PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
This course can be taken after completing the PADI Open Water Diver certification. It's titled PADI Advanced Open Water Diver because it advances your diving knowledge & skills.
You don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed to advance your diving, so you can start right after earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification.
The course helps build confidence and expand your scuba skills through different Adventure Dives. You try out different specialties while gaining experience under the supervision of your PADI Instructor.
You log dives and develop capabilities as you find new ways to have fun scuba diving.
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.
To be able to complete this course, applicants must be:
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A PADI Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
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At least 15 years old (12 for Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)
Beyond using basic scuba equipment, you’ll need a compass and or dive tool. You’ll also use specialized gear depending on the Adventure Dives you choose. For example, you’d obviously use a dry suit for the Dry Suit Adventure Dive or a sidemount configuration during the Sidemount Adventure Dive.
Your PADI Instructor will explain the equipment that you need and may suggest additional gear, such as dive light for night diving or lift bag for search and recovery diving.
