Most people who walk into our shop for a try dive have never breathed underwater and are quietly convinced they’ll be the one person who can’t do it. Fifteen years of first-timers say otherwise. Here is exactly what happens on an SSI Basic Diver half day — hour by hour, no surprises.
Hour one: coffee and the briefing
No classroom, no thick textbook. You sit down with your instructor — yours, not shared with a group of fifteen — over a coffee, and they explain the three things that matter: how pressure works, the handful of hand signals you’ll use, and what each piece of gear does. Twenty minutes, and most of it feels like conversation.
Hour two: the pool
We move to our calm two-metre pool to practise the five skills every diver uses: clearing a little water from your mask, finding your regulator if it slips out, equalising your ears, signalling, and moving slowly. This is where the nerves live — and where they die. Most people are blowing bubbles confidently within thirty minutes. Nobody moves on until you’re comfortable; there’s no schedule pressure on a half day built around one person.
Hour three: the ocean
The boat takes you to one of the shallow, sheltered reefs around Gili Air or Gili Meno. One real dive, to a maximum of twelve metres, with your instructor within arm’s reach the entire time. Turtles are almost guaranteed — green and hawksbill turtles live on these reefs year-round — plus clouds of damselfish, parrotfish chewing coral, and if you’re lucky an eagle ray gliding past in the blue.
The three fears everyone brings
- “I’m not a strong swimmer.” For a try dive you only need to be comfortable in a pool — no swim test. (For certification later, there is one; here’s the honest breakdown.)
- “My ears hurt when I dive down.” That’s pressure, and the fix is a technique, not a talent — you’ll practise equalising in the pool before the ocean, and descend at your own pace.
- “What if I panic?” Your instructor is next to you the whole dive, trained precisely for this, and shallow water means the surface is always seconds away. You can stand up in the pool at any time.
What it costs, and what it counts toward
The half day is 1,350,000 IDR — instructor, all equipment, pool session and the boat dive included. If it clicks (it usually does), two things are worth knowing: extra guided dives to 12 m cost 800,000 IDR with Dive After Intro, and if you go for your Open Water certification within twelve months, your try dive is credited against the course price. You never pay twice for skills you already have.
We run try dives every day of the year. Message us on WhatsApp — a slot for tomorrow morning is usually no problem.