About Your Course
The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular and recognised scuba diving certification. It has introduced millions of people from around the world to the adventurous diving lifestyle. Once qualified as an open water diver you will have a life-long open water certification that enables you to dive around the world to a maximum depth of 18m. Please read below how we deliver the UK’s best open water courses at our PADI 5-star Instructor Development Centre.
By the end of the course, you'll have the skills and knowledge to dive at home or abroad and be an ambassador for the underwater world.
What Your Learn
Learn about scuba diving principles and terminology, then learn basic scuba skills in a pool with a highly trained PADI Instructor. When you're ready, make four dives in an open water environment with your instructor supporting you every step of the way.
Take This Course If You Want To
- Explore the other 70 percent of our planet
- Support ocean protection
- See things you've never seen before
- Learn from a scuba diving expert
- Hold the world's most recognised scuba certification
Learn How To
- Be a confident and skilled diver
- Assemble and use scuba gear
- Manage your buoyancy
- Respectfully approach marine life
- Handle common problems
How Do You Become A Qualified PADI Diver?
There are 3 steps to becoming a PADI Open Water diver, You can book the complete PADI Open Water or you can split our course into two parts to make it easier to build the course that suits you better:
Part A
Step. 1 Theory – on signing up to the course you will receive your uniue code that allows you to complete all of the theory on a PC, Mac or tablet
Time Commitment 5-8 hours
Step. 2 Confined Water Training – come to one of our 5 heated pools and learn all of the skills to become a scuba diver
Time Commitment 5-6 hours
Part B
Step. 3 Open Water Dives - Once you’ve learn’t in the pool, then you need to do four open water dives. These are normally done over 2 days. You can complete them with us over a weekend, or at any other PADI centre around the world.
Time Commitment 2 Days
More Information
The PADI Open Water Course prerequisites:
- Be able to swim, medically fit for diving, comfortable in the water
- Minimum age: 10
During the Open Water Diver course, your instructor will ask you to:
- Float or tread water without aids for 10 minutes
- Swim 200 metres with no aids
Divers certified between the ages of 10-14 earn a Junior Diver certification
Junior Open Water Divers automatically become Open Water Divers at age 15. Any replacement certification card or eCard purchased the day after the diver's 15th birthday will automatically show an Open Water Diver (not Jr. Open Water Diver) certification.
Children eight or older can try scuba diving in a pool. Ask us about a Bubblemaker experience or birthday party. Children who are comfortable in the water can participate in the PADI Seal Team program, a more in-depth pool diving experience.
Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.
Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.
If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).
We will provide all your core scuba diving equipment during your course including:
- Mask & Snorkel (We Recommend Your Own)
- Buoyancy Device
- Regulator
- Scuba Cylinder
- Weight System & Weights
- Scuba Diving Computer
- Scuba Diving Fins
- Dry Suit & Undersuit (If Required)
During your course, we will include Free rental of all of the above core dive gear items only. You will be required to collect your core dive gear prior to the open water training dives from us.
- Course Tuition, this includes your Confined training and 2 days in Open Water.
- PADI eLearning
- Equipment hire
- Air Fills in the pool and first fill at open water site
- PADI Certification e-card
- Dive site entry from £15- £25 per day
- Transport (we will do our best to arrange lifts if needed)
- Subsequent air fills on open water dives payable directly to site
Experience new adventures with a PADI Instructor by your side. PADI continuing education courses like Advanced Open Water Diver and Deep Diver will help you develop your skills as a diver. Learn more about PADI Specialty courses.
Not sure which specialty to try first? Try the Advanced Open Water Diver course, it's like a specialty sampler platter.
For further discounts & offers join Uk Diving Academy Dive Club.
Frequently Asked Questions
During the Open Water Diver course, your instructor will ask you to:
- Float or tread water without aids for 10 minutes
- Swim 200 metres with no aids
If you find yourself uncomfortable in the water, you may want to prepared, and take some time to brush up on your swimming skills so that you can have peace of mind that you’ll be comfortable as comfortable in the water as possible.
Book Your PADI Open Water Diver Course Now!
How To Book
You can book your full PADI Open Water Course below or you can split our courses into two options to make it easier to build the course that suits you better, use the link below to book Part A your Theory & Confined Water Training and then book Part B Open Water Dives at the same time or when your ready.
Once you purchase online through our website. You will then receive an email asking for some more details to get you registered and also offering some help to get you started with your online materials.
If have a question or are unsure which course is right for you or can’t find a date that works for you simply give us a call to discuss this further.
Contact UsBook Full PADI Open Water
The Uk Diving Academy is built upon four core pillars, with sustainability and conservation being central to our business and winning us our PADI Eco Dive Centre Award
We care deeply about the impact we, as divers, have on our environment. We strive to work with our supply chain and manufacturers to identify ways to improve everything from packaging to shipping to lower our own and the industry’s waste and carbon footprint. We directly support The Conservation Academy and donate a percentage of our profits to help fund the Ocean Influencers of tomorrow.
Join Our Dive Club
Keep diving in your local area by joining our dive club. Our dive club members are all active fivers in the local area. The dive club is open to anyone - whatever agency you trained with, whatever level of diver you are. All you need is a love of diving!
We also organise several holidays each year, UK and abroad, as well as shore dives off the UK coast and regular dive weekends to Vobster Quay. On top of all that there is also regular social events and activities including paintball, 'dry dives' in recompression chambers and regular club meetings.