(3 Days) PADI Open Water Diver Course Kota Kinabalu

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Reviews

Ratings come from 27 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Just finished my two-day diving certification and I'm honestly still smiling about it. The instructors were genuinely great — su

  Just finished my two-day diving certification and I'm honestly still smiling about it. The instructors were genuinely great — super patient, never rushed me even when I kept fumbling with the gear, and they spoke both English and Chinese so communication was never an issue. Day one got rained out, which was a bit of a bummer, but the team quickly shuffled the schedule around and made safety the priority — no cutting corners, no pushing us into the water just to stick to a plan. Day two made up for it though. Lunch was included too. All in all, worth every penny.

  D5954LA_September 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4A good school for absolute newbs.

  I did a PADI open water with them, 2days plus online lessons and test for the theory section. My very first ocean experience. Overall I’d say they are good. They teach you in the ocean shallows and not in a pool on you day 1.So your confined water training is in the ocean. To me this was very scary as I have never been in the ocean, not even for snorkeling or just swimming. But in retrospect it prepared me well for the open water training. Even though it’s obvious, remaining calm was an issue but once I did manage to do it things got a lot easier faster. Also you have to do things slowly and not exert yourself as doing things violently just makes you tired and nothing else. Also a thing to note is to be comfortable breathing through your mouth and not use your nose. So for new people I’d recommend try snorkeling before scuba as it will probably help eliminate any concerns of breathing through your mouth as well as opening eyes under water, which were both challenging for me. Day 2 was much more peaceful since I knew what to expect. We went through all the lessons at a reasonable pace but I would have preferred the pace to be a bit slower because to me everything was new - ocean experience, treading water, breathing through the mouth, opening eyes under water etc. I think I would have been a bit more relaxed if the pace was a little slower but the again most people I guess would not be as bad as me 😅 One last thing is I with the package included one fun dive, even if at additional cost, so that you would have a relaxed experience over all, since the two day training has quite a few skills to go through and all of it is to help you stay alive and handle emergency situations. So you don’t end up having a lot of ‘fun’ time. I’d recommend them for beginners. We were two students per instructor. In general- talk to your instructor, don’t be a hero, listen to your instructor, trust in your instructor and everything will be alright.

  Sankar UApril 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Awesome first dive experience

  I did my open water with Alwee. He was fabulous ! Knowledgeable, patient, calm and fun. The Go Aquatic as a team were organised , professional and a lot of fun. Would recommend to divers of all levels.

  44charlotteaMarch 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5I went on three fun dive days (9 total dives) with Go Aquatic and had an awesome experience. My dive guide/scuba master Lily wa

  I went on three fun dive days (9 total dives) with Go Aquatic and had an awesome experience. My dive guide/scuba master Lily was amazing. She is now the best scuba master I have every dived with! She is so much fun to be around. She took care of everything — I honestly didn’t have to lift a finger. I always felt safe, relaxed, and well looked after, which made it easy to just enjoy the dives. I’m a solo female traveler from South Dakota, USA, and I felt very comfortable the entire time — both underwater and on the boat. The camaraderie on the boat was great; everyone was friendly, easygoing, and fun to be around. The dive sites were really good! The visibility wasn’t the best when I went however I still had amazing dives! I was very luckily to see one of the largest turtles I have ever seen while scuba diving. The boats were comfortable, and the lunch on the fun dive days was delicious, which I appreciated since I’m usually a picky eater. The pricing was very reasonable, and the whole operation felt professional but still laid-back. I had a lot of fun and felt genuinely taken care of. Highly recommend Go Aquatic, especially for solo travelers looking for safe, well-run diving with a friendly crew. I’d absolutely dive with them again

  sarahrP7880WKDecember 2025via Tripadvisor

• 5来亚庇学潜水就来潜心潜意（Go Aquatic）.If you want to learn diving in Kota Kinabalu, come to Go Aquatic.

  在Go Aquatic学习了ow+aow，Go Aquatic的装备挺好的，我们的教练Oscar很负责专业的教我们技巧，教练们也很幽默友好，中文英文很好，氛围很好，来亚庇学潜水就来Go Aquatic I am learning Open water diver and Advanced open water diver at Go Aquatic. The equipment at Go Aquatic is quite good. Our instructor Oscar was very responsible and professional in teaching us skills. The instructors are also very humorous and friendly. They are good at both Chinese and English. The atmosphere is great. If you want to learn diving in Kota Kinabalu, come to Go Aquatic.

  coryz729October 2025via Tripadvisor

• 5If you need a diving course go with Go Aquatic! They are awesome!

  I highly recommend the GoAquatic open water certification course! I feel very confident with scuba skills after completing this course. My instructor Zural was incredible very knowledgeable, calm and had great attention to detail which helped me feel calm and confident in the water. I would definitely love to take another certification course with this company highly recommend if you are in Kota Kinabalu this is the dive center for you!

  M5284PVmargaretrAugust 2025via Tripadvisor

Know before you go

How it compares in Kota Kinabalu

• Its from-price is 371% above the median of the 198 experiences we list in Kota Kinabalu.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 20 of 198.

About Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah on Borneo, a coastal city facing offshore islands, with Mount Kinabalu rising on the horizon inland.

Kota Kinabalu sits on the north-west coast of Borneo, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, with a waterfront of markets, seafood restaurants and a long promenade. The islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park lie just offshore. On a clear day Mount Kinabalu, 4,095 metres high and the tallest peak in Malaysia, rises inland. The city was called Jesselton until the 1960s.

Top-ranked sights in Kota Kinabalu: Mt. Kinabalu (Gunung Kinabalu), Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (TARP), Kota Kinabalu City Mosque (Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu).

See all 198 experiences in Kota Kinabalu