Duration:
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Try Scuba Diving – Begin Your Adventure!
Experience the thrill of scuba diving with the SSI Try Scuba program—the perfect way to take your first breaths underwater! Dive into the wonders of the Whitsunday Islands under the care of our friendly and professional instructors. Discover the magic of scuba diving and get ready for an experience that will make you want to explore more. Your journey starts here!
What You’ll Learn:
While the certified divers are on their first dive, you’ll receive a comprehensive lesson from our experienced team. We’ll prepare you for your dive by introducing you to the equipment you’ll use, explaining essential diving behaviors, and teaching you how to equalize the pressure in your ears. This ensures you’re fully comfortable before taking the plunge!
You will:
- Get familiar with the scuba equipment and see how simple it is to use
- Experience what it feels like to breathe underwater
- Master key skills that are fundamental for every scuba dive
- Enjoy swimming around and exploring the underwater world
What’s Included:
- One instructor-led dive (approximately 30-45 minutes, depending on your air consumption)
- Full dive and snorkel gear provided
- Industry-leading 2:1 student-to-instructor ratio for personalized attention
- One snorkelling session at our second location
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Fees
- EMC Fees (Environmental Management Charge)
Prerequisites:
- Minimum age of 12 years
- Completion of a basic medical questionnaire (available on our website)
- Must be able to swim unaided
Add-Ons:
- Lunch available as an optional extra, with options for all dietary needs!
Meeting Point & Departure:
- Our vessel is conveniently located at Coral Sea Marina.
- To ensure a smooth 7:30 am departure, please arrive 10–15 minutes early (by 7:20 am) at Meeting Point B.
- Look out for our friendly crew in Whitsunday Dive Adventures uniforms, or give us a call if you’re unable to locate us.
- A marina map will be attached to your reminder email the day before your trip.
- The approximate return time is between 1:30 and 2:30 pm, depending on weather conditions and dive locations.
- Get ready for an epic day exploring the underwater wonders of the Whitsundays!
Our vessel is conveniently located at Coral Sea Marina.
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Earlier this year, Chris certified two of my kids and a friend, while also completing the Advanced PADI course for my daughter and I. What really stood out was how thoughtfully everything was planned. Chris coordinated the schedule so that while my daughter and I were doing our Advanced dives, we were able to overlap and dive with my kids on their final day of certification. That meant we could all dive together as a family, which was absolutely fantastic. We had so much fun and it made the experience incredibly special.
We’ve just returned again this December for a day of recreational diving. Although Chris wasn’t able to dive with us this time, the crew and staff were terrific. My kids were especially excited to dive again with Amber, and she was just as excited to see them. The rest of the crew were also fantastic, friendly, professional, and clearly passionate about what they do.
We were staying on Hamilton Island, which they currently don’t service, so we travelled to Airlie Beach each day to dive with them and that really says it all. We chose to do that rather than use an operator with a Hamilton Island pickup, simply because the experience with Whitsunday Dive Adventures is that good.
I also observed the team working with beginners who were finding diving challenging, and they handled those situations beautifully. They were patient, calm, and supportive, making sure everyone felt safe and still had a positive experience.
From complete beginners through to advanced divers, this is a truly outstanding operation. Professional, caring, and absolutely worth going out of your way for.
Highly recommended.
My kids completed their PADI Open Water course (scuba diving) with the help of Amber while also completing 4 dives in total averaging at around 45 minutes each. They are very child friendly across the two days that we had them. They also experienced dives around Hooke Island, Manta Ray Bay and more. You can dive and snorkel with fish and the vast amount of coral along with a comforting guide to assist you on your journey.
The staff make a calm, easy going, enjoyable atmosphere for all. Highly recommended for all levels and ages.
Princess treatment. At the end they thanked us for diving in the Great Barrier Reef? I don’t think we left the Withsundays?
The team at Whitsunday Dive Adventures are really upbeat and cheery. The vibe is infectious and you know it’ll be a good day.
And the dive locations! This time it was Mantaray Bay and Black Island’s ‘Wonderwall’. It really felt like diving in an aquarium there were that many fish and coral. Visibility was beyond expectations (15-20m) for diving. The DM’s are flexible and ensure that your dive time is maximised.
