The Open Water Diver Course is the world’s most popular scuba certification and the first step towards becoming a confident, independent diver. Over three unforgettable days, you’ll progress from taking your very first breaths underwater in the safety of a swimming pool to exploring the beautiful coral reefs surrounding Koh Tao.
By the end of the course, you’ll be certified to dive anywhere in the world to a maximum depth of 18 metres. Your certification is recognised worldwide and never expires.
No previous diving experience is required – just a sense of adventure.
Course at a Glance
Price: 10,800
Duration: 2.5 Days
Minimum Age: 10 years
Maximum Depth: 18 metres
Certification: SSI Open Water Diver
Prerequisites:
- Able to swim 200 metres
- Float or tread water for 10 minutes
- Medically fit to scuba dive
Includes:
- SSI Digital Learning
- Professional SSI Instructor
- Full scuba equipment
- Instructor-led academic sessions
- Pool training
- Four ocean dives
- Dive computer
- Certification
- Lifetime of memories
Day 1 – Theory and Pool Training
08:30 – Arrive at the dive centre and meet your instructor
08:45 – Course orientation and introduction
09:00 – Academic Session 1
11:00 – Break
12:00 – Confined-water training in the swimming pool
17:00 – Debrief and review of the day
Day 2 – Final Academics and First Ocean Dives
09:00 – Academic Session 2
11:00 – Mask workshop and final exam
11:30 – Lunch break
12:30 – Boat departure for Open Water Dives 1 and 2
17:30 – Return to the dive centre, debrief and log your dives
Day 3 – Final Ocean Dives and Certification
06:30 – Meet at the dive centre and prepare for the morning boat
07:00 – Boat departure for Open Water Dives 3 and 4
11:30 – Final debrief, dive logging and certification
Congratulations – you are now a certified SSI Open Water Diver.
Why Learn to Dive with Funky Turtle Divers?
Learning to scuba dive should be exciting, not intimidating.
At Funky Turtle Divers, we believe the best divers are created through relaxed, patient instruction in a fun and supportive environment. Whether you’re confident from the moment you arrive or feeling slightly nervous about your first dive, our experienced instructors will guide you through every step at a pace that’s comfortable for you.
Our small group sizes mean you’ll receive plenty of personal attention, allowing you to build confidence naturally without ever feeling rushed.
Our goal isn’t simply to certify you. Our goal is for you to finish the course genuinely excited to continue diving for years to come.
Why Koh Tao is One of the World’s Best Places to Learn Scuba Diving
Every year, thousands of people choose Koh Tao for their first scuba certification – and it’s easy to see why.
The island offers warm tropical water all year round, excellent visibility, calm dive sites and an incredible variety of marine life, making it one of the easiest and most enjoyable places in the world to learn.
Instead of practising in poor conditions, you’ll complete your ocean dives on beautiful coral reefs filled with colourful fish, healthy corals and, if you’re lucky, turtles or even whale sharks.
There’s no better classroom than the ocean itself.
Your Learning Experience
Unlike many adventure activities where you’re expected to simply follow instructions, learning to scuba dive is about understanding why you do things.
Throughout the course you’ll combine classroom learning, practical pool sessions and real ocean dives, allowing each stage to build naturally on the last.
You’ll never be expected to perform a skill before you’re ready.
Every lesson is designed to gradually increase your confidence until diving feels completely natural.
What You’ll Learn During Your Open Water Course
By the end of your course you’ll have developed the skills needed to dive safely anywhere in the world.
These include:
Equipment Skills
- Setting up scuba equipment correctly
- Understanding how every piece of equipment works
- Performing pre-dive buddy checks
- Looking after your equipment
Underwater Skills
- Breathing comfortably underwater
- Recovering and clearing your regulator
- Clearing water from your mask
- Removing and replacing your mask underwater
- Hovering effortlessly using buoyancy
- Swimming efficiently underwater
- Controlled descents and ascents
- Sharing air with another diver
- Safe emergency procedures
Dive Planning Skills
- Reading your dive computer
- Monitoring your air supply
- Planning dives with your buddy
- Understanding underwater navigation
- Safe diving practices
- Protecting coral reefs and marine life
Dive Theory & Academic Sessions
Scuba diving isn’t just about putting on equipment and jumping into the water.
