Diver certification begins here. Start with PADI’s online eLearning course. Move to the pool and practice your new skills. Then experience four open water (ocean/lake) dives.
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!
You may be able to get college credit for the Open Water Diver course.
Short on time? The PADI Scuba Diver course might be right for you.
In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to use basic scuba gear, including a mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy control device and a tank. The equipment you wear varies, depending upon whether you’re diving in tropical, temperate or cold water.
Check with your local dive center about the gear you’ll use during this course and get advice about everything you need from your PADI Instructor.
Enroll in Open Water Diver Online – PADI’s eLearning option – and you can start learning right away. PADI Open Water Diver Online gives you the background information you need to dive safely and allows you to study at your own pace through an interactive computer-based program. Get started now!
You can also start learning with PADI’s home-study materials – Open Water Diver TouchTM (a tablet app) or the Open Water Diver Manual and Open Water Diver Video (a book and DVD package). Stop by your local PADI dive shop to enroll in the course, get your materials and start reading the book and watching the video. Your PADI Instructor will schedule time with you to check your progress and make sure you understand important scuba diving information.
