Getting Your Diving Certification on Lombok | Costs, Schedule and What to Know

Information as of August 2026. If you’ve snorkelled in Bali and want to take the chance to get your diving certification card (C-card), this article covers getting certified on Lombok and the Gili Islands, focused on the practical steps and the money. For the basics of the whole island see the Lombok complete guide, and for spots and how a certification course differs from a trial dive, see the complete guide to snorkeling and diving in Lombok. Here we deal only with what someone who has decided to get certified needs to know: what to choose, how many days and how much it takes, and what to watch out for.

What you’ll learn in this article

• The short version: as of August 2026, the three Gili Islands shops that publish prices on their official websites (Manta Dive / Gili Air Divers / Blue Marlin Gili Meno) all charge the same single price of Rp6,900,000 (about US$388) for the Open Water Diver course. Shops on the Lombok mainland side (Senggigi / Sire Beach) are somewhat cheaper at Rp6,395,000 to Rp6,400,000 (about US$360). US dollar figures use an approximate rate of US$1 ≈ Rp17,800 (September 2026)
• The difference between PADI and SSI, and what to actually look at when choosing a shop (safety arrangements, equipment, small groups, how they handle schedule changes)
• How the 3 days of Open Water certification actually go (theory, confined water, open-water dives), and the costs not included in the price
• The health declaration you need before the course (the 10 items on PADI’s current Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire) and the conditions that require a doctor’s assessment
• What to do if decompression sickness occurs, and whether you can fly right after certifying (the 18 hours from surfacing rule of thumb)

What is a C-card?

A C-card (certification card) is a scuba diving certification issued to someone who has completed the theory and practical curriculum set by a given training agency. Unlike a driving licence, it is not a government qualification: each private training agency, such as PADI or SSI, issues its own private certification. Once you have one, you can rent equipment at dive shops around the world and join fun dives down to your certified depth.

There are several training agencies worldwide, but the most widely used in recreational diving are PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International). Dive shops on the Gili Islands and Lombok almost always work with one or both of these two agencies.

PADI versus SSI: what is actually different?

“Which one should I take?” is something every first-timer wonders about. What you learn as skills is not very different, but there are differences in the following points.

• Worldwide recognition: PADI is the largest in the industry, said to have the most dive shops and instructors in the world. It gives you the reassurance that “there are hardly any shops that won’t recognise PADI”. SSI is also widely recognised internationally, and several of the Gili Islands shops we checked are SSI shops
• Format of materials: both mainly use online e-learning (digital materials), so you can do the theory part in your home country before you travel
• Price difference in practice: from the official sites of shops on the Gili Islands and Lombok as of August 2026, the SSI courses (Manta Dive / Gili Air Divers) were Rp6,900,000, and the PADI courses were Blue Marlin Dive Gili Meno Rp6,900,000, Blue Marlin Lombok Senggigi Rp6,400,000 and Terumbu Divers Rp6,395,000, so we could not confirm a consistent difference by agency. The difference comes from the shop and area, and it is more practical to think of it that way
• Continuing your training: with both agencies you can continue training worldwide (Advanced and above). If you want to take the next course after you get home, it’s reassuring to check beforehand whether there is a shop near you that works with your agency

When you can’t decide, the practical criteria are not the agency’s name but “the shop’s safety record, the quality of the instructors and the flexibility of the schedule”. We cover these below.

How Open Water certification goes: what you do over 3 days

Going by the standard curriculum published by shops on the Gili Islands and Lombok, the Open Water Diver course has three parts.

1. Theory: you learn the physics and physiology of diving (water pressure, buoyancy, equalising your ears), how to use the equipment, and how to plan a safe dive. Many shops recommend doing this beforehand as e-learning before you travel, which cuts down your time tied up on site
2. Confined-water training (a pool, or a sheltered shallow area without waves or current): before entering the open sea, you repeatedly practise basic skills such as clearing your mask, recovering your regulator and achieving neutral buoyancy, in a safe place where you can stand
3. Open-water dives: you do 4 open-water dives in total and reproduce in the real sea the skills you practised in confined water. The depth increases step by step, from around 12 m down to about 18 m at most

On the number of days, the official sites of the three Gili Islands and Lombok shops we checked as of August 2026 (Manta Dive Gili Trawangan, Blue Marlin Dive, Gili Air Divers) all say “3 days”. We have not found a shop that officially states that it takes 4 days if you haven’t finished the theory. However, if you start the theory on site it may take longer, so we recommend allowing at least one spare day in your schedule (please check the days actually needed directly with the shop before you apply).

