PADI - Advanced Diver
Exploration, Excitement, Experiences
That’s what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about. 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.
Get credit! Each Adventure Dive may credit toward the first dive of the corresponding PADI Specialty Diver Course. If you’ve already taken a specialty diver course, ask your instructor if you’ve earned credit for an Adventure Dive.
Who should take this course?
PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers who are at least 12 years old are ready to step up and enroll in an Advanced Open Water Diver course. Young divers may only participate in certain Adventures Dives – check with your PADI Instructor.
If you’re already an Adventure Diver, you only need to complete two more Adventure Dives to earn the Advanced Open Water Diver certification!
What will you learn?
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.
You may be able to get college credit for the Advanced Open Water Diver course!
How can you start learning now?
Sign up for Advanced Diver Course Online – PADI’s eLearning option – to get started immediately. The web-based system lets you learn about seven of the most popular Adventures Dives – including the required Deep and Underwater Navigation Adventure Dives, plus Boat, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Naturalist and Wreck Adventure Dives. You study at your own pace through an easy to use, interactive program. You also have access to an online version of the Adventures in Diving manual and can complete sections for other Adventure Dives as directed by your PADI Instructor.
You can also choose to read the Adventures in Diving manual and watch the Adventures in Diving video (a book and DVD package). Stop in at your local Beach Cities Scuba Centers to enroll in the course, get your materials and start learning. Your PADI Instructor will meet with you to schedule knowledge review sessions along with your Adventure Dives.
What scuba gear will you use?
Beyond using basic scuba equipment, you’ll need a compass and dive knife 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.
Where will we go?
Laguna Beach, we will take you along some of the California Coast's most beautiful reef systems. You'll interact with fish, sea lions, Giant Black Sea Bass and swim through amazing kelp forests! You'll learn 3/5 specialties of your choice in addition to Deep and Navigation. You'll do one boat dive on board the Riviera in Dana Point.
2023 Group Program Class Schedules - Courses are held on weekends and begin at 6am. Request that students pick up their gear 2 weeks prior to do homework!
We have advanced classes going every other weekend!
Next Step
Gain experience and earn your next certification:
- Sign up for Advanced Open Water Diver Online and start learning right away.
- Check out a PADI Specialty Diver course!
