30 m
PADI courses
From your first breath to the professional level, with PADI instructors and small groups in Los Órganos. Each course requires the one before it, except the try dive, which is for trying.
Equipment included. Every course includes all the equipment you need in the price.
Step 1
Discover Scuba Diving (try dive)
You learn the basics of dive safety, how the gear works and a few simple skills, and take your first breaths underwater. It is the way to find out whether diving is for you before committing to a course.
How the course works
- A briefing with your instructor.
- Skill practice in shallow, calm water (to 6 m).
- An optional open-water dive, always with the instructor (to 12 m).
- Minimum age
- From age 10.
- Prerequisites
- No previous experience. Good health: you fill in a medical questionnaire.
- Duration
- One day. A recreational dive usually lasts 30 to 50 minutes.
- Depth and what it allows
- A maximum of 12 m on the open-water dive, and never deeper than you feel comfortable. It does not certify you: afterwards you cannot dive on your own.
- What you get
- The experience of diving for the first time, with a PADI professional beside you the whole time.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab) · blog.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
Step 2
PADI Scuba Diver
It is a subset of the Open Water Diver course: the fundamental concepts of diving and the basic skills, without some of the more demanding ones of the full course. Made for people short on time who will dive mostly with a guide.
How the course works
- Theory through PADI eLearning or in class.
- Three skill-practice sessions in confined water.
- Two open-water dives.
- A 10-minute swim/float in water too deep to stand in.
- Minimum age
- From age 10 (Junior Scuba Diver from 10 to 14).
- Prerequisites
- No previous certification. Adequate swimming skills and good health.
- Duration
- 2 to 3 days.
- Depth and what it allows
- Dive to 12 m under the direct supervision of a PADI professional, rent or buy gear and get tank fills. To upgrade to Open Water you complete the remaining two confined-water sessions, two open-water dives and the theory.
- What you get
- A PADI Scuba Diver certification, which counts as an intermediate step toward Open Water.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab) · blog.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
Step 3
PADI Open Water Diver
Everything you need to dive safely and independently: how to use the gear, dive physiology and safety, planning a dive, and the underwater skills you practise first in confined water and then use in the sea.
How the course works
- Theory through PADI eLearning (5–10 hours) or in class.
- Five practice sessions in confined water.
- Four open-water dives with your instructor, usually over two days.
- Float for 10 minutes without aids and swim 200 m (or 300 m with mask, fins and snorkel).
- Minimum age
- From age 10. From 10 to 14 you earn the Junior certification: ages 10–11 to 12 m with a professional or a certified parent; ages 12–14 to 18 m with a certified adult. At 15 it becomes Open Water automatically.
- Prerequisites
- No previous certification. Able to swim, comfortable in the water and medically fit to dive.
- Duration
- 3 days.
- Depth and what it allows
- Dive anywhere in the world to 18 m with a certified buddy, book dive trips, rent gear and get tank fills. It is the base for every specialty.
- What you get
- The PADI Open Water Diver certification, valid for life.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab) · blog.padi.com (opens in a new tab) · blog.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
Step 4
PADI Advanced Open Water
You gain experience and confidence by trying different kinds of diving with your instructor. The deep dive shows how pressure affects your body and gear; the navigation dive teaches you to find your way by compass and natural cues.
How the course works
- Theory through PADI eLearning (6–8 hours), matched to the dives you choose.
- Two mandatory dives: deep and underwater navigation.
- Three dives of your choice, such as buoyancy, night, photography or naturalist.
- No pool sessions: the whole course is in the sea.
- Minimum age
- From age 12 (Junior Advanced from 12 to 14).
- Prerequisites
- PADI Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water or an equivalent entry-level certification.
- Duration
- 3 days.
- Depth and what it allows
- Dive to 30 m (21 m at ages 12–14). Each adventure dive can count toward the matching PADI specialty.
- What you get
- The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
Step 5
PADI Rescue Diver + EFR
You learn to recognise stress in another diver, to fix small problems before they become big ones and to respond to an emergency: rescue yourself and others, and give first aid and CPR. Demanding, and the one that most changes how you dive.
How the course works
- Theory through PADI eLearning (8–12 hours).
- Rescue exercises in confined water.
- Rescue exercises in the sea.
- First aid and CPR (Emergency First Response) if yours is not current.
- Minimum age
- From age 12 (Junior Rescue Diver from 12 to 14).
- Prerequisites
- Open Water to start; to certify, Adventure Diver with the navigation dive or Advanced Open Water, and first-aid and CPR training within the past 24 months (EFR, which can be taken with us). PADI recommends arriving with about 20 dives.
- Duration
- 3 days.
- Depth and what it allows
- It does not extend your depth: that depends on your previous certification. It prepares you to look after other divers and is the prerequisite for Divemaster.
- What you get
- The PADI Rescue Diver certification.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab) · blog.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
Step 6
PADI Divemaster
You learn to lead underwater tours, assist with scuba classes and inspire others to care for the ocean, and you polish your own skills until you can demonstrate them. It is the most recognised professional dive certification in the world.
How the course works
- Theory through PADI eLearning (10–16 hours, not counting Dive Theory).
- Skill and stamina exercises in the water.
- Real practice: leading dives and assisting on courses.
- Minimum age
- From age 18 (Junior Divemaster exists for ages 15–17).
- Prerequisites
- PADI Rescue Diver, first aid and CPR (EFR) within the past 24 months, 40 logged dives to start (60 to certify) and a physician's medical clearance within the past 12 months.
- Duration
- 14 days.
- Depth and what it allows
- Work as a PADI professional: lead certified divers and assist instructors. Depth depends on your training (30 m, or 40 m with the Deep Diver specialty).
- What you get
- The PADI Divemaster professional certification.
- Equipment
- All the equipment you need, included in the price.
Facts per PADI's standards: store.padi.com (opens in a new tab)
PADI specialties
Once you dive, each specialty teaches you a new kind of diving. Dates and price: ask us. Write to us
Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver
Enriched air (nitrox) has less nitrogen than regular air: longer dives and shorter surface intervals. It is the most popular PADI specialty.
From 12 · Open Water (or enrolled in it) · 1–2 days
Deep Diver
Plan deep dives, manage your gas supply, and recognise and handle narcosis, with buoyancy control at depth. Qualifies you to 40 m.
From 15 · Adventure Diver or equivalent · 2–3 days
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Takes your buoyancy to the next level: glide effortlessly, use less air and watch marine life without disturbing it.
Open Water (or Junior)
Night Diver
A site you know becomes a new world at night: under your dive light the day creatures retire and the nocturnal ones come out.
From 12 · Open Water · 2–3 days
Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater photos you will be proud to share: how to use strobes, avoid backscatter and enhance colour.
From 10 · Open Water · 2 days
Wreck Diver
Wrecks sunk on purpose as artificial reefs or lost by accident: how to explore them with responsible wreck-diving practices.
From 15 · Adventure Diver or equivalent · 2–3 days
Search and Recovery Diver
Find lost objects underwater: search patterns and using a lift bag in mock search operations.
From 12 · Advanced Open Water, or Open Water + Underwater Navigator · 2–3 days