Getting Scuba Certified in Indonesia: Where to Go and What It Costs

Indonesia is one of the best places on Earth to learn to dive, and one of the most affordable. Warm, clear water, gentle reefs for your first breaths underwater, and a deep bench of well-run dive schools mean you can arrive a swimmer and leave a certified diver inside a week, often for less than the same course would cost at home.

We run trips all over these waters, so we get asked constantly where to get certified and what it really costs. This is the honest version: the best places to learn, realistic 2026 prices, how long it takes, the PADI versus SSI question, and, most importantly, how to pick a school you can trust your safety to. Prices throughout are approximate and move with the season and the operator, so treat them as a planning guide rather than a quote.

The best places to learn to dive in Indonesia

You can get certified almost anywhere along the coast, but a handful of spots stand out for calm water, patient instructors, and reefs that reward a complete beginner. Here is where we point first-timers, and what each place is like.

The Gili Islands, off Lombok

For most first-timers, the Gili Islands are the easy answer. The water is warm and forgiving, the three little islands are car-free and relaxed, and there is a dense cluster of established dive schools that have certified thousands of people. Turtles are almost guaranteed on your training dives, which is a lovely thing to surface from your first proper descent and find. If you are weighing Lombok in general, our Gili Islands guide covers getting there and where to stay.

Nusa Penida and Amed, in Bali

Bali keeps everything close together. Amed, on the quiet east coast, is a low-key, black-sand stretch with gentle house reefs right off the beach, which makes it a calm and uncrowded place to learn at your own pace. Nusa Penida, a short boat from the mainland, is busier and more dramatic, with the bonus that manta rays and the chance of a mola mola are a short ride from where you train. Penida currents can be stronger, so a good school will pick beginner-friendly sites for your course and save the big stuff for later.

Komodo, for those who want more

Komodo is not where most people take their very first breath underwater, because the currents that make it world-class also make it less forgiving for total beginners. But it is a superb place to learn if you are already comfortable in water, and an obvious next step the moment your Open Water clicks. The reefs are electric, the mantas are reliable, and you can fold a course into a wider Flores trip. See our Komodo dive sites and manta guide and the Labuan Bajo itinerary if Komodo is calling.

What it costs to get certified in 2026

Indonesia is one of the cheaper places in the world to certify, and the numbers below are the rough going rate. They are approximate, they shift with the season and the operator, and the very lowest prices you see advertised are usually a sign to ask more questions rather than to book.

A few things are worth knowing about the price. Most reputable schools include your gear rental, training materials, certification fees, and all your training dives in the headline figure, but always confirm what is and is not included before you commit. Marine park or entrance fees at some sites are sometimes extra. And the gap between the cheapest operator in town and a careful, well-reviewed one is usually small spread across the whole course, which brings us to the part that actually matters.

How long does it take?

The entry-level certification, PADI or SSI Open Water, takes about three to four days. That breaks down into some theory you can often start online before you arrive, a session or two in shallow confined water to learn the core skills, and then four open-water dives where you put it all together on a real reef. Build in a buffer day if your schedule is tight, because a single rough-weather morning can shift a dive to the next day.

If you catch the bug, and many people do, the Advanced Open Water course adds roughly two more days and opens up deeper sites and skills like navigation and drift diving. Plenty of travelers do both back to back over a week, finishing as a confident diver ready for places like Komodo and Raja Ampat.

PADI or SSI? Both are fine

This is the question new divers agonize over most, and the honest answer is that it barely matters. PADI and SSI are the two big training agencies, both are recognized at dive centers worldwide, and the skills and standards you learn are nearly identical. A PADI Open Water diver and an SSI Open Water diver can walk into the same dive shop anywhere on the planet and book the same dives. Choose the school and the instructor you click with, and let the agency be an afterthought.

How to choose a reputable dive school

This is the single most important decision you will make, far more than location or agency, and it is worth slowing down for. The good news is that the markers of a careful school are easy to spot once you know what to look for.

Small ratios and unhurried teaching

Look for low instructor-to-student ratios, ideally no more than four students to one instructor for a beginner course, and fewer is better. You want an instructor who has time for you, who repeats a skill until you actually have it, and who never makes you feel rushed underwater. A school that pushes large groups through quickly is cutting the corner that matters most.

Well-maintained gear

Have a look at the equipment. Regulators and BCDs should be clean and in good repair, tanks should be in date, and the shop should be organized rather than chaotic. A school that looks after its gear is a school that looks after its divers.

Reviews, certificates, and a good feeling

Read recent reviews, ask how long the school has operated, and do not be shy about asking to see instructor certifications. A reputable operator is proud to show all of it. Above all, trust your gut: if a place feels disorganized, evasive, or more interested in your money than your safety, there is always another school down the beach.

When to go

You can learn to dive in Indonesia all year, but the dry season, broadly April to October across much of the country, brings the calmest seas and the clearest water, which makes for an easier and more enjoyable course. Conditions vary by region, so it is worth checking the specifics for wherever you choose: our Indonesia diving seasons guide breaks down the best months area by area, and the best diving in Indonesia overview helps you decide where to point a longer trip once you are certified.

What to expect, day by day

Every school runs things a little differently, but a typical Open Water course follows the same shape.

Day 1: theory and confined water

You will cover the knowledge sections, often partly online beforehand, then get in shallow, calm water to learn the fundamentals: breathing underwater, clearing your mask, recovering your regulator, and managing your buoyancy. It feels strange for the first ten minutes and natural soon after.

Days 2 to 3: open-water dives

Now you head out to a real reef for your training dives, usually two a day, repeating the skills you learned in confined water and gradually going a little deeper. This is where it stops feeling like a lesson and starts feeling like diving, and where most people meet their first turtle.

Day 4: final dives and certification

You finish your remaining dives, demonstrate that the core skills are second nature, and complete any last theory. By the end of the day you are a certified diver, cleared to dive with a buddy anywhere in the world to the limits of your certification.

Where to go once you are certified

The certification is just the door opening. With an Open Water card you can dive most of the country, and the moment your skills settle you will want to aim higher. The mantas of Indonesia are a brilliant early goal, Komodo is the natural step up, and Raja Ampat is the reef trip people plan their whole lives around. When you are ready to turn a certification week, or your first big dive trip after it, into a real plan, you can build it with us and we will line up the schools, the season, and the sites so all you have to do is breathe.