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 

Continuing education

Courses
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
The PADI Underwater Naturalist Course

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Exploration, Excitement, Experiences.  
They’re what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course is all about. And no, you don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed so you can go straight into it after the PADI Open Water Diver course.   

The Advanced Open Water Course helps you increase your confidence and build your scuba skills so you can become more comfortable in the water.

This is a great way to get more dives under your belt while continuing to learn under the supervision of your PADI instructor.

This course builds on what you’ve learned and develops new capabilities by introducing you to new activities and new ways to have fun scuba diving. You’ll hone your skills by completing five adventure dives that introduce you to:

• Under Water Navigation 

• Deep Diver  (typically anywhere from 18-30 metres)

• A sampler of three more Adventure Dives of your choice

The Fun Part: Your Choice
One reason you’ll love the Advanced Open Water Diver course is that you and your instructor choose from 15 types of Adventure Dives to complete your course. You can try your hand at wreck diving, night diving, peak performance buoyancy and much more.

• Get credit! Each Adventure Dive in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course may credit toward the first dive of the corresponding PADI Specialty Diver course.  

What You Learn
The knowledge and skills you get in the Advanced Open Water course vary with your interest and the adventures you have, but includePractical aspects of deep diving

• Physiological effects of deeper scuba diving.

• More ways to use your underwater compass

• How to navigate using kick-cycles, visual landmarks and time

• How to better use your dive computer and electronic Recreational Dive Planner  

• And much, much more, depending on the Adventure Dives you choose  

The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all the basic scuba gear including your underwater compass. Depending on which three adventure dives you pick, you may also try out underwater photography equipment , DPVs (underwater scooters), a dive light, lift bags or other specialty gear.

The Learning Materials You Need
PADI’s Adventures in Diving Manual and DVD provide information on more than 16 types of specialty diving. You’ll use them as a guidebook to improve your diving skills and prepare for new experiences and adventures.

Prerequisites
To take this course, you must be:

• A PADI Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)

• 15 years old (12 for Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)

The PADI Underwater Naturalist Course
Look closer to see more on your next dive. Look for symbioses, predator/prey and other relationships between aquatic plant and animal life. Learn not just what fish and animals are, but how they interact with each other and the environment. 

The Fun Part
Learn about why some creatures behave the way they do and what their role is in the aquatic ecosystem.

What You Learn
You learn about

• The major aquatic life groupings, interactions and factual information that dispels negative myths.

• The role of aquatic plants, food chains and predator prey relationships

• Responsible interactions with aquatic life

• The underwater naturalist’s view of organisms and their roles in the environment

You put this information into practice during your two open water dives.

The Scuba Gear You Use
You will use the basic scuba gear and perhaps some scuba accessories.

Prerequisites

•  Must be a PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization).

Teach others

Courses
The PADI Assistant Instructor course
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor Course

The PADI Assistant Instructor course
As a PADI Assistant Instructor, you not only gain additional experience as a PADI Professional scuba diver, but you also start learning the PADI System of diver education. You can act as an instructional scuba assistant and assume limited teaching responsibilities. It’s a great way to gain experience in order to become a scuba instructor!

The PADI Assistant Instructor course is the first portion of the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) and when followed by the Open Water Scuba Instructor course (owsi) and successful performance at the Instructor Examination (IE), leads to certification as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.

The Fun Part
Get mentored while gaining hands-on experience teaching students.

What You Learn
You build upon your abilities to organize and supervise scuba diving activities, while concentrating on developing teaching skills. You learn through:Knowledge development through self-study, quizzes, lectures and presentations
Confined water skill review and assessment, workshops and presentations
Open water workshops, rescue assessment and candidate presentations
The PADI Assistant Instructor Course consists of these sections:

Module 1: Academic Training
    PADI Discover Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Programs
    Developing Knowledge Development Presentations
    Teaching Project AWARE and Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialties
    Teaching in Confined Water
    Conducting Open Water Training Presentations
Module 2: Independent Study
    Knowledge Development
Module 3: Practical Application
    Confined Water and Open Water Teaching Presentations
    Standards Exam
    Dive Rescue Skills Assessment

What You Can Teach
In addition to the responsibilities and duties you already have as a PADI Divemaster, as a PADI Assistant Instructor you can:

• Teach academic presentations under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• During confined water dives, present initial skills training under the direct
• supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• Evaluate Open Water Diver surface skills under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• Teach and certify  PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy under the direction of a PADI Instructor
• Teach Project AWARE Specialty courses
• Teach the AWARE Coral Reef Conservation specialty course
• Conduct PADI Discover Scuba Diving experiences in a pool or confined water
• Conduct PADI Seal Team AquaMissions
• Teach PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty courses under the direction of a PADI Instructor after earning the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor rating

At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.

