For many Open Water Divers, the Advanced Open Water course can seem like an elusive or possibly intimidating certification. Do I have what it takes to be an advanced diver, and why should I even take a course like this?
Fear not, diving friends! Let's shed some light on what it takes to complete your PADI Advanced Open Water course. Enthusiasm is not required, but it's a huge plus!
The Advanced course takes a minimum of two days and consists of five PADI Adventure dives.
PADI offers many types of Adventure Dives to choose from. Underwater Navigation and Deep Dive are required, giving you three more Adventure Dives that you can choose. Here at Roatan Divers, the most popular Adventure Dives we teach are the Night Dive, Drift Dive, Underwater Naturalist, and Peak Performance Buoyancy.
Classroom time: For the Advanced course, you complete the Knowledge Reviews for the Adventure Dives you have chosen, then after a thorough briefing from your PADI Instructor, you go on an open water dive to apply what you have learned. Unlike the PADI Open Water Diver course, there are no confined water skills.
Why should I become a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver?
We love getting this question! One of the most common motivators for divers to pursue this certification is their desire to go on more elaborate, adventurous dives! Perhaps a deep dive to the El Aguila ship wreck that sits at 30m/100 feet? Maybe a night dive to catch the magical bioluminescence, or better buoyancy to give you control and confidence to avoid unwanted contact with the reef when looking at smaller marine life.
The very popular Deep and Night Dives can be a bit more complex, so they require additional knowledge and safety aspects to consider. This course allows you to expand your skills and confidence to make you a more well rounded scuba diver.
One of the biggest struggles for new divers is gaining better control their positioning and buoyancy on a dive. The Peak Performance Buoyancy dive is a great opportunity to experiment and challenge yourself in this area. It can even help improve your air consumption along the way!
Common misconceptions
Let's clear up a few of the myths that might be stopping you from starting your PADI Advanced Open Water course.
There is no minimum number of dives required if you're already a PADI Open Water or Junior Open Water Diver.
As a PADI Open Water Diver you are certified to a depth of 18m/60ft, so if you'd like to go deeper, additional training is strongly encouraged.
Open Water divers over 15 years old can participate in ALL of the Adventure Dives that are available in the PADI Advanced Open Water course. After completing the course, they will be certified to dive to a depth of up to 30m/100ft.
Junior Open Water divers over the age of 12 can participate in many of the Adventure Dives as well. After completing the Advanced course they will be certified up to 21m/70ft, which will automatically upgrade to 30m/100ft when they turn 15.
Now that you have a better understanding of what the PADI Advanced Open Water course consists of now, you can talk to your local dive shop if this is the right course for you!
If you're interested in speaking to us or have any additional questions, please contact us today!
