Should Do Advanced Open Water Course

Peter Letts   Jul 19, 2025

Why Every Diver Should Do Their Advanced Open Water Course – And the Sooner, the Better

Picture this: you’re on a dive trip, excited to explore the underwater world you’ve only just discovered through your Open Water certification. But as the dive briefing begins, you hear those crushing words: “This dive site goes to 25 meters, so it’s only for Advanced Open Water divers and above.” Suddenly, you’re watching from the surface as other divers disappear into the depths to explore the very sites you dreamed of seeing.

This scenario plays out countless times across dive destinations worldwide, and it perfectly illustrates why every scuba diver should complete their PADI Advanced Open Water course as soon as possible after earning their Open Water certification. The data is clear: divers who progress to Advanced Open Water within their first few months are significantly more likely to continue their scuba diving journey, develop greater confidence underwater, and unlock access to the most spectacular dive sites our planet has to offer.

 

Key Takeaways

• Every diver should complete their Advanced Open Water course to transform their diving experience

• The sooner you take the course after Open Water certification, the greater the benefits

• Momentum matters – newly certified divers retain skills and confidence better when advancing quickly

• Complete five adventure dives, including a mandatory deep dive (30m) and underwater navigation

• No written exam required – only brief knowledge reviews before each dive

• Takes 2 days to complete with 6-8 hours of eLearning preparation

• The only prerequisite is a PADI Open Water Diver certification or equivalent

• Each adventure dive counts toward related PADI specialty courses

• Increases maximum diving depth from 18m to 30m, opening access to countless dive sites

What is the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course?

The PADI Advanced Open Water course represents a fundamental shift from learning basic scuba diving skills to refining and expanding your capabilities through hands-on, practical diving experience. Unlike the Open Water Diver course, which focuses on establishing foundational knowledge and safety protocols, the Advanced Open Water course emphasises skill development through real-world application in diverse underwater environments.

The course structure revolves around completing five adventure dives: two mandatory dives (Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation) plus three elective dives chosen based on your interests and local diving conditions. This practical approach means less time in formal classroom sessions and more time developing your dive skills underwater with direct instructor supervision.

What makes this certification particularly valuable is its focus on expanding your comfort zone while building competence. Rather than starting from scratch, you’ll build upon the practical skills you’ve already developed, making the learning curve much more manageable than your initial Open Water training. The PADI Advanced Open certification doesn’t make you an expert – the name can be misleading – but it does make you a more competent diver with access to deeper waters and more challenging dive sites.

Course Requirements and Prerequisites

One of the most appealing aspects of the Advanced Open Water course is its accessibility. The only requirement is holding a current PADI Open Water Diver certification or equivalent from another recognised certification agency. No minimum number of logged dives is required beyond those completed during your Open Water course, and no additional experience is necessary.

The course maintains the same minimum age requirements as Open Water certification, with Junior Advanced Open Water Diver available for ages 12-14 and full Advanced Open Water Diver certification for ages 15 and above. As with all scuba diving activities, participants must complete a medical questionnaire to ensure fitness for diving participation.

This low barrier to entry is intentional – the course is designed for recently certified divers who want to continue their underwater education while their basic skills remain fresh. Many divers mistakenly believe they need extensive experience before attempting Advanced Open Water, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The course is specifically structured to guide you through skill development with professional instruction rather than expecting you to develop experience independently.

Why Wait? Start Your Advanced Course as Soon as Possible

The diving industry has consistently observed a phenomenon that instructors call “momentum matters.” Divers who complete their Advanced Open Water course within weeks or months of their Open Water certification demonstrate markedly different outcomes compared to those who wait.

Consider two newly certified divers: Sarah completes her Advanced Open Water course three weeks after earning her Open Water certification, while Mike waits eighteen months. Sarah enters her Advanced training with her foundational skills still sharp, her confidence in the water intact, and her enthusiasm for diving at its peak. She smoothly transitions into deeper waters, masters underwater navigation with ease, and discovers a passion for night diving during her elective dives.

