Open Water Diver certification in Malaysia in the end of January
As the last leg of my 6-month journey, I will be stopping over in Kuala Lumpur from the 24th to 30th of January. I would like to fly out or take a bus from Kuala Lumpur to go to a place where I can do an OWD course.
However, I noticed that the east peninsula is affected by monsoon season, so Tioman, Redang and Perentian are not an option.
There are cheap flights available to Miri, so I am considering this. However, I am not sure about the weather there either. Is diving there a good idea in the end of January?
What are my other options? Which other good dive spots are easily reachable with a flight budget of about 150 EUR from Kuala Lumpur and are in season in late January?
Best Answer
I did my open water certification & advanced open water certification at the beginning of January 2015 in Mabul island. Yes, one straight after another.
The weather was incredible, 30 degrees Celsius every day, not a drop of rain. Note that at the exact same time it was raining a LOT on the north west side of the island (Kota Kinabalu area) every day from 14:00 until late in the evening.
The diving instructors (nor anyone else) did not mention having some mandatory break at the end of January (c.f. Jpatokal's answer).
I also dived in Sipadan around the 7th of January 2015. It was incredible, a must do, but you must have an advanced open water certification.
Just call one of the diving schools in Mabul island to have further details. I highly recommend Scuba Junky, very nice people, very professional, provides good accommodation (& different ranges), and they help the local community.
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How long does an open water diver certification last?
Will my certification expire? No, your certification will not expire. As an PADI Open Water Diver, your certification is good for life. If you do not actively participate in scuba for an extended period of time, however, it's a good idea to refresh your skills through the PADI ReActivate class.How much does open water scuba certification cost?
The whole course will cost anywhere between $900-1200. This will cover everything: Your Scuba Certification License allowing you to dive up to 60ft around the world (included in base fee) Knowledge Development Classes and Final Exam (included in base fee)When can you dive in Malaysia?
The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia can be dived from March to September while diving in East Malaysia is year-round. Water temperature is warm at 82-86\xb0F (28-30\xb0C).Can you get scuba certified in the winter?
\ud83d\ude42 Of course you can! We have a great program that lets you take care of the educational & pool portion here at Dive On It Scuba and then finish up your open water dives in a much warmer location. Take your 4 Open Water Dives (across 2 days) at your resort in beautiful warm water!Tioman Island | PADI Open Water Diver Course | MALAYSIA 2019 | Travel Malaysia
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