Welcome to Big Ocean Dive (although most of you know us as Scuba Mike’s)! While our name is new, our values remain the same. We are proud of our spotless safety record, full-service scuba and freediving trips, and our specialized training. Our scuba team – Mike, Theresa, Menzi, and Tim – are here for you and ready to enhance your underwater experience!
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Open Water Diver
Taking our Padi Open Water Diver course is the first step to becoming a safe and confident underwater explorer. If you start today, we can have you diving in a week!
Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most exciting dive regions. One of the things we love about what we do is sharing new destinations with you. From our home base in Malaysia to Indonesia, the Maldives, Thailand and Brunei, enjoy the most worry-free trip you can imagine.
We offer a variety of courses for all types of adventurers. Whether you’re new at swimming or have a passion for diving, we have a course tailored for you!
Families
There is no better shared family activity than diving. Starting at age 10, your family can explore the oceans together.
Freediving
Training your heart, lungs, and mind to freedive — the right way — opens up a whole new world beyond scuba diving
Adrenaline Junkies
Mike and Tim are both ex-pro commercial divers and know exactly how to keep you safe as you train to dive extreme depths.
Swimming
Even if you’ve been swimming your whole life, learning to swim efficiently is a skill that any diver needs to excel.
Based in Kuala Lumpur, Big Ocean Dive (originally Scuba Mike’s) was founded in 2015 by Malaysian-born American Michael Grossman, who started diving at the age of 15. He began his career as a commercial diver working in the United States, and eventually found his calling back home in KL as a dive instructor.
My daughter (12) and myself undertook the training to complete our Open Water Diver Certification. I must say from start to finish Mike, Tim, Theresa and Menzi were absolutely amazing. All the team were supportive, fun and super safety conscious. We really enjoyed the training sessions in KL, both theory and practical and was impressed at how professional these were presented. We headed to Koh Lipe on an organised Scuba Mike diving weekend with Tim leading the way and seven others, this was so that we could complete our open water dives. What a wonderful weekend, it was stress free with every little detail thought through so we could make the most of the weekend and enjoy our diving experience. This company I couldn’t recommend highly enough, they look after you ensuring that you have fun while learning to dive and do it in a safe manner, you can’t ask for better than that. We look forward to organising another trip away in the very near future.
What a fantastic way to learn how to scuba! As a nervous beginner, Scuba Mike's trainers were EXTREMELY patient and calm with me and got me, not only through the skills, but also very comfortable with the skills. Mike, Theresa, and Tim are so friendly, nice, and knowledgeable that they really become like family. The split picture of the two of us is right after our 2nd dive and my most dreaded skill, mask removal. What a fantastic way to learn how to scuba! As a nervous beginner, Scuba Mike's trainers were EXTREMELY patient and calm with me and got me, not only through the skills, but also very comfortable with the skills. Mike, Theresa, and Tim are so friendly, nice, and knowledgeable that they really become like family. The split picture of the two of us is right after our 2nd dive and my most dreaded skill, mask removal.
My husband, two daughters and I just got certified at Tulamben, Bali. Teresa was our main instructor and she was an exceptional instructor. She was very patient, kind and stressed on safety first which was the utmost important thing for me. She kept me calm when she noticed me panicking under water. Tim, is a very experienced diver and instructor. He knew exactly what to do when things got rough. Teresa and Tim make an excellent team. So happy we learned to dive under their instruction.
We love scuba diving with Mike, Tim, and Theresa! They have certified our whole family and we have gone to some of the best underwater places on the planet with these guys! For expats in Malaysia, scuba is an awesome way to get to great destinations, meet great people, and really make the most of your opportunity abroad! Can’t say enough good things about these guys!
