FUNNYDIVERSRED SEA · HURGHADA
The ocean holds an entirely different world — largely undiscovered, full of surprises, and closed to almost everyone. The PADI Open Water Diver course is the key that opens it.
Throughout the course you learn the fundamentals of scuba diving: the equipment, the techniques and the theory, through knowledge sessions, confined water lessons and open water practice. When you finish, you are free to dive anywhere in the world with a buddy, to 18 metres.
Anyone curious about the marine world, with or without previous experience. The prerequisites are simple: you need to be able to swim, be medically fit for diving and comfortable in the water. Minimum age is 10 years, which makes it a genuine family course.
A PADI instructor guides you through the whole process in a relaxed, supportive setting — there is no race and no minimum performance beyond doing each skill safely.
Knowledge development. Usually completed through PADI eLearning, at your own pace, before you arrive. It covers diving principles, safety guidelines and terminology, and you can ask your instructor questions along the way.
Confined water skills. You practise with scuba gear and learn the basic skills in a pool or pool-like environment, including mini dives that build confidence before you head out to the reef.
Open water skills. Four dives spread over at least two days, each designed to sharpen your skills and grow your comfort in the water.
Dives 1 and 2 are about getting comfortable, to a maximum of 12 metres. On the first you make a controlled descent, clear a partially flooded mask, recover and clear your regulator, and then explore the site with your instructor. On the second you work on neutral buoyancy and add a few specific skills — and get more time to just look around.
Dives 3 and 4 take the limit to 18 metres and add surface and in-water skills. On the third you descend to depth and practise things like orally inflating your BCD and clearing a fully flooded mask. The fourth mops up any remaining flexible skills — and is mostly your dive, with your instructor watching over it.
Once you are certified, the road keeps going: Advanced Open Water Diver, Deep Diver, and the whole specialty range. If you have been out of the water for a while, the PADI ReActivate programme brings your skills back before your next trip.
And the card never expires. Whatever reef you stand in front of, anywhere in the world, it is yours to dive.
Each step builds on the one before it. Emergency First Response sits alongside the ladder rather than on it — it is a first aid course, required before Rescue Diver, and open to non-divers as well.
Every course below runs from our own boat, in small groups, with manual and certification included.
A real PADI certification in two days — for divers who are short on holiday but serious about getting in the water.
Five adventure dives, no exams, and a new depth limit of 30 metres — the fastest way to become a better diver.
Demanding, occasionally exhausting, and the course almost every diver names as their favourite.
CPR and first aid in a single day — useful on a dive boat, and just as useful at home.
The most popular diving certification in the world — and your licence to dive anywhere, with a buddy, for the rest of your life.