Learn to dive

PADI Open Water Diver Course
Get Certified! Take a Scuba Lesson with the PADI Open Water Diver Course

Get your PADI scuba certification. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, discover new adventures or simply see the wondrous world beneath the waves, this is where it starts.

The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle. 

The Fun Part
The fun part about this course is . . . well, just about all of it because learning to dive is incredible. You breathe underwater for the first time (something you’ll never forget) and learn what you need to know to become a certified diver. During the course, you’ll make at least five pool dives and four dives at local dive sites under the supervision of your PADI Instructor.

What You Learn

• How much fun scuba diving is

• Scuba diving equipment considerations for your local diving environment

• How to plan, and execute actual dives

• How to prevent and manage problems

the PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge Development (in a classroom ) to understand basic principles of scuba diving

• Confined Water Dives (pool) to learn basic scuba skills

• Open Water Dives to review your skills and explore!

If you’ve tried diving through a Discover Scuba Diving course, the skills you learned may be credited towards a portion of the full PADI Open Water Diver course certification.

The Scuba Gear You Use
In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to use basic scuba gear and standard accessories. The equipment you wear varies somewhat, depending upon whether you’re diving in tropical, temperate or cold water 

The Learning Materials You Need
PADI offers a variety of home-study materials for the Open Water Diver course.

PADI’s Open Water Diver materials cover what you need to know about basic scuba diving skills, terminology and safety procedures. For each concept you’ll read a description and watch a video demonstration. Then you’ll jump in the pool (or pool-like environment) to practice these skills with your instructor. Later, as a certified diver, use the course materials as a reference guide for future diving adventures and to review what you learned. 

Prerequisites
To enroll in the PADI Open Diver course or Junior Open Water Diver course, you must be:

• 10 years or older