Junior PADI- Bali or Malaysia?

[Yellow21]

Hi,

My family are planning on spending a month in SE Asia next Aug and wish are keen to do the PADI open water course (junior for the kids aged 13 & 11). We’re trying to decide where would be a good place to do it. We’re currently looking at the Perhentian islands or Bali.

In either location, we would want to explore the country over the month beyond diving. Any recommendations on either place or would welcome any other suggestions? Thank you.

 

[BatfishCrazy]

You should think about Koh Tao as well. Lots of gentle diving without the need to go deeper than 12 m. I have a 10 yr old with a JOW and there were only a couple of dives he needed to sit out of over 4 dives a day over 5 days. Master Divers are a smaller outfit with decades of experience in the area and very safety conscious.

Gilis would also be suitable. Despite having been born in Malaysia, I‘ve not been in the perentians… check on the conditions for that time of year. Also don’t feel like you need to spend the whole month in one country. Asia is very easy and cheap to get around once there.

 

[Manneca]

There are a ton of dive operators on Bali. You might want to think about Manjangan Resort (Nusa Bay) Home - NusaBay Menjangan by WHM - Waka Hotel and Resorts. The dive operation there is Blue Corner which also has operations on Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. The resort is in West Bali National Park and the dives are all at Menjangan Island. It's shallow and calm and warm. They have a two bedroom villa which would be nice for a family. I've stayed/dived there twice and the guides and instructor are fantastic. I'd let them know ahead of time what you are looking for. The other places I've dived in Bali are Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. But they can be really currenty and a couple of places are cold. There is also diving at Padang Bai and Candidassi but I have no experience there. Getting around southern Bali is.a pain with too much traffic. Other than beaches and diving, there's Ubud, but that is also crammed with tourists. Malaysian Borneo might be fun either with a couple of weeks in Bali or on its own. There are great rainforest lodges with activities (orangutans and maybe pygmy elephants) as well as diving. Mabul Island has decent diving with lots of resorts. I'm sure there are operations there that will do a junior OW. As I think about it, Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) might be my recommendation for a month.