Freediving in Amed: courses, prices and schools

Why Amed suits a freediving course

The water off Amed gets deep within a few minutes of the beach. Bali Freedivers, whose school sits on Jalan Melasti in the village, describes easy shore access to depths of 20, 30, 40 and even 50 meters, with calm conditions and almost no current. Its line-diving moorings are about three minutes from the office. Depth without a boat is the whole argument for this coast. ¹

Amed sits in Purwakerti, Karangasem Regency, on Bali's east coast, and the schools sit among the fishing boats a few doors from the sand. Apneista's address is Jalan I Ketut Natih, in Amed Jemeluk. Freediving Amed teaches from its own beachfront. You walk to the water. ^{3, 13}

One school counts its access in swimming distance. Freediving Amed's facilities page lists three moorings at 35, 48 and 55 meters, reached by swimming from its beach. The page labels those figures as swimming distance, so ask the school whether they describe distance from shore or the depth of each line before you plan around them. ¹³

• Jemeluk Bay and its wall, the training water most Amed courses use, and the site Apnea Bali points its own students south to reach. ^{1, 8}
• The Japanese Wreck and the USAT Liberty, both on Bali Freedivers' fun-dive list, with the Liberty built into Apneista's Level 2 package. ^{1, 3}
• Lipah Beach, Bunutan, Golden Rock, the Drop-off and the Coral Garden, the rest of the fun-dive sites the same school names. ¹

How much does a freediving course in Amed cost?

Three schools publish full price lists. Rupiah first, because that is what those schools charge in; dollar figures use Bank Indonesia's reference rate for 25 September 2026.

Budget USD 250 to 280 for a first certification and USD 360 to 395 for the level above it. Once the rupiah prices convert, the three priced schools land in the same band. What moves between them is days, sessions and what the fee covers. ^{2, 1, 3, 4}

Two levels back to back is the usual plan, and the totals stay close. Freediving Amed asks IDR 12,000,000, about USD 669.75, across 5.5 days. Bali Freedivers asks USD 620 across six days and 16 sessions. Apneista asks IDR 11,100,000, about USD 619.52, across five days. ^{2, 5, 1, 6, 3, 4}

What do the course levels mean, from AIDA to Molchanovs?

Two systems, one ladder. AIDA numbers its courses 1 to 4. Molchanovs calls them Waves. Amed schools teach one system, the other, or both, and a school's Level 1 maps to the first full certification, AIDA2 or Wave 1. Bali Freedivers says exactly that on its own course page. ^{16, 1}

A depth ceiling is a training limit, and the certifying dive sits well inside it. AIDA2 caps training at 20 meters and asks for a 12 meter dive to pass. Amed's water goes far past both numbers. The course is what teaches you to use it safely. ^{16, 1}

Molchanovs runs Waves 1 to 4 alongside Lap courses for the pool disciplines, and bills the student directly: USD 30 to register a first certification at a level, USD 10 for an upgrade at the same level. That fee sits outside a school's course price. Freediving Amed's Wave 1 fee already covers it. ^{9, 2}

Amed has form in this sport. In 2018 Alexey Molchanov and Adam Stern ran Deep Week here together with the first Molchanovs instructor course held outside Russia, the system's international launch. Eight years on, three schools in the village teach that syllabus. ^{17, 2, 3, 1}

Which school should you book?

Five schools work this stretch of coast, and three of them print a price. Here is what each publishes, in its own words, read on 26 September 2026. ^{5, 1, 3, 7, 8}

Freediving Amed

A beachfront school on the Molchanovs syllabus, running Wave 1 through Wave 3, a 10-day Instructor Course and a one-month Master Program. Wave 1 fills two days from 8:30 to 5:30, with one pool session and ocean sessions on both days. Wave 3 is a semi-professional certificate that qualifies a graduate to work as an assistant instructor. ^{2, 5, 14}

Bali Freedivers

Based on Jalan Melasti in Amed and teaching every course there. It publishes the widest ladder in dollars: a USD 160 one-day taster with no certificate, Level 1 at USD 260 over two days and seven sessions, Level 2 at USD 360 over four days and nine sessions to 30 meters. It also states plainly that the certification fee is billed separately, by whichever pathway you choose. ^{15, 1, 6}

Apneista

A freediving and yoga school at Jemeluk, on Jalan I Ketut Natih in Purwakerti. Its Level 1 at IDR 4,600,000 is the cheapest first certification of the three priced schools, and its three-day Level 2 package includes the excursion to the Liberty Wreck. The four-week Master program at USD 900 includes Wave 3 certification. ^{3, 4}

