Beginner OWD in Bali - best locations?

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I would add Menjangan as a good beginner spot. My wife got her OW certification there and it was a life transforming experience as she went on to eventually get her DM Cert.
 
1) I agree with all who say the instructor is the key. A bad experience at that stage may ruin you for diving for years...
2) It may sound counter-intuitive, but a group of us went to Nusa Lembongan where my daughter in law did her OW. This was with World Diving and the point was that her instructor (Balinese) was extraordinary. She was the only student (that too makes a world - no pun intended- of difference). She was immediately confident in the water and they took her to places which were -obviously- safe. For the more advanced divers among us, it was great to drift with the currents, see the fish, turtles, mantas etc.

Good luck with it all!

Rene
 
Hello,

As a local instructor in Bali, I can assure you that the best option to do your Open Water is in Tulamben area. Most of Tulamben dive site is diveable from the shore and with little to no current (there are some mild surges sometimes), this will get most students to concentrate in learning skills instead of being too cautious about the currents. The wreck area is perfect for this, at around 3 - 6 meters, there are a huge area of sandy bottom which is perfect for training skills before going to explore the dive site. However, tulamben area especially the wreck can be quite crowded being the easy dive site that is, especially during the high season of july through to september, as most of dive centers in sanur area will drive to tulamben and do their open water training or simply fun diving. I love to take my students overnight in Tulamben so we can do an early morning in water training before the divers from sanur arrive, plus it is a very nice dive in early morning around the wreck. In my experience the more the students enjoy the dive the better they will learn. This early morning dive will also give me a chance to enhance my students in water skill by practicing just more than "enough", but to make sure that they understand and importantly, be comfortable with the dive.

And as for which Agency, I would not be too fussy about this, and currently PADI and SSI are the two popular choice in Bali. And as some of the scubaboarders mention, it is more beneficial to pick a good instructor rather than based on the certification agency.

I hope this helps, and if you need any assistance in Bali please do not hesitate to contact me :)
 
Yup, I would also advise you to ask a lot of questions about the actual instructor doing the course with you. How long has he/she been working in diving? Is he/she a mere intern working for free or freelancing illegally? Does he/she know the dive sites well?
Other questions that may matter include:
How many other students will join on the course?
Which dive sites will be visited?
What are the conditions like? Here, I tend to say that some current can be a good thing as it is best to encounter funkier conditions while on a course while being chaperoned by a (good) instructor rather than when you are diving autonomously. Manageable currents are also great for skill building (trim, finning, buoyancy, etc)...
 
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