Scuba diving into the underwater world starts with one exciting step — the PADI Open Water Course. Whether you dream of exploring colorful reefs, swimming alongside marine life, or simply trying something new, this course is your gateway to a whole new adventure.

It’s designed for beginners, easy to follow, and opens the door to safe, confident diving anywhere in the world. Ready to take your first breath underwater? Let’s dive in.

About the PADI Open Diver Course

PADI Open Water Diver course is considered the first scuba certification level.With a highly-trained PADI Instructor, you will learn how to scuba dive in a relaxed, supportive learning environment.

When finishing the course, you will gain the confidence by acquiring the sufficient skills and knowledge to dive anywhere even locally or on your travels and be an ambassador to share the love of the underwater world with others.

The course consists of two steps:

Step 1

PADI eLearning

Even if you have a busy schedule, PADI eLearning helps you to fit scuba lessons. Learn about the principles and terminology of scuba diving whenever, wherever it suits for you.

It’s your course on your time. You can use your computer or mobile device on studying offline, or online. Connect with your instructor whenever you have a question.

The Time Commitment of the Elearning: 5-10 hours.

Step 2

With Your Instructor

ADDITIONAL COST: Your Dive center will charge fees for lessons and equipment rental.

Keep practicing with your scuba equipment in a pool (or pool-like environment) until feeling comfortable in the water. PADI training involves mini dives practice in order to build confidence in your new skills before conducting four dives in open water.

Total Time Commitment: In as little as 2-4 days.

Medical Requirements

To practice scuba diving, you need a minimum level of health and fitness. There are some cases with which you need a written approval from your physician before diving, such as Chronic health conditions, and certain medications and/or recent surgery.

Avoid disappointment, look over the Diver Medical form ahead of time so you know whether you’ll need a doctor’s clearance before enrolling in a scuba course.

Note: Instructors, only medical professionals can give medical approval to dive. Don’t ask any medical advice from your divemasters and dive shop staff.

Contact the expects at Divers Alert Network (DAN) If you there are any question about medical fitness to dive.

Prerequisites & Minimum Age

Course prerequisites: To be able to swim, have the proper medical fit for diving, feel comfortable in the water

During the Open Water Diver course, you will be asked to do the following:

• Stay afloat or tread water without help for 10 minutes.
• Swim 200 metres/yards with using gear or 300 metres/yards while wearing mask, fins and snorkel
• Minimum age:

Divers certified between 10 and 14 receive a Junior Diver certification.

Junior Open Water Divers become Open Water Divers automatically when they reach 15. When they purchase any replacement certification card or eCard in any day after the diver’s 15th birthday, they will find it automatically show an Open Water Diver certification (not Jr. Open Water Diver one).

Children with eight years old or more can practice scuba diving in a pool (or pool-like environment). Ask your local PADI Dive center about a Bubblemaker experience or birthday party. Children who can feel comfortable in the water can enroll in the PADI Seal Team program, which is a multi-day pool diving experience.

Choosing a Dive Shop

To get your certification, you will pass through three parts: knowledge development, skill practice, and open water dives. You have the choice to complete all the three parts locally, on holiday, or a mix of the two.

Choose a dive shop near home for these reasons:

• Supporting your local diving community.
• Meeting other diving passionate in your area.
• Learning about the ecosystem in your local area.

Choose a dive shop away from home in case of:

• Planning to travel to a dive site on your holiday.
• Want to meet new people from other places.
• Having a sufficient time to complete your course on your vacation.

If you’re not ready to dive in your local area, but want to support your local dive center, there is an option to complete the eLearning part of the course near your home, then complete the rest of the course while in any other place.

TIP: Complete the eLearning part of the PADI Open Water Diver Course to reduce the needed time for studying while on vacation.

Other Costs & Equipment​

This course demands both knowledge development as well as the in-water training for certification. When purchasing an eLearning course from PADI’s website, the cost covers the knowledge development part only.

There will be an added cost for completing your certification with a PADI Instructor. The cost varies depending on location, class size, and whether or not you need to rent equipment.

Most dive centers ask from their students to provide them with a mask, fins, and snorkel. If you already have ones, bring them to your instructor before your first session in the water. Not all snorkeling masks and fins are suitable for scuba diving.

Basic scuba gear, including a buoyancy control device (BCD), regulator, cylinder, and dive computer, may or may not be involved within the in-water training cost. You might also need to purchase or rent a wetsuit or drysuit, depending on the dive conditions.

Time Commitment Details​

PADI eLearning: 5-10 hours

Entire course: In about 2-4 days. Timing can differ depending on the schedule of your Dive Shop in addition to your progress and needs while you are training.

System Requirements

The online courses from PADI are designed to work on the listed browsers below. To get the best experience, ensure your browser is up-to-date.

• Chrome.
• Edge.
• Firefox.
• Safari

If you are travelling to a place where there isn’t an internet access, the PADI Training app will help you to download course content and study offline. You can also download the content in small sections with a total file size of approximately 182 MB. When becomming online again, upload your progress to be able to resume your training right where you left off.

You can find the PADI Training app available for both Android™ and Apple® iOS devices. To get the ideal experience, ensure your device is no more than three models old and runs with the most current OS (operating system).

After Completing the PADI Open Water Course

Enjoy new adventures with a PADI Instructor guiding you. You can continue your education with PADI courses, such as Advanced Open Water Diver and Deep Diver. With these courses in your pocket, you will develop your skills as a scuba diver. Learn more about PADI Specialty courses.

If you aren’t sure about the specialty course you want to try first. The Advanced Open Water Diver course is the recommended choice. This course will help you in the following:

• Improving your navigation and buoyancy skills while trying new activities, such as night diving, wreck diving, or digital imaging.
• Choosing from more than 20 options of specialty diving courses.
• An Advanced Open Water Diver certification will open the door for you to dive spots deeper than 18m/60ft

If you quit diving for six months (or longer), refresh your knowledge and skills that you learned in the Open Water diver course with the PADI ReActivate® program.

Your PADI certification never expires, but after a long period of not practicing this sport, you may want to brush up on diving fundamentals and safety procedures.

For more information, contact us, and Our EXPERTs from DRAR will help you get the answers to all your questions.