PADI Open Water Diver

Becoming a PADI Open Water Diver is a great way to start your journey into the scuba world! The course is generally based over four days, with all theory being completed online prior to arriving on the Island. This means your time with us is spent in the water, not sitting behind a desk.

One of the most sought-after scuba diving credentials in the world!

What's involved

The PADI Open Water Diver course is usually run over four days.

• Homework: Before the course you must complete the PADI online training. This is mandatory for our courses and it reduces classroom time.
• Quick quiz: On day one of your course we will give you a quick quiz — just to test your recall on all that online training.
• Pool: You will complete five pool sessions as part of your course. The first of these will be in shallow water, with your head just beneath the surface. Once comfortable, you will venture deeper into our 3.2 m-deep training pool so you can learn in water deep enough to experience skills such as ascents.
• Boat dives: Once you have completed your online theory/exam and pool sections of the course we will take you out beyond the beautiful reef surrounding Rarotonga for four boat dives, over two days. The first two dives are to a maximum depth of 12 m and then 18 m for the remaining dives, all with an Instructor.
• Certification: When you have completed the course we will take your photo and issue you with proof of your international PADI Open Water Diver qualification.
• Effort: Learning to scuba dive is similar to learning to drive a car. We will not qualify you for just turning up! You must put in the effort to complete the academic sessions, pool sessions and Open Water dives or you will not complete the course.

The course is performance-based, so daily times may be extended or shortened depending on the student’s ability. We usually spread the course over four days so students are not spending full days of their holiday with us! This also means not spending a whole day in the water, which even on a hot day (with a wetsuit) can drop body temperature.