Freedive Nusa

Welcome to Freedive Nusa!

Our History and Values

Driven by our passion for freediving, we spent years traveling around Asia to find the perfect place where we could create a school. We wanted a paradise where we could make our home, invite people to share in our philosophy, and share in the joy of living and diving together. In 2016, when we found the island of Nusa Penida, we knew that we had found the perfect place.

Freedive Nusa is our life’s work and achievement, and a realization of all our dreams. Our school has grown rapidly all these years, built around the simple island lifestyle, our passion for freediving, and love for the ocean.
Nowadays, we can define Freedive Nusa as one of the biggest freediving schools in Indonesia with great facilities, the most comprehensive freediving courses, and a highly professional team.

We believe that diving and being in the water are natural for humans.
We see it as our mission to help other people discover this natural relationship between humans and the sea. Through our school and teaching, we help people discover how to be one with water, how to enjoy the water, and how to feel free in the water.

Our approach to teaching freediving is not based on chasing numbers or benchmarks based solely on meters and minutes. Our courses and training are always adapted to personal needs and requests. We promote consciousness and enhanced water comfort that comes with freediving, while still having fun and enjoying the process!

Our Team

Kirill Popov

Founder, SSI Freediving IT, Molchanovs IT, Molchanovs Junior IT

Kirill has been freediving since 2011. In January 2013, he became an SSI Freediving Instructor. From this point on, he organized and conducted many freediving courses and group trips for freedivers in Russia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Turkey, and Egypt. Since 2016, he has been living and teaching diving on Nusa Penida and organizing adventures for freedivers around Indonesia. In April 2018, he became an SSI Freediving Instructor Trainer. In November 2019, he became an Instructor Trainer in Molchanovs Freediving.

Freediving is very diverse! Freediving is for everyone! And everyone can find for themselves the most interesting points in this diversity. Freediving is another world and I really like to help other people to join this world and to explore it!

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Adhi Isti Febriandhika (Sabli)

Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor

Sabli has been passionate about freediving and spearfishing since 2017. He is from the East Java Region, was born in Surabaya, and started freediving with the freedive community in Malang. He loves to share his passion and knowledge in freediving and spearfishing with anyone who’d like to learn more. His passion for freediving led him to participate in our scholarship program and finally become a freediving instructor and a valuable part of our team.

I love both – competitive and recreational freediving. I truly want to contribute to the freediving community in Indonesia and help people experience the joys of freediving!

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Vsevolod Atmazhitov

Molchanovs IT, AIDA Judge

Seva has been freediving in his hometown’s cold mountain lake to watch fishes and get some crustaceans for lunch ever since he was a child, even before he knew the word “freediving”. But he didn’t know how to equalize properly, so he never dived deeper than 5 m. In 2015, Seva enrolled in his first freediving course to learn more about equalization. He got fascinated, and by now freediving has become his job and lifestyle. He has taken part in competitions as a safety diver, certified AIDA judge, organizer, and athlete. As part of a social project, taught courses to people with disabilities and overcoming addictions.

I firmly believe we’re all born to be happy. Freediving made me happy, more open-minded, and open-hearted. Being an instructor for me means I can show people one more way to become happy. I’m convinced that everyone can freedive, regardless of their age, gender, abilities, disabilities, or extrabilities.

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Artem Verbat

Molchanovs Wave 3 Instructor

Artem’s passion for water began in childhood, swimming and diving in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Later, upon discovering freediving, he realized it was his lifelong calling. With prior teaching experience in another field, he quickly understood he wanted not only to practice freediving but also to share it with others. Artem completed an instructor course at Freedive Nusa, becoming a certified freediving instructor. Since then, he has participated in various freediving competitions, worked with numerous mentors, and now shares his knowledge with students, helping them unlock their potential through freediving.

Freediving is a tool that allows us to become better in all aspects, physically and mentally. It is a dive not only into the water but also into the depths of who we are, which helps us to learn a lot about ourselves and improve the quality of life in general.

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Hamza Mohamed

Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor, SSI Level 2 Instructor, AIDA Master Instructor

Hamza is from the deep south of the Maldives and, as a child, was freediving and living the island life in the early 90s. He was involved in competitions during the very early years of competitive freediving and participated in the 4th AIDA World Championship in Sharm el Sheikh in 2004. Hamza is the deepest diver in the Maldives and still holds the current National Record in the Constant Weight discipline. Nowadays, he loves to share his passion with the new generation as a teacher, showing the big blue’s endless beauty.

Freediving found me! It’s the most beautiful feeling that words can not express!

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Roberto Garcia-Brazales Guerrero

Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor

Roberto was born in a fishermen’s town in Alicante, Spain where his love for the sea began. Growing up close to the ocean, he spent countless hours exploring it and observing the underwater life. Discovering freediving helped him expand how long and deep he could explore and, most importantly, how confident and enjoyable the time underwater became. He finished all freediving courses with Freedive Nusa and became a valuable member of our team. Nowadays, Roberto’s aim is to teach people to understand their bodies when they dive and share everything that helped him overcome fears and barriers so they can also enjoy and love the sport.

Seeing how students expand their limits with a big smile and enjoying the process makes me very happy.

