Certification Process
Who should take this course?
If you’ve always wanted to take scuba diving lessons, experience unparalleled adventure and see the world beneath the waves, this is where it starts. Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course – the world’s most popular and widely recognized scuba course. Millions of people have learned to scuba dive and gone on to discover the wonders of the aquatic world through this course.
To enroll in a PADI Open Water Diver course (or Junior Open Water Diver course), you must be 10 years old or older. You need adequate swimming skills and need to be in good physical health (see the attached medical questionnaire). No prior experience with scuba diving is required.
Learning to scuba dive requires both knowledge development (facts, principles, concepts) and dive skills (techniques, methods).
The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:
• Knowledge Development. This is the online “eLearning” you will study to understand basic principlesand safety techniques of scuba diving. This includes watching 5 training videos, reviewing 5 chapters in the dive manual, taking 6 written quizzes and 1 final written test.
• Confined Water Dives (aka shallow water training) with your instructor to learn and develop the basic scuba skills, usually takes one day between 6 to 8 hours.
• Open Water Dives (4 dives) with your PADI instructor to use your skills and explore! This usually takes two days of open water training 5 hours each day.
What is the minimum amount of time required to complete the eLearning/bookwork and in-water training to receive my PADI Open Water Scuba Diver Certification?
Below is a general outline of the time investment to complete a thorough high-quality Open Water Scuba Certification course. These estimated times do vary depending on your learning curve.
Online eLearning study (12 – 15 hours)
The online eLearning price if purchased from me is $220.
Confined Water Training (5 - 8 hours) 1 day
The confined water training involves learning and practicing the dive skills in shallow calmer water. There are many skills to practice and the total amount of in-water training time can take about 6 hours. This time varies greatly depending on how comfortable you are with the skills and in the water. This is normally done in one day and is split up into two 3 hour in-water training sessions. If you are not able to complete the confined water training in one day and need to work on it another day, that is acceptable, however there will be additional fees that apply if more than one day is needed.
Open Water Training. 4 Open water dives (Two days 5-6 hours each day)
The Open water training involves performing the same skills you learned in confined water, but in an Open water Environment. We will conduct two open water dives each day. This will take 2 days. If you are not able to complete the Open water training in two days and need more time, this is acceptable, however there will be additional fees that apply if more than two days are needed.
In-water Training Schedule:
Day 1
30 minutes final exam review
6 – 8 hours Confined Water Training
Day 2
5 – 6 hours Open Water Training
Day 3
5 – 6 hours Open Water Training