Dive in a little Deeper - How to get Advanced Scuba Diver Certified!
Updated: Jul 8, 2022
Aced your Open Water Course? Have you comfortably dived in the ocean/quarries or lakes? Are you wondering ‘What’s next?’… then the Advanced Open Water (AOW) Scuba Diver course may be for you!
The AOW is the next steppingstone on the PADI Scuba Diving Ladder and is a prerequisite for diving deeper than 60ft with any PADI Dive Centre. We all know that with Scuba Diving we must dive only within our trained limits. The Advanced Open Water Course, extends those limits, allowing us to dive to a maximum depth of 100ft/30 meters.
Prerequisites: Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification).
Total time commitment: 2-3 days.
Minimum age: 12 years or older.
Depth: Age dependant, but the maximum depth is up to 30 meters/100 feet
What are the benefits of completing the AOW Course?
Dive more confidently, and become a more confident and independent diver.
Dive for longer, learn how to manage your buoyancy and air consumption
Dive deeper, explore deeper ocean critters and corals
Dive a wreck, explore an amazing new dive site
Dive smarter, become a more knowledgable diver!
The AOW course not only is incredibly informative, but it is also extremely fun! The course has two required dives: Deep Diver & Navigation Diver. Then, you get to choose your last 3 adventure dives to complete your course. Pick from:
Drift Diver
Boat Diver
Night Diver
Wreck Diver
Multilevel Diver
Fish Identification
Enriched Air Nitrox
Search & Recovery
Dive Against Debris
Underwater Naturalist
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
Emergency Oxygen Provider
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Delayed Surface Marker Buoy
Step 1 – Complete the PADI Advanced Open Water Learning.
Get the PADI Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver book, or choose the eLite option on our website and save $90!
Click the link below to -
Buy your Advanced Open Water eLite
Step 2 – Fly to Roatán, check-in at West Bay Divers and get ready to go diving.
With direct flights available from Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Toronto and Montreal (time of year dependent) check out your closest airport for the easiest way to Roatán. Once you arrive, swing by one of our dive shops, both located in West Bay and say hello!
Check out our locations here.
Step 3 - Complete your 5 Advanced Open Water Dives
Dive 1 – Deep Dive
During the PADI Deep Diver dive, you'll learn how to plan deep dives, manage your gas supply and how to identify and manage narcosis. You'll learn about buddy contact procedures, safety considerations and buoyancy control at depth. You will:
Make deep dives with an instructor
See more of the underwater world
Dive to a maximum depth of 30m/100ft
Manage your gas supply
Identify and deal with narcosis
Recognize your personal limits
Practice descents, buoyancy and safety stops.
Talk about No Decompression Limits (NDL’s) and explore how to stay within your diving limits.
Through hands-on exercises, you'll discover how deep dives affect color, physical objects and your brain.
Dive 2 – Navigation Dive
Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you're going. The PADI Underwater Navigator dive fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater. If you like challenges with big rewards, take this course and have fun finding your way. You will learn:
Find the boat without surfacing
Learn natural navigation clues
How to use a diving compass
How to navigate by making multiple turns
Estimating distance underwater
Then choose 3 more adventure dives. Such as:
Peak Performance Buoyancy
This adventure dive is perfect for those who want to improve in buoyancy control, dive with less weight and reduce air consumption. You will learn:
How to achieve neutral buoyancy
Hover effortlessly
Use the right amount of weight
Be able to hoover upside down, to look under cracks and crevices.
Back-peddle (fin backwards underwater to avoid aquatic life)
Diver Propulsion Vehicle Dive
If scuba diving is like taking a scenic stroll around a park, a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) is like exploring a neighborhood on an (electric) bicycle.
DPVs, also called underwater scooters, allow you to see more, conserve air and get from one place to another faster - with a huge smile on your face. Learn how to:
See more in less time
Minimize long swims
Learn about different types of DPVs
Try something incredibly fun
Handle a DPV
Manage your depth
Avoid problems
Enriched Air Dive
Enriched air, also known as nitrox or EANx, contains less nitrogen than regular air. Breathing less nitrogen means you can enjoy longer dives and shorter surface intervals. No wonder Enriched Air Diver is the most popular PADI® specialty. You will learn:
How to dive with enriched air
How to check your tanks
Use an oxygen air analyzer
Set and read your dive computer
Wreck Dive
Whether purpose-sunk as an artificial reef for scuba divers, or lost as the result of an accident, wrecks are fascinating windows to the past. You will learn:
Survey and plan wreck dives
Explore wrecks
Identify possible hazards of wreck diving
See fascinating artifacts
Learn special finning techniques
Fish Identification Dive
“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Adventure Dive!. You'll enjoy your dives, even more, when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics. You'll learn:
How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.
Fish survey techniques and strategies.
About Project AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life
Night Dive
The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you've been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. You will learn:
How to avoid getting lost in the dark
Try something new and exciting
Make your first night dive with a pro
Navigate underwater at night
Make ascents and descents in the dark
Use your dive light for communication
Ready to book your slot with us and get Advanced Open Water certified?
Any more questions about becoming a PADI Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver? Email us at dive@westbaydivers.com to find out more.