The certification itself has no expiry date, and PADI states that “certification is valid for life”. At the same time it recommends avoiding a break from diving of 6 to 12 months or more. If you have had a gap, you may be pointed to a refresher course such as PADI ReActivate (the PADI blog says the in-water session of ReActivate is optional, but recommends taking it if you have had a long gap or have fewer than 20 logged dives).

What a typical day looks like (starting on site, with online learning not finished)

• Day 1: theory (rest of the online materials or a classroom lecture) + part of the confined-water training
• Day 2: the rest of the confined-water training + 1 to 2 open-water dives
• Day 3: the remaining open-water dives (4 in total) + certification paperwork
• Spare day: in case rough seas or repeating skills push things back by a day

The figure below shows the same 3 days. You can see at a glance how the four stages of theory, confined-water training, open-water dives and certification build up.

Figure: The 3 days of Open Water certification

Swimming ability and age needed

According to the PADI official FAQ, the Open Water Diver course includes checking the following water skills.

• Swim 200 m (300 m if using a mask, fins and snorkel) without stopping. There is no time limit and any stroke is fine
• Float or tread water for 10 minutes

The minimum age is 10, and under 15 you are certified as a Junior Open Water Diver.

Cost guide: Gili Islands shops are all the same, the mainland side is a little cheaper

People often assume that “it’s overseas so it must be far cheaper”, but checking the shops that publish prices on their official sites as of August 2026, the levels were as follows. Don’t take one shop’s figure at face value; always check the latest official information from several shops.

← Scroll the table sideways

Shop	Base (island / mainland)	Agency	Price (4 open-water dives)	Days on official site	Approx. US$
Manta Dive	Gili Trawangan (island)	SSI	Rp6,900,000	3 days	about US$388
Gili Air Divers	Gili Air (island)	SSI	Rp6,900,000 / about Rp6,210,000 with the 10% online booking discount	3 days	about US$388 / about US$349 after discount
Blue Marlin Dive	Gili Meno (island)	PADI	Rp6,900,000	3 days	about US$388
Blue Marlin Dive	Lombok Senggigi (mainland)	PADI	Rp6,400,000	3 days	about US$360
Terumbu Divers	Sire Beach (mainland / about 10 minutes by boat to the Gilis)	PADI	Rp6,395,000	Not stated officially; ask the shop	about US$359

In other words, the three shops based on the Gili Islands are all the same at Rp6,900,000 (about US$388), and the price difference comes from shops on the Lombok mainland side (about US$360). Whether you stay on the island and commute, or stay on the mainland and go by boat, changes how you arrange accommodation and travel, so check where the base is as well as the price.

* The two Blue Marlin Dive entries are different bases of the same chain. In the company’s official PADI Open Water price list, prices are shown only for Gili Meno and Lombok Senggigi; the Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, Lombok Kuta and Komodo bases show N/A, so you need to ask directly.

* US dollar figures are approximate, at US$1 ≈ Rp17,800 (September 2026). Exchange rates move daily, so check the rate at the time you book.

* Each shop may offer limited-time discounted prices. In fact, Terumbu Divers showed a promotional price of “Rp5,600,000 until 2 August 2026” (about US$315) on its official site, more than 10% below the regular price of Rp6,395,000. Treat published prices not as a fixed “going rate” but as something that moves with the season.

* Terumbu Divers officially advertises a discount of Rp450,000 (about US$25) for two or more people booking at the same time.

For comparison, even Koh Tao in Thailand, often named as a “budget area”, has a shop price of 12,950 baht (Black Turtle Dive official), which is around the same level as the Gili Islands. The Gili Islands are by no means expensive, but they are not remarkably cheap either.

Watch for costs that are not included. The following may be charged separately from a shop’s published price.