Mike, on the other hand, approaches his eventual Advanced training with some anxiety. His buoyancy control has become rusty, he’s forgotten some of the hand signals, and he needs to rebuild confidence that has waned during his long break from diving. While he ultimately succeeds in the course, his experience is more challenging and less enjoyable than it could have been.

Statistics support this observation dramatically. Dive centres report that 60-70% of divers who complete Advanced Open Water within their first year continue diving regularly, compared to less than 40% of those who wait longer. The reason is clear: early progression builds on existing momentum, maintains skill sharpness, and deepens engagement with the underwater world when enthusiasm runs highest.

The Five Adventure Dives Explained

The heart of the Advanced Open Water course lies in its five adventure dives, each designed to expand your diving skills and expose you to new underwater experiences. These dives combine brief knowledge development sessions with hands-on practice under instructor supervision.

Mandatory Adventure Dives

Deep Dive - This adventure dive safely introduces you to depths up to 30 meters, dramatically expanding your access to dive sites worldwide. During the deep dive, you’ll learn about pressure effects at depth, including how colours change as you descend and the potential for nitrogen narcosis. Your instructor will demonstrate proper safety protocols for deep diving, including the use of dive computers, planning safety stops, and managing air supply at greater depths. This single dive transforms your certification from a shallow-water license to one that opens access to the Great Barrier Reef’s outer walls, Caribbean drop-offs, and countless other spectacular deep sites.

Underwater Navigation - Master the skills that separate confident divers from those who constantly worry about getting lost. This dive focuses on compass navigation techniques, natural reference point identification, and kick-cycle counting for distance estimation. You’ll practice navigating square and triangular patterns, learn to use natural features like sand channels and coral formations for orientation, and develop the confidence to lead your own dives. These navigation skills prove invaluable on every subsequent scuba dive, whether you’re exploring a new reef or returning to the boat after a drift dive.

Popular Elective Adventure Dives

Peak Performance Buoyancy - Often considered the most valuable elective dive, the peak performance buoyancy dive focuses on perfecting your position in the water column. You’ll learn techniques to reduce air consumption, improve your streamlining, and move through the water with minimal impact on the marine environment. Many divers report that this single dive transforms their underwater experience, making every subsequent scuba dive more enjoyable and extending their bottom time significantly.

Night Diving - Discover the underwater world after dark, when entirely different marine life emerges and familiar dive sites transform into alien landscapes. Night diving techniques include proper use of dive lights, underwater signalling in limited visibility, and procedures for safe navigation in darkness. The night dive opens your eyes to nocturnal marine behaviour you’ll never see during day trips, from hunting eels to spawning coral activity.

Boat Diver - Learn the procedures and etiquette for diving from boats, including deployment of surface marker buoys (SMBs), proper entry and exit techniques, and communication with boat crews. Boat diving skills prove essential for accessing the best dive sites that lie beyond swimming distance from shore.

Underwater Photography - Develop skills in camera handling, lighting techniques, and composition while learning proper etiquette around marine life. This adventure dive can spark a lifelong passion for capturing the underwater world’s beauty while teaching important lessons about marine conservation.

Wreck Diving - Explore artificial reefs and shipwrecks with proper safety procedures and respect for these underwater monuments. Wreck diving introduces special considerations for exploring man-made underwater structures while maintaining appropriate limits for recreational diving.

Enriched Air (Nitrox) - Get an introduction to diving with enriched air mixes for longer no-decompression limits, though full Enriched Air certification requires additional specialty training.

Underwater Naturalist - Learn to identify local marine life and understand the ecological relationships that make healthy reef systems function. This dive enhances every future dive by teaching you to see the underwater world through an ecologist’s eyes.

Each adventure dive includes credit toward the corresponding PADI specialty course, meaning your Advanced Open Water training provides a foundation for future specialisation if particular areas capture your interest.

Course Duration and eLearning

The PADI Advanced Open Water course typically requires just two days of practical diving, making it one of the most time-efficient ways to dramatically upgrade your diving capabilities. Before arriving at the dive centre, you’ll complete 6-8 hours of PADI eLearning knowledge development that can be done at your own pace.