My husband and I are just back from a really lovely diving weekend in Koh Lipe, The dive trip organized by Scuba mike was really enjoyable, The accommodation (hotel ) was great and right on the beach and a very short walk from the dive shop, The diving company they used was excellent and very professional, very thorough dive briefings and excellent dive instructors, I would definitely dive with them again, the food ( lunch ) provided on the boat was very tasty. Our group consisted of fun divers like ourselves and new divers who qualified on this trip, it was lovely to spend time with everyone, diving, sunset drinks and dinners out in the evening, We will definitely be booking more trips with Scuba mike’s. Thanks Tim and everyone for such a lovely weekend. Can’t wait for another one.
Our 2 boys aged 14 and 11 just completed their diving certification with Scuba Mike. Tim and Theresa are wonderful, patient, fun, encouraging instructors. Since my husband and I have not done a dive since I got pregnant with my 14 year old, we also took a refresher course with Theresa. The dive site was perfect. The organisation of the whole trip was seamless. Tim and Theresa made sure we were all comfortable and safe. Since I am still gaining my confidence and skills under water, the whole crew and my Co divers looked out for me. I even saw Tim talk to the local dive master to make sure I get on OK. A* experience so we will certainly be doing more dives with the company. Thank you for helping our kids gain confidence and easing my transition back to something I love!
What an excellent trip for our Open Water Dive experience in Koh Lipe! The whole trip was perfectly planned. What a treat to have everything taken care of (flights, food, accommodation, transportation). Thank you, Tim and Theresa, for making our diving experience a memorable one. Can't wait to go on another dive trip!
Family friendly, professional and fun! We had a fantastic trip to the Maldives with both experienced and beginner divers. Memories for a lifetime!
Joined my 12 year old daughter for her open water certification in Tioman. YY, the instructor, was very good and patient and really ensured the skills were practiced and learned. Went to some nice dive sites and left with some amazing memories.
Hotel dive Center is nice.
Looking forward to the next trip.
BOD is a very professional organization, perfectly prepared and always there if you've any questions - in terms of diving itself or equipment to use/buy. We did our open water certification in Nov 2021 together with Tim and just finished our advanced course with Amir. Great trainers both: unforgetable experience, we learned a lot! Thanks for a very detailed and patient training! Plus... All the trips we did with BOD yet were pure fun! Great team, awesome locations, perfectly prepared adventure! ... looking forward to the next one
By far my favourite dive centre. Thank you Tim, Sia, Menzi and everyone who made the Dives possible!
Such an amazing team. All the staff are so helpful and so patient. My daughter and myself both got certified with them and they were a delight. The kids diving camp at Tioman my daughter attended was brilliant, she loved it and we went with the team to Redang, also did not disappoint.
The entire team that we dealt with were lovely. All the way from enquiry to certification have been so helpful and understanding.
Would like to say a big thank you to Menzi (who helped with all the booking and a million changes we made), Tim and Teresa (you guys definitely dont run this as a business and shows how passionate you are about what you do), Sia (she seriously made this a very easy experience with the pool dives and made me very comfortable) Halid (so patient, very good at dealing with nervous students and ensuring they are ok) Jinn (my instructor for OWD - excellent) Sidney (my daughters instructor at the kids camp - so patient with kids).
Thank You.
Would definitely recommend them if you planning on getting you PADI certification.
My husband and I are just back from a really lovely diving weekend in Koh Lipe, The dive trip organized by Big Ocean Dive was really enjoyable, The accommodation (hotel ) was great and right on the beach and a very short walk from the dive shop, The diving company they used was excellent and very professional, very thorough dive briefings and excellent dive instructors, I would definitely dive with them again, the food ( lunch ) provided on the boat was very tasty. Our group consisted of fun divers like ourselves and new divers who qualified on this trip, it was lovely to spend time with everyone, diving, sunset drinks and dinners out in the evening, We will definitely be booking more trips with Big Ocean Dive. Thanks Tim and everyone for such a lovely weekend. Can’t wait for another one
My daughter (12) and myself undertook the training to complete our Open Water Diver Certification. I must say from start to finish Mike, Tim, Theresa and Menzi were absolutely amazing. All the team were supportive, fun and super safety conscious. We really enjoyed the training sessions in KL, both theory and practical and was impressed at how professional these were presented. We headed to Koh Lipe on an organised Big Ocean Dive diving weekend with Tim leading the way and seven others, this was so that we could complete our open water dives. What a wonderful weekend, it was stress free with every little detail thought through so we could make the most of the weekend and enjoy our diving experience. This company I couldn’t recommend highly enough, they look after you ensuring that you have fun while learning to dive and do it in a safe manner, you can’t ask for better than that. We look forward to organising another trip away in the very near future.
