Terms & conditions

Who you're booking with

Diving Club, a PADI dive centre at 74/9 Sandy Cove, Trincomalee 31000, Sri Lanka. Phone and WhatsApp 074 394 5010, email info@divingclub.lk. When these terms say “we” or “us”, that's who they mean. Using this site or booking with us means you're happy with what's written here.

Making a booking

Sending the form is a request, not a confirmed booking. We check the boat, the tide and the instructor, then come back to you on WhatsApp or email — usually within a few hours, always within 24. Your booking exists once we've confirmed it and your advance has gone through. Until then, nothing is held.

Please give us a real phone number you'll actually answer in Sri Lanka. Almost every problem we've ever had with a booking started with a number nobody picked up.

Prices and paying

Prices are shown per person in US dollars, and include the gear listed on that course's or activity's page. They don't include getting yourself to Trincomalee, travel insurance, or PADI certification fees where those are listed separately.

To hold your spot we take an advance— the amount is shown before you pay, and it's a share of the total, not an extra charge. The balance is due on the day, before you get in the water. Card payments run through a secure payment gateway; your card details go to them, never to us, and we never see or store them.

Turning up on time

This one matters more than anything else on this page. Be at the centre at the time we agreed. Not the time the dive starts — the time we told you to arrive. Gear has to be fitted, paperwork signed, and the briefing given before the boat goes out.

Boats leave on a schedule set by the tide and the other divers on board, and they can't wait. If you arrive after your boat has left, the booking is cancelled and the advance isn't refunded.That's not us being difficult — the seat sailed empty and nobody else could take it.

So: if you're running late, call us straight away. If there's a later slot that day or the next and we can move you, we will, and it costs you nothing. What we can't do is fix it after the fact.

Cancellations and refunds

Cancel 48 hours or more before your start time and your advance comes back in full. Inside 48 hours it doesn't. If we cancel — weather, sea state, safety — you get every rupee back or a free reschedule, your choice. The full detail is in our refund and cancellation policy.

Being fit to dive

Diving is safe when it's done honestly. Before your first dive you'll fill in a PADI medical questionnaire. Answer it truthfully, even if you think an answer will stop you diving — some conditions just need a doctor's sign-off, and a few genuinely rule diving out. We'd far rather reschedule you than treat you on a boat.

• Tell us in advance about any medical condition, medication, or recent surgery.
• Don't dive after drinking, and don't fly for 18 to 24 hours after your last dive — your instructor will give you the exact window.
• Minimum ages are listed on each course and activity page. Under-18s need a parent or guardian to sign.

Our instructors can end or refuse a dive at any point on safety grounds — sea conditions, your comfort in the water, or something you told us on the day. That call is final, and it's always about getting you home safe. If we refuse a dive because you withheld a medical condition, that counts as a late cancellation.

Follow the briefing

Stay with your guide, respect the depth limits for your certification, and don't touch or take anything from the reef. Trincomalee's reefs are recovering and we'd like to keep them that way. Anyone diving in a way that puts themselves, another diver or the reef at risk will be brought back to the boat, with no refund.

Your things, and ours

Bring as little as you can. We can't take responsibility for personal belongings left at the centre or on the boat, and phones and cameras go in the water at your own risk. Our gear is checked and serviced regularly — if you damage it through misuse, we may ask you to cover the repair.

Photos

We often take photos and video on trips, and we sometimes use them on this site or on social media. If you'd rather we didn't use yours, just say so on the day — one sentence to the guide is enough, and there's no need to explain.

Insurance

We carry the insurance a PADI centre is required to carry. That is not the same as covering you. Travel insurance that includes recreational diving to your certified depth is strongly recommended, and for technical or deep dives, essential. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our own negligence.

Changes to these terms

We may update this page — prices, timings and policies shift. The version live on the day you book is the one that applies to your booking, so the date at the top is the one that counts. These terms are governed by the laws of Sri Lanka.

Talk to us first

If something goes wrong, tell us before you tell the internet. We're a small local team and almost everything is fixable on the day. 074 394 5010 · info@divingclub.lk · open every day, 7am to 6pm. See also our privacy policy.