Frequently Asked Questions

Course dives take place at Kontiki marina In Maribago, lapulapu. We have a lot to see on our house reef- a huge shoal of Sardines , Turtles and hundreds of different species of Reef Fish.

Boat trips go to Gilutongan island, Olango island and Nalusuan Island.

Friends cannot dive on the first day of your course . They can join on the second day.

If you arrive after 9PM at night we recommend you book to stay in the Stopover hostel in Mustang Road near the airport.

Harang Resort hotel  in Maribago is only 5 minutes walk away.

REDDOORZ hotel in Maribago is only an 8 minute walk from our diveshop. Its reasonably priced and very convenient.

 Aosmec Square Hotel in Agus  – which has double rooms with Aircon for only php750 a night – is about 9 minutes by tricycle ( and php100) from our diveshop in Kontiki marina.

La Place Guesthouse is another reasonably priced place to stay within 20-25 minutes walk away. ( Or 9 minutes by tricycle)

Also Karancho Resort is within 15-20 minutes walk.

Nearby and on AirBNB is Dees Whitesands Guesthouse and Bayahinan flats in Maribago.

High end resorts near our diveshop include Maribago Blue water, Costabella, Whitesands and J Park.

GRAB taxis are very easy and cheap to get at the airport. There is free WIFI at the airport. Alternatively you could get an airport taxi; just make sure the driver puts the meter on. The fare should be php200-300 only.
No meals are not included. There is a restaurant at Kontiki marina called OXYGEN or you can get lunch for only php100 including a drink from outside at a local Carendaria.

It’s very easy to find transportation in Lapulapu and Cebu. There are many taxis and you can use the GRAB APP . There are also many tricycles ( motorbikes with sidecar) and Jeepneys.

Before you get in a tricycle you should always agree the price with the driver beforehand. A good guide is to check the price of a taxi on the GRAB APP for where you want to go to. A tricycle should cost less than a taxi. Not more. 

The same thing applies to the taxis at the airport and taxis that you flag down. Always check the meter is on. If the driver does not want to use his meter always agree the price before you get in. Use the GRAB APP as a guide for the correct price. 

You don’t need to be able to swim .

However the minimum requirement is that you must at least be able to swim with a Mask, Snorkel and Fins for a distance of 200 Metres. The good thing is that the mask helps keep you afloat so most people can do this, even if they can’t swim. If you have never tried snorkelling before it would be a good idea to trythis out before enrolloing on the course. You also need to be able to float for 10 minutes. This can be done in the sea which is easier to float in, due to the salt content, than in swimming pool water.

To enrol on a dive course we require a deposit. The deposit is approximately 50% of the course price. It’s best to contact Simon the owner on whatsapp +447863466103 for him to explain the options for paying the deposit. For international customers from outside the Philippines we recommend using PayPal, Revolut or Wise international bank transfer. 

For local customers within the Philippines we recommend using GCASH, Philippine bank to Philippine bank transfer or going to the diveshop to pay with cash.

Our PADI Open Water Diver course consists of two days in water training. You must also complete the PADI elearning at home before you come. The PADI elearning usually takes about 8-10 hours of self study at home.

Day 1: 8:30 AM to 4 PM

Day 2: 9AM to 3PM 

With 1 hour lunch around 12PM

Usually we start the PADI Advanced course at 12PM on the first day and carry out two afternood dives followed by the Night dive ( which is a favourite of many customers)

On the second day we start around 9 or 9:30 AM and are finished by around 2 PM

However, we can customise the start and finish times to suit your schedule.

Our diveshop, SiDive Diving centre , is inside Kontiki Marina, in Maribago, in Lapulapu, Cebu.

It’s 20 minutes from Mactan/Cebu International airport.

There is no minimum number of students. We often teach private classes with one student only.

Our Instructor to Student ratio is one Fully Qualified PADI Professional for two students.

Yes you can take the AOW the day after you finish the AOW course.This takes 4 days in total to complete both courses.As long as you complete the PADI E-Learning before you start.

If you are unable to complete your dive course for whatever reason you will only pay for what you have completed. If you are unable to even start the course you will not have to pay the balance for the course. Your deposit, however ,will not be refunded for a dive course because your deposit pays for your PADI E-Learning. You can still use your PADI E-Learning towards your course at a later date with us or anywhere else.

For Fun Diving, your deposit is refunded if we are unable to dive due to bad weather. Bad weather does not include rain. We do not cancel for rain. 

 

For all PADI Dive courses we require a 50% deposit for the course because we need to buy your PADI E-Learning from PADI and then assign it to you. The deposit covers the cost of the PADI E-Learning.

For fun dives on our housereef and for boat dives we also require a deposit because we need to book staff for you and , in the case of boat diving, we need to book the boat and your BBQ. If you are a no show we still have to pay our staff, the boat and for the BBQ so , for this reason , we need a small deposit.

You will receive the PADI E=Learning as soon as you have paid the deposit.

I will require the following information to assign your E-Learning to you:

Your First name

Your Last name

Your Date of Birth

Your Email address

The language you prefer for your E-Learning