PADI® Open Water Diver is the first scuba certification level. A highly-trained North American Divers PADI Instructor will teach you how to scuba dive in a relaxed, supportive learning environment.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge to dive at home or abroad and be an ambassador for the underwater world.
PADI eLearning makes it easy to fit scuba lessons into a busy schedule. Learn about scuba diving principles and terminology whenever, wherever it’s convenient for you.
It’s your course on your time. Study offline, or online using a computer or mobile device. Connect with your instructor whenever you have a question.
Each class runs for three weeks. We meet twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday. Open Water sessions 1 – 4 start at 6:00pm and Open Water Crater sessions start at either 6:00pm or 8:00pm, depending on what times we are given. Generally, it’s 6:00pm.
The calendar below shows when each Open Water (OW) class starts and what the start date is.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us at (801) 491-3483.
Course cost is $495.
This course requires both knowledge development and in-water training for certification. When you purchase a SCUBA course from North American Divers, the cost covers the knowledge development, SCUBA training in a pool, and open water dives at the Homestead Crater in Midway.
There will be an additional cost to complete your certification with one of our instructors. A private course depends on class size, location, and whether or not you need to rent equipment.
Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.
Avoid disappointment, download and review the Diver Medical form to ensure you won’t need a physician’s approval to dive before enrolling in a scuba course. Instructors, divemasters and dive shop staff are not physicians and should not be asked for medical advice; only medical professionals can give medical clearance to dive.
If you (or your physician) have questions about medical fitness to dive, contact the experts at Divers Alert Network (DAN).
Course prerequisites: able to swim, medically fit for diving, comfortable in the water
During the Open Water Diver course, your instructor will ask you to:
Minimum age: 10
Divers certified between the ages of 10-14 earn a Junior Diver certification
Junior Open Water Divers automatically become Open Water Divers at age 15. Any replacement certification card or eCard purchased the day after the diver’s 15th birthday will automatically show an Open Water Diver (not Jr. Open Water Diver) certification.
Children eight or older can try scuba diving in a pool (or pool-like environment). Ask your us about a Bubblemaker experience or birthday party. Children who are comfortable in the water can participate in the PADI Seal Team program, a multi-day pool diving experience.
Looking for a detailed explanation of what’s involved with learning to scuba dive? This comprehensive article covers everything you need to know about scuba certification.
PADI eLearning: 5-10 hours
Entire course: 4-7 days
PADI’s online courses are designed to work on the browsers listed below. For the best experience, make sure your browser is up-to-date.
If you plan to be somewhere without internet access, use the PADI Training app to download course content and study offline. Content can be downloaded in small sections with a total file size of approximately 1.10 GB. When you get back online, upload your progress so you can resume your training right where you left off.
The PADI Training app is available for Android™ and Apple® iOS devices. For the ideal experience, devices should be no more than three models old and running with the most current OS (operating system).
Experience new adventures with a PADI Instructor by your side. PADI continuing education courses like Advanced Open Water Diver and Deep Diver will help you develop your skills as a diver. Learn more about PADI Specialty courses.
Not sure which specialty to try first? Try the Advanced Open Water Diver course, it’s like a specialty sampler platter.
If you don’t have the opportunity to dive for six months (or longer), you can quickly refresh the knowledge and skills you learned in Open Water with the PADI ReActivate® program. Your PADI certification never expires, but after a long period of inactivity, you may want to brush up on diving fundamentals and safety procedures.
Call North American Divers today for more information.
A high quality, comprehensive SCUBA certification class is not cheap. Learning to dive in your own SCUBA equipment is the best way to ensure comfort and competence. Not diving after getting certified isn’t the best financial decision you can make.
So how do you protect and maximize your investment of time and money in your SCUBA class?
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills. You’ll practice navigation and buoyancy, try deep diving and make three specialty dives of your choosing (it’s like a specialty sampler platter). For every specialty dive you complete, you can earn credit toward PADI® specialty certifications.
Here are a few of the many options: Deep, Digital Underwater Photography, Dive Against Debris, Dry Suit, Enriched Air Nitrox, Fish Identification, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Navigation, and Wreck Diver.
The PADI® Rescue Diver course at North American Divers will change the way you dive – in the best possible way. Learn to identify and fix minor issues before they become big problems, gain a lot of confidence and have serious fun along the way.
Discover why countless divers say Rescue Diver is their favorite scuba course.