• Marine park fee (marine park ticket): Rp100,000 (about US$5.60). Manta Dive, Gili Air Divers and Terumbu Divers all state the same amount on their official sites, and Gili Air Divers says it is “paid once and valid for one month”
• Certification fee (registration with the agency and card issuing fee): even where a shop’s quote says “included”, the agency charges a fee behind the scenes. Check whether it is included in the total
• Learning materials: some shops sell the e-learning materials separately
• Dive computer rental: some shops include it and some charge extra
• Meals, transfers and accommodation: these are generally on top of the course price

The figure below sorts out what is included in the course price and what may cost extra.

Figure: What the course price covers, and what may cost extra

Shops that stress being “cheap” are more likely to leave these items out of the quote, so we recommend confirming the total cost in writing or by message before you apply.

Gili Trawangan or Gili Air: how the shop environments differ

Most people who get certified around Lombok use a shop on the Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, Gili Meno). We cover the basics of the three islands in the Gili Islands complete guide, but from the point of view of getting certified, these are the tendencies.

• Gili Trawangan: the most visitors of the three islands and the most dive shops. With so many choices, the range runs from big shops with many instructors to small shops. More detail in the Gili Trawangan guide
• Gili Air: calmer than Trawangan, with more subdued nightlife. It has fewer shops than Trawangan, but some advertise small groups (Gili Air Divers states on its official site a maximum of 4 people per instructor). Suits people who want to take the course carefully in a quiet setting. More detail in the Gili Air / Meno guide
• Gili Meno: the quietest of the three islands, with fewer shops in the first place

On language: Gili Air Divers’ official site lists English, French, Spanish and Indonesian as the languages it teaches in. If you would like instruction in a particular language, check by email or message before you apply (which staff speak which languages can change over time, even at the same shop).

Staying in Sekotong and commuting to the course

We are based in Sekotong in southwest Lombok. We are sometimes asked whether you can stay in Sekotong and get certified on the Gili Islands, so here are the practical conditions, honestly.

• Allow around 2.5 hours each way for the journey. The transfer operator’s published time between the Gili Islands and Sekotong is about 15 minutes by speedboat from the Gilis to Teluk Nare port, plus about 2 hours 15 minutes by road from Teluk Nare to Sekotong (when there is no traffic), about 2.5 hours in total. Commuting every day for a 3-day course is not realistic
• The comfortable way is to stay on the Gili side during the course and move to Sekotong after you’re certified. The course runs to a morning boat departure, so the closer your accommodation is to the harbour and the shop, the easier it is
• Sekotong suits diving in a quiet sea after you’re certified. The South Gili Islands (off Sekotong) see few tourists, but many of the sites have currents, so they suit fun dives after certification rather than training
• One caution: there are far fewer locally arranged dive shops around Sekotong than on the Gili side, so don’t expect to sign up on the day. You need to arrange it in advance

The overall picture of the area and accommodation options are in the Sekotong complete guide.

Stepping up to Advanced and beyond

Once you are an Open Water Diver, you are approved to dive to about 18 m at most. If you want to go deeper or to sites with currents, you can consider stepping up to a higher course.

• Advanced Open Water Diver: according to PADI, this course consists of 5 adventure dives in total: the 2 mandatory ones (Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation) plus 3 of your choice. If you hold the Open Water Diver certification, no extra number of logged dives is required, and your certified depth extends to a maximum of 30 m. The number of days varies by shop, so check when you apply
• Age requirements: full certification is from 15. Ages 12 to 14 are treated as Junior Advanced Open Water Diver, and ages 10 to 11 as Junior Adventure Diver (PADI official FAQ)
• Examples of dive sites you could aim for around Lombok after Advanced include deeper sites and the South Gili Islands area off Sekotong. Many of the sites have currents, so it is safer to step up after building up your logged dives

Where you can dive around Lombok after certifying

Once you are an Open Water Diver, you can aim for areas like the following from Lombok. Detailed spot guides and price ranges are in the complete guide to snorkeling and diving in Lombok, but we touch on the main points within the scope of this article.