The eLearning component offers remarkable flexibility – you can study on desktop computers or mobile devices, download content for offline access, and progress through modules as your schedule allows. This preparation covers the theoretical knowledge needed for each adventure dive, ensuring your time in the water focuses on practical skill development rather than lengthy theoretical discussions.

Most dive centres schedule the five required dives across two consecutive days, though scheduling can vary based on local conditions, weather, and student preferences. The beauty of this compressed timeframe is that you can arrive at a dive destination as an Open Water diver and leave as an Advanced Open Water diver, ready to join more challenging dive activities during the remainder of your trip.

Benefits of Advanced Open Water Certification

The transformation that occurs through Advanced Open Water certification extends far beyond the simple increase in maximum depth from 18 meters to 30 meters, though that 12-meter difference opens access to thousands of previously unreachable dive sites worldwide.

Enhanced confidence ranks among the most frequently reported benefits. The additional instructor guidance and structured skill development create noticeably more confident divers who approach new diving situations with greater assurance. This confidence translates into improved safety, as confident divers make better decisions and manage challenges more effectively.

Your dive skills undergo significant refinement through the course’s practical focus. Improved buoyancy control, better air management, and stronger navigation abilities make every subsequent dive more enjoyable and safer. Many certified divers report that these improved skills make them more attractive dive buddies and open opportunities to join more experienced dive groups.

The certification also serves as a foundation for specialty course progression and advanced training. Each adventure dive provides credit toward the related specialty certification, and Advanced Open Water certification is required before enrolling in rescue diver certification – the next major milestone in recreational diving education.

From a practical perspective, many dive operators worldwide require Advanced Open Water certification for their most interesting dive sites. Whether you’re planning to explore the deeper sections of the Great Barrier Reef, join drift dives in strong currents, or participate in wreck diving expeditions, Advanced certification often appears as a minimum requirement.

Course Difficulty and Learning Approach

Many divers find the Advanced Open Water course easier and more enjoyable than their initial Open Water training. This isn’t surprising – you’re building upon established skills rather than learning everything from scratch, and the course emphasises practical application over theoretical study.

The learning approach focuses on hands-on experience with instructor guidance rather than formal classroom sessions. Each adventure dive begins with a brief knowledge review covering essential concepts specific to that dive, but these sessions are discussion-based rather than lecture-heavy. No written exam awaits at the course’s end – your demonstration of skills in the water serves as the assessment.

This practical approach means you’re constantly applying new knowledge immediately, reinforcing learning through experience. The supportive instructor guidance throughout ensures you’re never struggling alone with new challenges, building confidence through successful completion of progressively more complex diving scenarios.

The course structure acknowledges that different people learn at different paces and have varying interests. The flexibility to choose three elective dives means you can tailor the experience to match your interests while still gaining broad exposure to different diving specialties.

Addressing Common Myths and Concerns

Myth: “I need lots of experience before taking Advanced” This misconception prevents many divers from progressing when they could benefit most. No additional logged dives beyond Open Water certification are required, and the course is specifically designed for recently certified divers. Waiting actually works against you by allowing basic skills to deteriorate.

Myth: “Advanced means expert level” The term “Advanced Open Water” can be misleading. You won’t become an expert diver – that takes years of experience. Instead, you’ll become a more competent recreational diver with expanded skills and access to a broader range of diving environments.

Myth: “There’s a difficult written exam” No written exam exists. Knowledge reviews before each adventure dive are brief, discussion-based sessions focused on practical safety and technique concepts relevant to that specific dive. The emphasis is on understanding and application rather than memorisation.

Myth: “The course is expensive for what you get” When you consider that the course provides access to thousands of previously unreachable dive sites, credits toward specialty certifications, and significantly improved diving skills, the value proposition is exceptional. Many divers report that Advanced Open Water provides the best return on investment of any diving course.

Next Steps After Advanced Open Water

Completing your Advanced Open Water certification opens numerous pathways for continued diving education and adventure. The most popular specialty courses include Deep Diver for extended depth training, Enriched Air for longer no-decompression dives, and Wreck Diver for specialised shipwreck exploration.

