Scuba Junkie Kota Kinabalu

Located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu, Scuba Junkie is a short distance from the waterfront and the city centre. The centre serves as a gateway to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, a protected area comprising five islands: Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik, Manukan, and Sulug. These sites offer a diverse range of habitats, from shallow reef flats to gentle sloping walls.

Whether you are looking for the small details of a macro dive or the larger pelagics that occasionally pass through the region, the centre's proximity to the dive sites—just 15 minutes by boat—allows for efficient daily schedules. The operation is built on a long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship and marine conservation through their Bubbles of Hope programme.

As a PADI 5 Star IDC centre, the team is highly qualified to take you from your very first Discover Scuba Diving session through to professional instructor training. With 17 years of experience in the industry, the staff brings a wealth of local knowledge to every excursion.

The team is multilingual, communicating in English, Chinese, and Malay, which helps ensure clear communication during briefings and training. Their focus on environmental protection is central to their identity, having received numerous awards for their conservation efforts and 100% eco-friendly approach to diving.

The training catalogue is comprehensive, covering the entire PADI progression. You can begin with Discover Scuba Diving or the Open Water Diver course and progress through Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver. For those looking to specialise, the centre offers several PADI specialty courses, including Peak Performance Buoyancy, Deep Diver, Night Diver, Drift Diver, and Underwater Navigation.

For divers looking to enhance their efficiency, the Enriched Air Nitrox course is available. The centre is also an IDC centre, meaning they are equipped to provide instructor-level training for those pursuing a professional career in diving.

The centre provides full rental kit for divers who do not wish to travel with their own equipment. On-site facilities include access to Nitrox, allowing you to extend your bottom time on multi-dive days. For those returning to the water after a break, the centre offers complimentary skill refreshers to ensure you are comfortable with your BCD and buoyancy before heading out to the reefs.

The reefs are teeming with a wide variety of reef fish, including snapper schools, fusiliers, and parrotfish. Larger species such as blacktip reef sharks, eagle rays, and cowrie rays are frequently encountered, along with green sea turtles. During the spring months of March and April, the presence of plankton blooms can attract whale sharks to the area.

For macro enthusiasts, the biodiversity is exceptional. You can search the corals for frogfish (Antennarius), scorpionfish, and various species of nudibranch (Chromodoris willani). The area is also a prime location to find seahorses (Hippocampus kuda), ghost pipefish (Solenostomidae), and leaf fish.

In the smaller crevices and sandy patches, look for mimic octopus, bobtail squids, and flamboyant cuttlefish. You may also spot harlequin shrimps, mantis shrimp, and various species of shrimp (Caridea) hiding amongst the reef structure. Other notable finds include the harlequin filefish and various species of moray eel (Muraenidae).

Diving in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park is generally characterized by low to nil currents, making it accessible for divers of all levels. The sites are well-suited for those working on their buoyancy or those conducting macro photography where stability is required.

Night diving is also an available option, providing a completely different perspective on the reef's inhabitants as the nocturnal species emerge.