Review Author: amzz67, UK

Review Date: 01 Mar 2019

Review Body: I cannot recommend this place enough, especially as an apprehensive first time diver. The staff are so kind and welcoming and put me at ease with all of my worries and questions that I fired at them before I started. I was given my mask and flippers and off I went to the swimming pool to learn about all of the equipment and how to use it. I was very nervous as I’d never seen any of this stuff before, let alone trying it under water. I was shown step by step what to do. If I had any questions or didn’t fully understand how to do something I’d ask again and they patiently showed me the correct way. At first I did panic a little but I had somebody by my side the whole time. I swam around the pool and learned to trust the equipment and relax. The staff took their time to make sure I understood everything I needed to do and at my own pace. Soon after, I was ready for my first dive. I went with a wonderful diving instructor called lahiru. I felt so safe and saw so much beautiful sea life around the shipwreck & coral . I was even lucky enough to see a sting ray. Lahiru didn’t let me out of his sight for a second, he was pointing out so many things. He was constantly checking that I was ok. I even got a cup of tea when I was back on the beach. I couldn’t recommend this place or the experience enough. It was amazing. The staff were outstandingly professional from beginning to end. I want to say a big thank you to Lahiru & the rest of the staff. I could sing their praises all day, they all work very hard. I would highly recommend Divers Land Dive Club to anybody, experienced and inexperienced. I will remember today forever. If you are in Unawatuna and see the yellow building on the beach, that’s them! Go and say hi! You will have the time of your life. I promise you that you will not regret it.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Amy Rudgley

Review Date: 01 Mar 2019

Review Body: I cannot recommend this place enough, especially as an apprehensive first time diver. The staff are so kind and welcoming and put me at ease with all of my worries and questions that I fired at them before I started. I was given my mask and flippers and off I went to the swimming pool to learn about all of the equipment and how to use it. I was very nervous as I’d never seen any of this stuff before, let alone trying it under water. I was shown step by step what to do. If I had any questions or didn’t fully understand how to do something I’d ask again and they patiently showed me the correct way. At first I did panic a little but I had somebody by my side the whole time. I swam around the pool and learned to trust the equipment and relax. The staff took their time to make sure I understood everything I needed to do and at my own pace. Soon after, I was ready for my first dive. I went with a wonderful diving instructor called lahiru. I felt so safe and saw so much beautiful sea life around the shipwreck & coral . I was even lucky enough to see a sting ray. Lahiru didn’t let me out of his sight for a second, he was pointing out so many things. He was constantly checking that I was ok. I even got a cup of tea when I was back on the beach. I couldn’t recommend this place or the experience enough. It was amazing. The staff were outstandingly professional from beginning to end. I want to say a big thank you to Lahiru & the rest of the staff. I could sing their praises all day, they all work very hard. I would highly recommend Divers Land Dive Club to anybody, experienced and inexperienced. I will remember today forever. If you are in Unawatuna and see the yellow building on the beach, that’s them! Go and say hi! You will have the time of your life. I promise you that you will not regret it.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Ajain108

Review Date: 26 Jan 2019

Review Body: I am AOWD, and went for Fun Dives in Unawatuna. I booked my dives with Divers Land Dive Club. Trust me, these guys are real bunch of Dive Enthusiasts. Above Surface : Shoy is the one who manages the Dive center. He was always very responsive on emails and phone, very hospitable. Below Surface : These people are professionals and will really make you feel very comfortable. Their equipments well match to the PADI Standards. I had 24 Dives with them and I was so impressed by the way these people make you feel comfortable.I have Dived with Sooraj and Sadheesh and was really impressed by their observational skills (And I am pretty sure the other DMs are equally good). These people are so good in pointing out Nudi Branches, spotting eels and stuffs. The whole team (Including the Boat Crew) is very helpful, and very open for the questions you ask them. Dive Location : All Dive locations are quite accessible from beach, after every dive for surface intervals we come back to the dive center and head again on the boat for the Second Dive. I was on a Dive Vacation, and I used to reach very early to their Dive Center and leave very late, as they were quite hospitable and very very cool to hang out with. They will guide you well, outside of diving too, and talking to Shoy was one amazing experience. He has so many stories to share, right from Tsunamis to their Dive Center progress. They are a Bunch of Localites, who are Diving Enthusiasts. They also gave me a Divers Land Tshirt before I was leaving. Go ahead with Divers Land, and I am sure you will come back with great memories. I am going to have more dives with Divers Land in the East Coast in 2019 for sure. Thank you Shoy and Team!!!!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Aleksandra M

