Learn to dive and get up to $100 Discount when you sign up as a group!

ADVENTURE AWAITS.

PADI Advanced Open Water Course

Continue your journey with 5 adventure dives! Deep, Navigation, Buoyancy, Naturalist and Wreck!

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course

About the Course

from $419

Diving Adelaide pricing works on a progressive system! Sign up with one or more friends for the Advanced Open Water Diver course and you’ll each receive big discounts for every friend that you sign up with! So if you have decided to sign up for a course, make sure you call all your friends first!

Not only will this make the course more fun, it also assures you that you are getting the best value for money!

The course pricing structure is as follows:

  • $479 Standard Course Price
  • $459 Bring 1 friend – Save $20 per person
  • $439 Bring 2 friends – Save $40 per person
  • $419 Bring 3 friends – Save $60 per person


Start your continuing diving eduction today with the friendly and professional PADI diving instructors of Diving Adelaide!

Continuing your education by taking the Diving Adelaide Advanced Course will improve your diving skills by completing 5 adventure dives with an instructor. On each of these dives we will further develop each of those “specialty skills” so you become a better, safer and more comfortable diver.

The advanced course will prepare you to safely and confidently dive at night, find your way underwater, perfect your buoyancy, plan your dive and dive your plan at multiple levels using a dive computer and to dive down to depths of 30 metres!

The 5 adventure dives of the PADI Advanced Open Water Course

During this buoyancy workshop you will do different buoyancy exercises and your instructor will try to take as many weights of your weightbelt as possible. Remember, the less weights you have on your weightbelt, the less energy diving will be required, which results in a better overall air consumption rate and will help you to become a better more relaxed diver.

One of the most important underwater skills (and one that you will certainly enjoy a lot) is being able to find your way back to the entry/exit point without having to surface. This is obviously a very important skill for those divers who want to go diving with their buddy but without a dive professional to follow around! You will practice all of these techniques on your dive.

During the navigation workshop you will learn to dive different patterns (such as a square pattern) and to use natural and man made references (such as a reef, a jetty or a sloping bottom) to pinpoint your location underwater and find your way accordingly so you get the longest bottom time and have a more enjoyable dive.

Learn more about underwater ecology, the symbiosis between different animals (or plants and animals) and the natural habitat of many of our local creatures. Notice how sea creatures behave and find critters you may have previously missed. Our experienced instructors will help you take a closer look at our stunning local marine life, while bringing into practice your navigation skills and buoyancy practice from the previous two course dives.

The deep dive is for many people one of the most exciting dives of the course. On this dive you will be introduced to a phenomenon called nitrogen narcosis. We go to a depth between 25 and 30 metres (if weather permits we go to the Stanvac Barges for a 29m dive!) and will show you what great depths like that can do to you, your mind and your body. Remember that the deeper you go, the more air you will use and the less colours you will see (at 30 metres everything will seem very blue – until you switch on a dive light!). Being certified as an Open Water Diver, you already had access to about 50% of all dive sites around the world. Doing this dive will open up another 40% of all dive sites world wide (you will need to do specialised deep dive or technical training to open up the last 10%!).

 

 Even though it’s important to know how to use a basic dive table, nowadays most divers use a computer to plan, monitor and log their dives. Using a computer will allow you to have longer bottom times than when planned with the conventional dive table. Especially now that we can dive to depths of 30 metres, it is important to monitor our gauges, because of the limited time that we can spend at these depths. When doing more than one dive a day (and especially when deep diving), it is important to keep track of your no decompression limits. The most effective and enjoyable way of keeping track of these limits is by using a multi-level tool or your dive computer (and it will tell you a whole lot of other information that’s good to know before, during or after the dive too!). The most convenient place for a multilevel dive is a wreck, so on this dive we explore one of the many wrecks that SA has to offer!

You wouldn’t believe how different a dive site looks at night, unless you see it with your own eyes! At night all the crabs, shrimps and octopus come out of their crevices and there is an explosion of life on the reef. As night diving is not for everybody, the night dive is an optional add on to your advanced course and we usually go night diving on Wednesday nights. We run regular night dives for free for all ex-students (apart from any rental gear needs) – simply keep an eye out for our newsletter after your course for any upcoming social and night dives!

You may have heard about diving on enriched air and wondered what it means and why you would like to do it. Having enriched air in your cylinder, means that you’re diving with a higher percentage of oxygen than normal compressed air (the air we normally breathe consists roughly of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen.