• Dive sites around the Gili Islands (Trawangan, Air, Meno): PADI’s official area introduction says “turtles are one of the highlights of diving in the Gili Islands, with both green and hawksbill turtles seen in abundance”. There are several sites that even beginners can join
• Off Sekotong and the South Gili Islands: a quiet sea with few tourists, and an area close to our base. Currents and visibility change with the season and the day, so follow the local shop’s judgment on the day
• For the general sea conditions across Lombok, see also the best season and weather in Lombok

Health declaration, and conditions that might stop you diving

Both PADI and SSI ask you to answer a medical questionnaire before the course. PADI’s current form is the completely revised 2020 “Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire”, in which you answer yes or no to the following 10 items (version dated 1 January 2026).

1. You have had lung, breathing, heart or blood problems that affected your normal physical or mental performance
2. You are over 45 (if so, additional detail items apply)
3. You have difficulty with moderate exercise (such as walking 1.6 km in 14 minutes or swimming 200 m without resting). *If yes, a doctor’s assessment is required
4. You have had problems with your eyes, ears, nasal cavity or sinuses, or teeth
5. You have had surgery in the past 12 months, or have ongoing problems related to past surgery. *If yes, a doctor’s assessment is required
6. You have had loss of consciousness, migraine, seizures, stroke, severe head injury, or have a persistent neurological disorder or disease
7. You are currently being treated for, or were treated in the past 5 years for, a psychological problem, personality disorder, panic attacks, or drug or alcohol dependence
8. You have had back problems, a hernia, ulcers or diabetes
9. You have had stomach or bowel problems (including recent diarrhoea)
10. You are currently taking one or more prescription medicines. *If yes, a doctor’s assessment is required

If you answer no to all 10 items, no doctor’s sign-off is needed. On the other hand, if you answer yes to any of 3, 5 or 10, a doctor’s assessment is required, and for the other items too you may be asked for a doctor’s judgment depending on the details. If any of these might apply to you, please consult a doctor before you travel and, if necessary, have a medical certificate ready. The latest version of the questionnaire is available on PADI’s official download page.

If it turns out on site that “actually I have a condition and can’t dive”, not only is the course fee wasted but rearranging your schedule is difficult. Checking beforehand is essential.

If decompression sickness happens: what to do on the Gili Islands

Decompression sickness (DCS) is an accident whose probability is never zero even if you follow the rules. On the Gili Islands, being islands, the time from onset to treatment is longer than on the mainland. Please make sure you have these 4 points covered before you leave.

1. Know the early symptoms

The early symptoms DAN lists are unusual fatigue, itchy skin, pain in the joints or muscles of the arms, legs or trunk, dizziness, numbness or tingling, paralysis and difficulty breathing. Signs that others can see include a mottled rash, muscle weakness, an unusual way of walking, confusion, and behaving out of character. Symptoms can appear right after surfacing or build up over 24 hours, and most appear between 15 minutes and 12 hours after the dive. Don’t put it down to “just being tired”; tell your instructor on the spot.

2. The nearest recompression chamber is across the sea

There is no recompression chamber on the Gili Islands. The place locally pointed to for diving accidents is the hyperbaric oxygen therapy room at RSUD Kota Mataram (Mataram City Hospital) on the Lombok mainland. RSUD Kabupaten Lombok Utara (Tanjung) in North Lombok also publishes hyperbaric oxygen therapy facilities. Both need a transfer by boat plus road from the Gili Islands, so you need to act on the assumption that getting there takes time. Operating status and arrangements change over time, so we recommend asking the shop on the first day of the course about “where you would be taken in an accident and the procedure”.

3. Take out dive insurance beforehand

DAN’s dive accident insurance covers hyperbaric oxygen treatment (chamber) costs, doctor and hospital costs, emergency transport by land, air or sea, and extra transport and accommodation costs if treatment delays your trip home. General travel insurance may exclude accidents during scuba diving, so check before you leave whether your policy covers diving and, if necessary, take out dedicated dive insurance.

4. Never board a plane while you have symptoms

Boarding with symptoms that may be decompression sickness makes them worse in the low air pressure of the cabin. DAN asks people not to delay medical evaluation even if oxygen temporarily improves symptoms. Once symptoms appear, assume that you will have to change your flight from that day onward.

