Program Reviews

A wonderful experience! During my two and a half months in Nusa Penida I met so many new friends.

IOP allowed me to discover the world of marine biology and conservation ( only a small but interesting part of this world having no prior experience in this field), greatly improved my skills as a diver, and learned the basics of being a professional.

Michaela, Caitlin, Sigrid, Serena, Arya, Pascal and Rinaldi pass on their knowledge to you through interesting workshops and of course practice in the water. Their priority is safety and professionalism in imparting knowledge.

A big thank you also to the Reeflex team for their support, courtesy and teachings.

It is highly recommended to know how to drive a scooter to be able to move freely during free time.

Thanks to all .

With love.

Tony

Wow!! Honestly the best time ever!
The food was amazing, staff was incredible and the dive sites are unbelievable.
What more could you ask for!
I look forward to returning and continuing all the new exciting adventures to come :)

Everybody was so welcoming and friendly that it made me fit right in and few at home. Camp vibes are always happy and bubbly and there’s always someone to go talk to.

As a scuba diver I would recommend this program to all the other scuba divers out there and the people who want to become divers as well as research divers.

Thanks IndoOcean Project for an amazing time!!!

My 12 weeks with IOP have been an unforgettable experience, that has challenged me and helped me become a much more confident and experienced diver.
I have during my program gained a lot of new knowledge about conservation and the marine life.
The staff has been very helpful and open to share their knowledge and experience.

During the program you get the opportunity to take part in scientific research, such as doing survey dives, dropping BRUVs and coral restoration. Being a part of these activities has been both very fun, but also very educational, and it has given me a much better understanding of marine research and how it would be like to be a research diver.

I have had soooo much fun during my time on Penida. The diving has been incredible, and I miss it sooo much.
I am so grateful for all the new friends I have made throughout my program, and to my fellow interns who have become a family to me during my time in Penida.
Doing my divemaster with IOP on Nusa Penida is one of the best decisions I have taken so far in life.
I would 100% recommend IOP to everyone who is looking to do their divemaster. You won't regret it :)

Very grateful to have found this place to do my DM. Mette and Elise are amazing teachers, learned a lot from everyone in the program. Felt empowering to be surrounded by passionate and interesting people from different backgrounds and cultures. The crew in Scuba Republic were very kind and helpful and the food was delicious. I loved being challenged and learning new things everyday. Enjoyed the local experience and sharing moments like a big family.
Raja is a magical place to dive, is a must see!

The moment I found out about the Indo Ocean Project online and knew that this was going to be a decision that I would not regret.

And that was true, being underwater surrounded by corals, mantas, turtles, different fish families, and amazing people has made this experience unforgettable. The workshops in coral and mangrove restoration, placing baited remote underwater videos, and doing dives against debris increase your knowledge and awareness of the marine environment. This program showed me that I want to pursue this and hopefully, I can start my own research one day.

Thanks to IOP it led me to be hired as a divemaster in Koh Tao in Thailand. Due to their well-structured program, I had an advantage and I could easily lead dives and be a professional diver due to their training. I am diving every day now and I'm IOP really thankful for that.

I highly recommend this adventure, the staff is amazing and the intern group turns into your new family. I made friends for life!

Thank you to everyone who made this experience so wonderful!

Being an intern at IOP has been an incredible challenge. As a Zero to Hero, I had never dived before, and here I am Divemaster. The team that supervises us is very professional, diving with them was a pleasure. I always feel safe and well prepared for each new stage of training. Big up to Arya, if you want to do the program in Nusa Penida you will have the chance to dive with this amazing Divemaster who knows the ocean like the back of his hand. I loved my time in Penida, there is so much to discover on this island! We are amazed, both on land and under water.
Thank you IOP for everything you have brought me

My experience with IOP was incredible! I spent 8 weeks on Nusa Penida participating in the Divemaster + Research Diver course. The professionalism and support of the staff guided me to become a more confident diver and knowledgeable conservationist. All ecology and conservation workshops are educational and engaging, learning of the stunning animals seen around Nusa Penida. From great Manta rays to tiny Nudibranchs, all the wildlife is spectacular.
My favourite activities were the dives including scientific research, such as BRUV drops, fish surveys and coral restoration. Being involved in these has given me an understanding of data collection and entry for marine research, increasing my passion for research diving.
My fellow interns and all the people I met during my stay on Penida were all so welcoming and friendly creating a very social atmosphere.
I would 100% recommend this course.

