Open Water Diver

The SSI Open Water Diver course at Duikcentrum van de Ven certifies you to dive independently to 18 m and is recognized worldwide. Being an SSI Diamond Center — the top recognition tier — means the training infrastructure and instructor standards are audited regularly. The course is offered in two formats: VIP (fully private, one instructor for your group, ~€415 all in) and Classic (up to four students per instructor, ~€395 all in). Both prices include all required dives.

Open water skills are practiced in the sea directly, not a pool. Jan Thiel's southern coast offers protected, calm conditions for the initial training dives, which is a practical advantage when you are learning basic skills like buoyancy, mask clearing, and regulator recovery. The same water you train in is where you will continue diving once certified — so the environment is familiar from day one.

The certification dives progress from shallow confined-water skills to open water dives at increasing depth, finishing at the 18 m limit. The SSI system includes digital training materials via the DiveSSI app, and the center provides access to SSI's free online learning platform to complete theory at your own pace before the in-water sessions begin.

Reviews specifically name Monique for her work with anxious beginners during Open Water training — step-by-step, patient, unhurried. Multiple students describe entering the course nervous and finishing it confident. That track record across a sustained number of verified reviews suggests a consistent approach rather than occasional good results.

Once certified, the center offers upgrade paths to Scuba Diver (if starting from that level) or directly into Advanced Open Water and specialty courses. A referral option exists for students who have completed theory and pool training elsewhere and want to finish their open water dives in Curaçao.