Waiting time before flying after certifying

This is an important point directly tied to safety. After diving, nitrogen dissolved in the body remains, and if you enter a low-pressure aircraft cabin soon after diving, this nitrogen can form bubbles and raise the risk of decompression sickness. DAN (Divers Alert Network), the divers’ safety organisation, recommends the following waiting times in its guidelines on flying after diving.

• After a single no-decompression dive: a surface interval of at least 12 hours
• After multiple dives in a day, or repetitive dives over several days: a surface interval of at least 18 hours
• After a decompression dive: a wait significantly longer than 18 hours (the exact time depends on the individual situation)

So the 18-hour rule isn’t only for people who dived over several days. If you dive twice in a day and travel the next day, you are also on the 18-hour side. Because a certification course involves several open-water dives on consecutive days, waiting at least 18 hours from the time you surface on your last dive before boarding is the safer guide.

Two more points. These figures are the “minimum” that DAN gives, derived from tests (Duke University, 1992 to 1999) on resting subjects in a dry chamber, on the assumption that the cabin pressure is equivalent to about 2,400 m (about 8,000 feet) above the ground. DAN itself notes that because real diving involves exercise underwater, “a longer wait may be needed”. The more margin you leave, the safer. And the restriction isn’t only for planes. Travelling by road to high ground after diving also means lower air pressure. Avoid an itinerary that takes you to high-altitude areas such as the Mount Rinjani area right after certifying.

What to watch out for here is that “a flight the next day” is not always fine. For example, if your last dive surfaces at 15:00, 18 hours later is 9:00 the next day. A flight departing at 8:00 the next morning does not meet the condition. Plan by “surfacing time + 18 hours”, not by “next-day flight”.

The idea of “18 hours from surfacing” looks like this on a timeline.

Figure: Waiting time between your last dive and boarding a flight

Also, if you connect Lombok → Bali → onward international flight, the starting point is the departure time of the first flight (from Lombok). You need to have 18 hours before the first take-off, not before the connecting international flight.

What to look at when choosing a shop

Choosing a dive shop on price alone is where people tend to regret it on safety and schedule flexibility. We recommend checking the following on the website or by enquiry before you apply.

• Safety record and insurance: whether the shop states that it carries an emergency oxygen kit, whether it is insured, and what its transfer procedure is in an accident
• Condition of the equipment: whether they explain the age and maintenance frequency of rental equipment. Ageing equipment can cause faults and trouble
• Number of students per instructor: PADI and SSI both set upper limits, but the numbers actually used differ by shop. Shops that state small groups tend to give more careful instruction to each person
• What the reviews say: don’t just look at the stars; check specific comments such as “was skill instruction careful?” and “did they put safety management first?”
• How they handle schedule changes: because the schedule can stretch depending on sea conditions, whether the shop is flexible is also an important factor

Things to keep in mind, and the downsides

• The risk of choosing on price alone: some shops that push “cheap” leave the certification fee, learning materials and marine park fee out of the total, so extra costs arise later. Shops with many students per instructor also tend to give less attention to each person. Before you apply, check that the low price isn’t at the expense of safety management or equipment condition
• The schedule may stretch with sea conditions: on days with strong wind or waves, open-water training may not go ahead as planned. BMKG (the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics) publishes wave height forecasts by sea area, and for the southern Lombok Strait high and very high (Sangat Tinggi) waves are sometimes forecast. You can check the sea area on the Gili Islands side in the same BMKG forecasts by sea area. In bad weather dives are postponed to the next day or later, so don’t build a tight travel schedule immediately after the course
• Some costs are not included: as described above, the certification fee, learning materials, marine park fee, dive computer rental and so on may be missing from the course price quote. Always confirm the total in advance
• Depending on your health you may not be able to take the course, or need a doctor’s assessment: if any of the 10 items above apply to you, finding out suddenly on site makes it hard to rearrange your schedule
• Medical care is on an island: the recompression chambers are on the Lombok mainland side and getting there takes time. We recommend taking out dive insurance beforehand
• Limits on when you can fly: because you need to avoid flying for 18 hours after surfacing on your last dive, packing your departure schedule too tightly will upset your plans

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

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For the basics of the whole island see the Lombok complete guide; for how a course differs from a trial dive and an overview of recommended spots, the complete guide to snorkeling and diving in Lombok; for the Gili Islands, the Gili Islands complete guide; and for each island in detail, the Gili Trawangan guide and the Gili Air / Meno guide.

