Open Water Diver

Anyone age 10 years and older can learn to dive and explore the underwater world. PADI knowledge development provides the fundamentals you need to confidently advance to your in-water dive training. With PADI eLearning you can read, watch videos, and take quizzes at your own pace before moving on to the next step. During in-water training, I will help you learn the necessary dive skills to become a safe and competent diver.

Your scuba diving certification is for life! However, diving regularly is highly recommended to maintain your dive skills and knowledge. Try to avoid long periods without diving (6 months or longer). If you haven’t been scuba diving recently, you should take the PADI Reactivate Scuba Refresher.

After learning basic diving skills in confined water, you and I will make four open water dives, usually over two days. On these dives you'll get to apply the dive skills you learned in confined water and explore the underwater world.

PADI Open Water Diver is the world’s most popular and widely-recognized scuba diving certification. You can become a certified diver in as little as four days, or over the course of a year. Once certified you can dive anywhere in the world with a partner (without professional supervision), get air fills or rent scuba tanks, rent scuba gear, book dive excursions with dive boats and resorts, and call yourself a PADI-certified diver.

Beginner: PADI Open Water Diver is the world’s most popular and widely-recognized scuba diving certification. This is where you will want to begin if you are new to diving. You can become a certified diver in as little as four days, or over the course of a year. With PADI Open Water Diver you can dive anywhere in the world up to 18m/60ft.

Specialty Courses or Continuing Education: Many divers take PADI Specialty Courses to advance their dive skills and become a better dive buddy, improve buoyancy and underwater navigation, dive deeper and extend bottom time, learn how to take underwater photos, explore wrecks and much more. Many PADI Specialty Courses require Advanced Open Water Diver Certification as a prerequisite. Explore all continuing education courses.

Professional: With a professional scuba certification you can travel the world and get paid to do what you love or share your dive knowledge locally. As a PADI Divemaster or PADI Instructor, you’ll learn how to lead dives and help others with their dive education. Explore PADI Pro courses.

Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.

Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. I am not a physician and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.

If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).