Oyster Luxury Travel & Diving

Oyster Luxury Travel & Diving operates as a PADI 5 Star centre, providing a bridge between local UK diving and high-end international travel. With two decades of experience, they have established a reputation for high-standard instruction and meticulously organised dive holidays. While their roots are in the South East of England, their reach extends to the world's most iconic diving destinations.

For those based in the UK, they offer flexible training locations across London, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, alongside a dedicated shop in Brighton. Beyond local training, the centre acts as a specialist travel organiser, arranging group trips and liveaboards to the Red Sea, the Maldives, the Galapagos, and Indonesia. This dual focus ensures that whether you are taking your first breaths underwater or planning a technical expedition, the logistics are handled by divers.

The centre is built around a team of expert instructors who prioritise small group sizes to ensure safety and personalised attention. Their teaching approach is designed to accommodate every stage of a diver's journey, from children's programmes and Discover Scuba Diving to professional-level training.

For those looking to progress their career, the centre provides a full suite of professional courses, including Divemaster and Instructor training. They also cater to the technical community, offering sidemount and various technical diving pathways. All instruction is conducted in English, with a focus on building the precise skills required for more demanding environments.

The course catalogue is extensive, covering the full spectrum of PADI certifications. Beginners can start with the Open Water Course or Discover Scuba Diving, while those looking to refine their skills can enrol in the Peak Performance Buoyancy Course or the PADI Advanced Open Water course.

Specialised training is a core strength, with options ranging from the PADI Wreck Diver and Deep Diver courses to the PADI Drift Diver and Night Diver specialties. For more technical divers, they offer Sidemount, Tec Diving courses, and the PADI Deep Diver Specialty, which is a prerequisite for diving the M2 wreck. The centre also supports freedivers through dedicated Apnea courses.

When diving locally, the centre utilises a 12-diver capacity catamaran. The vessel is equipped with an elevator to assist divers with their kit, alongside facilities including toilets, hot drinks, and water. It is used for various trip types, including day trips and night dives.

The Brighton-based shop and training facilities provide a range of professional equipment. For those who prefer not to carry their own heavy kit, full equipment hire is available, though divers should note that exposure suits are not included in standard rental packages.

On-site services include air cylinder testing and recharging. For divers looking to extend their bottom time, Nitrox is available. The centre also provides buoyancy and weight services, including cylinder and weight rentals for multi-day sessions, and dive computer hire.

The local Sussex waters host a variety of species around the wrecks and reefs. You can find various species of conger eel, lobster, crab, and sea bass inhabiting the structures of the SS Oceana and the Fortuna. Whiting and oldwives are also frequently seen patrolling the seabed.

In the Red Sea destinations organised by the centre, the biodiversity increases significantly. You may encounter sharks, including blacktip reef sharks, as well as turtles and large pelagic fish. The coral gardens at sites like Ras Mohamed and the Straits of Tiran are home to a vast array of soft corals and sea anemones.

Macro life and smaller inhabitants are abundant across their travel destinations. Divers often spot various species of crabs, anemones, and encrusting corals. In the Red Sea, the reefs are decorated with sponges and a high diversity of marine life that thrives in the protected environments of the reefs.

Diving in the English Channel requires awareness of tidal currents, which can be strong in the local Sussex area. Divers should be prepared for varying conditions depending on the specific wreck or reef being visited.

In the Red Sea, conditions can be more unpredictable. Sites such as the Straits of Tiran and Ras Mohamed are known for unpredictable currents and steep drop-offs, requiring solid buoyancy control and experience. The Red Sea sites are accessible year-round, though the centre notes that certain areas are best experienced during specific seasonal windows.