We operate in Colombo from Nov 1st – April 10th, and in Trincomalee from May 1st – September 3oth. There is some overlap in both operations as well, so if you are planning a trip that falls along the cut-off period, drop us an email – we should be able to accommodate you.
Sri Lanka is a year-round dive destination, but the dive seasons vary for each side of the island. On the west coast and Colombo the dive season is from November to April with the best conditions usually being in February and March. On the east coast and Trincomalee the season is from May to October with the best conditions usually in May, June, and September.
The dive season in Colombo runs from November to April, with February and March typically having peak conditions.
The diving season in Trincomalee runs from May to October, with May, June and September typically having the best conditions.
Colombo: Easy – from the airport, take a pre-paid taxi or call an Uber to get to your hotel. As for directions to the dive center, we will send those to you when you make your booking (you can also find us on Google Maps as Island Scuba Dehiwala).
Trincomalee: You will have to take a taxi from Colombo to Trincomalee – it costs approx $100, and we can also arrange it for you if you like. You can search for “Aquacreed Scuba Trincomalee” to find us on Google Maps.
You can stay anywhere in Colombo and dive with us.
If you are coming with diving in mind, we suggest you stay in Mt Lavinia. It is close to us, and there is a nice strip of beach with restaurants for lazing away after the dive. You can always take a taxi into town if you want to do some sightseeing.
Colombo has a wide range of hotels covering a broad spectrum of prices, so if you are combining your diving with some sightseeing and general R&R (or have non-diving companions), you could also stay in the city and take a taxi to Mt Lavinia (6-10km from central Colombo, zones 1-5).
We are working on some good deals with a few partner hotels – please email us for specific recommendations.
Oh yes. Not only good diving, but what we feel is some of the best diving in Sri Lanka. Superb wrecks, all the benefits of a city (in terms of accommodation, food and sightseeing – great for a non-diving partner or for apres-dive activities).
<magical gesture> There you go.
Mt Lavinia, just 1km down the beach from where we are based during the Colombo season, has a nice strip of beach, with several nice beachside restaurants. And of course, Trincomalee, where we are based during the other half of the year, is the traditional rustic, beach destination.
The main attraction in Colombo are the many wrecks, ranging from WWI armed merchantmen to modern freighters, tugboats and barges. Most of the wrecks are a bit deep with profiles between 20-30m and are exposed to strong currents so these are suited for divers with Advanced Open Water certification or above.
Now, that doesnt mean that these are all tech-style dives: these wrecks are encrusted with colorful coral and have a staggering density of marine life (thanks to the wrecks catching nets, trawlers avoid them). So you could dive them for the wrecks, or you could dive them for the coral and the fish. Best of both worlds!
The vis varies from between 8m to 15m, usually – not the greatest in the world, but not the worst either and more than enough to see lots of Cool Stuff. On some of the outer sites visibility exceeding 20m is not uncommon
Trincomalee offers easy, shallow, reef diving suitable for beginners and experienced divers alike. Our dive sites are a mix of coral and rocky reefs ranging in depth from 5m-30m.
The dives in Colombo are typically deeper than 20m – so we do recommend that divers have an Advanced Open water Card and Nitrox in order to dive them.
However, there is nothing inherently difficult or very challenging about these sites – so even if you are a recently certified Open Water diver, these sites represent a great way to improve your skills and get used to diving a little deeper – especially when combined with our great deals on the Advanced & Nitrox courses.
So from that point of view, any certified diver can dive these sites.
Trincomalee has dive sites covering a wide range of depths, and so is ideally suited for divers of all skills and abilities – ranging from nervous divers looking to gain confidence and experience, to advanced divers looking for deeper dives.
Yes we do.
In Colombo, not only is nitrox strongly recommended on most dives, but it also may be mandatory on some dives, in order for us to help manage groups.
In Trincomalee, nitrox is available as an option, but we may require the entire group to be on the same mix, in order to help us manage the groups.
Our course groups are limited to a maximum of 4 students per instructor. In addition we sometimes provide an additional Dive Master to assist with open water dives on beginner courses, if need be.
For certified divers, group sizes are typically 5 divers max per Divemaster.
The last day of diving in Colombo is sometime in April.
For the 2019 season, it is April 10th, although we may offer diving until April 20th if conditions permit so please do contact us if you plan to dive with us in April
The last day of diving in Trincomalee is September 30th.
Apart from all the regular reef species like angelfish, snappers, surgeonfish, parrotfish, trevally, groupers, napoleon wrasse etc, some of the wrecks attract large schools of fusiliers and snappers while larger species like mobula rays and whale sharks make occasional appearances.
You will see all the common Indian Ocean species such as angelfish, butterflyfish, schools of snappers, surgeonfish and parrotfish, trevally, groupers, anemonefish etc. Occasionally, large stingrays and reef sharks can also be seen, while whale sharks are also sometimes sighted.
If you are a beginner diver or looking for some relaxed, shallow reef dives, or someone keen on macro/critters, then Trincomalee is the better option.
However, if you are into wreck diving then Colombo is a great place to explore some of the best wreck dives in the region. Keep in mind that most wrecks are a bit deep and require a minimum of Advanced Open Water certification to dive them.
Of course, a lot depends on when you visit, and it isnt as if beginners cannot dive in Colombo, or experienced divers won’t enjoy themselves in Trinco. So you could simply just plan Colombo vs Trinco based on when you are traveling to Sri Lanka (you have been paying attention and know the months of operation, right? There will be quiz!)
Overall, Sri Lanka is not renowned for big stuff. You may occasionally see a reef shark, mobula ray or whale shark in both Colombo and Trincomalee but none of these are common. What you would see is a variety of fish species. The Colombo wrecks in particular often have large schools of fish that in turn attract pelagic species like giant trevally, king mackerel, wahoo, and barracuda.
It’s a secret and revealing it may result in a Zombie Apocalypse. This is something that can only be spoken of in whispers.
Why aren’t they called Island Scuba India? But also because Island Scuba is an independent, locally owned dive operator based out of Colombo since 2012 that has recently joined the DIVEIndia family