Review Date: 12 Apr 2018

Review Body: What can I say about this place? Amazing place. Amazing people. Amazing experience. Be prepared only for good vibes of the boys in Divers Land. Are you asking why? At the end of our trip in Sri Lanka we went to Unawatuna with the intention to try diving in Divers Land (We have heard a lot of good stuff before) and it was worth it! From the beginning we had the feeling that we are with friends. The boys are just relaxed and open-minded and they speak perfectly english. We tried diving for the first time. First we had a session in the swimming pool - the diving insturctor was really good - you could see that he is very experienced and calm. He was sharing his calmness with us. Divers Land Team is very well organized - they prepared the stuff quickly and I even didn't realized that we were in the ocean. At the beginning I had problems with breathing under water but my instructor show me how not to be afraid and step by step we were going deep. I was holding a starfish in my hands! I even came back with a small shell that he found for me. After that we drunk tee with the owner who is the best guy in the world. Wasn't it for him, we couldn't experience all of this. He chose his team and he is taking care of the good atmosphere there! So If you want to dive - you definitely had to do it there!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: lamanawebu

Review Date: 22 Mar 2019

Review Body: My experience started here when I read great reviews and now I can confirm they are real and 5* rating is not enough. I have finished my OWD course 4 years ago and then I made only few dives. I found out there are some wrecks deeper than 18m and I wanted to see them. So I made decision to do AOWD course here in 3-4 days and then go to the next site. Ok, at first I needed some refresh dive and after few minutes with my instructor Sadeesh I was sure that everything will be fine with no stress or pushing... and it really was. Each dive starts with dive briefing, basic signals recap and equipment check. Equipment is almost new and you will be more confident and focused on fun. Diving and education was very professional. They provide bottled water on boats and tea, coffee in dive center + biscuit if you spend longer time on boat. I had to extend my plan for whole week in this amazing place and add next five fun dives. One day due to bad weather/water conditions I visited Hikkaduwa and did one dive there and services, equipment and people .. simply everything was incomparable. This crew is like a family and you will enjoy each moment with them especially if you are beginner or want to start diving - they will take care of you. Thank you guys for nice week in divers land :-)

Review rating: 5

Review Author: emanuelbratz

Review Date: 06 Mar 2019

Review Body: We have been in Unawatuna for 4 days and choosed Divers Land to do the open water diver and advanced open water diver. The first contact via email was very friendly and they answerd quickly with required information. Our dive instructor Sadeesh did a incredibly good job. It was quite easy to follow his instructions and he was always relaxed. He was patient and made sure we had understood everything correctly. The equipment was in a very good contion. After every dive it had been cleand an checked. If something was not like we used to they gave us a new part of the equipment, for example a regulator. The Stuff was very nice, helpful, committed and was always interested in our safety. The divespots were diversified, imressive wrecks, a lot of different fish and even turtles at night. The sight was between 5 to 15 meter depending on the spot and the weather. Shoy, the boss of Divers Land, is very helpful and tries to fulfill every individual needs. When you see him and his team it looks like a big family. All in all it was a great experiance and a pleaser to dive with them.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: JCW50, UK

Review Date: 22 Dec 2016

Review Body: We checked out a few dive shops in the town and this one was by far the most welcoming and the local owner (Shoy) asked the right questions straight away to establish our level and diving plans. He has been in the industry for decades, diving in several countries and has owned this particular shop for over 5 years. The dives were reasonably priced and the whole set up was very relaxed and flexible regarding times and where to dive. The equipment all looked in good condition-mostly scuba pro brand. The staff were all as friendly and helpful as the owner- calmly showed us how to reassemble our gear as it has been a while since we last dived. The dive master we went with was great at pointing out marine life without harming anything (he even collected some rubbish from the sea floor) and was attentive during our dive. After dives there is a sociable area in front of the shop where they serve tea and lots of the divers and staff hang out. Absolutely recommend this place as the place to dive with- go check it out to see what I mean!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: lettieking, India

Review Date: 23 Apr 2018

Review Body: There are lots of places that offer Diving on Unawatuna however I'm so happy I chose here. The team we're absolutely amazing, professional, friendly and went above and beyond. I was a little apprehensive about diving as I did my Advanced Padi a long time ago and hadn't dived in a good few years. Immediately Lahiru put my mind at ease and offered me a refresher session before I went back out to sea.1 hr was all I needed to feel confident to go back out and under the water. Good job Lahiru :) The next day we went out for two dives. The groups were small which was lovely and Lahiru again was great :) He was super knowledgeable about the reef and the fishes so we had some good sightings. When we came back in we were offered tea by Shoy, the owner who was constantly smiling and wanting to make sure we were good. Sami, Sadeesh and the rest of the team we're all ace too and I'm so happy I got to meet them all and hang out :) I would definitely go back to this place and will be recommending it to everyone I know going out there.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: kimseemann, Germany

