Scuba Diver
A subset of the Open Water course that gives you a certification and is a stepping stone to the full Open Water certification.
Overview
This is a shorter course than the Open Water. It is a subset of the Open Water course. It finishes before the end of the Open Water and is good for those that want to start but don't have the time to finish the full Open Water course.
What happens?
The course normally only lasts 2 - 3 days. You do the same as on the Open Water course, but stop half-way through. You do 3 confined water dives, where you learn skills and 2 open water dives for practise. There is no exam, just quizzes and the bookwork. There is also a swim test. You will need to complete a medical statement before commencing the course. Everything you need to start diving is explained to you.
Compared to Open Water
The Scuba Diver course is the first 3 confined dives and 2 open water dives from the Open Water course. The bookwork is the same, except the Scuba Diver course is only the first 3 chapters out of 5 from the Open Water manual. The Open Water certification requires that you complete an exam, whereas the Scuba Diver does not. You can aim to do the Open Water course and if you find you don't get to finish, but have met the criteria for the Scuba Diver course you can take that certification instead. At the end of the Open Water course you can dive with a buddy. At the end of the Scuba Diver course you are not quite ready to dive unsupervised so you will need to go with a PADI professional. Part of this is that you won't have covered dive planning and a few more important skills.
Referral
Just like on the Open Water course, should you not finish the course you can have the instructor complete a form showing what you have done. The form is valid for 12 months and you can continue the course in that time to gain your certification. You could even bypass Scuba Diver and complete all of the skills to gain Open Water Diver certification.
PADI eLearning
There isn't a separate option of elearning for Scuba Diver, but you can do the Open Water elearning to cover the theory. Complete the Theory through PADI E-Learning and spend more time diving on your holiday! You will be able to complete all the sessions at your leisure whether in the evenings or even during your lunch break! Once you have completed the course online you will get an E-Learning completion form that you will need to bring with you to complete your course. This means more time diving and less time studying so you can really enjoy your holiday! The fee you pay to PADI for this service includes the cost of the manual and the certification.
Typical Day
Day One Introduction
We meet at the dive centre at 9am. We'll go through some paperwork and a medical form before showing you around the dive centre and introducing your instructor. You'll start with a chat and then a video so you can see what is to come. You'll be shown how to set up equipment and go for your first confined dive. You do get a lunch break - diving can make you hungry. You may do a quiz. You will be finished by 4pm. You'll have some homework of reading the manual, ready for the next day.
Day Two More skills
The course is flexible to allow the instructor to proceed as he sees best. You still cover all the material to complete the course. You will do more confined water dives if you didn't get all 3 done on the first day, and an Open Water dive and maybe a quiz or two. You'll review what you read for homework and maybe watch another video. If you didn't do a swim test on the first day you will do it on day 2.
By the end of the course you will be qualified to dive to 12m with a PADI professional. The next step is to do the PADI Open Water course.
* If you do not have a manual you will need to purchase one for €35. Upon completing the course, if you have not paid for eLearning, you will need to pay €30 for the PADI certification.
| Course | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Scuba Diver | €175 + €35 for manual and €30 for certification | 2 - 3 days |