PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
This course can be taken after completing the PADI Open Water Diver certification. It’s titled PADI Advanced Open Water Diver because it advances your diving knowledge & skills.
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course Overview
Build confidence and expand your scuba skills.
The course helps build confidence and expand your scuba skills through different Adventure Dives. You try out different specialties while gaining experience under the supervision of your PADI Instructor. You log dives and develop capabilities as you find new ways to have fun scuba diving.
That’s what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about. You don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed to advance your diving, so you can start right after earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification.
You’ll plan your learning path with your instructor by choosing from the list of Adventure Dives. There are two required dives for this PADI Advanced certification – Deep and Underwater Navigation – and you choose the other three, for a total of five dives.
To enrol in a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course you must hold a PADI Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification) and be at least 12 years old.
To complete the academic studies through the eLearning product, we estimate 8 hours of independent study.
The duration of the three course options ranges between 2 and 3 days. A full day is 8 hours on average.
All required equipment for your course is supplied by ABC Diving including dive computer.
The total, fully inclusive cost of the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course starts at €380.00 with our ‘budget’ option. Our ‘Standard’ option is €420.00 and our ‘Bespoke’ option is €990.00.
THE LEARNING PATH
DIVE 1 - NAVIGATION (Required)
Maintain neutral buoyancy.
Determine the average number of kick cycles and average amount of time required to swim underwater at a normal, relaxed pace approximately 30 metres/100 feet.
Navigate to a predetermined location and return to within 15 metres/50 feet of the starting point using natural references and estimated distance measurement (kick cycles or time). Surface only if necessary to verify direction or location.
Position and handle a compass underwater to maintain an accurate heading while swimming.
Navigate without surfacing to a predetermined location and return to within 6 metres/20 feet of the starting point using a compass and estimated distance measurement (kick cycles or time).
Swim a square or rectangular pattern underwater, beginning from a fixed location and returning to within 8 metres/25 feet of the starting point using a compass.
DIVE 2 - DEEP (Required)
- With a buddy, plan and manage gas use, including determining turn pressure, ascent pressure and reserve pressure. Establish no stop and dive time limits.
- Descend using a line, wall or sloping bottom.
- Compare changes in colour at the surface and at depth.
- Compare a dive computer (or depth gauge) reading to another diver’s depth reading.
- Ascend at a rate not to exceed 18 metres/60 feet per minute using a dive computer (or depth gauge and timing device).
- Make a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet for at least three minutes.
DIVE 3, 4 & 5 (You Choose)
Choose between:
- Digital Underwater Imaging
- Peak Performance Buoyancy
- Search and Recovery
- Underwater Naturalist
- Wreck Diver
- Fish Identification
Dive 6 (Bespoke Course Only)
- Descent – A detailed look into your body position during the first stages of descent.
- Buddies execute a five-point descent. Concentrate on descending slowly and neutralising your buoyancy as needed during descent.
- Bubble check and acclimatisation below the surface (3-6 metres/10-20 feet recommended).
- Adjust for neutral buoyancy at depth determined by instructor.
- Demonstrate efficient fin kicks, using long, slow strokes and gliding after each kick.
- An introduction to the frog kick.
- Manoeuvre close to a non-living portion of the bottom (rock, sand, etc.) without touching it and then back away using neutral buoyancy with hand or fin sculling.
THEORY
During the Deep Adventure Dive, you learn how to plan dives to deal with the physiological effects and challenges of deeper scuba diving.
The Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive refines your compass navigation skills and helps you better navigate using kick-cycles, visual landmarks and time.
The other knowledge and skills you get vary with your interest and the adventures you have – photography, buoyancy control, fish identification, exploring wrecks and many more.
how the booking Process works
It's As Easy As ABC!
1. Complete the form
Click ‘Request to book’ button and complete the booking request form. Only 1 form per group is required.
2. Booking approval
Within 3 working hours, your booking request will either be approved or an alternate date suggested.
3. Pack your towel!
Once the booking is approved, a payment request is sent to you. Upon payment, your booking is confirmed.
Choose your course option
Bespoke, Standard or Budget?
Bespoke
€990
- Private Tuition
- 3 Day Dive Course
- 6 Open Water Dives
- Multilingual eLearning
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Certification
- Premium Dive Equipment Supplied
- You Choose the Days
- Private Transfer Service From Anywhere in Malta
- Student Dive Insurance Included
- Descent Workshop
- Buoyancy Workshop
- Efficient Finning Workshop
Standard
€420
- Class size up to 4
- 1 & 1/2 Day Dive Course
- 5 Open Water Dives
- Multilingual eLearning
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Certification
- Premium Dive Equipment Supplied
- You Choose the Days
- Daily pick up/drop off service From Transport Zone*
- No Student Dive Insurance Included
- No Descent Workshop
- No Buoyancy Workshop
- No Efficient Finning Workshop
Budget
€380
- Class size up to 4
- 1 & 1/2 Day Dive Course
- 5 Open Water Dives
- Multilingual eLearning
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Certification
- Premium Dive Equipment Supplied
- Set Schedule**
- No Daily pick up/drop off service From Transport Zone
- No Student Dive Insurance Included
- No Descent Workshop
- No Buoyancy Workshop
- No Efficient Finning Workshop
*View diver transport zone
** The budget course option has a class starting Monday & Friday of every week. Each class is conducted for consecutive days.
Course 1 = Monday (08:00 am – 17:30 pm) and Tuesday (08:00 am – 17:30 pm).
Course 2 = Friday (08:00 am – 17:30 pm) and Saturday (08:00 am – 17:30 pm).
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
It is over a year since I dived, can I start this course straight away?
To get the most out of the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, complete a refresher dive with us first. This way you can concentrate on learning without any distractions caused by the amount of time since your last dive.
How deep will I go?
Any depth beyond 18 metres/60 feet is classed as ‘deep’. Therefore, the deep dive can be any depth between 18 metres and 30 metres/100 feet. We strive for student divers to get the most out of training with us. For that reason, we aim to reach 30 metres with Advanced Open Water students so long as student diver comfort and safety permits.
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