GET CERTIFIED

Begin With The PADI Open Water Diver Course

Get your PADI scuba certification. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, discover new adventures and see the wondrous world beneath the waves, this is where it starts. With Bristol based pool dives and a variety of open water dive locations to choose from, take your PADI course with us and discover how much fun you can have when scuba diving. The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle.

The Hidden Depths Difference

We have a team full of knowledgeable, passionate and supportive dive professionals ready to teach you how to scuba dive. We love nothing more than starting your course as your dive instructor and ending the course with a new dive buddy to go exploring with.

There are many great places to learn to dive around the world, but once qualified you need people to go diving with and who share your new passion. When learning to dive with Hidden Depths Scuba School you also get access to our supportive local dive club full of active divers. As a member of our club you can enjoy access to great local dive trips, reduced rates on kit hire and regular social events.

What You Learn

You're going to learn everything you need to be a safe and capable scuba diver. Start with home study to learn dive theory, then take part in pool sessions to develop your dive skills. Finally, everything comes together with open water dives to practice skills in a realistic dive setting and build confidence ahead of future adventures as a qualified scuba diver.

If you've already enjoyed a Discover Scuba Diving experience, the skills you learned may be credited towards a portion of the full PADI Open Water Diver course certification.

Prerequisites

To sign up for the PADI Open Water Diver course or Junior Open Water Diver course, you must be:

• 10 years or older
• Be able to swim 200m
• Be able to tread water for 10 minutes
• Complete a Diver Medical Form, which can be viewed here, and may need signing by a physician depending on your medical history. Please check this prior to booking your Open Water Diver course, and get in touch if you have any questions

The Fun Part

The fun part about this course is... well, just about all of it because learning to dive is incredible. You breathe underwater for the first time (something you'll never forget) and learn what you need to know to become a certified diver.

During the course, you’ll make at least five pool dives and four open water dives, all under the supervision of your PADI Instructor. Your pool dives can be scheduled as a weekly course at our Thornbury Leisure Centre pool night on a Thursday evening, or arranged as a more intensive course if this suits your schedule better.

Extra pool time is available for practice until both you and your instructor feel you’re ready to take the next step into open water. The open water dives are then taken at a shore diving site on the coast, or at an inland dive location, complete with all the facilities you need when learning to dive.

We train with small groups of students, with no more than four students per Instructor and Divemaster team. This allows you all the time you need to take in the skills and allows time for skill practice in the pool before we head out to open water and complete your course.

The Gear You Will Use

In the PADI Open Water Diver course you will learn to assemble, use, disassemble and care for basic scuba gear, including a dive computer, and accessories such as marker buoys and line. Your course will focus on training you to dive comfortably and confidently, and to be able to deal with any emergency that may arise underwater. All our training equipment is thouroughly cleaned and disinfected between uses for your piece of mind.

If you're learning in the colder months here in the UK (November to April), we strongly suggest combining the Dry Suit Diver course with your Open Water Diver course. We offer a discounted package for taking these courses together, which includes rental of the dry suit and thermals. This will allow you to keep warmer and spend more time in the water during your dives. Through the warmer months of the year, you can choose between learning in a dry suit or a wetsuit.

The Learning Materials You Will Use

PADI’s Open Water Diver course materials are included in the course fee, and cover everything you need to know about basic scuba diving skills, terminology and safety procedures. For each concept you’ll read a description and watch a video demonstration. Then you will jump in the pool to practice these skills with your instructor.

You have two options when it comes to selecting the best course materials for you - either the PADI eLearning programme or the the traditional paper manual and DVD. The Open Water Diver eLearning is a brilliant programme which integrates the course manual and DVD into one seamless programme, with interactive quizzes as you progress. You can get a free trial of the eLearning programme by follwing this link and creating your PADI account.

You need an internet connection to download the PADI App and course content, but after that you can work on the materials at any time, on any device, without connecting to the internet. When you sign up for the course you can choose the best course materials to suit your learning style and preference.

Later, as a certified diver, use these course materials as a reference guide for future diving adventures and to review what you learned.