Equipment is new and top notch. Xdeep wings!
I’ll be back!
As a first time diver on the Great Barrier I was blown away by the coral and the diversity of fish. After visiting one of their favorites "Wonderwall" I felt inspired to fly to Melbourne just to see Oasis.
I have only ever given 3 stars to anyone on Trip Advisor before, but they earned all 5.
Recommended.
Chris and Eunice the owners were super friendly and we bought some really fantastic fog free masks from them that worked like magic especially at my favourite site “Wonderwall”
We will definitely be coming back in 6 months to get some more dives under our belt.
Warm regards
Vanessa & Craige
My husband and I dove with WDA in mid-November, and we couldn’t have asked for a better way to explore the Great Barrier Reef! Chris, Eunice, and Amber were as delightful as they were professional, creating the most thoughtful and memorable dive experience we’ve ever had.
We spent two days diving with WDA and only wish we’d had time for more. What makes them special:
-Small-group, personalized diving: We were 2 of just 8 divers - so different from the 50+ diver boats. As a freshly certified diver, I felt comfortable asking tons of questions before and after each dive and really appreciated the crew's patience and attention.
-Access to pristine reef sites: With a smaller vessel, Chris brought us to incredible, less-trafficked reef locations not accessible to larger operators. We were lucky with the weather, and the reef was unimaginably gorgeous. Chris and Amber were fantastic divemasters, pointing out reef creatures we never would have spotted on our own.
-Thoughtful, safety-conscious service (and great vibes!): The WDA crew is the perfect balance of professionalism and fun. They made us feel completely at ease - from clear safety briefings to fresh-cut fruit and snacks between dives. They were even able to pick us up and drop us off each day (which, not having a car, we really appreciated). Most of all, they were just genuinely kind and personable.
If you're looking for an intimate, reef-friendly, small-group scuba experience from Airlie Beach, we recommend Whitsunday Dive Adventures. Thank you, Chris and team, for an unforgettable experience - we hope to dive with you again one day!
Chris, the captain and dive instructor, was brilliant from start to finish. He helped both our kids complete their final four dives for their PADI Open Water qualification, and his experience, patience and calm approach made all the difference. The kids learned so much under his guidance — by the final dive, their confidence had grown hugely. Chris’s briefings before each dive were clear, detailed, and packed with expert tips (I picked up plenty myself!).
The two adults in our group also dived, and we really appreciated that Chris and his team chose sites based on the best conditions each day — even with some windy weather, the boat ride was smooth and the dives were fantastic.
If you're looking for a professional, friendly and highly knowledgeable team to dive the Whitsundays with, this is the one.
Chris and Amber’s knowledge and passion for diving made for an exceptional experience. The refresher not only brought back confidence but also improved our awareness and technique underwater. Key takeaways included mastering buoyancy, refining breathing control, and a better understanding of dive safety protocols.
Loved the dive spots we visited on the scuba tour with an abundance of marine life sightings.
Thanks also to Eunice who took care of the admin and provided an amazing lunch!
Highly recommend Whitsunday Dive Adventures to anyone looking for a personable and unforgettable diving experience.
Already booked flights back to Whitsunday and look forward to diving with this amazing company again!
Chris’s expertise and approachable manner made the dive both educational and fun, and the team’s overall dedication to ensuring we had a great time was truly exceptional.
We can only recommend this experience to everyone—it was absolutely fantastic! Best rating for this wonderful team.
Catered for experienced and learner divers really well.
Would definitely recommend if your a newbie or a dive pro and everyone in between.
Heaps of information and well catered for!
On the day we went there were 4 people on a course, 1 dsd, one snorkeller and us (2 certified divers - OW and OWSI). We had the option to follow the course or dive in our our buddy team. An excellent briefing was given with a full site description and discussion about dive safety procedures. As a dive professional it's easy to be taken advantage of but here I felt very looked after and respected.
I would 100% recommend this trip to certified and new divers alike. The max capacity of 8 people means that's everyone is very well cared for.








