The rescue diver certification represents the next major milestone in recreational diving education. This course focuses on problem prevention and management, teaching you to assist other divers and handle emergency situations. Many consider rescue diver certification the most valuable course in recreational diving, as it develops judgment and decision-making skills that benefit every aspect of your diving.

For those pursuing the master scuba diver rating – the highest non-professional level in recreational diving – Advanced Open Water certification is a non-negotiable requirement. This prestigious rating requires Advanced Open Water certification, Rescue Diver certification, and five PADI specialty certifications.

Divers considering professional tracks will find that the PADI divemaster certification requires Advanced Open Water as a prerequisite. The adventure dives completed during your Advanced course provide credit toward the specialty certifications that professional candidates must obtain.

Course Pricing and Booking

Advanced Open Water course pricing varies significantly based on location, dive centre facilities, group size, and seasonal factors. Most courses include instruction, certification fees, basic equipment rental, and course materials, though personal gear, specialty equipment for certain electives, and medical evaluations typically cost extra.

Many dive centres offer package deals combining Advanced Open Water with accommodation, complete gear rental, or additional specialty courses. PADI Club membership can provide discounts on course fees, eLearning materials, and travel benefits.

The eLearning component can be purchased separately, allowing you to begin knowledge development before selecting a dive centre. This flexibility is particularly valuable for divers planning destination training or those with limited local training opportunities.

Booking can often be arranged on relatively short notice, especially at centres with regularly scheduled classes. However, early booking is recommended during peak seasons or at popular destinations where course availability may be limited.

Why Choose Abyss for Your Advanced Open Water Course

When selecting a dive centre for your Advanced Open Water certification, the quality of instruction and facility standards can significantly impact your learning experience and safety. Leading dive centres distinguish themselves through experienced instructor teams focused on personalised learning paths, modern, well-maintained equipment, and comprehensive support throughout your certification journey.

The best dive centres offer flexibility in elective dive selection, tailoring options to student interests and local conditions while maintaining the highest safety standards. They provide comprehensive packages that eliminate the stress of organising gear, logistics, and accommodation, allowing you to focus entirely on developing your diving skills.

Look for dive centres with positive testimonials from recent students, instructors with extensive experience and ongoing education, and facilities that prioritise both safety and student satisfaction. The right dive centre will support your goals while ensuring your Advanced Open Water certification provides the foundation for a lifetime of safe, enjoyable diving.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many dives are required for Advanced Open Water? Five adventure dives total: two mandatory (Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation) plus three elective dives.

Can I choose all my adventure dives? You can choose three of the five dives. Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation are mandatory for all students.

How deep can I dive after certification? 30 meters (100 feet) maximum for recreational diving, compared to 18 meters (60 feet) with Open Water certification.

Do I need experience beyond Open Water certification? No additional logged dives are required beyond those completed during Open Water training.

How long does the course take? Typically 2-3 days for practical training plus 6-8 hours of eLearning preparation completed beforehand.

Can adventure dives count toward specialty certifications? Yes, each adventure dive provides credit toward the corresponding full PADI specialty course.

Is there a written exam? No written exam is required. Only brief knowledge reviews before each dive, covering relevant safety and technique concepts.

What’s the minimum age for Advanced Open Water? 12 years old for Junior Advanced Open Water Diver, 15 years old for full Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

The underwater world is waiting for you to dive deeper, explore further, and discover experiences that remain forever beyond the reach of basic Open Water certification. Don’t let hesitation or misconceptions hold back your scuba diving journey when the path forward is so clear and accessible.

Every day you wait is another day of missed opportunities – missed dives, missed discoveries, and missed growth as a diver. The momentum you built during Open Water training won’t last forever, and the confidence you feel today will serve you better than the confidence you might rebuild months from now.

Your Advanced Open Water certification isn’t just about accessing deeper dive sites or checking off another certification level. It’s about transforming yourself into the diver you dreamed of becoming when you first imagined exploring the underwater world. Take the next step in your scuba diving journey and discover what lies beyond the limits of your current certification.