Compass Diving’s Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) program offers an unparalleled introduction to the underwater wonders surrounding Atauro Island, renowned for hosting some of the world’s most biodiverse coral reefs.
This experience is tailored for individuals aged 10 and above who are curious about scuba diving but haven’t yet pursued certification. Under the guidance of passionate and experienced instructors, participants will learn basic diving skills in a safe and controlled environment, allowing them to comfortably explore vibrant marine ecosystems.
The DSD program begins with a comprehensive briefing covering essential scuba concepts and safety protocols. Following this, participants practice fundamental skills in shallow water, ensuring they feel confident before embarking on open water dives. Atauro Island’s clear waters and thriving coral gardens provide an ideal setting for beginners to encounter a diverse array of marine life, making the inaugural dive both memorable and inspiring.
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Compass Diving Timor-Leste is a PADI 5-Star Dive Resort located in Dili, offering a range of scuba diving experiences for enthusiasts of all levels. The resort specializes in providing high-quality dive training, guided diving tours, and underwater photography services. They offer diving courses for beginners to advanced divers, including certifications like Open Water and Advanced Open Water. Their dive sites are renowned for clear waters, vibrant marine life, and breathtaking underwater landscapes, making it a popular destination for divers from around the world. They also cater to eco-tourism by ensuring environmentally friendly practices while promoting the preservation of marine ecosystems.
In addition to diving, Compass Diving Timor-Leste offers various other services like accommodation, boat trips, and excursions around Dili and nearby areas such as Atauro Island. The resort is designed to provide a comfortable, relaxed environment where guests can unwind after a day of diving. Their focus on sustainable tourism is evident in their eco-lodge offerings, which include comfortable rooms with stunning views. Whether you’re a seasoned diver looking for an adventure or a newcomer wanting to explore the underwater world, Compass Diving ensures an unforgettable experience in Timor-Leste’s pristine waters.
What to Expect:
We did the incredible whale swimming tour with Compass Diving. Their vessels are maintained to international maritime safety standards, and they take pride in running safe, responsible tours with a dedicated crew.
Before the tour, we attended a compulsory briefing to understand how to behave around whales and when it’s okay to jump in. They also use drones to monitor whale behavior and ensure interactions are safe – for humans and whales. If there are too many boats or people, they give the whales space—respecting these gentle giants is the top priority.
While there are currently no government regulations in Timor-Leste for swimming with whales, Compass Diving is one of the key operators setting responsible guidelines. They’re also actively working with the government to establish official regulations—amazing work that truly deserves recognition!
Diving:
On top of that we went diving with them on Atauro island and Patrik was our dive master – we totally loved everything. He is great, super lovely, makes always a big effort, he is helpful and calm when you need it! So thank you Patrik!
Accommodation on Atauro:
We also stayed with them on Atauro islands, but we wouldn’t do it again. It is way overpriced for what you get. The rooms are standard and we stayed for 5 nights – it didn’t get cleaned once, you don’t a have mosquito net (but you have a ton of mosquitos there) and the resort is basically a construction site – so you can’t really relax after a dive. Would definitely recommend the other resorts in the island (way cheaper and nicer).
Important note: the people and the food are great! So nothing to complain about them – just a complain about the resort in general, which could need a little more love.
Wonderful place to stay for a young family. Patrick and Jana took us all diving and snorkeling. Jana did a wonderful job looking after our kids so my wife and I could dive with Patrick. Both Hana and Patrick made the evenings so much fun with card and dice games.
Our kids didn’t want to leave. Thanks guys for the memories!
Incredible experience with Compass on an immersive whale watching experience! Classy operation making safety, the environment, and the animals top priority. Unbelievable time swimming with Pygmy Blue whales 🐋 🐳 Really appreciated the briefing prior to the experience too. Must do when in Timor Leste. Highly recommend!
Excellent dive center for organizing accommodation and diving on Atauro Island. They always try to be in touch (replied even on weekends). They also explained the schedule of boats to the island.
The staff are polite and kind, this company really has a personalized approach to customers.
I hope that we will return to Timor to see what we didn’t have time to see and we will definitely choose Compass diving again to visit Atauro )
Just wanted to leave a quick review for the Compass team – my two friends and I flew to Timor-Leste for a dive trip with Compass from May 1st to May 5th, 2024, and had an absolutely wonderful experience. Pre-trip organization and deposit payment was smooth and straightforward, and all information was clear and transparent. As my two friends were hoping to get PADI open water certified, there was 1 day in the pool at Hotel Timor before we headed to Atauro Island. As I sat by the pool to provide whatever moral support I could, I also got to see Selina, their instructor, in action. I was very much impressed by her demeanor, which remained the same throughout the trip – she was relaxed yet serious, fun yet strict. Her ability to balance professionalism with a sense of humor made the learning experience enjoyable for my friends, even when they were struggling to master some skills at certain points. I think Selina set a great example for them, because recreational diving is about having fun, but there are also very real consequences if you mess something up.
Throughout our trip to Atauro Island, the Compass team exhibited a high level of expertise and care for both the divers and the marine environment. Our guides, Selina, Aqhari, and Carmen, were all incredibly knowledgeable about the local marine life and took the time to point out all different kinds of creatures during our dives. I was also very touched when I watched them untangle fishing nets and things from the coral and bring them to the surface for proper disposal.
The accommodations and meals provided by Compass were top-notch, especially considering Atauro’s remoteness – a huge thank you to Ronnie and team for cooking up all that delicious food!
Overall, our dive trip with Compass was fantastic, but I should make just a few small suggestions regarding our stay to help you guys continue to improve:
1) Mosquito nets in the rooms, as even though we did our best to keep the doors to our rooms shut at all times and keep entries and exits quick, they still managed to get in…
2) Add Freon to the air conditioners or whatever coolant is required, as they weren’t really making the rooms all that cool…
3) Consider using warmer hue lightbulbs instead of the sterile, fluorescent white lightbulbs – I think the warmer lighting would change the atmosphere at the beach house for the better!
I highly recommend Compass to anyone looking for an unforgettable diving experience with a team that is not only skilled and professional but also deeply passionate about marine conservation. Thank you, Compass team, for an incredible journey!
