Course overview

The PADI Open Water Diver course on the Perhentian Islands is the world's most popular entry-level certification and one of the best-value places in South East Asia to earn it. Over theory, confined-water sessions and four open-water dives to 18 metres in the warm, calm bays off Long Beach and Coral Bay, you become a fully certified diver free to dive worldwide.

What you’ll learn

• Assemble, use and maintain scuba equipment
• Perform all core skills including mask clearing and regulator recovery
• Achieve and control neutral buoyancy
• Plan dives with tables or a computer and manage your air
• Handle common problems and assist a buddy
• Dive independently with a buddy to 18 metres

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 10 (Junior Open Water Diver) or 15
• Able to swim and be comfortable in water
• No prior diving experience required
• Complete a brief medical questionnaire before diving

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Theory and confined water

   Knowledge development and the first confined-water skills in the calm shallows off Long Beach.
2. Day2
   Open-water dives 1 and 2

   Your first two open-water training dives on a sheltered local reef, building skills and buoyancy.
3. Day3
   Open-water dives 3 and 4

   Two final training dives to 18 metres on Perhentian reefs, then certification as a PADI Open Water Diver.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Perhentian.

Frequently asked questions