PADI Advanced Open Water
!!! PROMOTION !!!
Enriched air diver (Nitrox) is included. Please print this BROCHURE and bring to the store when you sign up.
About the Course:
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills. You'll practice navigation and buoyancy, try deep diving and make three specialty dives of your choosing (it's like a specialty sampler platter). For every specialty dive you complete, you can earn credit toward PADI® specialty certifications.
Here are a few of the many options: Deep, Digital Underwater Imaging, Dive Against Debris, Enriched Air Nitrox, Fish Identification, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & rescue, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Navigation.
Take This Course If You Want to:
- Gain more diving experience
- Practice navigation
- Sample different types of diving
Learn How to:
- Explore below 18m/60ft
- Improve your buoyancy
- Use a compass
The course includes five dives: a deep dive below 18m/60f, a navigation dive, and three specialty dives. Gain experience, build confidence and discover your diving abilities.
- Prerequisites: Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification)
- Total time commitment: 2-3 days
- Minimum age: 12 years or older
- Depth: The maximum depth depends on your age, but maximum depth is up to 30 metres/100 feet
Availability: Contact us for booking information
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. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians 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).
Course prerequisites:
PADI Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water Diver, or qualifying entry-level certification.
The minimum age to start the Advanced Open Water Diver course is 12.
- Divers 15 or older earn an Advanced Open Water Diver certification
- Divers between the age of 12-14 earn a Junior Advanced Open Water
- Diver certification Divers 10-11 can earn a Junior Adventure Diver certification. Upon turning 12, they can complete the deep dive and earn a Junior Advanced Open Water Diver certification.
Divers certified as Junior Advanced Open Water Divers automatically become Advanced Open Water Divers at age 15. Any replacement certification card or eCard purchased the day after the diver's 15th birthday will automatically show an Advanced Open Water Diver (not Jr. Advanced Open Water Diver) certification.
Advanced Open Water Depth The Advanced Open Water Diver course includes one deep dive. How deep? The answer depends on your age, local regulations and dive site depths.
- The maximum depth for divers 15 or older is 30 metres/100 feet
- For divers 12-15 years old, the maximum depth is 21 metres/70 feet
The depths listed above are the maximum depth, your dive may be shallower. A deep dive is considered anything below 18 metres/60 feet. Put another way, a dive to just 19 metres/62 feet qualifies as a deep dive.
The PADI Advanced Open Water course is like a specialty sampler platter. Review the list below and contact your dive shop or instructor to confirm what they offer.
As an added bonus, each specialty dive may be credited toward the related specialty certification. For example, if you try a drysuit dive during your Advanced Open Water Diver course and like it, you'll already have one of the two dives required for the PADI Dry Suit Diver certification.
These specialty dives are available almost anywhere:
- Deep
- Fish Identification
- Night
- Peak Performance Buoyancy
- Digital Underwater Imaging
- Search & Recovery
- Underwater Naturalist
- Underwater Navigation
The specialty dives below may not be available in all locations. If you see something that interests you, contact your instructor to confirm availability.
- Adaptive Support
- Altitude
- Boat
- Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB)
- Dive Against Debris
- Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV)
- Drift
- Dry Suit
- Enriched Air (included in this course)
- Full Face Mask
- Rebreather
- Self-Reliant diving
- Shark Conservation
- Sidemount
- Wreck
This course requires both knowledge development and inwater training for certification. When you purchase a PADI eLearning course from our website, the additional cost covers the knowledge development portion only.
In addition to basic scuba gear, you will need a compass, dive knife/tool, dive computer and student slate. If you don't own these items, ask us about purchasing these items.
You may also need specialized equipment for your specialty dives, such as a camera for underwater photography/videography. Your PADI Instructor will advise you about any specialized equipment you may need and how to get it.
During the Advanced Open Water course, you'll try different types of specialty diving and discover your diving aptitude and interests. As an added bonus, each dive you make may be credited toward the related specialty certification.
For example, if you try wreck diving during your Advanced Open Water course and like it, you can credit that dive towards Wreck Diver specialty certification.
Here are some other courses to consider:
- Want to improve your confidence and become a better dive buddy? Sign up for the PADI Rescue Diver course.
- With each certification you earn, you'll be one step closer to earning the elite Master Scuba Diver™ rating.
