How To Earn Your Open Water Certification With Gili Divers
Gili Divers
Welcome to Gili Trawangan, or Gili T for simplicity’s sake. The island known for plentiful turtles, great diving, and crazy parties. You’re probably curious about what it takes to earn your Open Water certificate if you’re reading this, so hopefully it helps!
Gili T is home to about 25 dive shops! Oh. My. God. So many dive shops. How do you choose one? Sure, price and safety are always of top concern. For those reasons, Gili T instated the Gili Indah Dive Alliance (GIDA). Gili Divers is a proud member of GIDA.
GIDA holds the dive shops of the island accountable. They have instated price floors and safety standards. This keeps tourists and shop owners alike safe and happy. GIDA gives tourists the opportunity to find the dive shop that they vibe with, rather than scavenge the island for the cheapest price. Some Google research, IG stalking, or a walk around the island is all you’ll need to worry about.
So, why choose Gili Divers? Well, first of all, you’ll know us when you see us. You literally will not be able to miss us. We are the beautiful shop on the main street flying the massive yellow banners out the front and back.
Our shop is English-Swedish owned and Canadian-Dutch managed. Our instructors are SSI and PADI certified. They also cover ten languages, allowing us to teach people from all over the world!
We pride ourselves in our teaching methods. When our instructors teach a course they worry about more than just checking the boxes. They ensure that their students are capable and confident divers by the final dive. We want you to actually grasp what you’re learning!
Also, we may or may not be known as the best looking shop on the island (no, really… we are). We are young, fun, beautiful, and as professional as one could hope for. We love diving and we love to share our passion by teaching others! So really, why not choose us?!
Open Water Course
So, you’re curious about what lies within that beautiful deep blue? We know the feeling, we all had that feeling. That’s why we all took the leap and did our Open Water course at some point. It’s your turn now! The SSI or PADI Open Water course (see which works best for you) is your first step to exploring the underwater world.
Open Water Course Breakdown
Our Open Water course is three days long. It is comprised of a video, two pool sessions, theory lectures, four open water dives, and an exam. Since we provide small classes of one to four students, we are able to personalize this a bit if needed!
We offer the course based on requests. Booking even a few days in advance is appreciated and will ensure that you get the start date you are looking for. We’re a pretty accommodating bunch. So we happily accept walk-ins and will always do our best to get you started when you want!
Day One
Want to try diving but are a little nervous? We invite our guests who are unsure about committing to the full course to do an introduction discovery dive. This includes the day one steps below, subbing the video for a bit of theory. If you decide you want to continue with the course you will watch the video at the end of the day!
The first step to the Open Water course is watching a video. It is by no means the most exciting thing you will ever do. But it will help you understand the basics of diving and introduce you to the skills you will be learning!
After the video session, your instructor will go over the important bits of the video and explain the gear you’re about to put on. Once you’re geared up, you’ll head into the pool to try what you’ve learned so far.
Let us be the first to say that your first breath underwater will feel unnatural and even a little scary! That’s why we proudly provide two skills pools to make those first few breaths easier. With the comfort of being able to stand up at any time, you will take your first breath underwater!
Trust us, you’ll be addicted in no time. Once you’re comfortable with breathing your instructor will guide you through some simple skills to prepare you for the open ocean!
When you and your instructor feel confident that you’re ready, your pool session is done. You’ll have a little break for lunch and rest. You’ll then meet up with your instructor for a briefing on the dive site and then hop on the boat and head for your first dive.
At the chosen destination (btw, we have over 20 dive sites within a 20-minute radius!!) you will learn how to backroll, then you’ll roll on in! This dive will be about getting comfortable in the water and practising the skills learned in the pool. You will go to a maximum of 12 meters deep!
Day Two
Day two is a lot like day one, but you’re now more confident. You’ll meet with your instructor for some more theory. You’ll then once again spend time in the pool revisiting the skills learned yesterday and building on those with some additional skills.
Once you’ve nailed all your new skills, you’ll have a break and rest up for your next dive! After a briefing with your instructor, you’ll get geared up and head to one of our beautiful boats.
For your second open water dive you will once again go to a maximum of 12 meters. This dive is again all about practicing all the skills you have learned and working on proper buoyancy. Of course, all of this being done while swimming around with the fish and turtles!
Day Three
Do you know what the best way to wake up is? No, not coffee… Plunging into the crystal clear ocean. That’s how your morning will start. Day three is a great day! You will be a lot more confident and comfortable in the water. You’ll also get to go down to 18 meters.
Between your dives today you will write a multiple-choice exam. You should be more than qualified to ace it by this point though, so no worries at all! Upon passing your exam, you will go for a fun dive. This dive is pretty much focused on giving you the chance to focus on buoyancy while exploring the beautiful ocean!
Congrats, you are now a certified open water diver! Welcome to the wonderful world of diving. We hope you have amazing underwater adventures. It really is never a dull moment!
