Downbelow PADI 5 Star Dive Centre, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park - TARP
Kota Kinabalu


Based at The Beach House, Gaya Island where rainforest meets reef ! Our Dive Centre is the the perfect destination for Marine and Wildlife lovers !!

Located just 8 minutes speedboat ride from central Kota Kinabalu we are ideally situated for visitors and residents of the city to come and spend a day trip with us.

Surrounded by primary rainforest and tropical ocean, visitors can enjoy daily scuba diving, try dives for first timers, snorkelling, skin diving /free diving, trekking & hiking, sunbathing, wildlife watching or just reading a book to the sound of the jungle.

At 15 sq km, Gaya Island is the largest of the five beautiful islands that make up the land mass of TARP a 49sq km National Park.


From our centre there are excellent walking trails through virgin tropical rain-forest.

Guests can walk to:
Police Beach: 3.25 km time approx 1h 20 mins
Padang Point: 1.95 km time approx 45 mins
Highest Point: 3 km time approx 1h 15 mins

Our dive centre is surrounded by wildlife, hornbills, apes, snakes, butterflies are in abundance.

We see many species of lizard and a variety of tropical birds regualry.

Wild Boars and Proboscis Monkeys also inhabit the island but they are very shy, occasionally they are heard but rarely seen.

Next to our Beach House is a large well kept grassy area, ideal for camping, football and volleyball.

We have basic toilets and showers for guests.

We can accommodate very large groups for Team Building Events and Adventure Training.

Many adventurous independent travelers choose to camp here, it is very safe and a very unique experience.

Weatherproof tents are available to rent from us for MYR 50.00 per night plus a MYR 5.00 pp camping fee. We can supply your evening meal and breakfast for a small extra fee or you can bring your own food.






In front of our Dive Centre is a stunning shallow lagoon, this is where we conduct our confined water diver training.

Just a giant stride from our jetty is our House Reef, affectionally known as Home Corner.
Sloping to a maximum depth of 20m among the usual tropical marine life we have a few hidden treasures living within this ecosystem.

We are strategically positioned for the passing Whalesharks and Manta Rays throughout March and April.

Their annual migration path is just minutes away by our powerful speedboat.

All other dive sites within the TARP park are within a few minutes from our centre, this allows us to comfortably conduct 3 daily boat dives per day.

Surface intervals and our freshly cooked hot lunch takes place at the Beach House.


Our 37ft Dive Boat provides spacious comfortable transportation to dive sites, with 2 x Yamaha 200HP engines we can explore new undiscovered sites off the beaten track.

Our dive guides and instructors are very experienced and will show the best of the reefs and the creatures that live among them.

All our dives are drift/swims so rest assured that wherever we surface the boat will pick us up - no need for long swims back to anchor !

Our equipment room stocks a large variety of rental gear of different shapes & sizes, our high standards of safety ensure they are professionally maintained and serviced.




We are underwater camera friendly with large freshwater soaking and washing facilites. Our Managing Director being a professional underwater photographer this was a necessity!

There are books and posters to help identify your latest underwater discoveries and helpful friendly staff to assist and inform you of the activities, courses and programs we run.

Our Beach House Dive Station is the location for our Instructor Development Course beginning 14th March 2009.





How Do We Get There ?

Simple - just drop us an email, or visit our Dive Shop and Classroom in the city of Kota Kinabalu or phone us on +6 012 866 1935, +6 088 23 23 75 or visit our contact page.

All our programs include a free pick up from your KK City Hotel or you can take a taxi to Jesselton Point Jetty and meet us there (pre-booking is required)

If you don't wish to pre-book then you can get an island ferry or private water taxi to our centre any time of day from the Jesselton Point Jetty. Just ask to be taken to Sabah Parks HQ on Gaya Island, our Beach House is at the end of the Jetty to the left.

Should you wish to learn more about the Activities and PADI Courses that we offer please peruse our website links to the right.