Review Date: 30 Nov 2016

Review Body: I went to the diving center to make my open water license. I was very nervous, but the people there were so friendly and i felt so secure there. I think its very important to make the first contact with this sport as comfortable as possible. And it wasn't just comfortable it was really fun. All the instructors there really know what they are talking about and they take the time to answer all your questions and explain everything very slowly. Kaustubha, a very funny and very good English speaking girl from India, was my instructor. I like to recommend this diving center to everybody. It is very small ad that's nearly the best thing, because you really feel special there!! Divers Land isn't only a beautiful place at the beach, it's like a big family of divers, who live for their passion!! And they have really beautiful spots for diving, where you can see many interesting things!!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Miloslav

Review Date: 03 Mar 2018

Review Body: I visited the spot just to have fun dive with my girlfriend. I went down with Lahiru, it was the greatest experience I had. Lahiru is great guy I can recomended even for the people who are little scared to go deep. He is quite kind. You will feel comfortable and safe with him. After that I desided to made the whole Open Watter Certificate. My instructor Sadeesh was the best leader. Whole learning was so easy and so comfortable. Sadeesh had a lots of great advices for me. He show me the great diving word. After 3 days I pased the final exam. We spend quite nice time underwater together. And also really nice time on beach. Shoy, the owner, great smily guy asking all the time if we need somethink. How was the dive. How we feel. And offer all the time cup of tea. I am happy to meet those guys from “Divers Land” And I am happy that I am now the part of the diving familly.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: hashtraveltheworld

Review Date: 09 Dec 2018

Review Body: one of my friend and I went on a shallow reef dive with this fellas and it was amazing! Neither of us are certified yet our instructor, sadeesh , made us feel very comfortable in the water. pre training was superb and the way he explain was easy to undustand He was also amazing at spotting and knowing where certain species were located. On the dives we saw , reef , octopus, turtle, a variety of fish and beautiful corral. The training was superb highly recommend sadeesh for all beginers and any one who willing to do so all the staff were very entertaining and humble . cant discribe in few words feel much more from my heart ❤️and pulse with beautiful locations where they took us, I'm looking forward to diving with them again in the future! thank you shoi and the team u guys r amazing keep it up with good work ! Keep diving guys am addicted ❤️ after i met u guys ‍♂️

Review rating: 5

Review Author: PhilipJungegren, Sweden

Review Date: 24 Apr 2016

Review Body: Got recommended to go here by a professional diver friend of mine. Had never dived before but Shoy and his crew took such good care of me and my friends and it was an amazing experience. Ended up going back 4 times, and then eventually getting my PADI Open water and Advanced Certificate with them! All my friends loved it as well. We got to see a wreck from WWII with heaps of cool fishes around it. Saw lionfishes, turtles and all kinds of big fishes! Felt super comfortable with the dive masters and i would recommend this place and these guys to my best friends and family. Great guys, great service, great experience and great times. I will come back for more next time in Sri Lanka. Local legends and chill spot to have some lunch and tea afterwards. If you are curious about anything or want expert advice or tours, just ask Shoy. He da man. Cheers!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: ailikki, Finland

Review Date: 07 Mar 2017

Review Body: We completed our owd-course here in Divers Land and that was not a problem even though we had done the academics+pool sessions with SSI-course (and not PADI) in our homeland. Their time schedules were really flexible, we didn't contact them in advance and still all the 4 dives we needed for the course, we managed to do on next two days. We felt very safe during the whole course. First our instructor wanted to check in the pool that we knew everything we should before getting into the ocean. In the ocean, our instructor concentrated on us and made sure that we were okay all the time. We didn't have any problems with our equipments either. If you have never been scuba diving before, you can try it for free with instructor in pool first and then decide whether you'd like to do the discovery dive or owd-course.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Marc S

Review Date: 25 Apr 2017

Review Body: I've called Shoy, the owner, in the morning. 3 hours later I started my 2 PADI courses. I decided to do the advanced right away, because everything just felt right at Divers Land! And from the first instructions, till the final certifications everything was going smooth, trustful, fun and honest. A very fair price without any hidden extras or something else. Pure fun with Shoy and his awesome Team. This little dive center, there are many around Unawatuna Beach, is highly recommendable because it's not too crowded, well equipped and you get a easy and tight relationship to the instructors and the whole team. What makes diving, especially for beginners, very comfortable. Sometimes I even got private lessons. Beside diving they offer WiFi and tea for free. And the times between the dives will be enjoyable.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: sofiahs95

