This course is a subset of the PADI Open Water Diver course. If you're short on time but really want to become a diver, the PADI Scuba Diver rating might be right for you.

The PADI Scuba Diver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge Development (online, independent study or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving – just the first three of five sections of the Open Water Diver course.

• Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills – just the first three of five dives of the Open Water Diver course

• Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore – just two of four dives of the Open Water Diver course.

This is the most popular dive program in the world! And can be your chance to have a lifetime of intense adventures.

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

Knowledge Development ( online, independent study or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving
Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills
Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore!

Complete three Adventure Divers (underwater photography, fish identification, etc.) and earn the Adventure Diver certification, a subgroup of the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course.

You can choose what you’re most interested in learning. Need to work on your buoyancy skills? Try the Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive. Want to know what you’re looking at down there? Try the AWARE - Fish Identification or Underwater Naturalist Adventure Dives. You’ll plan your path with your instructor, go over what you need to know and dive in quickly.

The Advanced Open Water Diver program gives you the opportunity to take your diving skill to the next level through three new areas of diving.
You complete your Deep Dive, Underwater Navigation Dive, Night Dive and two other dives for a total of five to attain your Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

This certification includes five dives, including the Deep Diver, the Underwater Navigation Diver and three of the following: You’ll plan your learning path with your instructor by choosing from a long list of Adventure Dives. There are two required dives – Deep and Underwater Navigation – and you choose the other three, for a total of five dives. During the Deep Adventure Dive, you learn how to plan dives to deal with the physiological effects and challenges of deeper scuba diving. The Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive refines your compass navigation skills and helps you better navigate using kick-cycles, visual landmarks and time.

The other knowledge and skills you get vary with your interest and the adventures you have – photography, buoyancy control, fish identification, exploring wrecks and many more.

Experience scuba diving under the direct supervision of a PADI Pro. Take your first breaths underwater in water shallower than 2 metres/6ft. For children who are at least 8 years old.

Bubble makers get a chance to:

• Experience scuba diving under the direct care and supervision of a PADI Pro.

• Take their first breaths underwater in water shallower than 2 metres/6 feet.

• Learn about and use scuba diving equipment made for children - not adults.

• Have lots of fun.

The PADI Seal Team is for young scuba divers who are looking for action-packed fun in a pool by completing exciting Aqua Missions. Do cool stuff in the pool, and meet friends.

• The PADI Seal Team program teaches responsibility and respect for the aquatic realm. It’s broken into two parts. Part one, Aqua Missions 1 - 5, covers basic scuba diving skills, such as breathing underwater, clearing a mask of water, recovering a regulator and swimming around experiencing the sensation of being weightless. Each session takes about an hour. Complete these Aqua Missions and become a recognized PADI Seal Team Member. Your experience may also count toward the PADI Open Water Diver course when you’re old enough to participate in the course.

• Part two, 10 specialty Aqua Missions, includes adventures like creature identification, search and recovery diving, and skin diving. Complete all of these and you’ll become a PADI Master Seal Team Member - joining an elite group of young scuba divers.

Become a Rescue Diver. A great level to be. You will have the skills to aid your fellow divers in an emergency.

The PADI Rescue Diver course prepares you to deal with dive emergencies, minor and major, using a variety of techniques. Through knowledge development and rescue exercises, you learn what to look for and how to respond. During rescue scenarios, you put into practice your knowledge and skills. Topics include:

• Self-rescue

• Recognizing and managing stress in other divers

• Emergency management and equipment

• Rescuing panicked divers

• Rescuing unresponsive divers

Drift diving can be relaxing and exhilarating. The course teaches you how to enjoy going with the flow as you scuba dive down rivers and use ocean currents to glide along.

Along with drift diving techniques and procedures, you’ll:

• Receive an introduction to drift diving equipment - floats, lines and reels.

• Get an overview of aquatic currents - causes and effects.

• Practice with buoyancy control, navigation and communication during two drift dives.

• Learn techniques for staying close to a buddy or together as a group as you float with the current.

The underwater world changes as day creatures retire & nocturnal organisms emerge. If you've wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, enrol in the PADI Night Diver Specialty course.

Scuba diving at night teaches you to focus on what you can see in your light’s beam, on controlling your buoyancy by feel, on staying with your buddy and on paying attention to details you may overlook during the day. During three night dives, you’ll practice:

• Light handling and communication techniques.

• Entering, exiting and navigating in the dark.

• Identifying how plants and animals differ or change behaviour at night.

The most popular PADI specialty course. Scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression time, especially on repetitive scuba dives.

You’ll learn why diving with air that has higher oxygen and lower nitrogen content gives you more bottom time, along with enriched air equipment considerations. During a practical session, and two optional (or required) scuba dives, you’ll:

• Discuss managing oxygen exposure.

• Practice analysing oxygen content in your scuba tank.

• Set your dive computer for diving with enriched air nitrox.

Get a better understanding about the local ecosystem and the differences between terrestrial and aquatic worlds. See new things, even in the most familiar dive sites.

Through class discussions and on two scuba dives, you’ll learn:

• Key differences between the terrestrial and aquatic worlds.

• Major aquatic life groupings, interactions and information that dispels myths.

• Responsible interactions with aquatic life.

Fine-tune your underwater observation skills and learn to use your compass more accurately. This course may count towards college credit, ask your instructor.

You’ll learn the tools of the trade, including navigation using natural clues and by following compass headings. During three scuba dives, you’ll practice:

• Methods to estimate distance underwater.

• Compass navigation while making at least five turns.

• Marking or relocating a submerged object or position from the surface.

• Underwater map making.

Capture the sights, sounds, and the dynamic motion of the underwater world as a videographer. Cover the fundamentals and create interesting, entertaining video worth watching again and again.

Your PADI Instructor will explain how to select, maintain and care for your underwater video equipment, whether it’s a housed unit with external lights, or your underwater camera that also shoots video. You'll cover fundamentals such as exposure, focus, story line and sequencing. Post dive, you’ll learn about the editing process and how to produce a video that truly captures your scuba adventures.

Enjoy dives even more when you can recognize and identify fish families and their characteristics.

During two scuba dives, you’ll learn:

• How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.

• Fish survey techniques and strategies.

• About Project AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life.

Explore deeper dive sites with confidence at depths down to 40 metres/130ft. Learn to manage your gas supply, go over buddy contact procedures, and buoyancy control.

Your training starts by reviewing reasons for deep diving and how important it is to know your personal limits. During four deep dives with your instructor, you’ll go over:

• Specialized deep diving equipment.

• Deep dive planning, buddy contact procedures and buoyancy control

• Managing your gas supply, dealing with gas narcosis and safety considerations.

Observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings. Improve the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevate them to the next level.

During two scuba dives, you’ll learn how to:

• Determine the exact weight you need, so you’re not too light or too heavy.

• Trim your weight system and scuba gear so you’re perfectly balanced in the water.

• Streamline to save energy, use air more efficiently and move more smoothly through the water.

• Hover effortlessly in any position - vertical or horizontal.