Family friendly, professional and fun! We had a fantastic trip to the Maldives with both experienced and beginner divers. Memories for a lifetime!
What a fantastic way to learn how to scuba! As a nervous beginner, Big Ocean Dive's trainers were EXTREMELY patient and calm with me and got me, not only through the skills, but also very comfortable with the skills. Mike, Teresa, and Tim are so friendly, nice, and knowledgeable that they really become like family.
I gained my open water qualification through Big Ocean Dive and could not be happier with the experience. Throughout the process all the staff were friendly, informative and knowledgable. The classroom, was well conducted and I left feeling like I had actually gained knowledge rather than just what was required to pass the test. The pool sessions, again were well conducted, friendly, relaxed and great fun.
My open water dives were done in Terengganu, transportation from Big Ocean Dive was great, the whole weekend was fantastic fun, and everyone in the trip seemed to have a great experience.
I’ve been recommending Big Ocean Dive to my friends and colleagues, since I got back and I’d recommend Big Ocean Dive to anyone that wants to learn to dive rather than just gaining a qualification. I’m already looking at their upcoming trips going forward
These guys scout the best locations. My crew and I never experienced a better dive. Will definitely be back over and over and over... Don't miss out. Seriously
My daughter (12) and myself undertook the training to complete our Open Water Diver Certification. I must say from start to finish Mike, Tim, Theresa and Menzi were absolutely amazing. All the team were supportive, fun and super safety conscious. We really enjoyed the training sessions in KL, both theory and practical and was impressed at how professional these were presented. We headed to Koh Lipe on an organised Scuba Mike diving weekend with Tim leading the way and seven others, this was so that we could complete our open water dives. What a wonderful weekend, it was stress free with every little detail thought through so we could make the most of the weekend and enjoy our diving experience. This company I couldn’t recommend highly enough, they look after you ensuring that you have fun while learning to dive and do it in a safe manner, you can’t ask for better than that. We look forward to organising another trip away in the very near future.
What a fantastic way to learn how to scuba! As a nervous beginner, Scuba Mike's trainers were EXTREMELY patient and calm with me and got me, not only through the skills, but also very comfortable with the skills. Mike, Theresa, and Tim are so friendly, nice, and knowledgeable that they really become like family. The split picture of the two of us is right after our 2nd dive and my most dreaded skill, mask removal. What a fantastic way to learn how to scuba! As a nervous beginner, Scuba Mike's trainers were EXTREMELY patient and calm with me and got me, not only through the skills, but also very comfortable with the skills. Mike, Theresa, and Tim are so friendly, nice, and knowledgeable that they really become like family. The split picture of the two of us is right after our 2nd dive and my most dreaded skill, mask removal.
My husband, two daughters and I just got certified at Tulamben, Bali. Teresa was our main instructor and she was an exceptional instructor. She was very patient, kind and stressed on safety first which was the utmost important thing for me. She kept me calm when she noticed me panicking under water. Tim, is a very experienced diver and instructor. He knew exactly what to do when things got rough. Teresa and Tim make an excellent team. So happy we learned to dive under their instruction.
We love scuba diving with Mike, Tim, and Theresa! They have certified our whole family and we have gone to some of the best underwater places on the planet with these guys! For expats in Malaysia, scuba is an awesome way to get to great destinations, meet great people, and really make the most of your opportunity abroad! Can’t say enough good things about these guys!