The Scuba Diver qualification can be easily and quickly upgraded to the full Open Water certification. After the upgrade you have achieved the most popular dive qualification in the world!
Enjoy a 10% discount by booking online!
2 DAYS – 2 OPEN WATER DIVES – A TWO-STEPPED APPROACH TO THE OPEN WATER DIVER
OVERVIEW
For most participants, the Scuba Diver certification is only the beginning. After initially trying diving and sticking the head under water, most people find they want to proceed and learn more. Diving courses are thankfully structured in a modular way so that it is very easy to progress.
Since many people try to fit as much as possible into their holiday a 3 day course is not always possible. The Scuba diver course is a condensed version of the Open Water Diver Course. Since there is less training involved, the course is shorter. However, you will not be qualified to do quite so much with a Scuba Diver ticket. You are limited to 12 metres maximum depth and must dive with a dive professional, meaning that choice of dive sites is slightly limited. Also, you might have realized, that some dive centres did not recognize your scuba certification at all and you still had to pay for a discovery dive.
Upgrading the Scuba Diver to an Open Water license is easy and Divine Divers Gili Meno gladly helps with this fine task. The upgrade course involves following parts:
Statistically, the Open Water Course is the world’s most popular diving course. As Open Water Diver you are qualified to dive to a maximum depth of 18 metres independent of professional supervision in conditions similar to, or better than, those in which they were trained. The Open Water ticket is recognized everywhere in this world and is valid for your entire life.
Once you have passed your final exam, you are a certified Open Water Diver. You can spend the rest of your holiday exploring the Gili Islands and the beautiful underwater world. Or you just gain some additional dive experience.
SCHEDULE
As with all our courses, the schedule is flexible and we can fully adapt to most wishes and requests. To give you a general idea, the two days of your course will look like this:
Day 1 (09:00 – 16:30)
Day 2 (08:30 – 16:30)
DETAILS (FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO KNOW MORE)
Would you like to find out more information about the Open Water Diver Upgrade? Or you would like to know what are the advantages or disadvantages of splitting your course? Then please check our FAQ’s for some more details.
Our courses are conducted in accordance with PADI and SSI standards. If not mentioned otherwise, you are booking an SSI course. Should you prefer PADI, it is absolutely no problem. Just leave us a note when placing the order. You will also find the difference between PADI and SSI in the FAQ’s.
You will the full (onsite) price list, the cancellation policy and our terms and conditions in the download section.
CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE
The Open Water Diver certification does not need to be the end of your dive career. If you are interested in continuing your diving education, here are some ideas for you to look into. However, we fully understand that you might just want to enjoy a few more fun dives.
Advanced Adventurer / Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Rescue Diver Course
Nitrox Specialty
Deep Diving Specialty
and many more.. 🙂
OUR COURSES ARE ALL-INCLUSIVE AND YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HIDDEN COSTS DURING YOUR DIVING JOURNEY.
TO ENROL INTO THE COURSE PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING:
SECURE YOUR PREBOOKING DISCOUNT
Please make sure you book the course one day before your arrival. We know it is tempting to just learn about the prebooking discount and then quickly book online but if everyone does that, we will at one stage have to adapt our prices to meet that behaviour.
Plans change. We know that too. Our cancellation policy is flexible and we are trying our best to meet your holiday schedule and potential interruptions of it.
To secure your prebooking discount you can either pay for your course or dive experience in full in advance (online) or you pay for it upon arrival. Please book it through our online system through.
We can however only send you the login details for the eLearning packages once you have paid in advance since it also involves costs for us. In the (hopefully unlikely) event that you can’t start the course as planned, you will get of course more time to make it to the island and if even that isn’t going to happen, you will get all your money back minus the arising expenses. Those we will however push through to you as much at cost price as possible. You will not be empty handed through because you are still in procession of the dive theory.
If you’d like to know more, please check our cancellation policy and terms and condition.
WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR SPLITTING AN OPEN WATER COURSE INTO A SCUBA DIVER COURSE AND AN UPGRADE TO OPEN WATER DIVER?
The Scuba Diver is a halfway qualification to a full Open Water Certification and will allow you to dive to a maximum of 12 meters with a dive professional. You don’t need to become a Scuba Diver before aiming for Open Water. Both are entry level courses.
The main reason for doing a Scuba diving qualification is TIME. Some people just don’t have enough time to finish a full open water course. Since they still want to start with their dive education, they opt for the Scuba Diver. But there are also other factors
If you’d like to continue with your dive training, it is easily possible to upgrade a Scuba Diver Certification. You pretty much only have to finish the Open Water Diver Course by returning into the pool for some more advanced skill practice and conduct two more open water dives to a maximum depth of 18 meters. There is of course some more theory as well. This you will study both by yourself and with your instructor.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SPLITTING THE OPEN WATER DIVER COURSE IN TWO PARTS?
The great advantage of the Scuba Diver certification is that you can complete your first diving course in only two days.
Should during the course the weather turn so nasty, that it is simply not possible to finish the Open Water Course, you still don’t have to go home empty handed. You might still be able to finish the Scuba Diver Course.
It is easily possible to later upgrade to a full Open Water Diver ticket. Doing it the two-phased approach in the end takes a little bit longer and is also slightly more expensive than doing the Open Water Course in the first place. However, the two-phased approach offers more flexibility.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DIVING DEEPER THAN 12 METERS?
