and show them items of interest in the water.

  • Can I fly after diving or climb a mountain?

    Flying after diving or going to Mount Kinabalu Park can be risky, and you need to know and understand this. Anytime you have been scuba diving, you should not go above 300 metres above sea level until you have met the following requirements:

    • A minimum of 12-hour surface interval was recommended for the single no-decompression dive.
    • A minimum of 18-hour surface interval for multi-day repetitive diving.
    • Substantially longer than 18 hours after diving involving compulsory decompression or using heliox and trimix.

    Further information can be found on the Divers Alert Network site or DAN – Please click here.

  • Is it easy to get from the city centre to Jesselton Point Jetty?

    Most watersports trips depart from Jesselton Point Jetty (https://g.page/JesseltonPoint) in central Kota Kinabalu. If you are staying at a city centre hotel or guest house you will often find it far quicker to walk to Jesselton Point. If you are staying at hotels or resorts such as Shangri-La Rasa Ria or Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa then I would certainly grab a taxi.

  • Will we still go diving if it is raining?

    The quick answer is “yes”. Sabah has a tropical climate and as part of this, we will typically have some tropical rain later in the day on most days. This rain is warm, often a welcome relief and for most activities does not stop play. Specifically for our scuba diving and snorkeling activities from Kota Kinabalu:-

    • It is still safe to snorkel and dive when it’s raining.
    • You won’t get cold if it rains as the sea temperature, for most of the year, is a toasty 28C – 30C. We also provide all our divers and snorkeling customers with 3mm tropical wet suits for thermal protection.
    • The tropical marine life will still be there to see as you enjoy your scuba diving or snorkeling activity.

    Whilst Sabah’s tropical climate means there’s a good chance it will rain at some point during your holiday, it’s this climate that also supports the rainforest, and it’s inhabitants, found here. Most days in Sabah, especially during the Dry Season, start off with blue sky, sunshine and a calm breeze with a chance of rain typically later in the day, evening or night time. As long as you come on holiday prepared for a hot, humid and sometimes wet tropical climate you will have a great time! Find to more about Sabah, and Sabah’s climate, on Sabah Tourism’s web site.

  • Where can I see whale sharks in Borneo?

    The whale shark is considered the largest fish in the world and is often on the bucket list of divers for their dream sightings on a dive. The whale shark inhabits tropical and warm-temperate seas and we are lucky to have a Whale Shark migration season on the west and east coast of Sabah, Borneo although possible sightings are quite small in number. If you don’t get to see a Whale Shark during your holiday to Borneo, don’t worry. The tropical waters off Sabah are located in the Coral Triangle making them home to an amazing variety of marine life waiting to be seen. The following are locations in Sabah offer the chance to see Whale Sharks during the Whale Shark migration season (if luck is on your side):-

    Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, Kota Kinabalu

    Whale sharks come to feed on the plankton during the cooler months typically between November and February. Most years we have had a handful of Whale Shark sightings during a Borneo Dream snorkeling and scuba diving trip within the Marine Park.

    Lankayan Island, accessible by boat via Sandakan

    Whale shark sightings on Lankayan Island off the east coast of Sabah, Borneo are far from guaranteed. The whale shark season runs from March-May, when the sharks are migrating through the Sulu Sea, often passing close to the island to feed near the drop-offs.

    Layang Layang, accessible by flight via Kota Kinabalu

    Layang Layang is an atoll located 300 kilometres north-west of Kota Kinabalu. The island offers world-class diving along its drop-offs with regular sightings of pelagics in its waters. The diving season at Layang Layan is from

    March to August and divers, of they are lucky, may also encounter whale sharks during their migration season.

    For guaranteed sightings of Whale Sharks, we recommend you visit more famous locations in the world-renowned for Whale Shark sightings such as Ningaloo Reef in Australia. Find out more about the distribution of Whale Sharks.

  • Where can I dive in Borneo?

    In Borneo most of the scuba diving locations are to be found in Sabah, northern Borneo. Sabah is home to a range of popular diving locations including the following:-

    • For World famous dive locations choose Sipadan or Layang Layang. Both offer diving along drop offs, sightings of pelagics and regularly feature in the top diving locations in the World.
    • Muck diving at Mabul – Mabul may not have the stunning reef diving offered by neighbouring Sipadan, but it is compensated by offering some really cool muck diving being home a wide variety of unusual critters including nudibranchs, mandarinfish, frogfish and lots more.
    • The most accessible diving is offered at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park – the Marine Park is easy to visit from Kota Kinabalu and offers calm, sheltered coral reef dive sites suitable for beginners as well as offering chilled out diving for more experienced divers.
    • For idyllic island resort diving check out Lankayan Island or Pulau Mataking. Both have just one Resort located offering a secluded stay, white sand beaches and diving along the reefs fringing the island. 

    If you are into wreck diving then check out the wrecks located in the waters near Labuan – the American Wreck, Australian Wreck, Cement Wreck and the Blue Water Wreck. Dive Centre(s) in Brunei typically offer diving trips to the wrecks.

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