The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all the basic scuba equipment and some scuba accessories such as a dive slate, dive knife, compass, dive watch, etc.It is highly recommended that you own all of your own scuba equipment, as familiarity with personal gear improves general scuba diving skills.

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI IDC crewpak includes all the materials needed to prepare for a PADI Assistant Instructor or Open Water Scuba Instructor course. The 23-item pack includes:

• Instructor cue cards for PADI’s core courses (OW, AOW, Rescue and Divemaster)
• IDC Candidate Workbook and related reference materials,
• Lesson planning slates for confined and open water
• Quiz and exam booklets for the core courses
• Specialty outlines for Project AWARE
• PADI Instructor Manual.

 
Prerequisites
You must

• Be a PADI Divemaster or qualifying certification from another certification organization
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have 60 logged dives, including night, deep, and navigation dives
• Have been a certified diver for at least 6 months
• Have CPR and First Aid Training within the last 24 months
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
• Want a fun and exciting career!

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor Course

Are you looking for something extraordinary? To do something others can only dream of? To help people transform their lives? To open doors you didn’t even know existed? All of this, and more, awaits you as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.The Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program is one of two distinct components of PADI’s Instructor Development Course (IDC)—the core of PADI Instructor training. The first portion is the Assistant Instructor course followed by the Open Water Scuba Instructor program.The OWSI program is a minimum of four days. It introduces you to the entire PADI System of diver education and concentrates on further developing your abilities as a professional dive educator.

The Fun Part
It’s about life transformations—both yours and those around you.The fun part of instructor training is interacting with course participants while creating friendships that continue long after the course concludes.You’ll begin networking with other professionals and begin to explore PADI Pro Diving Jobs worldwide. You’ll also have the opportunity to continue your professional education by participating in specialty instructor courses, which train you to teach specialties after instructor certification.

The Challenging Part
The challenging part of this course is your personal commitment to the training. The course requires you to complete all the self-study Knowledge Reviews before the course begins and to prepare daily assignments for teaching presentations daily. Organization and dedication are key.

What You Learn
During the course you’ll learn how to apply the PADI System of Education by presenting at least

• Two confined water teaching presentations
• Two knowledge development presentations
• One open water teaching presentations integrating two skills

You will also attend and participate in the following 14 curriculum presentations:

• Course Orientation
• Dive Industry Overview
• General Standards and Procedures
• The Role of Media and Prescriptive Teaching
• Legal Responsibility and Risk Management
• PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver Course
• Adaptive Teaching
• The PADI Continuing Education Philosophy
• Business Principles for the Dive Instructor
• Adventures in Diving  Program
• Specialty Diver Courses and Master Scuba Diver Program
• Rescue Diver Course
• Divemaster Course
• Diver Retention Programs
• How to Teach the RDP (Instructors from recreational diver training organizations other than PADI must complete.)

You will demonstrate competence at

• performing all 20 dive skills listed on the Skill Evaluation.
• performing a facedown, nonstop swim for 800 metres/yards using a mask, snorkel and fins.
• During the course you’ll need to demonstrate competency in Dive theory by passing a five-part theory exam scoring 75% on each part.

What You Can Teach
After becoming an Open Water Scuba Instructor, you will be able to conduct the entire range of PADI progras from Discove Scuba Diving up to Divemaster. You may also choose to acquire specialty instructor ratings in areas of interest, such as Digital Underwater Photography or Enriched Air Diver.At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.

The Scuba Gear You Use
You will need to equip yourself with all the basic scuba gear as well as two scuba signaling devices —one audible and one visual.

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Instructor Development Course crewpak includes all the materials needed to prepare for the Instructor Development Course. The 23-item pack includes:

• Instructor cue cards for PADI’s core courses (Open Water and Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster)
• Instructor Development Course Candidate Workbook and related reference materials,
• Lesson planning slates for confined and open water
• Quiz and exam booklets for the core courses
• Specialty outlines for Project AWARE
• PADI Instructor Manual

Next Steps
View the Instructor Examination (I/E) schedule on the Scuba Scene WEB site

Prerequisites
To qualify for training as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you must:

• Be certified as a PADI Dive Master or a PADI Assistant Instuctor or be an instructor in good standing with another training organization for at least six months.
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be certified as a diver for at least six months
• Have 60 logged dives that include experience in night, deep and navigation diving to participate in the Instructor Development Course. You’ll need 100 logged dives to take the Instructor Exams
• Have proof of CPR and First Aid training within the last 24 months. The Emergency First Response course meets this requirement
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months