Jukung Dive Resort

The AIDA school in Amed, working here since 2004 and the first PADI 5 Star dive resort on this coast. It runs AIDA 1 as a one-day introduction with no exam, AIDA 2 as a 2.5-day certification to 20 meters trained at Jemeluk Bay and Tulamben, and AIDA 3 over 3.5 days to 30 meters in Jemeluk Bay. One figure appears on its site: USD 65 to upgrade AIDA 1 to AIDA 2. Ask for the rest. ⁷

Apnea Bali, which is in Tulamben

Its base is Jalan Pura Puseh in Tulamben, with the USAT Liberty wreck minutes from the door and, in its own words, day-trip access to Amed and the Jemeluk Bay wall 20 minutes south. It teaches Level 1 to Level 4 plus Master and Instructor tracks. No price appears anywhere on its site. Book a Tulamben bed for it, and keep Amed as the day trip its own page describes. ⁸

What else do you pay on top of the course?

The course fee is most of the bill and rarely all of it. Certification and registration fees ride on top, gear outside the package costs a day rate, and Indonesia collects two charges before you reach the water at all. ^{9, 1, 7, 10, 11}

The entry charges land before the first breath-up. Indonesia's Visitor Visa costs IDR 500,000 for a 30-day stay, and Bali has charged every foreign visitor a one-time levy of IDR 150,000 since 14 February 2024. Together that is IDR 650,000, about USD 36.28, whichever school you pick. ^{10, 11, 4}

Most Amed schools fold freediving equipment into the course fee, so those rental lines matter on your days off. Weighing a purchase instead? MMT's buy or rent worksheet runs the break-even, and the dive insurance page is where policy wording on depth belongs. ^{2, 1, 18, 19}

What does a month of training in Amed cost?

A four-week program runs about USD 865 to 1,005 at Freediving Amed and USD 900 at Apneista. Both build to Wave 3, and both expect Wave 2 or an equivalent before you start. The instructor tracks sit above them at USD 1,340 and USD 1,350. ^{5, 12, 3, 14, 4}

What the month buys at Freediving Amed: Molchanovs Wave 3 certification, daily coaching, yoga and video analysis, with Wave 2 or an equivalent required to begin. Apneista builds its version around yoga and meditation alongside the training, with the Wave 3 certificate included at USD 900. ^{12, 3}

A month in the water needs a month of rent, food and transport around it, and none of that appears in a course fee. MMT prices the base separately in the Amed diving month budget, and the Indonesia travel guide covers arrival and the islands either side.

How do you book an Amed course week?

Five messages and a fixed week of dates. The schools answer on WhatsApp and booking forms, and of the five, one prints no price at all while another prints a single upgrade fee, so the quote is the first thing to pin down. ^{7, 8}

1. 01

   Pick the level, then the school

   A first certification means AIDA2, Wave 1 or a school's Level 1: two days of pool and ocean work under a 20 meter ceiling. Every school here teaches it. A 30 meter course is AIDA3, Wave 2 or Level 2, and runs three to four days. ^{16, 2, 1, 6}

2. 02

   Ask for one total, in writing

   Course fee, certification or registration fee, equipment, pool fee, and the currency you will actually pay in. Bali Freedivers publishes its inclusions and flags the separate certification fee. Jukung Dive and Apnea Bali publish neither, so the quote is the only number you will have. ^{1, 7, 8}

3. 03

   Check the calendar with the school

   Ask which days its water sessions pause for village and temple ceremonies, and whether the instructor you want runs your dates. Fix the course week first, then book the flights around it.

4. 04

   Hold the booking and read the terms

   Bali Freedivers takes a 30 percent non-refundable deposit to secure a place. Ask what moves a date, what forfeits the deposit, and what happens when the sea closes a session. ¹

5. 05

   Pay the entry charges yourself

   The e-VOA at IDR 500,000 and Bali's IDR 150,000 levy are separate from anything a school bills. Sort both before you land so the first morning belongs to the water. ^{10, 11}

6. 06

   Book the bed to match the school

   Freediving Amed teaches off its own beach. Bali Freedivers' moorings are about three minutes from its office on Jalan Melasti. Apnea Bali is in Tulamben, 20 minutes up the coast. Match the room to the school, not to the name of the coastline. ^{13, 1, 8}

Freediving certification prices read differently once you have seen what a scuba course costs. The two sports certify on separate ladders and separate timelines. MMT's scuba certification cost breakdown splits tuition, pool and open-water fees, which is the same arithmetic you are doing here. ¹⁶