Review Date: 18 Feb 2019

Review Body: I had a really good diving experience with Diver's Land! When I first arrived in Unawatuna I only planned to do about 2-4 dives, but I ended up diving 8 times instead. The atmosphere at the dive shop was really nice, laid back and everyone where speaking to each other. You always felt welcome! The scuba equipment was at very good standard. There are a lot of dive spots to choose among in Unawatuna. The wreck dives and the pinnacle were my favorites! We had some days with bad visibility and the staff was kind to inform about that, so that we could consider whether we wanted to dive with the bad conditions. Lahiru aka. Jimmy was my dive instructor and he did a really good job! He was very patience and had a good eye to spot small creatures. I felt safe all the way! They have my biggest recommendations!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Lara_Bluesky2017

Review Date: 15 Jan 2017

Review Body: I did my Padi open water diving licence with Divers Land and I could not have chosen a better place. I did my dives with Shoy who is the owner of the place. At the beginning I had troubles with one of the underwater exercises but Shoy said "We don't give up on anybody". So we spend lots of time in the swimming pool until I felt safe to go into deep water. I am so happy that he helped me exceed my limits and inspire in me love for the underwater world. He was patient and a wonderfull teacher and turned me into a confident diver. The whole team is very friendly, kind of a little family. You can hang around with them and drink a cup of tea. I would highly recommend Divers Land for anyone who wants to discover a great diving experience in Unawatuna. Great job guys. Keep up the good work you do!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Equis I

Review Date: 16 Feb 2019

Review Body: I've done about 20 dives with Divers Land dive center. Being a dive master myself, I always look for a team who puts safety first and makes diving a wonderful experience for customers which is why I had chose them after reading the reviews, but they exceeded all expectations. The scuba equipment was at very good standards, the team is friendly, always professional and they support each other in all aspects (if they tell you the anchor will be found between 20-22m, that's where it will be even if the drop down goes up to 30m!). Apart from this, they are very environmental conscious and help a lot with keeping the beach and ocean clean. Look no further and enjoy your dives! Thank you guys for making my stay in Unawatuna so awesome! Really miss diving with you :)

Review rating: 5

Review Author: mahha20171, Austria

Review Date: 14 Nov 2017

Review Body: After my first dive experience with Lahiru form the Divers Land Dive Club in March 2017 I decided to come back in Oktober to make my Open Water Certificate with Shoy and his team. I had a lot of fun with the team and Shoy took his time to learn me all the necessary skills for diving. After a stressless lesson with all necessary skills in the pool we went out to the open water for my first dives. I felt totally comfortable with my instructor by my side and he showed me all the beautiful places at Unawatuna's diving spots. My best experience was when a big fish swarm started to swim around us... I can recommend Shoy and his team to all people who are looking for a reliable and fair dive center and an exceptional dive experience.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Pandamat, UK

Review Date: 13 Feb 2018

Review Body: We booked our two teenage sons in to do a 3 day PADI course. They were both so thrilled with the whole set up that they have now booked in to do an advanced PADI course. The staff were super professional- going through everything in great detail and checking that everyone knew what they were doing- there was no rush and I felt that the emphasise was on safety rather than profit. Equipment was perfectly maintained and our boys were taught how to look after each part of the equipment. All the staff were really friendly and nothing was too much trouble. My husband and I were even given the opportunity to join our boys on the boat so that we could go snorkelling whilst they visited a wreck. I can't rate these guys highly enough.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: CoKo85, Switzerland

Review Date: 02 Apr 2017

Review Body: My boyfriend and myself had the pleasure to do four dives alone with our dive instructor Lahiru who did an excellence job. We visited different spots where we could see different sea animals which made each dive unique. Furthermore, at our first dive the visibility was not good at all. Therefore, Lahiru decided pretty quickly that we move to a different spot where we could see much more. We appreciated his immediate decision and taking responsibilities that each dive is an experience. Moreover, the whole team was so kind and they had so much fun together. This good mood was infectious and we enjoyed ourselves a lot. We can just recommend this center - small but great service and well-experienced staff.

Review rating: 5

Itinerary Day 1

Itinerary Summary: Today you will be learning the basics of diving.

Itinerary Description: 09.00 AM: Meet-up, Briefing about the handling and diving practices in the pool 09.30 AM: Depart for diving 10.00 AM: Dive into the ocean and explore the marine life