Sources

• DAN (Divers Alert Network), “Guidelines for Flying After Diving” (12 hours after a single no-decompression dive, 18 hours after repetitive multi-day diving, significantly longer than 18 hours after decompression diving. These are minimum values based on the 1992 to 1999 Duke University dry-chamber tests)
• DAN, “Flying After Diving” (conditions and symptoms page) (the original wording of “at least 18 hours after multiple dives in a day or over multiple days”, and the assumption of a cabin altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 feet)
• DAN, “Treating Decompression Sickness (The Bends)” (early symptoms and signs of decompression sickness, time to onset, oxygen and medical evaluation)
• DAN, “Dive Accident Insurance” (cover for chamber treatment costs, emergency transport and extended stays caused by treatment)
• PADI official download page (source of the current medical questionnaire)
• PADI official “Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire” PDF (10346 EN, version dated 2026-01-01) (the content of the 10 questions, conditions requiring a doctor’s assessment)
• PADI official “Become a Certified Scuba Diver FAQs” (minimum age 10, swimming requirement of 200 m / 300 m and a 10-minute float)
• PADI Blog official “Advanced Open Water Diver FAQs” (number of dives, prerequisites and age criteria for Advanced; maximum 30 m)
• PADI Blog official “Do Scuba Certifications Expire?” (certification does not expire; a break of 6 to 12 months or more is best avoided; the in-water session of ReActivate is optional)
• PADI Blog official “Scuba Diving With Contacts or Glasses” (soft contact lenses recommended, hard/RGP lenses not recommended)
• PADI official “Diving in Gili Islands” (that green and hawksbill turtles are seen in abundance)
• BMKG (Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics) marine weather: southern Lombok Strait (forecasts of high and very high waves for this sea area)
• BMKG marine weather: northern Lombok waters (the forecast page for the sea area corresponding to the Gili Islands side)
• Manta Dive Gili Trawangan official site (SSI Open Water Rp6,900,000, 3 days, 4 open-water dives, marine park fee Rp100,000)
• Gili Air Divers official site (SSI Rp6,900,000, 10% online booking discount, 3 days, conservation fee of Rp100,000 paid once and valid for one month, maximum 4 people per instructor, languages: English, French, Spanish, Indonesian)
• Blue Marlin Dive official site (PADI: Gili Meno Rp6,900,000, Lombok Senggigi Rp6,400,000. Gili Trawangan / Gili Air / Lombok Kuta / Komodo shown as N/A. 3 days, 4 open-water dives, marine park fee separate)
• Terumbu Divers official price page (PADI Open Water regular Rp6,395,000 / promotion of Rp5,600,000 until 2 August 2026, marine park fee of Rp100,000 separate, Rp450,000 discount for 2 or more people, 4 dives)
• Terumbu Divers official location page (moved from Gili Trawangan to Anema Villa and Resort at Sire Beach on the Lombok mainland at the end of December 2018, about 10 minutes by boat to the Gilis)
• Black Turtle Dive (Koh Tao, Thailand) official site (PADI Open Water 12,950 baht, for comparison)
• RSUD Kabupaten Lombok Utara official site “Hyperbaric Chamber” (hyperbaric oxygen therapy facilities in Tanjung, North Lombok)
• Lombok Network transfer price page (Gili Islands to Sekotong: 15 minutes by boat plus about 2 hours 15 minutes by road, about 2.5 hours in total)
• Rupiah-to-dollar conversions in this article use an approximate market rate as of September 2026 (US$1 ≈ Rp17,800)

* The information on prices, days and rules in this article is a guide based on checks made as of August 2026. Agency rules, shop prices and languages, medical facilities’ arrangements and whether a medical check is needed can all change, so please confirm the latest information on the official sites and with medical facilities before you travel.