The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills. You’ll practice navigation and buoyancy, try deep diving, and make three specialty dives of your choosing (it’s like a specialty sampler platter). For every specialty dive you complete, you can earn credit toward PADI® specialty certifications.
Here are a few of the many options: Deep, Digital Underwater Photography, Dive Against Debris, Dry Suit, Enriched Air Nitrox, Fish Identification, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Navigation, and Wreck Diver.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Knowing how and when to administer emergency oxygen is a valuable skill to have in a dive emergency. PADI® Emergency Oxygen Provider prepares you to offer aid and teaches you to recognize scuba diving injuries and illnesses requiring emergency oxygen.
This is an excellent course for scuba divers, boat crew, lifeguards, freedivers, mermaids, or anyone who spends time in and around water. No age restrictions or water sessions are required.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The Emergency First Response® Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (First Aid) course combines flexible online self-study and in-person training. It’s your course at your pace. Practice a skill until you feel confident before moving on to the next one.
Emergency First Response® primary and secondary care training teaches you what to do in the critical moments between when a life-threatening emergency occurs and when emergency medical services arrive.
Learn eight essential skills for helping others in an emergency. Get hands-on experience administering CPR using a special manikin, practice bandaging and splinting, and apply your new skills in a role-playing scenario.
Requirements
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills. You’ll practice navigation and buoyancy, try deep diving, and make three specialty dives of your choosing (it’s like a specialty sampler platter). For every specialty dive you complete, you can earn credit toward PADI® specialty certifications.
Here are a few of the many options: Deep, Digital Underwater Photography, Dive Against Debris, Dry Suit, Enriched Air Nitrox, Fish Identification, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Navigation, and Wreck Diver.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Knowing how and when to administer emergency oxygen is a valuable skill to have in a dive emergency. PADI® Emergency Oxygen Provider prepares you to offer aid and teaches you to recognize scuba diving injuries and illnesses requiring emergency oxygen.
This is an excellent course for scuba divers, boat crew, lifeguards, freedivers, mermaids, or anyone who spends time in and around water. No age restrictions or water sessions are required.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The Emergency First Response® Primary Care (CPR) and Secondary Care (First Aid) course combines flexible online self-study and in-person training. It’s your course at your pace. Practice a skill until you feel confident before moving on to the next one.
Emergency First Response® primary and secondary care training teaches you what to do in the critical moments between when a life-threatening emergency occurs and when emergency medical services arrive.
Learn eight essential skills for helping others in an emergency. Get hands-on experience administering CPR using a special manikin, practice bandaging and splinting, and apply your new skills in a role-playing scenario.
Requirements
The PADI® Rescue Diver course will change the way you dive – in the best possible way. Learn to identify and fix minor issues before they become big problems, gain a lot of confidence, and have serious fun along the way.
Learn how to think like a rescue diver through home study and skill practice with an instructor. All PADI courses are flexible and performance-based. You’ll practice basic rescue skills and then show you can effectively apply them in open water.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Join the best of the best in recreational scuba diving and live the dive life as a PADI Master Scuba Diver. The Master Scuba Diver rating places you in an elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training.
Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this rating. When you flash your Master Scuba Diver card, people know that you’ve spent time underwater in a variety of environments and had your share of dive adventures.
Every diver, who is at least 12 years old, should aim for Master Scuba Diver.
The path starts with earning a PADI Open Water Diver certification, followed by PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certifications). You also need to earn five PADI Specialty Diver certifications and have logged a minimum of 50 dives.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The PADI® Rescue Diver course will change the way you dive – in the best possible way. Learn to identify and fix minor issues before they become big problems, gain a lot of confidence, and have serious fun along the way.
Learn how to think like a rescue diver through home study and skill practice with an instructor. All PADI courses are flexible and performance-based. You’ll practice basic rescue skills and then show you can effectively apply them in open water.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Join the best of the best in recreational scuba diving and live the dive life as a PADI Master Scuba Diver. The Master Scuba Diver rating places you in an elite group of respected divers who have earned this rating through both significant experience and scuba training.
