A New Philosophy, a New Direction, A New Center and a New Resort.
The Best Freediving Center in the World, it Sounds all Nice and Fancy, but What Does it Mean…
It came as a shock to the people who we told the news first.
Are you really splitting up the business? Yes, we are.
We started in Panglao in 2015, in 2018, early 2019 we moved to a new location, but mid-2019 we split up FREEDIVE+. For different reasons, but most of all, because of a different way of thinking.
On September 1st, 2019, the entire international team left the old center and moved into a new and incredible academy.
We thought about it long and hard; we don’t want to be the biggest anymore, we need to be better, we need to be different, and we need to do it our way.
What makes the Best Freediving Center in the World?
Highly Skilled Instructors, a Great Facility, Premium Freediving Gear and Teaching Materials and a Fantastic Location!
We are building in phases, and the 3rd phase is almost completed, which means the center is fully operational, and we extended the pool to a two-lane 25-meter competition pool with shallow water static area. We expect to finish the entire freediving academy and sports resort by the end of 2020. Do you want the best? Good! Because we are building you the best-equipped freediving education center in the world!
You can breathe again – it’s official! We just won another Travellers Choice Award!
After two years of pandemic and lockdowns, a super typhoon, the Academy, Panglao and international travelling seem to be bouncing back really well. Seeing all the smiling faces in and around the shop is quite unbelievable – the diving is excellent, and the vibes in Panglao are incredible!
We feel very very blessed to receive such great feedback and reviews from all our customers – a big thank you to all of you! It’s highly appreciated!!!! And we’re not the only ones noticing all the positive feedback. TripAdvisor also noticed, and they awarded us the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award 2022! To all of you who took the time to leave their reviews and feedback.
Thank you, you are incredible!
Please continue sharing your feedback and photos on TripAdvisor, Facebook, Google, and don’t forget to give your instructor or coach some kudos. It will make their day for sure!
The Freedive Academy Panglao and Eco-Friendly Apnea Sports Resort!
Teaching Areas:
2 ‘smaller’ classrooms suited for four students – but with plenty of space left to accommodate at least eight students each.
1 Instructor Training classroom suited for ten students build for our SSI Instructor Courses, Molchanovs Instructor Courses and Workshops.
We have a bamboo canopy with relax area and deck directly pool-side which we use for our scheduled yoga classes, stretching sessions and occasional pranayama and meditation classes.
Pool Area:
We extended the swimming pool to a two-lane 25-meter pool with shallow water static area. The pool has comfortable shallow-water sitting areas for the spectators – or for those who just want to chill out in the pool :). From time-to-time, we’ll still travel to the 50-meter Olympic pool in Tagbilaran via a 20-minute scooter ride.
Open Air Gym and Exercise Area:
We have a small (but big enough) outdoor gym area which we equipped with several home trainers for apnea cycling and apnea rowing. We added a corner for dumble training and other basic strength training. The outdoor area has a TRX set up, gym and balancing balls, battle ropes and a pull-up bar. This gym is free to use for those joining us for master training or anyone who does a freediving course with us.
Restaurant and Lounge Areas:
Next is the opening of our brand new restaurant ‘The Bottom Plate’ which because of the COVID-19 virus we have to postpone to late 2020. We will be serving (mostly local and organic) strictly vegetarian and vegan meals that not only look spectacular but are each super healthy and perfect for athletes, seekers of depth and adventurers.
Furthermore, we’ll have several shaded outside areas for people to hang out and chill (read; sleep) after their sessions.
9 Large Luxury Bamboo Bungalows:
The first five bamboo sports bungalows are finished, and they look incredible. The final four bungalows will be built during the low season of 2021 which will be in our around June 2021. All bamboo bungalows have high-grade heat isolation and are equipped with A/C’s and humidifiers. They also all have ventilators, warm water shower, whiteboard for scheduling your training, mini-refrigerator, and each have their own dedicated high-speed fibre internet connection.
The Building, and what’s Next.
And of course, the remainder of the facility is top-notch too. We have a big reception, lounge and shop area, a nice office, showers and locker rooms. Everything that a proper dive center needs to operate efficiently.
We are working some incredible ideas, but it’s way too early to go public with this 🙂 But when everything is finished – hopefully, by the mid-2021, we’ll have the most incredible dive center and much more we could ever hope for.
We are building something incredible on a fantastic island, but for sure from time-to-time, there will be some inconvenience.
We immediately apologise for this, but we want you to be part of it, please bear with us 🙂
A final big big big thank you!
You, our customer gave us the belief we could actually pull this off. You came by the hundreds and loved what we were doing. Thank you for everything! You freaking rock!
And big big big thank you to our instructors, staff and interns. With well over 20 staff members world-wide we are a big center, but thanks to you we were able to keep the family and personal atmosphere. You are the Freedive Academy Panglao, and we couldn’t be happier with our freediving family! Thank you!
And the investors. Thank you for the trust you have in our plans, dreams, wishes and goals – it’s truly incredible! We are proud to call you our friends!
* We’ll continue to update this page with the developments of the center. Last page update was in January 2021.
