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 PADI 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 the Blue” 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 Sydney.

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

Dive Against Debris

Our History

The original dive shop opened in 1962, when it was known as Ron Harding’s Sports Store and was one of only three dive stores in Sydney. Founders Ron Harding and Barry May were true pioneers of Australian diving, exploring the underwater world alongside legends Ron and Valerie Taylor.

In 1993, Richard and Janet took the helm, leading Dive Centre Manly for the next 30 years and building its reputation as one of Australia’s most respected dive centres. Under their ownership, the business earned countless awards while introducing thousands of people to the underwater world.

In 2023, Michael took over ownership with a simple goal: to honour everything that made Dive Centre Manly special while continuing to raise the bar. Today, we’re committed to providing exceptional training, unforgettable diving experiences, and creating confident divers who remain part of our community for life. After all, our goal isn’t just to certify divers; it’s to inspire a lifetime of adventure beneath the surface.

Today, Dive Centre Manly operates across two dedicated facilities: our Dive Centre in the heart of Manly and our purpose-built Dive Training Centre in Manly Vale, giving us everything we need to deliver world-class diver training, equipment servicing and unforgettable diving experiences.

'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.