Scuba Diving Chichester: PADI Courses at our Dedicated Dive Centre
Looking for scuba diving in Chichester?
There may be options closer to home — but if you’re looking for a private heated training pool, personal instruction, and a dive centre focused purely on scuba diving, Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton offers a different experience.
Based at Littlehampton Marina, we provide beginner-friendly scuba diving lessons and PADI courses for all levels. We regularly welcome divers from across West Sussex, including Worthing, Bognor Regis, Chichester and surrounding areas.
If you’re serious about learning to scuba dive in a safe, supportive environment, it’s worth choosing the right place to start.
👉 Start your scuba diving journey in Chichester today.
Why West Sussex Divers Choose Abyss Scuba School
Scuba Diving Training Near Chichester — Learn in the Right Environment
Chichester has a growing number of scuba diving options, but not all training environments are the same.
Many courses are delivered around limited pool hire sessions or shared leisure-centre facilities. At Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton, scuba diving is the sole focus. Our dedicated dive centre features a heated indoor training pool, small group sizes, and structured PADI instruction designed to help beginners learn safely and confidently from the very first session.
That’s why people from across West Sussex, including Chichester, Selsey, Worthing and Bognor Regis choose Abyss Scuba School for a more personal and professional way to learn to scuba dive.
Private, Personal Scuba Diving Training in West Sussex
Chichester has a growing interest in scuba diving and watersports, but not every training option offers the same experience. Abyss Scuba School takes a different approach: small groups, personal instruction, and a dedicated dive facility where instructors know your name before your second session. If you want to learn to scuba dive properly in a calm, supportive environment, Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton is just a short drive from Chichester.
A Private Heated Training Pool — No Sharing, No Waiting
Our heated indoor pool is completely private, no public swimming sessions, no shared lanes, and no leisure-centre timetables to work around. For people looking for scuba diving lessons near Chichester, this makes a huge difference. Your pool training is structured around your learning and confidence, not around limited pool availability.
A Unique Viewing Window — See Every Moment Underwater
Our pool includes a built-in viewing window at water level, something rarely found in UK dive centres. Parents can watch their child’s first underwater breaths, and nervous beginners can feel supported by friends or family from poolside. It’s a simple feature that completely changes the learning experience and something you’re unlikely to find in standard pool-based scuba training near Chichester.
One site for everything
Theory, pool training, equipment retail, cylinder fills, kit servicing all at the same marina location in Littlehampton. No driving between a training venue and a dive shop. For divers travelling from Chichester, Abyss Scuba School offers a complete scuba diving facility focused entirely on training, progression and ongoing support.
Calm, unhurried learning — and an easy drive
Learning to scuba dive should feel calm, structured and enjoyable from the very beginning.
Based at Littlehampton Marina, Abyss Scuba School offers a quieter and more relaxed environment than busy leisure centres or shared pool facilities. With free parking directly outside, easy access, and a dedicated scuba diving training facility, you can focus entirely on building confidence and enjoying the experience.
We regularly welcome students from Chichester and across West Sussex who are looking for professional scuba diving lessons in a more personal environment.
The only PADI Alternative Provision centre in the UK
We hold the only WSCC-approved Alternative Provision for scuba training in the country. Our DBS-checked team, including ELSA-qualified instructors, is experienced with SEND and SEMH learners and with children as young as 8.
Families and professionals from Chichester and across West Sussex choose Abyss Scuba School for a calm, supportive and structured environment that helps build confidence, communication and personal development through scuba diving and marine-based learning.
PADI Scuba Diving Courses Serving
Worthing, Selsey, Chichester, Brighton & Many more
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![Discover Scuba Diving with Abyss]()
Discover Scuba Diving with Abyss
The Taster Session. Experience the thrill of breathing underwater in our heated private pool. No experience needed—just bring your swimwear and a sense of adventure!
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![PADI Open Water Diver Course]()
PADI Open Water Diver Course
The Full Certification. The world's most popular scuba course. Learn the fundamentals and earn your license to dive to 18m anywhere in the world.
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![PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course]()
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Level Up Your Skills. Fine-tune your buoyancy and explore new horizons like deep diving and navigation. No exams—just five themed dives to build your confidence.
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![PADI Re-Activate Course]()
PADI Re-Activate Course
Back in the Water. Haven't dived in a while? Quickly brush up on your skills and safety knowledge so you feel 100% ready for your next holiday or local trip.
Accessible Diving for Everyone
We offer the full range of PADI programmes at our private facility, tailored to your pace and goals. As the only PADI centre in the UK with a WSCC-approved Alternative Provision, we're the only centre of our kind anywhere in West Sussex. Our DBS-checked team includes ELSA-qualified staff with extensive experience supporting SEND and SEMH learners, and the calm, consistent environment at our Littlehampton marina facility is something Chichester families tell us is worth every mile of the journey.