Fewer than two percent of divers ever achieve this rating. When you flash your Master Scuba Diver card, people know that you’ve spent time underwater in a variety of environments and had your share of dive adventures.
Every diver, who is at least 12 years old, should aim for Master Scuba Diver.
The path starts with earning a PADI Open Water Diver certification, followed by PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certifications). You also need to earn five PADI Specialty Diver certifications and have logged a minimum of 50 dives.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Do you want to learn how to best support a dive buddy who has a physical or mental challenge? The PADI® Adaptive Support Diver course will increase your awareness of divers’ varying abilities and explore adaptive techniques to apply while diving or freediving with a buddy with a disability.
PADI Open Water Divers or PADI Free divers who are at least 15 years old and have completed the EFR Primary and Secondary Care course within 24 months are eligible to take the PADI Adaptive Support Diver course. It is also recommended that you complete the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course beforehand so that you have a better awareness of trim.
Academic
Through knowledge development and two diving workshops – one in confined water and one in open water – you’ll learn useful techniques that will increase your ability to become a better dive partner to a diver with a disability. You’ll gain insight and practical experience as you learn about:
Make a difference on every dive by activating your inner citizen scientist. During the Dive Against Debris® Diver Specialty course, you’ll learn how ocean plastic and trash cleanups
not only keep your local dive sites healthier but also how to contribute to a global database that documents our planet’s marine debris problem. Under the guidance of your instructor, you’ll participate in a Dive Against Debris survey and turn your passion for the underwater world into real action.
Join the PADI Torchbearertm movement of divers protecting our ocean planet and making every dive count.
Requirements
Love sharks? Scared of sharks? Or do you just want to know more about them? Enroll in an AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course and discover the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies.
You’ll learn more about the causes of declining shark populations and the actions you can take to become a knowledgeable and passionate shark defender. By being informed, you can dispel misconceptions and act to protect sharks. Sharks need you!
If you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old, you can enroll in the AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Specialty course.
Academic
At the end of your classroom session and two open water dives, you will be able to explain:
Do you want to learn how to best support a dive buddy who has a physical or mental challenge? The PADI® Adaptive Support Diver course will increase your awareness of divers’ varying abilities and explore adaptive techniques to apply while diving or freediving with a buddy with a disability.
PADI Open Water Divers or PADI Free divers who are at least 15 years old and have completed the EFR Primary and Secondary Care course within 24 months are eligible to take the PADI Adaptive Support Diver course. It is also recommended that you complete the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course beforehand so that you have a better awareness of trim.
Academic
Through knowledge development and two diving workshops – one in confined water and one in open water – you’ll learn useful techniques that will increase your ability to become a better dive partner to a diver with a disability. You’ll gain insight and practical experience as you learn about:
Make a difference on every dive by activating your inner citizen scientist. During the Dive Against Debris® Diver Specialty course, you’ll learn how ocean plastic and trash cleanups
not only keep your local dive sites healthier but also how to contribute to a global database that documents our planet’s marine debris problem. Under the guidance of your instructor, you’ll participate in a Dive Against Debris survey and turn your passion for the underwater world into real action.
Join the PADI Torchbearertm movement of divers protecting our ocean planet and making every dive count.
Requirements
Love sharks? Scared of sharks? Or do you just want to know more about them? Enroll in an AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course and discover the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies.
You’ll learn more about the causes of declining shark populations and the actions you can take to become a knowledgeable and passionate shark defender. By being informed, you can dispel misconceptions and act to protect sharks. Sharks need you!
If you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old, you can enroll in the AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Specialty course.
Academic
At the end of your classroom session and two open water dives, you will be able to explain:
If you love to travel, the PADI Boat Diver Specialty course will prepare you to dive from small inflatables all the way up to large liveaboards. Learn how to enter and exit the water, use current lines, and manage seasickness.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Everyone likes to scuba dive or snorkel in warm, clear water on a vibrant coral reef, yet many people know little about what they’re seeing or the importance of reef ecosystems.
