Open Water Diver

The Open Water Diver course here is 36 hours across five theory modules, five confined water sessions, and five open water dives — all run from the Glavotok bay base on Krk, with the house reef's six steep walls as the practical classroom. Graduates earn the I.R.T.D.A. Open Water Diver certification, valid for independent diving to 18 metres with at least one other certified diver.

The structure is methodical. Theory modules cover equipment in two parts, physics, underwater physiology including decompression illness and nitrogen narcosis, dive tables, and planning independent dives. The exam has 50 questions. Confined water practice runs five modules that build progressively: kit assembly, buddy checks, mask flooding, regulator recovery, octopus breathing, buoyancy control with both inflator and deflator, backward rolls, jacket removal and replacement underwater — the full range of emergency skills that are tested in open water conditions afterward.

The final open water module for the standard OWD (not the Junior variant) includes a self-planned dive where students manage the dive profile independently while instructors stand by for emergencies only. This is where you find out whether the skills transfer from sheltered practice to real reef conditions on the bay walls.

Classes run to a maximum of six students. Courses run year-round — at least monthly, up to four times per month from April to October. The Junior Open Water Diver variant is open from age 10 (the standard from age 14), and the junior certification does not require the independent open water exam. Equipment is sourced from Aqualung, Mares, and Apeks.