Calypso Diving Centre

Calypso Diving Centre is a dive centre on the seafront at Marsalforn Bay on the north coast of Gozo, Malta's sister island. It has welcomed divers from around the world since 1985, and today it offers guided dives from the shore and by boat, SSI and PADI courses, multi dive packages and help with finding somewhere to stay. The emphasis is on small groups, careful planning and a relaxed pace.

For a UK visitor, it is a straightforward base for a week of diving: your dives, equipment and transport can be arranged in one place before you travel. Our guide to dive centres in Malta lists other operators if you would like to compare, and our Gozo guide shows what else the island offers above the surface.

A pioneer of Gozo diving

Calypso's story starts in 1985, when scuba diving on Gozo was still in its early days and only a handful of people had discovered the waters around the island. A small local operation soon became a place where divers from many countries came to see caves, arches, reefs and wrecks, and many of them returned again and again.

The centre was started by a man known as "Papa George". On 1 January 2022 it passed into the hands of Tom, who began diving off Menorca at the age of seven, worked in business in Germany and later managed dive centres in several countries. The philosophy is unchanged: diving should feel personal and relaxed, never rushed or crowded.

Today the centre combines that long local history with a multilingual team, a compressor room that fills cylinders and blends Nitrox on site, and a dive shop at the front desk. Divers who like to keep learning find a full ladder of courses here, while those who simply want to see Gozo's reefs and caves can join a guided dive without any training at all beyond their existing certificate.

Why dive in Gozo

Gozo combines dramatic underwater scenery with calm, unspoiled surroundings. Visibility is often 30 to 40 metres, and the water stays comfortable from spring through late autumn, so the season is long. Many sites can be reached straight from the shore, which keeps the logistics simple, and the range runs from gentle beginner dives to caves and deep blue drop offs.

Sites named on the centre's pages include the wrecks of the MV Karwela, Cominoland and Xlendi, the Blue Hole, the Inland Sea, Cathedral Cave, Reqqa Point and Ras il-Hobz. If you are still choosing when to travel, our Malta weather guide shows conditions month by month, and our Blue Lagoon guide covers Comino, the small island between Gozo and Malta that the centre also dives.

Guided dives and packages

Certified divers can book a single guided dive at €47, or a day with two dives at two different sites for €110. A pack of four guided dives is €169, and a group or family can share a package of 40 dives for €1,390, which works out at €34.75 a dive. Six and ten dive packs are also available. Guided dives are led by a certified PADI or SSI instructor.

The prices for guided dives include cylinders, weights, drinking water and transport to and from the dive sites by car, and the day of two dives also includes full equipment hire: wetsuit, regulator, BCD, mask, fins and boots. Dives can be spread across morning and afternoon sessions to suit your itinerary, and you can pre-book to secure your dates.

SSI and PADI courses

Courses are available through both SSI and PADI, with theory completed online before you arrive so that more of your holiday is spent in the sea. The SSI Open Water Diver course takes 3 to 4 days, is open from age 10 and certifies you to 18 metres, with a minimum of four open water training dives, all skills learned in the sea rather than a pool, and a digital logbook. The PADI Open Water Diver course follows a similar pattern with four open water dives.

After that, the Advanced Open Water Diver courses take 2 to 3 days and give a depth rating of 30 metres through five adventure dives, including Deep and Navigation, with three more of your choice. Enriched Air Nitrox can be done in one day, and the Stress and Rescue (SSI) and Rescue Diver (PADI) courses take 3 to 4 days from age 12, with rescue exercises in real sea conditions. Rescue courses need a first aid and CPR certificate no more than two years old, which the centre can arrange separately. Courses are priced all inclusive, covering equipment hire, transport and certification, except Nitrox, where kit can be hired from €20 a day. A rescue course taken by a single student carries a €100 surcharge, and an extra training dive costs €60.

Further specialities include Deep, Wreck, Night and Limited Visibility, Perfect Buoyancy, Navigation, Boat and Underwater Naturalist. Courses follow a clear path: a consultation to choose the right course, flexible self study, early skills in the water, training dives and then certification and fun diving.

Small groups and a safety first approach

Calypso keeps its groups small so that every diver gets personal attention, and each dive is tailored to your level and comfort. Planning, procedures and calm diving run through everything it teaches, from the first breath underwater to advanced exploration, and the instructors know Gozo and Comino well.

Training is structured and paced clearly, from beginner to professional level, which suits families as well as experienced divers. Open Water courses are open from age 10, and the team will help you pick the right course for the time you have on the island. A dive shop on the premises also sells equipment such as masks.

Staying in Gozo

Calypso arranges accommodation for divers, in self catering farmhouses and apartments or in guesthouses on a bed and breakfast basis, and you can say which you prefer when you make your enquiry. Our list of hotels in Gozo offers further choice, and our things to do in Malta page has ideas for days out of the water.

Most visitors from the UK arrive by air into Malta and continue to Gozo, so our flights to Malta guide is a helpful starting point when planning the journey.

The Calypso team

Tom is the owner and is usually found everywhere at once, keeping the centre running smoothly. Adam, the Ops Lead, first came to Gozo as a guest in 2011 and now knows the sites like his own kit. Guy, the Head Instructor, is a wreck loving Belgian instructor who is also a trained paramedic. Jen, who studied marine biology and worked as a research diver, and Christina, who greets visitors at the front desk, run the dive shop, while Sarah and Guillaume are instructors, Joey looks after the compressors and gas blending, and Ola handles the centre's online presence.

The team comes from many European countries and between them speaks English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Maltese and Polish, so you are likely to find someone who speaks your language. English is spoken throughout.

Planning your trip

The centre is on the seafront at Marsalforn Bay, and many visitors combine a few days of diving with time ashore. If you are curious about nearby dive operators on the island, Gozo is also home to Atlantis Gozo Diving Centre and Apnea Total Malta, a freediving school on Gozo.

To ask about guided dives, a course or a dive and stay holiday, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page and we will pass your message to Calypso Diving Centre.