PADI centre Kiwengwa, Zanzibar

Can’t decide whether to get your scuba certification while on holiday or at home before you travel? With a PADI Open Water referral, you don’t have to choose. A PADI referral allows you to complete most of your scuba training at home and finish your certification dives anywhere in the world. Avoid studying during your vacation and support your local dive shop at the same time. 

Becoming a certified diver has three phases: Phase one: knowledge development, Phase two: confined water, Phase three: open water. With an open water referral, you’ll complete some or all of the two phases (knowledge development and confined water) before leaving home. You can finish the final part of your scuba course, the open water dives, anywhere in the world. The final portion of the course typically takes a day and a half to complete. 

To put it another way, instead of spending 4-5 days on your holiday studying and practicing skills in a pool, you’ll arrive with the majority of your open water course done. Once certified, you can spend the rest of your time exploring with your dive buddy and gaining additional dive experience.

An open water referral is valid for up to 12 months, but it’s better to complete your training as soon as possible (while your knowledge and skills are still fresh). Your local PADI Instructor will fill out an official student referral form and check off which skills you’ve completed and the date. You can give this form to any PADI Instructor worldwide and pick up where you left off. PADI eLearning allows you to start your knowledge development online, whether you plan to do a referral or complete your course from start to finish in the same place. PADI eLearning is the most popular option for knowledge development, but you can also study with a book and DVD and attend classroom sessions instead. The instructor at the receiving dive shop will have you gear up and review scuba skills in a pool (or pool-like environment) before taking you to open water. If you have any questions or aren’t feeling comfortable, let the instructor know.

With a PADI referral course, you can take as much time as you need to complete your knowledge development and pool work. You won’t feel rushed or like you’re “cramming” for a test. You’ll also support the nice people at your local dive shop and become part of your local diving community.

What are the disadvantages of an open water referral? Sometimes students allow too much time to pass before finishing their course. You can take up to a year to complete your certification, but it’s better to complete your knowledge development and pool training as close to your holiday as possible. Also, you’ll probably end up using different brands of diving gear. If you’ve gotten comfortable with a certain gear configuration, using different gear can be an adjustment – just like riding someone else’s bike or borrowing someone’s car. It’s basically the same, but the handling and placement of certain things will be unfamiliar at first.

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. 

If you’ve always wanted to take scuba diving lessons, experience unparalleled adventure, and see the world beneath the waves, this is where it starts. Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course – the world’s most popular and widely recognized scuba course. Millions of people have learned to scuba dive and gone on to discover the wonders of the aquatic world through this course.

The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge Development via e-learning self-study or in a classroom at the dive school) to understand basic principles of scuba diving
• Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills. You’ll complete a total of five confined water sessions (pool or calm shallow open sea) where you’ll learn the basics of scuba diving and build your confidence.
• Open Water Dives. The four open water dives allow you to demonstrate the skills that you have learned during your pool modules in safe natural environment.

More and more dive centre across the world now require the 'theory' part of the PADI Open Water Course to be complete prior to starting a course in resort, this is referred to as an 'e-learning PADI Open Water Course. Once we have you booked in for your course you will need to follow the e-learning theory course work via the PADI website, prior to arrival. Then when you get to resort, the instructor can focus on the more practical side of the training over a 3-4 day period.

• 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. 

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 four 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.

2 tank boat divers per day, including Full kit, tanks, weights & air. This will normally be guided as part of a small group of divers per dive guide.