. The Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course helps you appreciate the complexity of these habitats and teaches you how you can help conserve these vital systems.
Anyone who has an interest in the aquatic world can take this course. There are no prerequisites or age restrictions and no water sessions are required to earn this non-diving certification.
Academic
Through classroom discussions, you learn:
Dive deeper to access more dive sites around the world, see different kinds of marine life and environments, and explore well-preserved wrecks. During the PADI® Deep Diver course, you’ll learn how to plan deep dives, manage your gas supply, and how to identify and manage narcosis.
You’ll learn about buddy contact procedures, safety considerations, and buoyancy control at depth.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
If you love to travel, the PADI Boat Diver Specialty course will prepare you to dive from small inflatables all the way up to large liveaboards. Learn how to enter and exit the water, use current lines, and manage seasickness.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Everyone likes to scuba dive or snorkel in warm, clear water on a vibrant coral reef, yet many people know little about what they’re seeing or the importance of reef ecosystems.
. The Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course helps you appreciate the complexity of these habitats and teaches you how you can help conserve these vital systems.
Anyone who has an interest in the aquatic world can take this course. There are no prerequisites or age restrictions and no water sessions are required to earn this non-diving certification.
Academic
Through classroom discussions, you learn:
Dive deeper to access more dive sites around the world, see different kinds of marine life and environments, and explore well-preserved wrecks. During the PADI® Deep Diver course, you’ll learn how to plan deep dives, manage your gas supply, and how to identify and manage narcosis.
You’ll learn about buddy contact procedures, safety considerations, and buoyancy control at depth.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Boats and currents are two common factors associated with many dive sites. Boaters don’t always recognize that divers are in the area and current can carry you further than expected.
Launching a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) before you surface can alert others to your location in advance of your ascent. Adding another layer of safety, you can also use the DSMB line to complete your safety stop, which is advantageous in a current or when there are no other visual references. Take this course to learn about all the beneficial uses of a DSMB.
You need to be a PADI Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old to enroll in the DSMB Diver course.
Academic
Marker buoys serve a range of purposes and you’ll learn about common types of DSMB along with the reels used to control them. During the two training dives, you’ll practice:
You could spend hours learning underwater photography through trial and error, or you can take a shortcut. Learn professional tricks and tips for taking great photos underwater and the best way to capture video while scuba diving with a GoPro (or other action camera).
Avoid beginner mistakes and shorten the learning curve with tips from the pros. Learn how to use underwater photography lights (strobes), avoid backscatter and enhance color.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
If scuba diving is like taking a scenic stroll around a park, a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) is like exploring a neighborhood on an (electric) bicycle.
DPVs, also called underwater scooters, allow you to see more, conserve air, and get from one place to another faster – with a huge smile on your face.
Scuba diving with a DPV is some of the most fun you can have underwater. During the PADI® Diver Propulsion Vehicle course, you’ll be surprised how much you can see on one tank of air. Your instructor will show you different maneuvers and answer any questions you have.
Requirements
Boats and currents are two common factors associated with many dive sites. Boaters don’t always recognize that divers are in the area and current can carry you further than expected.
Launching a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) before you surface can alert others to your location in advance of your ascent. Adding another layer of safety, you can also use the DSMB line to complete your safety stop, which is advantageous in a current or when there are no other visual references. Take this course to learn about all the beneficial uses of a DSMB.
You need to be a PADI Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old to enroll in the DSMB Diver course.
Academic
Marker buoys serve a range of purposes and you’ll learn about common types of DSMB along with the reels used to control them. During the two training dives, you’ll practice:
You could spend hours learning underwater photography through trial and error, or you can take a shortcut. Learn professional tricks and tips for taking great photos underwater and the best way to capture video while scuba diving with a GoPro (or other action camera).
