Open Water Diver

This is the Singapore-based track, with open water dives at Pulau Hantu in the Southern Islands rather than an overseas trip. You start with SSI e-learning at home, then come in for a theory revision and test at the DiveLab centre at 1093 Lower Delta Road. Pool training follows at Raffles Marina — the private pool there runs to 3.2m, which gives enough depth to practise mask clearing, regulator retrieval, and buoyancy in conditions closer to open water than the shallow pools most Singapore centres use.

The four open water dives are done over the weekend at Pulau Hantu. DiveLab runs this on a weekly schedule, so you're not waiting for a course to fill before you can start. During the dives, students use Shearwater Peregrine dive computers on loan — proper colour-display units that most divers only graduate to after certification.

Completion certifies you as an SSI Open Water Diver to 18m with a certified buddy. The price at SGD 689 covers e-learning, the confined pool session, all equipment rental, the four open water dives, and the SSI certification e-card.