Perfect for Those Short
on Time:
Scuba Diver Certification!
Certification Requirement
Prerequisites
Time
PADI eLearning: 5 hours
Entire course: 3 days
Age
10 years or older
Health
Depth
Equipment
What You'll Learn
Dive Confidently Under Professional Supervision
Use and Care for Basic Scuba Equipment
Communicate and handle common situations underwater
PADI Scuba Diver
The PADI Scuba Diver course is a subset of the PADI Open Water Diver course, designed for those who have limited time or cannot meet the full Open Water certification requirements, such as due to medical reasons.
This course covers only 50% of the knowledge and skills of the Open Water Diver course, meaning you will have significantly less experience. As a result, PADI regulations require Scuba Divers to always dive with a private guide and never independently.
Since this private guidance is not included in standard dive packages, it often comes at an additional cost, making the Scuba Diver certification a more expensive long-term option.
For this reason, most divers choose to complete the full PADI Open Water course from the start, ensuring they gain the skills and confidence needed to dive independently.
However, for those who truly lack the time or ability to complete the Open Water course, the PADI Scuba Diver certification offers a stepping stone into the world of diving.
Course Content & Structure
The PADI Scuba Diver course consists of two confined water sessions (covering three modules), one open water session (covering two modules/dives), and a theoretical component (self-study via e-Learning).
Confined Sessions:
- In a controlled environment (such as a swimming pool), you’ll practice essential scuba skills, like buoyancy control, mask clearing, and regulator retrieval. Which can be completed in 2 days.
Theory at Your Own Pace:
- Study the theory at home or on your vacation, at your convenience, using the ‘Scuba Diver e-Learning’ package included in the course fee.
- Once you pass the online theoretical exam, and your training, only then you are qualified to get your certification.
Open Water Sessions:
- You finish PADI training in practicing “mini dives” to help you build confidence in your new abilities, which can be completed in 1 days.
If desired, you can upgrade your Scuba Diver certification to a PADI Open Water Diver by completing the remaining two pool/confined water and two open water modules from the Open Water course
More Info
Prices
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Medical Requirement
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).
Prerequisites & Minimum Age
Course prerequisites: able to swim, medically fit for diving, comfortable in the water
During the Scuba Diver course, your instructor will ask you to:
- Float or tread water without aids for 10 minutes
- Swim 200 metres/yards with no aids or 300 metres/yards with mask, fins and snorkel
With PADI, it is already possible to start a diving course from the age of 8 with the PADI 'Seal Team' course. However, during this course, diving is limited exclusively to (shallow) pools or confined waters, and it does not result in a full diving certification.
From the age of 10, one can obtain a full Junior Open Water certification, which allows diving worldwide.
Junior Open Water Divers automatically become Open Water Divers at age 15.
Do I need to purchase the e-Learning course in advance through the PADI website?
No. With all of our courses, the e-Learning course is already included in the course prices.
Moreover, if you were to purchase the e-Learning course through the PADI website, it will end up being more expensive.
This is because we, as a dive center, have better conditions than individuals, allowing us to offer the e-Learning course at a lower price.
Therefore, it is absolutely not necessary to purchase the e-Learning course in advance through the PADI website.
If you do, unfortunately, the total price of the course will be higher for you.
How do I study for the theory?
The theory for all of our PADI courses is studied online through the e-Learning course.
This e-Learning course is included in our course prices.
For some courses, there is a written exam. This exam is included in the e-Learning course and can be taken at home during the course, at a time that suits you.
For your information: it is absolutely not necessary to have studied the theory in advance before starting the practical lessons.
Can I take an introductory dive before starting the Scuba Diver course?
Do I need to provide my own buddy or fellow student to take the courses?
No. All of our courses are led by highly experienced instructors. You are assigned to a group, and you will always have enough fellow students to be your 'buddy'. In private courses, the instructor is your 'buddy'.
It is also not necessary to stay with the same fellow students throughout the course. The groups can be reorganized daily, depending on the module you are currently taking.
After this program
Upgrade to PADI Open Water Diver.
If you want more freedom to dive without a professional guide, you can complete the remaining training to earn your Open Water Diver certification.
This upgrade includes additional knowledge development, confined water training, and two more open water dives.