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Dimas Andika Muflihulafi

Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor

Dimas has loved water sports since he was a kid, and freediving is what he is most passionate about. Despite growing up in the mountainous environment of Malang, East Java, he fell in love with the ocean. He started freediving around 2016 with a small freediving community in Malang, and since then, he has been involved in numerous freediving activities, even leading the community for years.

Throughout the years, freediving has taught me a lot about humans, emotion, and adaptability. It is something you can live on, side by side, and grow. Freediving is about adapting, comfortable being uncomfortable.

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Ilnadya Raina Alvira

Freedive Guide, Marine Biologist

Raina has always loved being in the water ever since she was little. Her love for the sea continued growing as she studied marine science in college, where she became a certified scuba and freediver. During the last year of college, she started an internship at Nusa Penida MPA and fell in love with Penida. She has always wanted to work doing what she loves, and she feels that being a freediver is part of her journey.

Freediving for me is one of the ways I can be in the water longer, just enjoying what the sea has to offer. I like to quote this whenever I go to the sea
“The sea is your home”

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Ray Burhannuddin

Manager, Freedive Guide

Spent his childhood in Ambon-Maluku, Ray fell in love with the ocean when he was still a toddler. He learned freedive with communities in 2015 when he did a guiding job for a small travel agency in Surabaya. Watching too many “free Willy movies” he fell in love with orcas and realized that orcas are mammals who hold their breath too, and inspired to learn proper freediving since then. Since August 2023 he has become a valuable part of Freedive Nusa as front office manager and freediving guide.

Freedive is a competition, with your mind, your body, and yourself. You will be pushed to know your limit, pushed to realize that humans are super small if you compare it with full-grown ORCA!

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Nabigha Arifa Rahardjo

Manager, Freedive Guide

Bigha, raised amidst the lush landscapes of Indonesia, found her connection to nature in the mountains, where she spent much of her time exploring the high trails. But even then, the ocean’s vastness and the diversity of life beneath the surface always intrigued her. Now, having embraced island life, she is learning to dive with the goal of becoming a coral gardener, working to protect and nurture the underwater world. With a love for both nature and culture, Bigha is discovering more of her homeland’s beauty, eager to contribute to its rich and diverse ecosystems.

Freediving is my underwater sanctuary, where I find a profound connection to myself, something greater, and the interconnectedness of all living things. It’s like a testament to the incredible capabilities of the human body and mind.

What makes freediving with Freedive Nusa the best choice?

• Experienced highly professional international team of freediving instructors

• Great facilities of the school: pools for static and dynamic apnea, 3 classrooms, top-level equipment included in all training, 2 own well-maintained dive boats, yoga studio, gym, sauna, etc.

• Unlimited training depth. The maximum depth in the strait between Bali and Nusa Penida is over 300m.

• Nice warm water! The water temperature is 27-29 degrees all year long.

• The best diving conditions with clean water and perfect visibility! The island is far enough from Bali that the water here is much clearer than that around Bali, especially during the rainy season.

• A rich underwater world. It’s the best place in all of Bali for diving when measured by the number of species you can see underwater. There is a high possibility to see Manta Rays

• Amazing sightseeing on Nusa Penida to discover when you aren’t diving: beautiful beaches, breathtaking cliffs, waterfalls, etc. This island truly is paradise!

• Easy access to a remote paradise. Just 40 minutes by speedboat from Bali.

• A comfortable place to kick back and relax.  Several good cafes and nice accommodation options within walking distance.

• Calm village atmosphere and very friendly local people

Our Location

Freedive Nusa is situated on Nusa Penida island, a part of Bali province, 12 km from the South-East of Bali.

This island is a limestone plateau, with sandy beaches in the North and East, and seaweed gardens in the shallow waters — one of the main income sources for locals. You can enjoy the best view of the Agung volcano just from the beach in front of the school.

On The Southern and Western coasts, you’ll find breathtaking 200m cliffs dropping straight into the ocean with small sandy beaches between the rocks, accessible by foot.

On Nusa Penida, you can easily escape into nature. While roads can be rough, the landscapes are fantastic and well worth the trek.
Nusa Penida’s main attraction is its dive sites. Nusa Penida’s diving is the best in Bali. In addition to the dozens of world-class dive sites, there is the opportunity to encounter Manta Rays or Mola-Mola Fish. It will spoil you.

The local people are very friendly. Despite the new growth in tourism, the island maintains an open and relaxed atmosphere, especially when compared with South Bali or nearby crowded Lembongan island.

Our schoolyard is located on the northeast side of the island – the best and the most developed place with many cafes and accommodation options within walking distance.
The school is just 20 m from the beach. Our property is hidden from the road and has all the facilities needed for our students.

We have all the facilities to dive comfortably by beach entrance to our rich home reef and by boat.
Theoretical classes and on-land practical sessions are held in a comfortable studio.

During breaks, you can have lunch at nearby cafes, where you can enjoy tasty, healthy food while taking in the beautiful ocean views of Bali and Mt. Agung.

Besides teaching apnea diving on Nusa Penida, we regularly organize fun diving trips to dive sites around the island, Manta trips to dive with Manta Rays, special courses for surfers, and unique freedive trips around Indonesia.

See you at Nusa Penida!