Scuba Diving Trips to Maldives, Indonesia and Curacao School Trips
Think Outside The Classroom
Maybe you have a scuba diving club at your school already, or maybe you are looking for a completely different activity for your students to enjoy outside of class. Either way, we have you covered, catering for experienced divers who know what they want, students totally new to the underwater world who want to become qualified divers, or even groups with a mix of both. Our dive trips are organised by a teacher and diver - so we know what you need.On our scuba diving trips to Maldives, Bali and Komodo, or Curaçao, you and your students will not only enjoy plenty of diving but also experience cultural immersion, see new wildlife and coral formations, and learn more about ocean and reef conservation, whilst having a lot of fun. Watch our highlights video of a recent trip below and tell us that you don't want a similar adventure for your students...
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Example Itineraries for our 2026 trips
Whether you are interested in the sharks and rays of Maldives, the dragons and mantas of Komodo and Bali in Indonesia, or the wrecks and lionfish hunting of Curaçao, our itineraries are all very exciting in their own way, but follow the same rough outline:
Day 1: Arrival
Welcome, introductions to your guide and dive team and equipment preparation at the dive centre.
Day 2-6: Diving
Our daily routine will see two dives offered in the morning and an afternoon dive most days. Depending on experience levels in the group and local conditions, we hope to offer at least one night dive during your time with us as well.
If you have new divers in the group, they will spend their first day completing their 'confined water' dives, and may dive in different locations to the rest of the group on the second day, but all being well you'll be diving around the same places for the last few days of the trip.
We normally recommend around 5 days of diving as there is a huge variety of dive sites and even diving the same place twice can offer up a totally different experience (case in point: Shark Point in the Maldives, that never gets old, or the MV Superior Producer shipwreck in Curaçao, which is just too big to fully explore on a single dive), but of course we can shorten or extend your dive days based on your preferences. If you wish to double your dive days (for a 2 week trip instead of a 1 week trip) we can organise staying on a different island in Indonesia and the Maldives to see totally different dive sites and wildlife, or a change of island from Curaçao to Bonaire or Aruba. All our dive centres also offer the opportunity for students to further their training, with speciality dive courses (the best and most unique has to be the 'Invasive lionfish tracking' in Curaçao where students learn how to hunt and eliminate this threat to the reef) or the opportunity to qualify as an advanced open water diver if they haven't already.
Afternoon/evening activities include beach time, water activities such as kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, wakeboarding, jet ski, massage, night fishing or shopping for local souvenirs. In Curaçao there are two very interesting conservation projects to learn about and get involved in. In Indonesia and Curaçao there are caves to swim in, and in Indonesia there are temples and Komodo dragons to be humbled by.
Day 7: Surface Day
For the essential interval of at least 24 hours between the last dive and your flight home, we have plans.
In Curaçao or Maldives we'll charter a boat for a visit to an uninhabited island with beach BBQ. In Indonesia you can choose from another day in Flores to explore jungle waterfalls, or a day in Bali to try surfing, take a cooking class, climb a volcano or visit famous temples.
Day 8: Return
Transfer to airport, return flight to home country.
Day 1: Arrival
Welcome, introductions to your guide and dive team and equipment preparation at the dive centre.
Day 2-6: Diving
Our daily routine will see two dives offered in the morning and an afternoon dive most days. Depending on experience levels in the group and local conditions, we hope to offer at least one night dive during your time with us as well.
If you have new divers in the group, they will spend their first day completing their 'confined water' dives, and may dive in different locations to the rest of the group on the second day, but all being well you'll be diving around the same places for the last few days of the trip.
We normally recommend around 5 days of diving as there is a huge variety of dive sites and even diving the same place twice can offer up a totally different experience (case in point: Shark Point in the Maldives, that never gets old, or the MV Superior Producer shipwreck in Curaçao, which is just too big to fully explore on a single dive), but of course we can shorten or extend your dive days based on your preferences. If you wish to double your dive days (for a 2 week trip instead of a 1 week trip) we can organise staying on a different island in Indonesia and the Maldives to see totally different dive sites and wildlife, or a change of island from Curaçao to Bonaire or Aruba. All our dive centres also offer the opportunity for students to further their training, with speciality dive courses (the best and most unique has to be the 'Invasive lionfish tracking' in Curaçao where students learn how to hunt and eliminate this threat to the reef) or the opportunity to qualify as an advanced open water diver if they haven't already.
Afternoon/evening activities include beach time, water activities such as kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, wakeboarding, jet ski, massage, night fishing or shopping for local souvenirs. In Curaçao there are two very interesting conservation projects to learn about and get involved in. In Indonesia and Curaçao there are caves to swim in, and in Indonesia there are temples and Komodo dragons to be humbled by.
Day 7: Surface Day
For the essential interval of at least 24 hours between the last dive and your flight home, we have plans.
In Curaçao or Maldives we'll charter a boat for a visit to an uninhabited island with beach BBQ. In Indonesia you can choose from another day in Flores to explore jungle waterfalls, or a day in Bali to try surfing, take a cooking class, climb a volcano or visit famous temples.
