VIP Dive Centre Bonaire, Bonaire

Diver certification begins here. Start with PADI's online eLearning course. Move to the pool and practice your new skills. Then experience four open water (ocean/lake) dives. During the PADI Open Water Diver course, you’ll learn what you need to know to explore the underwater world using scuba. 

The PADI Open Water Diver course includes three parts: Knowledge Development, Confined Water Dives, and Open Water Dives. Knowledge Development covers the principles, concepts and terms you need to know for dive safety and enjoyment. During the Confined Water Dives, you learn and practice scuba skills in a pool or water with pool-like conditions. You’ll enjoy making one or more minidives, which take you through the same steps you follow when you make open water dives. To complete training you practice, apply, and demonstrate what you learn during four Open Water Dives at a local dive site.

Earning a PADI Open Water Diver certification shows that you met the course requirements. Dive centers and resorts require proof of certification before they will rent scuba equipment, fill scuba cylinders or book dive excursions. As a PADI Open Water Diver, you’ll be trained to a maximum depth of 18 metres/60 feet, and are qualified to dive in conditions as good as, or better than, those in which you trained. It’s just the beginning of a lifetime filled with dive adventures.

In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to use basic scuba gear, including a mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy control device, and a tank. The equipment you wear varies, depending upon whether you’re diving in tropical, temperate or cold water.

PADI’s Junior Open Water Diver course is similar to the adult certification program and prepares kids to become full-fledged divers when they are of age. Students as young as 10 years old can utilize the eLearning program Open Water Diver course online (minimum age requirements may be higher in some locations due to local laws and regulations). This course allows kids to get their first PADI scuba certification. Children can learn how to scuba dive, discover new adventures, or simply see the wondrous world beneath the waves, this is where it starts.

The PADI Junior Open Water Course is typically run over five days and is a fun-filled course designed to qualify kids to dive to a maximum depth of 12m. The fun part about this course is . . . well, just about all of it because learning to dive is incredible. Kids get to learn to breathe underwater for the first time (something they’ll never forget) and learn what they need to know to become a certified diver. During the course, children will first train in the pool and then get to explore wondrous reefs, under the supervision of a PADI Instructor.

The PADI Junior Open Water Course consists of three main phases:

- Knowledge development to understand basic principles of scuba diving.
- Confined water dives (pool training) to learn basic scuba skills.
- Open water dives to review skills and explore!

In the PADI Junior Open Water Course, children will learn to use basic scuba gear and standard accessories.

Internationally Recognized PADI Certification. Qualifies you to dive to dive on enriched air nitrox up to 40%. The PADI Enriched Air Diver course is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba diving course, and it’s easy to see why. Scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression dive time. This means more time underwater, especially on repetitive scuba dives. You can typically stay down longer and get back in the water sooner. No wonder many divers choose this as their very first specialty.

Typically when using enriched air divers will get mixes which are either 32% or 36% oxygen, and this makes enriched air ideal for diving at shallower depths. For example, when diving with air to 18 meters/59 feet using the Recreational Dive Planner, you would have a maximum no stop limit of 56 minutes on a single dive. For the same depth, but using a 32% mix of enriched air, you would have a no stop limit of 95 minutes at 18 meters/59 feet. Potentially this means that you would have up to an additional 39 minutes dive time on this profile compared with air, though don’t forget to check your gauges as you will still be breathing through the gas in your cylinder at the same rate.

You will learn techniques for getting more dive time by using enriched air nitrox, enriched air scuba diving equipment considerations, enriched air considerations, including managing oxygen exposure, how to tell what’s in your scuba tank and how to set your dive computer.

Ideal for clients who are comfortable in the water but have not dived for a while and are looking to refresh their dive theory so they feel more comfortable with their general dive knowledge as well as staying up to date with the latest dive info available and are looking for a quick fun refresher dive to get back in the swing of things. The program includes a series on modules and videos that take you through all your basic dive theory with additional dive tips and concepts.

The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver is designed to improve your underwater knowledge and skills. You can enroll immediately after earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification regardless of your skill level. The course helps you build confidence in navigation, fine-tune buoyancy skills, and introduces you to different diving activities such as wreck diving, night diving, or underwater imaging. 

After completing your eLearning, you’ll make five Adventure Dives: a deep dive (beyond 18m/60F), a navigation dive, and three additional Adventure Dives of your choice to earn your certification. 

• Full dive equipment will include BCD, regular set with all gauges, wetsuit, mask, snorkel and fins. 
• Tanks, weights & air are included as standard in all daily diving as standard. A dive computer is generally at an additional fee per day, and paid locally. 

This package is for those that want to do self-drive diving with car rental in areas where shore diving is a possibility. 

If you are a nervous diver, or just want to get most out of each dive, book a private dive guide. You can then dive at your own pace, get to the very best dive spot, and have a local expert point out the local ocean characters. 

Diving in small groups, typically with a maximum of 4 people. In this way, we can offer every diver more personal attention before, during and after their dives. We believe in the end this results in better diving and a great experience!