The PADI Open Water Diver course certifies you to dive anywhere in the world, independently with a buddy, down to 18 metres. Once you have it, the certification never expires. It is the starting point for everything: Advanced Open Water, specialties, Divemaster, and beyond.
Here is what the 3-4 days actually look like when you do it with us in Trincomalee.
The theory component. PADI's eLearning platform lets you complete the knowledge development at your own pace before you arrive, on your phone, tablet, or laptop. This covers physics of diving (pressure, buoyancy, nitrogen absorption), dive planning, equipment use, and diving safety. Most people complete it in 6-8 hours spread over a few days. If you have not done it beforehand, we run it here with textbooks and videos. The knowledge reviews are straightforward, and the final exam is 50 questions with a pass mark of 75%. We will help you prepare.
Confined water sessions. This is where you actually learn to dive. We use a sheltered part of the bay rather than a pool, so you are in real, warm, clear water from the start. Your instructor goes through 5 confined water dives, each building on the last. You will learn: how to clear your mask when it floods, how to breathe from a free-flowing regulator, how to respond if your regulator comes out of your mouth, basic buoyancy control, and the emergency ascent. All of this is practised at 3-5 metres. The sessions last 1.5-2 hours each.
Open water dives. Four dives in the bay, spread over two days. Dives 1 and 2 are typically at Coral Garden, shallow (8-12 m), calm, and full of reef fish. Dives 3 and 4 go a bit deeper and introduce independent navigation and buoyancy skills. By dive 4, most students are swimming freely around the reef with little assistance. Turtles are common here.
The skills. There are 24 skills in total across confined and open water dives. They sound difficult on paper, but almost all of them are simple responses to specific situations. The hardest ones, mask clearing and out-of-air situations, are always done in the shallowest, calmest environment first.
The exam. 50 multiple choice questions. You will have done knowledge reviews throughout the course preparing you for each section. Most students pass first time. If you do not, you retake the sections you missed.
What you get at the end. A PADI Open Water Diver certification card, digital and physical. Recognised worldwide. No expiry date. You are now a diver.
Cost and what is included. Our Open Water course is $395 USD and includes: all equipment, PADI eLearning access, all confined water and open water dives, boat transfers, and the certification fee. No hidden extras. Bring a swimsuit and a towel.