Day 8: Return
Transfer to airport, return flight to home country.
Which Curriculum Subjects do we cater for?
Cultural
Our scuba diving destinations offer as much on the surface as they do below with rich cultural immersion. Indonesia offers an insight into Hindu traditions and those of the Manggarai people, Maldives offers an open and welcoming Islamic island culture, whereas Curaçao is a melting pot of Afro-Caribbean, Dutch, French, Latin American and even Asian cultures.
Sports Tours
Scuba diving may not be the most extreme sport, but that's why it's so great - anyone can take part with minimal fitness training. Our scuba trips also offer surface watersports ranging from ocean kayaking to stand up paddleboarding to surfing in some destinations. There's a limit to the local swimming pool and falling in is more comfortable when the water is 27 degrees.
Conservation Wildlife Animal Care
Click to read full text Our oceans have to deal with a lot, and scuba diving is a great way to learn more firsthand about the damage humans are causing and ways in which this can be mitigated. Your students are likely to return as advocates for single use plastic elimination, protecting reefs from invasive species, stopping overfishing, slowing climate change and therefore coral bleaching from sea temperature rises, or even protecting against land use changes where the destruction of mangroves causes chaos for corals. They will learn about the delicate balance of an important underwater ecosystem, participate in a reef clean up, and in Curaçao they can take part in turtle conservation and coral regrowth projects happening on the island.
Residential Activities
Scuba diving transcends the usual boundaries between year and friendship groups, and everyone is equal underwater - students bond faster on a residential trip when they develop their shared love of the ocean.
Activities
What size groups do we cater for?
While we can take groups of any size on a scuba diving trip, we would recommend a maximum of 20 in order to get the most out of the trip. Larger groups will be split into smaller groups for diving so that there are not too many divers per dive guide and so that dive sites do not feel too crowded. Sometimes we need to do this owing to the size of boats available, but we can usually organise at least one dive in a suitable location for the entire group to get those coveted underwater group pictures for you!
Note that the minimum age for learning to dive is 10 years old, should you be bringing new divers. New divers should also aim to complete their e-learning theory before arrival - it will take approximately a day but is best spread over a couple of weeks with 30 minutes of study daily.
You'll get one free teacher place per 10 students on the trip, which also includes diving and equipment rental for that free teacher! Perfect for the diving teacher, or the teacher who has always been curious.
We also offer these trips with some slight activity changes for university groups. While the diving is the same (of course), university age students may be able to take part in some more adventurous activities such as ATV driving in Curaçao.
Note that the minimum age for learning to dive is 10 years old, should you be bringing new divers. New divers should also aim to complete their e-learning theory before arrival - it will take approximately a day but is best spread over a couple of weeks with 30 minutes of study daily.
You'll get one free teacher place per 10 students on the trip, which also includes diving and equipment rental for that free teacher! Perfect for the diving teacher, or the teacher who has always been curious.
We also offer these trips with some slight activity changes for university groups. While the diving is the same (of course), university age students may be able to take part in some more adventurous activities such as ATV driving in Curaçao.
Access for visitors with disabilities?
Diving is actually a very inclusive sport, and it is possible for almost anyone to take part, with careful planning (and clearance from a doctor). We would need to discuss any disabilities at the enquiry stage to enable proper planning, and we may suggest certain destinations over others depending on the experience and readiness of the dive centres.
Visitors with Special Educational Needs (SEN)?
Anyone can dive as long as they can sign off on the medical fitness questionnaire, which for safety may need signing off by a medical practitioner. Please discuss your requirements with us at the enquiry stage.
Anything else?
If you are looking for a different destination to the ones described here we are happy to arrange a completely customised trip for you. The Red Sea in Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia is a great place to dive, the Philippines has some excellent diving and Indonesia has so much more than offered here, and further afield Micronesia (Chuk Lagoon, anyone?), Vanuatu and Palau offer opportunities for adventure. As divers ourselves who have dived in all these areas and more, we are happy to work with you to create the perfect dive trip depending on the interests of your students. We would need a little bit more time to make sure the dive centres we know in these places meet our requirements for school groups, but anything is possible, just ask!
Who are Think Outside The Classroom?
Think Outside The Classroom is a specialist school trips company that focuses on trips for scuba diving (along with geography and computing trips). Trips are planned, organised and often guided by people who are passionate about scuba diving and ocean conservation themselves, and all of the dive centres we use know exactly what school dive groups need. Our dive centres ensure low ratios of dive guides and instructors to students, choose dive sites carefully based on energy and experience levels, and know how to make the days spent together fun. For those students new to diving, the instructors we use are not only experienced but incredibly patient, and will not push students to learn faster than they are comfortable with.
The overall experience of a successful school trip is very important to us, so we look after all the small details from arrival to departure and not just the scuba diving part. We have plenty of surface activities to choose from to make your trip an adventure, and we are ready to support 24 hours a day when you are on your trip with anything that your guide cannot solve for you.
Teacher Checklist
£2m Public Liability Insurance Risk Assessments Free Places for Teachers Resource Packs ATOL Licence Tailor your trip
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