This is the first level course that will prepare you to dive independently with a dive buddy up to 18 meters.
The Open Water Diver course is designed to provide you with a comprehensive and solid foundation in diving. It combines engaging theory sessions, skill practice on land, and hands-on training in a comfortable pool, covering both shallow and deep water scenarios. Additionally, you’ll experience at least four open water dives from a boat, giving you the chance to apply your skills in real-world settings.
Our mission is to help you become a confident and skilled diver, capable of planning and conducting safe, enjoyable dives with a buddy, up to 18 meters deep. We’ll also prepare you to handle common underwater challenges, emphasizing skill practice and repetition to ensure you’re well-prepared for any dive.
Completing the Open Water Diver course is just the start—it unlocks opportunities for thrilling adventures such as wreck diving, night diving, or even deep diving to depths of 40 meters.
The journey is yours to choose, but it all begins with a strong foundation. Embark on your underwater adventure with the Open Water Diver course and discover the magic of the ocean!
Approximate Course Schedule:
Day 1: We start at 9:00 AM with theory to learn the basics of diving. Then, we move on to pool exercises, where we practice key skills in a comfortable environment. The training day ends around 4:30 PM.
Day 2: We begin at 9:00 AM, continuing with theory before heading out on a boat for two training dives in the sea, reaching a depth of up to 12 meters. These are instructional dives—during them, we refine the skills learned in the pool while also exploring the coral reef and practicing buoyancy control, one of the most essential and challenging diving skills.
Day 3: On this day, we start earlier—at 7:00 AM, we set off by boat to deeper dive sites. The plan includes two training dives to a depth of 18 meters. After returning, we take care of the formalities, and around 1:00 PM, the course comes to an end, leaving you with time to relax! 😊
Knowledge is the base of successful dives. During our lectures you will learn the basics of the physics and physiology of diving, which will help you understand what happens with your body and equipment under water.
As a certified diver you should be able to plan and execute dives while maintaining safety procedures and our mission is to make sure you are capable of doing that.
To make the knowledge acquisition process effective, before starting the course, you will have access to the SSI online study materials which will prepare you to actively participate in lectures run by the instructor. The lectures can be done on-line or in-person, once you arrive in Koh Tao.
Before you begin your diving journey, it’s essential to master some fundamental diving skills. Learning these skills requires understanding and memorizing the correct sequence of steps to perform each exercise properly.
Our training method starts with a detailed explanation of the exercise, followed by a demonstration on land. You’ll then practice the exercise on land (“dry practice”) to correct any mistakes and develop the right muscle memory before entering the water.
Once you’re confident with the steps, you’ll move to the shallow water of the pool to practice further and gain comfort. Afterward, you’ll repeat the skills in deep water, ensuring you’re fully prepared for your open water dives. During these dives, you’ll perform the skills again, following our “comfort-through-repetition” philosophy to build confidence and competence.
This step-by-step approach ensures you’re well-prepared and comfortable as you progress in your diving training.
You will understand how scuba equipment works and how to set it up correctly. Properly fitted and adjusted equipment is an important factor in your safety, comfort and position underwater. This is why we will provide you with high quality diving gear, and always make sure it works properly. We want you to be safe and enjoy your dives.
You will also learn how to take care of the scuba diving equipment after the dive and what regular checks and maintenance should be performed to keep it safe and operational.
During the course, you’ll spend a full day practicing pool skills in a comfortable and controlled environment, followed by at least four open water dives from a boat. Each dive will focus on mastering essential diving skills, with some exercises repeated multiple times to boost your confidence and prepare you for unexpected situations, such as managing a broken mask strap or gas-sharing with a buddy.
To further enhance your learning experience, parts of your training dives will be video-recorded and reviewed during debriefing sessions. Watching yourself perform the skills, paired with constructive feedback, will help you pinpoint areas for improvement and progress more effectively.
This comprehensive, hands-on approach ensures you’ll become a confident and capable diver, ready for safe and enjoyable underwater adventures.
Completing the Open Water Diver course gives you a lifetime certificate allowing you to dive independently up to 18 meters with a diving partner who is at the same level as you or higher.
If you have enjoyed your Open Water Diver course and you want to continue your dive training, you can sign up for the following courses:
The Open Water Diver is an entry-level scuba diving course that will prepare you to dive with a buddy to a maximum depth of 18 meters. It is the best way to begin your scuba diving journey as a certified diver. Get your globally recognized certification and dive anywhere around the World!
To enroll in the Open Water Diver course, you must be physically fit and at least 10 years old. You should also be able to swim and float/tread in water for 10 minutes without buoyancy aids.
Each course we run will be completed when the student is fully ready – it usually takes 2 to 4 days, depending on many factors, such as:
According to standards, the Open Water Diver course should last at least 16 hours and the total diving time should be at least 80 minutes. However, we want you to spend as much time underwater as possible so that you can fully prepare for your next diving adventures. With us, your total diving time will be a minimum of 240 minutes, during which you will repeat the exercises until you achieve perfection.
During the Open Water Diver course, you will learn the foundations of safe diving, including planning and executing dives while maintaining safety procedures, in particular:
You will also understand how to control buoyancy (the force that determines whether you float, sink, or remain neutral at any depth) and many other skills that will be useful during your next dives such as:
You don’t need any prior diving experience to start the Open Water Diver course, however we recommend that you to first try scuba diving during one of the introductory programs and then decide whether you want to continue and become a certified diver.
All of the organizations mentioned are the most recognized in the world and all operate according to the main ISO standards (International Organization for Standardization), which means that from a recreational diver’s point of view it does not matter which organization you train in – you will learn the same skills in all of the organizations that ISO requires.
PADI and SSI are American agencies, and CMAS is a European agency – hence the difference in depth limits (imperial vs. metric).
As a certified PADI and SSI instructor, along with extensive experience as a CMAS diver, I confidently recommend choosing SSI. Its modern teaching methods and mobile app provide convenient access to training materials and videos, which is a significant advantage unique to SSI.
However, it should be remembered that the choice of the instructor is the most important, not the choice of the organization or diving center. The instructor is responsible for your safety and the teaching process – so choose wisely.
Open Water Diver
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