B1* / Open Water Diver — Iniciación al Buceo

The entry-level course at Cristalsub runs through FEDAS (B1*) or PADI/SSI Open Water depending on which agency you want your card from. Theory can be done online; pool sessions are held at facilities in Hortaleza, Barajas, and Fuencarral — whichever suits your end of Madrid. Open water dives to complete certification are done at the sea, which means a trip out of the capital for the final sessions.

Pool time is not rationed here. The stated policy is that pool sessions continue until the instructor is satisfied the student is ready, not until a scheduled number of hours is used up. The team explicitly trains buoyancy from day one across all certification paths — they've put it in writing that they spend extra pool time on neutral buoyancy before students hit open water, which pays off when conditions get interesting.

Instructors working this course hold multiple certifications: Ramón Villanueva at IN3* level, Paco Villanueva at IN2*, Carlos García at IN2*, and Claudio Mancini at IN1*. Having instructors cross-qualified in PADI, SSI, and FEDAS means the practical content is consistent regardless of which card you're after.

Courses are run in Spanish, English, Italian, and German depending on which instructor leads. The club is explicit that groups stay small — they won't exceed a ratio they're comfortable with, and they use assistants to keep that ratio consistent even in larger cohorts. The fee covers all materials for theory and pool sessions plus the open water dives.