Avoid beginner mistakes and shorten the learning curve with tips from the pros. Learn how to use underwater photography lights (strobes), avoid backscatter and enhance color.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
If scuba diving is like taking a scenic stroll around a park, a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) is like exploring a neighborhood on an (electric) bicycle.
DPVs, also called underwater scooters, allow you to see more, conserve air, and get from one place to another faster – with a huge smile on your face.
Scuba diving with a DPV is some of the most fun you can have underwater. During the PADI® Diver Propulsion Vehicle course, you’ll be surprised how much you can see on one tank of air. Your instructor will show you different maneuvers and answer any questions you have.
Requirements
Scuba diving in a current can be both relaxing and exhilarating. You may slowly glide over a reef, or zoom over an underwater landscape so fast it feels like flying. By the end of your drift diver course, you’ll have the skills you need to confidently go with the flow.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Don’t miss a dive due to minor issues with your scuba diving equipment. Whether it’s a missing o-ring, wetsuit tear, or a broken fin strap, the PADI Equipment Specialist course teaches you to manage basic repairs and adjustments.
You’ll also learn more about how your gear works, making you more comfortable with it and better prepared to take care of your investment.
If you’re at least 10 years old and certified as a PADI (Junior) Scuba Diver or higher, you can enroll in the Equipment Specialist course.
Requirements
Enriched air, also known as nitrox or EANx, contains less nitrogen than regular air. Breathing less nitrogen means you can enjoy longer dives and shorter surface intervals. No wonder Enriched Air Diver is the most popular PADI® specialty.
Learn why nitrox allows you to make longer dives and how to dive nitrox safely through online independent study.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Scuba diving in a current can be both relaxing and exhilarating. You may slowly glide over a reef, or zoom over an underwater landscape so fast it feels like flying. By the end of your drift diver course, you’ll have the skills you need to confidently go with the flow.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Don’t miss a dive due to minor issues with your scuba diving equipment. Whether it’s a missing o-ring, wetsuit tear, or a broken fin strap, the PADI Equipment Specialist course teaches you to manage basic repairs and adjustments.
You’ll also learn more about how your gear works, making you more comfortable with it and better prepared to take care of your investment.
If you’re at least 10 years old and certified as a PADI (Junior) Scuba Diver or higher, you can enroll in the Equipment Specialist course.
Requirements
Enriched air, also known as nitrox or EANx, contains less nitrogen than regular air. Breathing less nitrogen means you can enjoy longer dives and shorter surface intervals. No wonder Enriched Air Diver is the most popular PADI® specialty.
Learn why nitrox allows you to make longer dives and how to dive nitrox safely through online independent study.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Specialty course.
You’ll enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics.
If you’re at least 10 years old and a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, you can enroll in the PADI – Fish Identification course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you’ve been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light.
The scene changes as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, sign up for the PADI Night Diver Specialty course
Can Open Water Divers night dive? Yes, but proper training will make your first night dive more enjoyable. You’ll learn how to navigate in the dark, where the most interesting creatures hang out, and gain night diving tips from your instructor.
PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 12 years old, can enroll in the Night Diver specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air, and ascend, descend, or hover almost as if by thought. They more easily observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings.
You can achieve this, too. The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course improves the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevates them to the next level.
Buoyancy control is essential to becoming a confident, relaxed diver. Being perfectly balanced allows you to float effortlessly, use air more efficiently, and deftly approach skittish marine life to get a closer look.
PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 10 years old, are eligible to take the Peak Performance Buoyancy course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Specialty course.
You’ll enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics.
If you’re at least 10 years old and a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, you can enroll in the PADI – Fish Identification course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you’ve been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light.
The scene changes as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, sign up for the PADI Night Diver Specialty course
Can Open Water Divers night dive? Yes, but proper training will make your first night dive more enjoyable. You’ll learn how to navigate in the dark, where the most interesting creatures hang out, and gain night diving tips from your instructor.
PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 12 years old, can enroll in the Night Diver specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air, and ascend, descend, or hover almost as if by thought. They more easily observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings.