Understanding why diving works makes you a safer, more confident diver.
Throughout the course you’ll learn:
- How pressure affects your body underwater
- Why equalising your ears is important
- How breathing compressed air works
- Buoyancy and underwater movement
- Safe ascent procedures
- Dive planning
- Understanding dive tables and computers
- Preventing decompression sickness
- Marine conservation
- Emergency procedures
The theory is delivered through SSI’s modern digital learning system alongside instructor-led classroom sessions, giving you the opportunity to learn at your own pace and ask questions whenever you need.
There’s also a short multiple-choice exam near the end of the course, but don’t worry – it’s designed to confirm your understanding, not catch you out.
Almost everyone passes first time.
Pool Training
This is where the magic begins.
For most students, the swimming pool is where any nerves disappear.
You’ll experience your very first breaths underwater in calm, shallow water where you can simply stand up whenever you want.
There’s no current. No waves. No pressure.
Just you, your instructor and plenty of time to become comfortable.
You’ll learn and practise all of the essential scuba skills before repeating them until they feel completely natural.
By the time you leave the pool, you’ll already feel like a diver.
Your First Ocean Dives
Nothing quite compares to your first dive in the ocean. As you descend below the surface, the noise of the world disappears. You hear only your breathing. Sunlight filters through the water. Schools of tropical fish swim around you while colourful coral stretches beneath you.
Your first two dives are completed to a maximum depth of 12 metres, allowing you to practise your new skills while enjoying the incredible marine life Koh Tao is famous for.
On your final day you’ll dive a little deeper, reaching upto 18 metres, where you’ll spend even more time simply enjoying being underwater and putting everything you’ve learned into practice.
By the end of the course you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve achieved in just three days.
Is Scuba Diving Difficult?
This is one of the questions we hear most often.
The truth is, almost every certified diver started exactly where you are now.
No experience, lots of questions and probably a few nerves. The course is designed specifically for complete beginners. Everything is introduced gradually, with each lesson building naturally on the last.
Our instructors are patient, experienced and understand that everyone learns differently.
There is no pressure to rush. If you need a little extra time with a skill, that’s perfectly normal.
Your confidence is far more important than the clock.
Safety is Our Priority
Scuba diving has an excellent safety record when divers are properly trained and follow the procedures they learn.
Throughout your Open Water Course you’ll understand not only what to do, but why those procedures exist.
Our instructors maintain small groups, our equipment is professionally serviced and checked daily, and every part of the course is delivered in a structured, progressive way that allows you to build confidence naturally.
Your safety – and your enjoyment – are always our highest priorities.
After Your Open Water Course
Your Open Water Course teaches you the foundations of scuba diving: how to dive safely, plan dives, control your buoyancy, understand your equipment, and explore the underwater world with confidence. These are the core skills that every diver builds upon throughout their diving journey.
From here, the possibilities are almost endless. As you gain experience, you’ll discover which aspects of diving excite you most and can continue developing your skills in the direction that interests you.
Perhaps you’ll want to explore deeper dive sites with the Deep Diving Specialty, experience the reef after sunset on the Night Diving Specialty, discover fascinating shipwrecks on the Wreck Diving Specialty, or perfect your underwater control with the Perfect Buoyancy Specialty. If marine life captures your imagination, specialties such as Fish Identification, Marine Ecology, and Coral Identification will help you understand and appreciate the underwater world in even greater detail.
Some divers discover that scuba becomes more than just a hobby. With further training and experience, you can progress to Divemaster and eventually Open Water Instructor, turning your passion into a career that allows you to travel, teach and dive around the world.
If you’re not quite sure where your interests lie yet, don’t worry – that’s exactly what the SSI Advanced Open Water Course is designed for.
Rather than focusing on one area of diving, you’ll complete five different specialty training dives, giving you the opportunity to experience a variety of underwater adventures while continuing to build confidence and experience. It’s the perfect next step after your Open Water Course and helps you discover which specialties you’d like to pursue in the future.
At Funky Turtle Divers, we don’t just want to certify divers – we want to help you begin a lifetime of underwater adventures.
