Passionate Manly Divers since 1993

We’re the closest to Sydney’s best dive sites

Dive Centre Manly

We are situated closest to Sydney’s best dive sites, including Cabbage Tree Bay. Being a multi-award winning PADI 5 Star Instructor training facility, we offer a complete range of dive courses from Discover Scuba to Instructor level and beyond – including Sydney’s most talked about Learn to Dive course.

Our fun and unique skills-based training programs have continually produced better divers. When you finish a program with us, you will have gained the confidence and skills necessary to enjoy a lifetime of diving. We guarantee you won’t be able to wait to jump back in the water again!

Learning to dive has never been easier. We have Learn to Dive programs starting up to 5 times a week, taught by some of the most experienced dive staff in Australia, including our PADI Course Director, Staff Instructors, Master Scuba Diver Trainers and Divemasters.

  • PADI 5 Star Instructor training facility
  • 3 metre-deep heated and floodlight diver training pool
  • 2 air-conditioned classrooms
  • Conveniently located in Manly, close to the wharf and bus station

Marine Conservation at our heart

We are fortunate to have Sydney’s first aquatic reserve (Cabbage Tree Bay) right on our doorstep in which to dive.

We are passionate about taking care of our environment and work closely with Project AWARE to highlight the damage of plastic pollution and waste in the ocean.  To this end we have adopted two dive sites through the “Adopt a Dive Site” initiative – Shelly Beach and Manly Cove, to monitor and report all rubbish found. We also conducted the very first Dive Against Debris underwater clean-ups – which continue to run regularly and attract divers, snorkelers and freedivers from all across to Sydney.

Want to become involved in our local conservation community efforts? Dive Against Debris with us as we clean up our local.

Dive Against Debris

Our History

The original dive shop opened in 1962, one of only three in Sydney which was then known as Ron Hardings Sports Store. The owners Ron Harding and Barry May were early pioneers of diving alongside Ron and Valerie Taylor. Dive Centre Manly has been under the current ownership of Richard and Janet since February 1993. We have two locations: the Dive Centre in Manly (DCM) and the Dive Training Centre (DTC) in Manly Vale.

'94

Popularised the use of enriched air diving in the region setting up countless Nitrox facilities and training instructors, technicians and gas blenders.

'95

Developed training programmes and procedures for deep and mixed gas diving. Conducted the first enriched air dives on the Great Barrier reef to support the first 24 hour study of the Reef Metamorphasea Project.

'96

First to offer recreational semi-closed circuit training on the Atlantis Rebreather (became the Drager Dolphin) to both students and instructors.

'98

First CDC training centre in Australia able to offer a full range of dive career programmes. The largest contributor to PADI Project Aware with over $20,000 in funds raised in the first 10 years. Instrumental in establishing Cabbage Tree Bay (Shelly Beach) as no-take aquatic reserve with seed funding, supplying dive equipment, logistical support and getting wide spread acceptance from the local community. First store to run underwater clean-ups.

2000

until today

Numerous industry and community awards for both business and environmental initiatives. Strives to stay at the forefront of diving technologies we offer some of the highest quality training from Open Water right through to Instructor training and deep technical diving.