Every PADI course has very strict and mandatory rules. For the PADI Open Water, these include:
- A course taught directly by a fully active PADI diving instructor.
- Pool dives required before going into the sea/open waters.
- 4 open water dives at strict maximum depths.
Of course following the PADI standards, safety and Indonesian law has a cost (salary, working permit, a real PADI instructor, have a pool…).
An instructor himself provides the course
A fully active PADI instructor must be your teacher, and you will be certified under his name (only the person who trained you can certified you).
The Open water course cannot be taught by a third party.
A Rescue diver, a Divemaster, or a former instructor who is no longer a PADI instructor cannot teach.
In Indonesia, if your instructor is a foreigner, you could check if he has the right (working permit) to work.
Before booking a course, it’s best to make sure that a real instructor will be teaching you directly.
Safety first: Swimming pool dives required before diving
For your safety :
The pool dives (or an equivalent environment in terms of visibility, very low depth, calm, no current, and safety) are the first step before diving in the sea.
The goal is to familiarize yourself with breathing underwater, to be more confident and to learn many exercises.
The pool is a must before diving in the sea. Many of these exercises learned in the pool will need to be repeated in the sea.
4 dives in the sea – Official PADI standards
The course includes four open water dives with your PADI instructor, with safety rules :
- the first two dives must be at a maximum depth of 12 meters
- the other two dives: maximum depth of 18 meters (children under 12 years old are limited to 12 meters).
- during the dives and at the surface, you will practice some of the skills learnt in the pool.
- there will new skills : compass
- directly supervise by a PADI instructor (not a Divemaster)
Dives in the sea (after the pool) must be a minimum of 20 minutes and reach a minimum depth of 5 meters.
We try, each dive, you have a minimum of 40-45 minutes underwater (not 20-30 minutes).
During these dives, you will practice the skills learned in the pool and gain comfort underwater.
Online theory
The theory course is now available online, allowing you to complete it before your visit.
Successfully completing the theory course is essential to be certified.
Up to you
You could check with different dive centers these rules, then you could decide if you want or not to pay for a real PADI Open water course.
