Ever thought of going overseas for a beach vacation and getting a scuba diving certification too? Well, hold that thought for 2021 as Singapore has yet to resume leisure travel to other countries. While overseas scuba diving options are still closed off in 2021, there are many local schools for interested divers to take up scuba diving certifications. This can be a great alternative to keep in mind when planning our annual leave plans in 2021.
Read also: Travelling In A COVID-19 World: Where Can People In Singapore Actually Travel To?
Things To Note Before Starting Beginners’ Scuba Diving Certification
Before we can scuba dive in the open, we would be required to take basic recreational scuba diving certification. In Singapore, there are many different international scuba diving certifications to choose from. There are varying levels of competency to pass for different types of dives for each organisation.
In this article, we would be focusing on the beginner’s level of recreational diving certification known as Open Water Diver.
The most popular organisations that provide scuba diving certifications are Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Scuba Schools International (SSI), and Scuba Diving International (SDI). For introductory recreational diving for open waters, the standards are roughly the same for each organisation certificates.
All of them complies to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for introduction to recreational diving and are recognised internationally by World Recreational Scuba Training Council. These certifications equip us with the basics of using diving equipment and diving safely to a certain depth.
These organisation certificates vary in terms of the structure of the programmes, duration, flexibility of learning, and cost. At the end of the programme, we would be given a dive certification in the form of a wallet-sized plastic card that recognising us as certified divers.
Eligibility for these programmes is minimal. There is no need for prior experience, but we would need to be above 10 years old, with the ability to float for 10 minutes and swim unaided for 200m.
Here are the organisations in Singapore and the cost for beginner recreational open water diving certification.
Read Also: What You Need To Know Before Booking A Yacht In Singapore For The December Holidays
#1 Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
Founded in 1966, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is a US-based organisation that is one of the largest and most recognised diving organisations in the world. Based on PADI, there are about 9 programmes we can take under the organisation.
The Open Water Diver consist of three segments, theory, pool training and outdoor ocean dives of up to 18m of depth. In general, the duration of the programme can last for about 4 days which can be spaced apart.
In Singapore, there are plenty of schools offering the programme. We can browse through them and sign up directly to any of the schools on PADI platform here.
Expected damage for the PADI programme: $600 ~ $1,000 per pax
#2 Scuba Schools International (SSI)
Founded in 1970, Scuba Schools International (SSI) is another international recognised certification organisation for scuba diving. Based in the US, SSI is recognised by 110 countries over 2,800 locations. Based on SSI, there are a total of 7 programmes we can sign up for under this organisation.
For SSI, the programme for beginner’s recreational diving is the Open Water Diver Certification.
The SSI programme is similar to PADI programme. Likewise, there are three segments, theory, pool training and outdoor ocean dives of up to 18m of depth. In general, the duration of the programme can last for about 4 days which can be spaced apart.
There are many schools offering the same SSI programme such as Cuddlefish Divers LLP and DiveLab.
Expected damage for the SSI programme: From $598 per pax
#3 Scuba Diving International (SDI)
Founded in 1994, Scuba Diving International (SDI) is part of the largest diving certification agencies in the world. SDI is also widely recognised internationally in over 100 countries. As a collective agency for diving certifications, SDI has more varied and specialised programmes available which can be found on their website.
SDI Open Water Diver course is also split into three segments and more information of their programme can be found here. To find a dive centre to sign up for SDI certification, we can browse on SDI website here.
Expected damage for the SDI programme: From $590 per pax
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