🤿 Beyond the Pool
Once you've mastered your skills, the adventure continues. We run regular sea diving trips off the Sussex and Hampshire coast and from our local marina. We also use specialist inland sites including Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove for year-round training and advanced skills development.
👋 Join the Community
Becoming an Abyss diver means joining a thriving community. Our active dive club meets for local shore dives, boat trips, and social events and our WhatsApp community connects hundreds of divers across the South. Plus, you can join us on our escorted overseas holidays to explore world-class reefs with the instructors you already know and trust.
Chichester’s Diving Community and Where Your Certification Takes You
Chichester Harbour is one of the South Coast's best-known stretches of water — a haven for sailors, paddleboarders and kayakers — but dedicated scuba training facilities are notably thin on the ground locally. That's where Abyss Scuba School comes in: a short drive along the A27 brings you to a private, purpose-built dive centre rather than a shared leisure-centre pool slot.
Once qualified, the diving on your doorstep is excellent. The Solent and West Sussex coast offer everything from shore dives to boat diving, with marine life including cuttlefish, lobsters and schooling fish, and popular UK sites such as Swanage Pier and Chesil Beach within easy reach. Closer to home, the waters off Selsey and the Manhood Peninsula — including the Mixon Hole — are a short trip from Chichester and regularly visited by our dive club. Inland, Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove provide excellent year-round training conditions, and Abyss regularly runs trips to both with students and club members.
Your PADI Open Water course, completed at our Littlehampton dive centre, is your entry point to all of it — and to our organised group trips to some of the world's best dive destinations, alongside the same instructors you trained with.
We also serve divers from Brighton, Southampton, Portsmouth and Selsey.
Visiting us from Chichester
Address
Abyss Scuba School
Unit 1C Littlehampton Marina
Ferry Road
Littlehampton
BN17 5DS
By Car: Easily accessible via the A27, with most journeys taking around 25–35 minutes depending on traffic. Free parking directly outside the dive centre at Littlehampton Marina.
By Train: Regular rail services connect Chichester to Littlehampton, with a change at Barnham. A short walk or quick taxi ride from Littlehampton station brings you to the marina.
On-Site Parking: Free, with no charges or time restrictions.
On-Site Services: Cylinder fills, equipment servicing, and a retail shop stocking Fourth Element, Cressi, Suunto and DIVEVOLK — all on-site at Littlehampton Marina.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton is around 25–35 minutes from Chichester via the A27. We offer PADI scuba diving courses from a private, dedicated dive centre with a heated indoor training pool, small group sizes and personal instruction — a different experience to shared leisure-centre pool sessions.
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There are some pool-hire based options locally, but Abyss Scuba School is a dedicated dive centre rather than a shared facility. Many Chichester divers tell us the short drive to Littlehampton is well worth it for the private pool, small groups and on-site equipment services.
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Absolutely. We regularly train divers from Littlehampton, Worthing, Bognor Regis, Chichester and surrounding areas. Your theory and pool training take place at our Littlehampton facility, with qualifying open water dives completed at suitable local or inland dive sites.
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Our Discover Scuba taster session starts at £55 per person. The full PADI Open Water certification is £600 and includes use of our private heated pool and all required scuba equipment. Visit our Courses page for the full current price list.
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Children can start scuba diving from age 8 with the PADI Bubblemaker programme in our pool. From age 10, they can enrol in the PADI Junior Open Water Diver course. Our private pool and viewing window are especially popular with Chichester families, as parents can watch from poolside.
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No. When you train with Abyss Scuba School, all required scuba equipment is included for your course. As you progress, our on-site dive shop can help you choose your own mask, fins, wetsuit, computer or full kit when you are ready.
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Yes. Abyss Scuba School delivers the only WSCC-approved Alternative Provision for scuba training in the UK, and our DBS-checked team includes ELSA-qualified staff. We have experience supporting SEND and SEMH learners in a calm, structured environment.
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Once qualified, you can explore the West Sussex and Solent coastline, including sites off Selsey and the Manhood Peninsula, plus inland sites like Vobster Quay and Stoney Cove. Abyss Scuba School regularly visits these with students and dive club members.
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The main difference is the environment. Abyss Scuba School has its own private heated training pool, a viewing window, small group instruction, on-site kit services, retail support and a facility built around scuba diving alone — not a hired pool slot.
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The PADI Open Water course is flexible. Many students complete theory and pool sessions over a weekend or a series of evenings, followed by four qualifying open water dives over two days. Our team will help you find a schedule that works for you.
Ready to take the plunge?
West Sussex has a fantastic diving scene waiting to be explored. Take your first step at Abyss Scuba School in Littlehampton — and arrive at your first open water dive confident, capable, and properly trained from the very start.
