Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre

These guys are the best! Family did a scuba course here. They were friendly, thoughtful and safety was their number one goal. Kept my 12 year old engaged and we all had a fantastic time. Sea-life was excellent and equipment A1. Highly recommended experience.

Wonderful, well run, friendly and knowledgeable staff/dive instructors and skippers. Clean rooms with air con, pool table and table tennis and books. Went above and beyond to ensure we all had a great diving experience. Highly recommend.

I didnt stay at the Manta Lodge Hostel, but I took the Open Water Diver course with these guys, so I can't say much about the hostel beyond that everything looked quite clean and comfy. The diving course was great. I came in never having dived before, and you could tell from everyone there that these guys love their sport/job and want to share it with others. We didn't have the best conditions with rain causing serious issues for visibility, but our instructor Taylah still managed to get us out there, taught us all the necessary skills, get our diving certs done, and made me feel perfectly safe throughout. And we also managed to see a handful of nice ocean critters along the way regardless :) All around great vibes, and I'm sure if the weather had been a little better, the experience would have been even more memorable. As it stands, I'll definitely keep Manta Lodge in mind, in case I ever come back to the east coast of Australia, to get a proper chance at seeing some mantas in the wild with these guys! If you do go, don't be like me, but allow for some buffer days, in case the weather isn't optimal. The folks here clearly want to offer divers the best experience they can and seem quite flexible in rescheduling dives if the weather isn't playing along!

We were apprehensive about booking into a hostel but the room was spacious, clean and well equipped. We didn't love the bed; a double with one over bunk but it wasn't a deal breaker. The staff were helpful and friendly, the position was great and the 'social room' was at the other end of the hostel so we had a quiet night. We would recommend it.

We did an Advanced Open Water course with Manta and stayed at the lodge for two nights. we were picked up and dropped off from the ferry at Dunwich. DIVING AT Manta SSI The course was really great. Our dynamic duo of dive masters worked with ten keen students helping us nail the advanced skills and reinforcing the basics. In many ways, this is some of the best risk training I've been a part of. Go Manta Warriors! The boat crew were friendly, knowlegeable and professional which is what you want when you're crashing through waves to some of the dive sites. STAYING AT THE LODGE Manta Lodge is a YHA, it is basic but the location is excellent as it is next to the beach. Accomodation is upstairs. Our twin share room had a bunk bed, kettle, desk and a small fridge. Downstairs there are good shared facilities to cook your own food and fridges and freezers to store stuff. My only quibble is that the aircon in our rooms was marginal which is problematic in the hot Queensland Summer. However, when I spoke to reception, they were onto it immediately. If you want to eat out, there is a good Mexican restaurant 5 mins walk up the road, a bowls club and a roadhouse with reasonable burgers next door. The pub is 20 mins walk up the road. There is apparently a shuttle, but when we tried to order it, nobody answered. I'm going to do more diving with Manta.

I have no clue about the lodge itself BUT the team taking care of the diving are top rate. This is a very well run operation. The processes and procedures are spot on, the skippers and DMs enthusiastic and engaging. The beach entry on those RIBs is tricky, as is the exit, but it was very well handled. Our DM was Santiago and he was top notch. kept an eye on us, guided well but was not overbearing (we were an experienced group). So well done to James and the whole team. We'll be back.

We spent 4 nights at Manta Lodge. As keen divers the set up is perfect, walk downstairs from our private hostel room, kit up & jump on the dive boat. The dive crew were amazing! James is a super skilled skipper and even in the rougher conditions we had this week, he was as calm as a sea cucumber. All dives were guided and really safe ratios of divers to guide. Soup and snacks were provided between dives & jackets to keep us warm in the wind. The diving was great. We knew we’d picked a bad weather weekend and the team contacted us ahead of time to warn re the weather which was really appreciated. But we still had a great time diving & saw plenty. The hostel set up is great. The massive kitchen and common areas were great to chat with other travellers & chill out with a game of pool. We loved our time and will definitely be back!

I should have been here in Feb, but getting Covid at the last minute, I was able to move my booking to March. The team here were fabulous and in assisting my reschedule of dates. The dive team are terrific, happy and professional team that made both the stay and diving a fantastic experience. They also went out of their way to assist in refining my dive gear setup. A really fantastic Manta, leopard, shovel nose sharks, rays, octopus and more experience. I will be back in late winter to experience the whale season and influx of hey nurses and more.

We arrived at night on the last hour at N. Stradbroke island and when everything was closed or really to expensive we came here at Manta Lodge and they saved us! The nicest and warmest welcome :) I can't be more grateful.