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Silo · Trip planning

3-Day Itinerary Arrive Friday, certified by Sunday

The shortest route to a PADI Open Water card. Theory finished online before you land, nine dives across three days, and no classroom time on the island at all.

Divers descending a mooring line over a soft coral reef
3 days
On the island
9 dives
5 confined + 4 open water
18 m
Certified depth
Online
Theory, before you fly
1:4
Max students per instructor
Ask for price
All-inclusive

Day by day

Three Days, Start to Card

Timings shift with student progress and sea conditions. Nothing here is rushed — the compression is in the gaps, not the standards.

Students floating in calm, clear shallow water

Day 1

Foundations and confined water

09:00 – 16:00

Orientation, the equipment workshop, then the first three confined water dives in a pool or a calm shallow bay.

  • Meet your instructor, eLearning review
  • Equipment workshop — assembly and care
  • Confined water dives 1–3
  • Debrief and log dives
Diver over a coral bommie in bright shallow water

Day 2

First ocean dives

09:00 – 15:00

Two open water dives to 12 metres at a shallow, sheltered site such as Meno Slope.

  • Briefing and boat departure
  • Open water dive 1 — confined skills in the sea
  • Surface interval on the boat
  • Open water dive 2 — navigation
Hawksbill turtle resting on coral

Day 3

Certification dives

09:00 – 15:00

The final two dives to 18 metres at a deeper site such as Turtle Heaven, then the paperwork.

  • Open water dive 3 — dive planning
  • Surface interval
  • Open water dive 4 — final demonstration, then a fun dive
  • Logbooks and certification

The PADI eLearning takes 8 to 10 hours and must be finished before you arrive. Leave it until you land and this becomes a four-day itinerary.

Included

What Three Days Covers

Divers in wetsuits preparing on the teak dive deck

PADI eLearning

Access code sent as soon as your deposit lands, so the theory is behind you before you fly.

Full equipment

Scubapro and Aqualung throughout. Mask, snorkel, fins, BCD, regulator and wetsuit.

Instruction

Every session with an active-status PADI Instructor, maximum four students.

Boat and tanks

All transfers to the training sites and filled tanks for all nine dives.

Certification

PADI processing, your e-card and a physical logbook.

Insurance

Diver insurance for the duration of training, affiliated with DAN.

Not included: accommodation, meals, and the island entrance fee plus Gili Eco Trust contribution of roughly IDR 150,000 per person, paid on arrival.

Have more time

Five Days Buys You Fun Dives

Three days gets you certified. Five gives you the same course at an easier pace, plus two fun dives as a newly certified diver and a day off in the middle — which is when most people actually start enjoying it rather than concentrating.

5-day itinerary
Group of divers underwater with the sun behind them

Three days

Common Questions

Lock the dates

Four Steps to Booking

Tell us your three days and which island you will stay on. We reply within four hours during operating hours.

Divers in full gear on the tender, arms up after a dive
  1. Your dates

    Three consecutive days, plus the evening before for arrival.

  2. Confirmation

    Instructor availability and the PADI Medical Statement to review.

  3. 20% deposit

    Secures the dates. eLearning access follows immediately — start it that week.

  4. Arrive

    Theory done, balance payable on arrival, in the water at 09:00.