International certification · Never expires
The course that lets you dive on your own
Open Water is the entry-level certification: once you have it, any centre in the world will rent you kit and take you diving within its depth limits. It never expires.
The difference between a try dive and a course is not how long you spend underwater. It is what you can do the next day. After a try dive, nothing on your own: you will always be accompanied by an instructor. After Open Water, any centre in the world rents you kit and takes you diving without direct supervision. That is the whole line, and it is why most people who enjoy the first one end up doing the course.
What the course actually consists of
Three blocks. A theory section, these days almost always done online and in your own time before you arrive. Confined water sessions — a pool or a very sheltered spot — where you practise the safety skills until they come without thinking: clearing your mask, recovering the regulator, controlling buoyancy. And the open water dives, which are the ones that count towards certification. Getting the theory out of the way at home is what compresses the in-person part into a few days.
- Online theory, on your own and before you travel.
- Confined water: the safety skills, repeated until they are automatic.
- Open water dives, the ones that earn the certification.
- Certification: the card arrives afterwards and does not expire.
Certifying here rather than in the tropics
Plenty of people get certified somewhere with thirty metres of visibility and water at twenty-eight degrees, then discover that diving in the Mediterranean in April is a different proposition. Learning in the conditions you will actually dive in has a practical advantage: you finish knowing how to handle a thicker suit, some current and variable visibility. If your diving is going to happen in Europe, this is closer to your real scenario than a resort course is.
And after Open Water: the Advanced
Advanced Open Water is the next step, and it is not a harder exam: it is a set of guided specialty dives, among them deep and navigation, which extend the depth you are certified to and give you supervised mileage in specific situations. It makes sense once you have Open Water and notice that the dives you want — the walls around Cabo de la Nao, for instance — sit just below your limit.
Quick rule if you are unsure which one applies to you: no certification at all, Open Water. Already certified and want to go deeper, Advanced. Never breathed underwater, neither yet — start with a try dive.
See try divesWhat you take away
Certification that never expires
Open Water is for life. After years without diving a refresher is advisable, but the certification stays valid.
Valid worldwide
Any centre will rent you kit and take you diving on presentation of the card.
Theory done before you arrive
Completed online at home, so the in-person days are mostly water.
A route on to Advanced
Once certified you can continue with specialties and extend your depth limit whenever you want.
How the course is arranged
What you decide and what the calendar decides.
Tell us which certification
Open Water if you are starting, Advanced if you already hold it. If unsure, say so and they will advise.
Dates get fixed
The course takes several days. The centre tells you which combinations are free and how much notice it needs.
Theory in your own time
You receive access to the material and work through it before you arrive.
Confined then open water
Skills in a sheltered spot first, then the dives that earn the certification.
Before and after certifying
Where you come in and what is around it.
Before enrolling
How much does the Open Water course cost in Jávea?+
The dive centre sets the price, not us, and it changes with what is included: whether the learning materials and the certification card are extra, whether kit hire is inside, whether the dives are from shore or from a boat. Ask for the breakdown rather than just the figure — two prices that look different often do not cover the same things.
How many days do I need?+
With the theory done at home, the in-person part concentrates into a few consecutive days. What stretches it is not the syllabus but the sea: if conditions are poor one day, that dive moves. Which is the argument for not leaving it to the last day of your holiday.
What if I do not finish all the dives?+
They can be completed later, including at another centre within the same organisation: your progress is on record. This is the classic situation for someone who starts the course on holiday and runs into bad weather. Ask about the time limit before you enrol.
Do I need to be able to swim?+
Yes, unlike the try dive. Certification requires a basic water skills assessment: swimming a short distance unaided and staying afloat for a while. No technique or speed is expected, just competence in the water.
Is a certification from another agency accepted?+
Yes. Certifications from the recognised international agencies are treated as equivalent in practice, and you can continue training here with yours. Tell us which one you hold and what level you are at.
Ask about dates and conditions
Tell us whether you are starting from scratch or already hold Open Water, and which dates you are working with.