As a scuba diver your depth is limited to 12 meters and you can only dive with a dive professional. There are thousands of amazing dive sites in the world that can been dived at 12 meters or less. However, being able to dive deeper opens up even more dive sites and also the chance for more advanced dive training. Additionally, some marine species live in deeper waters. Being able to dive deeper increases your chances on seeing them. The first step to deeper dives is the Upgrade to Open Water Diver level.
CAN I DO THE THEORY BEFORE I ARRIVE ON THE ISLAND?
Yes! In case you still have a book, you can simply read the remaining chapters to prepare for the course.
If you did the Scuba Diver certification with SSI, you probably still have the app on your tablet or phone. We can easily send the theory package at any time (once we’ve received the payment).
IS THE REMAINING THEORY DIFFICULT?
About as difficult as what you have already done. Also. Your divine instructor will explain the dive theory during classroom sessions. He/she will prepare you well for the final exam so you will just cruise through it. In the unlikely event of you failing the exam, your instructor will review the theory with you again and work on your weaknesses and you will redo the exam (a different one).
WILL I HAVE TO REMOVE MY MASK?
Yes! Even though you could avoid the dreaded mask removal for the Scuba Diver, it is a necessary skill for the Open Water license. Talk to your instructor if you had problems with it earlier. Many roads lead to Rome so we will take the time and work with you until you master the skill.
ARE THE OPEN WATER DIVES ANY DIFFERENT?
The main difference is the depth. The first two open water dives were limited to a depth of 12 meters. The final two dives will take you to a maximum of 18 meters. The pressure difference is the biggest in the first 10 meters. You won’t feel a difference in between 12 and 18 meters. It is not darker or colder.
HOW LONG WILL MY CERTIFICATION LAST?
Your entire life! There is no expiry date to the certification itself but it’s highly recommended that you keep in practice by just going diving. There are certainly worse things in life.. If you haven’t dived in a while, it might be wise to refresh your skills on a Refresher or Scuba Tune Up Dive with an instructor. Continuing your scuba education is also a great way to keep your skills fresh and up to date.
WHAT IF I HAVE HEALTH ISSUES?
There are some serious conditions such as epilepsy, active asthma, emphysema, heart disease or haemophilia that could prohibit any diving activity. Please check out the attached medical form. It Is most likely the same medical questionnaire that you have filled in for your Scuba Diver Course. If you needed to bring a fit for diving certificate before, it is best to get a copy since you will need it to finish your course with Divine Divers Gili Meno. There are also doctors on the Gili Islands that can examine you and issue this certificate should you face additional heath issues that you didn’t have beforehand.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PADI AND SSI?
If you are interested in getting your scuba diving certification, you’ve probably come across PADI and SSI, the two major training agencies in the world. But is there a big difference or is one better than the other?
Instructors of both agencies will teach you how to be a skilled diver, as there is a certain skill set that every diver needs to have. Therefore, all diving agencies follow a legal framework laid down by the World Recreational Scuba Diving Council. The training agencies also accept each other; hence you could do an Open Water Course with the one and an Advanced Course with the other agency.
The main difference is in the theoretical education, requirements and costs. And of course, much comes down to personal preferences and other factors such as the teaching skills of your instructor and the conditions of the water.
SSI allows more flexibility in teaching methods and allows a more personalized approach in teaching. Therefor we have chosen SSI as our primary teaching agency. Should you prefer a PADI course, just let us know in the booking – this is also absolutely no problem.
If you have a PADI Scuba Diver, it is easily possible to do an Upgrade to a SSI Open Water diver or vice versa. But you can of course also stick with your initial diving agency.
WHY SHOULD I DO A DIVING COURSE ON THE GILI ISLANDS?
Postcard-like white sandy beaches, azure and year-round warm waters (28 to 29 degrees), the reef on your doorstep and a great lifestyle – does this sound like paradise to you? To us it does! The Gilis are known as the turtle capital in the world – rightfully so, because both green and hawksbill turtles are abundant. Reef sharks are also frequently spotted and there is a broad range of marine life to be met on all dives. The dive sites are rarely more than a 15-minute boat ride away and diving is great all year round. The dry season is running from May to October and the rainy season from November to April. Rainy season sounds more extreme than it actually is because it hardly ever rains an entire day – expect showers at different severity but therefore less people.
WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE DIVINE DIVERS GILI MENO FOR MY DIVE COURSE?
We love what we do and we do it well! We have been in the game for over 10 years as Divine Divers on Gili Meno but our love for diving didn’t start there. Being passionate divers ourself, we have dived all over the world. Sometimes you come to dive centres that just have the little extra. Sometimes you can explain why and sometimes it is just that special vibe that we have here at Divine Divers Gili Meno. Overall, our main differentiator is our personal approach and of course our location at the most perfect sunset point on the island. What better way is there to end a perfect diving day than watching the sun disappear into the ocean with a cold drink in your hand?
Apart from that our groups are small and our instructors hand chosen for their personality and excellent teaching records. Safety is our primary concern; our equipment is in excellent order and of course regularly maintained. Most importantly, we are committed to offering first-class service and high-quality dive courses.