A common enriched air mix consists of 32% oxygen and 68% nitrogen). The reduced amount of nitrogen means that your body does not absorb as much of this gas during a dive as it normally would, which means that you can enjoy longer dives (because of higher no decompression limits) or have a safer dive with a lower risk of decompression illness (because you have less nitrogen in your body that needs to come out of solution on your ascend). The nitrox theory course can be added to the advanced course for only $139.

Each of these dives give you a taste of the respective specialty course and will count towards getting your full specialty certification. For example, if you are really excited about deep diving and would like to become a Deep Diving Specialist, you can sign up for your Deep Diving Specialty Course. Normally, you need to do 4 dives to complete this specialty, but when you complete your advanced course, you will have already done the first training dive of the deep diving specialty course during your advanced course. So now you only have 3 more training dives left to do to complete the Deep Diving Specialty Course, which means you will save both time and money!

Standard Course Schedule

Weekend Course:

 

 

Independent Study(4 – 8 Hours)PADI eLearning
Wednesday Night6:00PM-7:30PMTheory & Gear Sizing
Saturday9:00AM-5:00PMDives 1, 2 & 3 (Shore)
Sunday9:00AM-5:00PMDives 4 & 5 (Boat)

We meet at the dive centre on Wednesday evening at 6PM for a classroom session, where we will meet the team, discuss any questions and go through gear sizing for any rental gear requirements for the course.

 

Things to bring:

  • Open Water Diver Certification Card

  • PADI Advanced Open Water Course eLearning Results

ONLINE TRAINING

PADI eLearning®

Where some dive schools still choose to teach the theory side of the learn to dive course in a traditional classroom setting, Diving Adelaide has chosen for the faster, cost-effective way of teaching the theory via online training. To us, the advantages of e-learning are clear:

 

  • E-learning provides a single experience that accomodates the three disctinct styles of auditory learners, visual learners and kinesthetic learners, allowing for more efficient training.

  • E-learning is self-paced. Advanced learners are allowed to speed through the theory, while others slow their own progress through content, eliminating frustration with themselves, their fellow learners and the course.

  • E-learning has on-demand availability, which allows the student to complete the training conveniently at off-hours or from home (as a student you can log on and off to do parts of the theory as many times as you want) and doesn’t require the student to travel to training location.

  • E-Learning reduces the learning time on average by 40 to 60 percent, which means the overall time that you will be spending on the theory will most likely be only half of the time you would have spent in a classroom setting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Would you like to share your diving experiences with someone close to you or give the gift of endless adventures? You can now easily give the gift of diving with a Gift Voucher!

You can collect a physical gift voucher from the store or simply purchase one through our online store from the comfort of your home.

The online gift voucher will be delivered via email and can be redeemed online.

Online Gift Vouchers

To sign up for the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course, you need a minimum of PADI Open Water Diver Course (or equivalent).

Have you completed your Open Water Diver certification with a different agency? PADI recognise most other training agencies, such as SSI or RAID, so you can simply cross over to the PADI system by booking onto this course. If in doubt, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

We have taught the youngest kids all the way up to 70 years old to dive, so don’t think you need to be superfit to participate in the course!

There are no waterman skills (swims or floats) to complete before the course, but you have to be comfortbale in the water of course and be able to carry the equipment (including a tank and weights).

All participants need to fill out a dive medical questionnaire before the course. Simply follow the steps on the form to determine whether you will need clearance to start your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course. We recommend SPUMS Diving Dr Anne Sampson from Hallett Cove for dive medical (Mobile: 0418 803 250).

The minimum number of participants for us to run the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course is two. About 95% of our courses run as planned, as apart from the occasional midweek course in the middle of Winter, it hardly ever happens that we don’t get two bookings on a course.

If we have to cancel a course because of lack of interest, you have the option to reschedule (free of charge of course) or get a full refund of your course fees

The minimum age to do this course with us is 14 years old for group courses and 12 years old for private courses. For 12 and 13 year olds, we recommend signing up for a private course with one or more parents, siblings or (family) friends.

Did you know that a private course can be the same price as a regular course? See below for private course prices.

If you would prefer to sign up for the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course with your own private instructor for you or your group, you’re not alone! At Diving Adelaide we teach many private courses for those who prefer to learn to dive 1-on-1 or have a private instructor for their family or group of friends!

Did you know the course costs for a private course can be the same as those of a normal course? Please find our private course pricing below:

  • $999 – Private 1-on-1 Course Price
  • $639 – Private 2-on-1 Course – SAVE $260 per person!
  • $499 – Private 3-on-1 Course – SAVE $500 per person!
  • $419 – Private 4-on-1 Course – SAVE $580 per person!


