Dive Center
Location
The SSI Octopus Garden diving centre is located in the Mediterranean Sea on the main island of Malta.
The base is ideally situated on the water’s edge in the north-east of the island, at the Gillieru Harbour Hotel in St. Paul’s Bay.
The Team
Our professional Octopus Garden Team has over 30 years of experience, practicing:
– Diving Safety
– Diving Expertise
– Diving Competency
At Octopus Garden you will find everything you need and wish for in an SSI dive centre, that includes a generously stocked Dive Shop and interactive classrooms.
In addition to these, our centre boasts a Guest changing room that has ample space for you to store your own equipment, change into your wetsuits and charge your torches in comfort. We also boast a storage room for all our rental equipment and a compressor room with an attached self-sufficient workshop, to ensure all your diving equipment is always in excellent condition.
Daily boat trips begin right on our doorstep from our own jetty, making the transition from land to water as easy as stepping out of bed! Our boats give you a taste of the Maltese culture by allowing you to experience a traditional Maltese fishing boat, called the ‘Luzzu’, and allow it to take you to the most beautiful reefs, grottos and wrecks around the Maltese Islands.
Our program includes daily boat trips around Malta and the surrounding islands of Comino and Gozo, as well as shore dives.
The Boat Trip schedule includes a relaxing boat ride to your dive sites, where you will have the opportunity to experience two dive sites specially picked by the crew to suit the day’s weather conditions. A surface break between dives is included at one of the dive sites or nearby, that allows you to enjoy your lunch and prepare for the second dive. Following the day’s adventures, you will then head back to the dive centre for complimentary tea and coffee.
Depending on the weather conditions and diving experience of our guests, we dive in small groups at the best diving spots around Malta, Comino and Gozo. We even visit some special shipwrecks like the ‘Rozi’, ‘P29’ and so on… A detailed briefing is carried out before each dive to help guide our guests to be as safe as possible and to look out for any special features or resident fish in the area. Our small guided groups will guarantee you a relaxing time both in and out of the water.
The local water temperatures are around 15 degrees in the springtime and around 27 degrees in the summer months.
Our Day Trips usually begin at 8:30 a.m. at the dive centre situated near the water under the Gillieru Harbor Hotel, St.Paul’s Bay. After prepping all of the equipment, the boat then departs at 9:30 a.m. for the day’s adventures and returns at around 2:30 p.m. Additional afternoon dives or night dives are available on request. Speak to our crew to make sure all your diving dreams are being met!
After your exciting day of diving, enjoy a complimentary tea or coffee whilst you comfortably write in your logbook recording the amazing day you’ve just had. You can also treat yourself to a beer in the sun or take a cool dip in the water with just your swimwear to complete your perfect day. If you are not in the immediate vicinity of the Gillieru Hotel, we also offer a free shuttle service from all hotels around the dive centre from specific locations: Qawra, Bugibba and St. Paul’s Bay.
