Atlantis Gozo

Atlantis Gozo Diving Centre is a long-established dive operator on the Maltese islands, working from Marsalforn on Gozo. It combines a dive shop, a training centre, a technical diving facility and holiday accommodation, so a UK visitor can arrange a first try dive, a qualification course, a week of guided diving or a deep wreck trip with one team and one booking.

The centre was founded in 1993 and is still family-run. Its team teaches in several languages, supports British, German and international club diving, and welcomes everyone from nervous beginners to rebreather divers. On VisitMalta.co.uk it appears in our directories of dive centres in Malta and diving equipment suppliers.

History, family and accreditations

Atlantis began in 1993 as part of the Atlantis Hotel in Marsalforn. The hotel was demolished in 2010 to make way for a development of holiday apartments, and the dive centre moved into brand new premises just across the road, occupying a large area of the ground floor and basement of that development. Brian and Stephania Azzopardi, who lead the business, still sign off the centre's welcome with the line that they love to dive and look forward to meeting you.

The centre is a PADI Instructor Development Centre (IDC), which means it is accredited to train dive professionals as well as recreational divers, and it is also a BSAC dive centre. It is one of only two dive centres on the Maltese islands with full EUF accreditation, and it has received a PADI award for exceptional diver training. More than 19 professionals work at the centre, and a large share of customers return each year, some of them every year since the late 1990s.

If you are weighing up where to base a diving trip, our Gozo guide covers the island itself, from its seafront resorts to its beaches, while the dive centre handles everything under the water.

Facilities in Marsalforn

The premises are built around the needs of divers. There is a PADI dive shop selling equipment and accessories, an equipment room for rental kit, a repair centre where technicians fix gear, air fills, and Nitrox and Trimix gas blending on site. Teaching takes place in classrooms and a multi-floor learning area, and a subterranean garage stores equipment.

A separate technical diving centre includes a Trimix gas blending area and a rebreather corner, where closed circuit rebreather units are racked ready for use. It is a facility unmatched elsewhere in Malta and a good reason for experienced divers to base themselves here. Everyone else benefits too, since the same gas bank and fill station supply the recreational cylinders.

Marsalforn has a bay and a lively seafront, and the holiday homes sit close to the centre, so you can walk between the dive centre, the waterfront and your accommodation. Our guide to the best beaches in Malta is worth reading for the days when you want to stay above the surface.

Guided dives, independent diving and wrecks

For certified divers there are guided fun dives led by local instructors who know the reefs, caves and wrecks of Gozo and Comino. Groups are kept small, and dives are tailored to preferences, so it is best to book ahead and describe your experience when you ask for a package. Experienced divers and dive clubs can instead rent equipment and plan their own unguided trips, and apnea freediving courses are offered for those who prefer to dive without a cylinder.

Most diving here is from the shore, which gives easy access to reefs, wrecks and caves. A boat is used for the deep wrecks at around 40 metres and for trips to Comino. Wreck diving is a speciality of the islands, with named sites including the MV Karwela, the Um El Faroud and the MV Cominoland. Many wrecks lie deeper than 20 metres, so Advanced Open Water certification is needed, and deeper or enclosed wrecks require technical or wreck specialty training.

The best months are April to November, though diving continues all year because the water is clear and the climate mild. To plan around the seasons, see our Malta weather guide. Non-divers in your party can take a boat trip to the Blue Lagoon on Comino while you are in the water.

Learning to dive with PADI

Atlantis teaches the full PADI range. Complete beginners can try a Discover Scuba session, which starts with a short lesson and then a supervised dive. Children aged 8 to 10 can join the Bubble Maker programme in confined water. The PADI Scuba Diver course is a short introduction of three confined water sessions and two open water dives, and the full Open Water Diver course takes three to four days, with the classroom work available as eLearning before you travel so that more of your time in Gozo is spent in the water.

After that come Adventure Diver, Advanced Open Water, which certifies you to 30 metres, and Rescue Diver, which includes emergency first response training. Specialty courses carry printed prices, with the certification fee included: Enriched Air (Nitrox) is €100, Deep Diving is €250, Wreck Diving is €250, Night Diving is €250, Underwater Photography is €190, Peak Performance Buoyancy is €190, Cavern Diving is €300 and Sidemount is €550.

Divers who complete the Rescue course, five specialties and 50 dives can apply for Master Scuba Diver, the highest recreational rating. Every student completes a medical self-assessment form before a course. If every answer is no, no doctor's note is needed, and if any answer is yes, a doctor must confirm you are fit to dive. This is a form to complete, not medical advice from us.

Professional and technical diving

The Atlantis Pro Dive Academy trains divemasters and instructors. The PADI Divemaster course costs €800 and takes three to four weeks, with a minimum age of 18 and Rescue Diver certification plus at least 60 logged open water dives. It is a professional level course, so extras such as the crew pack and PADI fees are additional. Graduates can lead dives and assist instructors, and the next step is the PADI Instructor Development Course.

The technical department runs mixed gas dives, deep diving, sidemount, twinset and rebreather training under TDI and PADI TecRec, plus BSAC technical courses. To start, you must be at least 18, hold Advanced Open Water, be qualified to use Nitrox, ideally have around 50 dives and be in good physical health. Twice a year the centre also holds Tek Wreck events for deep wreck diving.

British divers will welcome the BSAC link. The centre supports BSAC club trips and courses such as Ocean Diver and Sports Diver, and a BSAC certificate requires membership of the British Sub-Aqua Club. German clubs are catered for as well through the VDST, and CMAS-style training is offered.

The team and languages

Brian Azzopardi is the Director of Diving and Stephania Azzopardi is head of administration. Sascha Stingl is chief instructor and Geoffrey Falzon is a technical diving guide, supported by a long list of PADI instructors and office managers. The team ranges from divemasters to course directors and holds cross-agency qualifications with TDI, BSAC, CMAS and VDST.

The staff speak English, Maltese, French, German, Italian and Polish, and PADI eLearning is available in nine languages, which is handy for mixed groups. If you are reading this from the UK, English is the working language of most courses.

Dive and stay holidays and how to start

Atlantis arranges accommodation through its own holiday homes: an Atlantis Diver Lodge, Holiday Suites that suit groups of six, sea view apartments and farmhouses with pools, all close to the centre and the Marsalforn seafront. Dive packages can include guided dives, rental gear and airport transfers, and the centre can also help with car hire and island tours. Compare other bases in our guide to hotels in Gozo, and see how to reach the islands from Britain in our guide to flights to Malta from the UK.

The centre is staffed from 7:30 to 16:30, and it is open to questions about courses, packages and rental. For wider planning, our things to do in Malta guide covers days above the water. Use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to the Atlantis team, who will reply to you directly.