You can achieve this, too. The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course improves the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevates them to the next level.
Buoyancy control is essential to becoming a confident, relaxed diver. Being perfectly balanced allows you to float effortlessly, use air more efficiently, and deftly approach skittish marine life to get a closer look.
PADI (Junior) Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 10 years old, are eligible to take the Peak Performance Buoyancy course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Make a difference for yourself and others by learning and applying tips to save the ocean. The PADI AWARE Specialty course equips you with tangible actions and opportunities to bring about positive ocean change.
Supported by PADI eLearning®, this course dismantles the barriers between diving and conservation, making responsible marine conservation accessible to all.
A portion of the proceeds from every PADI AWARE Foundation™ course funds AWARE’s critical conservation work to remove marine debris, secure protection for sharks & rays, expand marine protected areas, and support local grantees.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Whether you’re diving on a liveaboard, from the shore, a quay, or a boat, people often ask divers to help locate something lost at sea or in deep water.
In the PADI® Search and Recovery course, you’ll learn how to find lost objects underwater. You’ll practice different types of underwater search patterns and learn how to use a lift bag as you plan and execute mock search operations.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Discover the balance and efficiency of sidemount scuba diving with your PADI dive instructor. Many divers find sidemount tanks are more comfortable and easier to put on in the water. Sidemount diving is also beneficial for divers who want improved balance and prolonged dives.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Make a difference for yourself and others by learning and applying tips to save the ocean. The PADI AWARE Specialty course equips you with tangible actions and opportunities to bring about positive ocean change.
Supported by PADI eLearning®, this course dismantles the barriers between diving and conservation, making responsible marine conservation accessible to all.
A portion of the proceeds from every PADI AWARE Foundation™ course funds AWARE’s critical conservation work to remove marine debris, secure protection for sharks & rays, expand marine protected areas, and support local grantees.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Whether you’re diving on a liveaboard, from the shore, a quay, or a boat, people often ask divers to help locate something lost at sea or in deep water.
In the PADI® Search and Recovery course, you’ll learn how to find lost objects underwater. You’ll practice different types of underwater search patterns and learn how to use a lift bag as you plan and execute mock search operations.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
Discover the balance and efficiency of sidemount scuba diving with your PADI dive instructor. Many divers find sidemount tanks are more comfortable and easier to put on in the water. Sidemount diving is also beneficial for divers who want improved balance and prolonged dives.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
It’s easy to get disoriented underwater if you don’t know how to use a compass or natural navigation clues. Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going.
Learn how to easily find your way back to the boat or shore without returning to the surface and avoid long, exhausting swims. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way.
If you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 10 years old, you can enroll in the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The PADI Wreck Diving Specialty is the perfect choice for the underwater explorer who aims to find new and unexploited areas worldwide. Many sunken ships have not been found yet and are subjects for dive safaris to find new and exciting grounds to explore something new.
Each wreck dive offers a chance for discovery, potentially unlocking a mystery or spying on something others have missed. The PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course is popular because it offers rewarding adventures while observing responsible wreck diving practices.
If you’re at least 15 years old and have earned a PADI Adventure Diver certification or higher, you can enroll in the Wreck Diver Specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
It’s easy to get disoriented underwater if you don’t know how to use a compass or natural navigation clues. Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going.
Learn how to easily find your way back to the boat or shore without returning to the surface and avoid long, exhausting swims. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way.
If you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 10 years old, you can enroll in the PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
The PADI Wreck Diving Specialty is the perfect choice for the underwater explorer who aims to find new and unexploited areas worldwide. Many sunken ships have not been found yet and are subjects for dive safaris to find new and exciting grounds to explore something new.
Each wreck dive offers a chance for discovery, potentially unlocking a mystery or spying on something others have missed. The PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course is popular because it offers rewarding adventures while observing responsible wreck diving practices.
If you’re at least 15 years old and have earned a PADI Adventure Diver certification or higher, you can enroll in the Wreck Diver Specialty course.
Requirements
Achievements
Certifications
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