The center

Bora Dive & Research Sainte Marie Centre de plongée PADI

Sainte-Marie,
diving destination !

70km long, 5km wide: a hairpin bend in the Indian Ocean. Seen from the air, Sainte-Marie Island, on Madagascar’s east coast, promises a lot. White sand, lagoons, coconut palms, reefs and authentic villages.

Once you set foot on land, it keeps its promises. And beneath the surface of the ocean? With over 2,000 hours of exploration around the island, Luciano Toto, the Madagascan diving instructor at Bora Dive, sums it all up in one word: diversity. Dry, coral patates, reef plateaus, sandy areas, limestone rocks, sea grass beds, wrecks – the biotopes are astonishingly diverse. Each of the 20 dive sites has its own particularities. Rays, groupers, triggerfish, reef sharks, turtles, moray eels, jacks, snappers. For the more patient: nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, leaf fish, syngnathids,…

And there’s a big cherry under the boat: between June and September, you can dive and listen to the humpback whales singing. A must, even if the best period for visibility is between October and January.

The experience

The Bora Dive & Research diving centre invites you to discover the diversity of the seabed of Sainte-Marie, a small island paradise on the east coast of Madagascar. Our activities are adapted to your level and your desires.

A first dive in the pool or at sea for anyone wishing to discover diving. Training courses certified by PADI and recognised throughout the world to improve your skills. And finally, wreck dives, night dives and coral garden dives for explorers!

Bora Dive is involved in a project to collect underwater, fish and benthic data, in collaboration with scientists, with the aim of creating a marine protected area.

Our partner Aqualung guarantees us quality equipment that we maintain as it should be. Our boats ply the canal in complete safety.

The team

Instructors, managers, captains, researchers – a team of professionals who always have a smile on their faces. We speak French, Madagascan and English!

The accommodation

The Princesse
Bora Lodge & Spa

Set in a lush coconut grove on the edge of the lagoon, twenty villas built from natural materials welcome you for a glamorous and authentic diving holiday. The infinity pool, opposite the restaurant, is used for first dives. The hotel has a wide choice of restaurants: a beach grill restaurant, the Kintana Bar and the India Papa Bar, at the end of the pontoon to enjoy the sunsets.

Vohilava’s
Villas

The Villas de Vohilava and its restaurant, La Varangue, are located a few kilometres north of Bora Dive. The wooden villas are spacious (120 to 200 m2) and fully equipped. A private setting ideal for groups of friends or a family of divers ! A dedicated housekeeper takes care of everything, including introducing you to the local kitchen ! Next to the villas, the bar/restaurant La Varangue, with its large terrace and deckchairs, is one of the liveliest spots on the south of the island.
Henry, the owner, is a former scuba diver with COMEX, which has been based on Sainte-Marie for 20 years.