Paraiso Dive Cartagena

"Buceaton" is an activity we started doing this year where we shut down our normal dive activities with clients for a day and instead open a space for locals on the island to participate in coral reef education (led by marine biologists from ) followed by the opportunity for them to try scuba diving for their first time (led by us, ). It is completely free for all locals and so far we have had an amazing turnout with over 30 participants in each of the last two Buceatons!

We are planning our third Buceaton next month in June so that more island locals can continue to learn about and see their reef up close!

You heard it from them. We 💙 our job and spending a great day out on the Caribbean with mother nature and our clients

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

We know some of you have had scuba diving on your bucket list, but haven't gotten around to doing it yet. Here's your incentive to do new experiences and live your life to its fullest.

A flounder fish lays low as he checks out who is passing by. With increible camouflage, sometimes the only way to spot him is by his two bug eyes 👀

Children as young as 8 years old can try on scuba gear and do a very shallow dive under the direct supervision of an instructor. And once a child is 10 years old s/he can do the full PADI Open Water Course and all other normal diving activities.

Here at Paraiso Dive, we start them young... Introducing our 1 year old divemaster in training.

These jellyfish don't have long tentacles that can sting you, so it is easy to get a close look at the symbiotic relationship they have with juvenile fish.

Break time between dives for a snack and to change tanks.

Our Open Water Diver Course gives you a lifelong international scuba dive certification with PADI, the largest scuba dive organization in the world. Part theory (which can be done online before you arrive in Cartagena) and part practice (which requires two full days on the island), you will learn:
🌊To be a confident and skilled diver
🌊Assemble and use scuba gear
🌊Manage your buoyancy
🌊Safety
🌊Marine life
🌊Science behind diving, including changes in pressure and light
🌊And much more..

Instead of heading straight back to Cartagena after diving / snorkeling, we make a day out of it. Because who wouldn't want to dive a healthy coral reef and then relax on a white sandy beach, sip a cocktail at a tropical resort, and eat at one of the city's best (and most sustainable) restaurants? We're not called "Paraiso" for no reason...

Our PADI Dive Resort is based out of Blue Apple Beach Club on the island of Tierra Bomba, and all of our customers can spend a few hours at the resort after diving, or head back to Cartagena if they really need to.

Our TripAdvisor reviews from October and November 🌟

Paraiso Dive is #4 out of 476 tours in Cartagena; come on our snorkel or scuba dive day trips and experience it for yourself 💙🐙🐠🐬🐡🦞

This past weekend we took the chief of police, two high school teachers and fourteen youth from Bocachica, the town next to our dive center, scuba diving for their first time. Marine biologists from the US and Colombia collaborated and gave the Bocachiqueros an added bonus lesson on corals.
Little by little we will continue to take locals diving as an ongoing effort to have them understand and see their reef ecosystem for themselves and therefore give them the opportunity to try scuba diving and furthermore be extra motivated to protect their own reef.