On a private course, YOU are in charge of picking the dates for the theory session and the ocean dive days! The pricing above is based on running the first three dives on ocean dive day 1 and the boat dives consecutively on ocean dive day 2. If you would prefer to split the dives over more days or over 2 separate weekends, extra fees will apply.

Whether you’re sick, got COVID19, need to isolate, haven’t completed the PADI eLearning in time or can’t make the proposed course dates anymore, you can reschedule at any time before or during the course for any reason.

For each rescheduled participant, we will charge a small rescheduling fee  of $99. As soon as a course spot is booked, we reserve lanes in the pool, block a spot on the course and book an instructor in for your course. The rescheduling fee will be used to cover these costs.

Please note the theory segment of the PADI Open Water Diver Course is delivered via the PADI eLearning system. The costs for the PADI eLearning are included in the course fee.

You will normally receive your PADI eLearning voucher within 48 hours of confirming your spot on the course. To access the PADI eLearning system, it is recommend to use a tablet or computer (or a phone with a large screen).

On average, the eLearning for this course takes approximately 4 to 8 hours to complete.

The main thing to remember is that we are going to get wet anyway, so if it rains a little that is totally fine (you will be nice and warm in your thick wetsuit).

However, we are of course dependent on the weather, with the wind and swell being the main factors that determine whether we can go diving safely. If the weather forecast predicts large swells or high winds, we may have to transfer the course to a different weekend. We always keep an eye on the weather forecast and will notify you beforehand if we expect this to be the case!

The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course is run over a theory night and two diving days (normally a weekday night and two full weekend days).

Always block a full day in your agenda for each diving day. Exact times and dive sites will be confirmed by your instructor on the course. 

Any dive centre around the world will recognise your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course certification card. PADI is the largest certification agency in the world with more than 6000 dive centres worldwide.

Even if you end up diving somewhere in the world with a non-PADI dive centre, they will recognise your certification.

All dive gear will be provided by Diving Adelaide for the duration of the course, including mask, snorkel and fins!

However, to guarantee a perfect fit and the most enjoyable experience, we recommend coming in store to have a look at our masks, as the mask is the most important piece of equipment!

Once you have succesfully completed the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course, you will be certified to dive to a maximum depth of 30m.

You will be more comfortable diving with a buddy (without the supervision of a Divemaster or Insturctor), as you will have additional experience in underwater navigation and have improved core skills such as buoyancy control. 

You will be added to the Diving Adelaide newsletter, where we announce our (free) social shore dives for ex-students and our weekends away, interstate and international dive trips and so much more!

You can join any of the dive clubs in Adelaide as well. Many dive clubs run boat dives for just $25 for a single dive or $35 for 2 dives!

Keen to take the next step?
The PADI Rescue Diver Course is designed in a way that you can sign up for it straight after your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course. The course runs over just 1 weekend (or 2 weekdays)! During the rescue course you will learn how to prevent and handle diving emergencies and become a more competent diver and dive buddy.

Booking Terms & Conditions

No shows, cancellations and transfers

  1. If you cancel your course on or within 7 days of the start date of the course, no refund will be given.
  2. If you cancel your course 7+ days before the start date, a cancellation fee of $99 will apply. Please note the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver eLearning portion ($165) of the course is non-refundable.
  3. If you fail to attend your course without notification, no refund will be given.
  4. You may reschedule your course before the course starts at any time and for any reason (including sickness, not completing eLearning in time and  COVID-19 related issues such as isolation). A $99 rescheduling fee will apply.
  5. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the questions on the dive medical questionnaire, clearance to dive by a SPUMS dive doctor will have to be provided at the start of the course (stating you are fit to dive unconditionally). Failure to do so will result in a $99 rescheduling fee.
  6. You may transfer the course to someone else at no charge before the start of the course. The PADI eLearning portion ($165) of the course may need to be purchased again if the original participant has registered for PADI eLearning.
  7. All instructions are provided in English only. You are required to be proficient in English. Other students cannot translate on behalf of your instructor (no translation services can be used).
  8. If you fail to complete the course during the scheduled times, a $99 rescheduling fee will be payable to complete the course at a later date.
  9. Failure to adhere to all of the pre-course requirements found on the course overview page (including completion of any online training) will result in cancellation of the course. No refund will be given and rebooking will be at full cost.
  10. You need to be comfortable in the water and have dived in recent years. If you’re not comfortable in the water or are not sure, please contact us beforehand or book a Refresher Course first. Failure to do so may result in course cancellation without refund and rebooking will be at full cost.
  11. Courses must be completed within 90 days of the original start date.
  12. Under 18’s must have a parental waiver signed by parent/guardian on or before the start day of the course.
  13. All fees are per person.
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