My experience with IOP was incredible! I spent 8 weeks on Nusa Penida participating in the Divemaster + Research Diver course. The professionalism and support of the staff guided me to become a more confident diver and knowledgeable conservationist. All ecology and conservation workshops are educational and engaging, learning of the stunning animals seen around Nusa Penida. From great Manta rays to tiny Nudibranchs, all the wildlife is spectacular.
My favourite activities were the dives including scientific research, such as BRUV drops, fish surveys and coral restoration. Being involved in these has given me an understanding of data collection and entry for marine research, increasing my passion for research diving.
My fellow interns and all the people I met during my stay on Penida were all so welcoming and friendly creating a very social atmosphere.
I would 100% recommend this course.

Being part of the first project located in Raja Ampat with Indo Ocean Project as intern was amazing. The expectation is really high when you go in one of the best places where to dive in the world especially for the corals biodiversity. I was already dive master once I started my program so I did 6 weeks only as researcher. We studied all the marine life that lives in West Papua New Guinea such as elasmobranchs, mantas, rays turtles, corals, nudibranchs, key species and species of interest. The organisation and the knowledge exceeded my expectations. In particular I want to congratulate with Mette Carlsen and Pascal Sebastian for everything they taught to me whilst I was there. Everybody must try this experience to learn more about marine biology, how to help the environment and to raise awareness about this topic. Nothing better than do great dives, explore, travel surrounded by the nature, make friendships and collaborate with professionals. I highly recommend this experience. Hope to be back next year and help you again!

I joined the 8 week divemaster and research programme in Raja Ampat with IOP just after the start of the project in November 2022. It was a truly incredible experience to dive Raja Ampat almost every day and see the unrivalled abundance and variety of the marinelife that inhabit the coral reefs there, whilst researching the key marine species there and learning about their biology and conservation from the IOP team.

The location of the Scuba Republic dive centre where we stayed is remote, with only a tiny village next door and a few other quiet resorts between it and the main town of Waisai, but with this comes opportunity to be fully immersed in nature in the heart of the coral triangle. On one side it is backed by pristine rainforest rich in wildlife (with birds of paradise a short walk away and hornbills, parrots and frogmouths overhead) and on the other by a shallow coral reef that is still for the most part in remarkably good condition. Just off the jetty we saw epaulette sharks, various rays, sea snakes, octopus, cuttlefish, batfish, schools of trevally, the occasional dugong and countless smaller reef fish to name just a few! The dive sites offshore are quite varied and include a mix of sloping reefs, underwater pinnacles, sandy night dives with some awesome macro critters and a shipwreck of an old liveaboard alongside a jetty. Most dives had minimal or mild current but occasionally there are stronger currents, creating drift dives which were a great experience to have for the divemaster training. We also did night dives and guided dives ourselves once we had gotten to know the sites.

The training aspect for the divemaster is very well organised and good fun, with it being spread out enough not to feel rushed, but you are definitely always kept very busy with the combination of training, learning and research. With the density of marinelife the research aspect was sometimes challenging with so many species to record and keep track of on the surveys or BRUV playbacks (!), but also meant we learnt so much about the different creatures and the research techniques. The reefs are clearly very healthy, but even here there are challenges - from plastic pollution and illegal fishing to the early signs of coral bleaching and the impacts of tourism - for which projects like this, in collaboration with the local communities and stakeholders as IOP are doing, will be essential in ensuring that this spectacular marine ecosystem can continue to thrive.

Finally a big shout out to the staff at IOP who are all incredibly helpful, from the organisation and planning (I arranged it quite last minute and they made sure everything went smoothly and that I had everything prepared for visas, learning materials etc. before arriving) through to the divemaster training and all the different workshops on the fish species, conservation and research techniques. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has a passion for marinelife and wants to develop their dive skills to the next level.