All dive courses combine classroom-based study with practical, in-the-water training which is held either in a swimming pool or the open sea.

Discover Scuba Diving

This one day course is basically aimed at getting non-divers who have never considered putting their head underwater and taking a look around a chance to do so.  The morning is taken up with a short class on diving and safety,  followed by some confined water work, after lunch participants will enjoy two short, fully supervised, shallow water sea dives.  No PADI certification is provided after completing this course, it's a fun day out which will hopefully spark your interest in diving an lead you to take more further courses.

Scuba Diver

The 'Scuba Diver' course can be viewed either as a preparatory course for anyone wishing to take an Open Water Course within the following 12 months or as an extended  introductory dive experience.  This course is offered either as a very hectic one day course or a gentler two day course. The course consists of classroom based theory sessions, confined water dives and two open water dives.

Having completed the course you will receive a 'Scuba Diver' certification card.  This allows you to dive under the supervision of a PADI instructor.  You can also upgrade, to the Open Water Course by taking a supplementary course within 12 months of receiving 'Scuba Diver' certification. 

Open Water Course

This is the most popular course, the reason being that having successfully completed it you have a license that will allow you to dive, to no more than 18 metres, virtually anywhere in the world.  However, it is important to remember that this is still an entry level course.  Three or four days intensive study can't make you a skilled diver and bragging about passing  the course is unlikely to get you laid.

The course is often studied part time over a period of several weeks by people waning to take a course before going on vacation.  However it is always condensed into three or, preerably, four days training for those taking the course away from home. Five theory sessions are combined with a day in confined water practising the skills you have learnt, four open water dives, a review session and final exam.  It's fun, but you'll be kept busy and have a lot of information to absorb.   It isn't written in stone that you'll pass but, rest assured, your Instructor will go out of their way to help you pass unless you really are a lost cause.

Advanced Open Water

A two day course that is designed to help certified Open Water Divers improve their practical underwater skills.  It consists of five specialty dives each of which is accompanied by a short theoretical session. Depending on the dive school, either two or three of the dives are mandatory, the others elective. The mandatory dives are usually a deep dive and underwater navigation. Elective dives can include: a night dive, boat dive, drift dive, wreck dive, peak performance buoyancy, multi-level dive, search and rescue dive etc.

Emergency First Response

Having gained experience diving it's well worth taking this one day course that will furnish you with the skills required to provide First-Aid and CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) properly.   Choking management, control of bleeding, shock management and the primary circle of care are amongst the areas of first aid you will learn about if you pay attention and don't treat this as simply a badge acquiring  boy scout exercise. As the skills taught on this course relate to first aid in general, no diving skills are required.  Therefore, this makes a good supplementary course for any accident proneindependent traveller or outdoor enthusiast. 

Rescue Diver Course

A two day course focusing on giving you training in managing dive-accidents and assisting divers in trouble. Academic sessions and open water training are used to teach you how to anticipate dangerous situations and solve problems without the need for  over camp histrionics, when they do occur. Participants must hold the Advanced Open Water Diver certificate, must have completed a course in CPR, such as the Emergency First Response, and should have completed a minimum of 20 logged dives showing experience in deep diving, night diving and underwater navigation. There is a final exam on this course and the answer to question 4 is 'c'- that's all the help you get from me.

Dive Master

This is where it really starts for anyone considering a career in diving. For divers who are serious about taking this first step to becoming an Instructor the skills required to attain the Dive Master certification can be taught as a two week course. However,  undertaking a two or three month internship at a dive school is a more common and more popular option. (Especially for the dive schools who get you to pay for the privilege of working for them during the tourist season.) :-)

All applicants for Dive Master must have Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certification plus proof of first aid and CPR training. They should also have completed a minimum of 20 dives at the start of the course, although 60 logged dives are required before Dive Master certification can be granted. Your training covers everything from learning how to guide new divers, maintaining equipment , running a dive shop and fish recognition to assisting the Instructors in getting home after a night on the tiles.

Assistant Instructor

Having gained your Dive Master qualification, the next step is a 7-10 day course that prepares you for the rock n' roll lifestyle a PADI Instructor enjoys. It includes a lot of classroom based work designed to ensure that you know how to pass on the skills that you've acquired to students in a safe, effective manner coupled with open water sessions.