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PADI Scuba Diving Training & Education Courses
Your next great adventure starts here.
Start Your Scuba Diving Certification
As a certified diver, you’ll interact with fascinating animals, explore exotic destinations, and surface with amazing stories to share. Getting started with your Open Water Diver certification is easy. Enroll online with PADI eLearning®, and complete your in-water training in just a few days.
Are you ready to live a more extraordinary life?
Explore PADI Certification Levels
Already a certified diver? Congratulations! An exciting journey lies ahead. Whether you want to be able to access more dive sites with an Advanced Open Water Diver certification, improve your skills or learn underwater photography, videography, fish identification, etc., we have the right course for you.
Start Your Scuba Diving Career
Turn your passion into your job! As a PADI Divemaster or Instructor, you can earn money as you travel the world, or stay in one place and become a local diving expert. Whether you work in a dive shop, resort, or on a liveaboard, you’ll enjoy a rewarding career and get paid to do something you love.
More Than Just Scuba Diving
Freediving
Just one breath of air and then you and the ocean. Experience the beauty of the underwater world in a serene and peaceful way, and enjoy uniquely natural marine animal encounters.
Freediving may appear relatively simple, but doing it safely requires knowledge and skills best taught by a qualified instructor. PADI’s freediving courses will teach you invaluable techniques to help you improve your confidence in the water while having a greater understanding of your body and mind.
Mermaid Diving
Mermaid diving is a world with one foot in reality and the other in fantasy. The PADI Mermaid Program is designed to be a rewarding and fun experience, suited to anyone with an interest in mermaid diving and basic swimming abilities. Although this experience shares techniques and equipment used in scuba and freediving, mermaid diving (or ‘mermaiding’) is its own form of diving and can be learned by non-divers and divers alike.
Emergency First Response
Emergency First Response® (EFR®) CPR and first aid training teaches you how to help someone in need in the water or out of the water. An accident can happen anytime, anywhere. By taking part in an EFR course, you’ll have the skills and the confidence to step forward and provide care.
The PADI eLearning® Difference
Whether you want to learn to scuba dive or you’re a certified scuba diver looking to continue your education, PADI’s digital scuba programs are the way to go. Work at your own pace, online or offline, using your computer or mobile device. Schedule in-water training when you’re ready.
Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.℠
PADI’s mission is to create a billion torchbearers that explore and protect our ocean. A community that cares deeply about healing the planet above and below the surface, PADI Torchbearers inspire others to bring about meaningful change by turning passion into purpose for the ocean.
Visit Our Scuba Diving Blog
Read inspiring stories from PADI Divers, scuba diving tips and more.
PADI certification courses are flexible and performance based. Knowledge development or eLearning can be completed at your own pace. PADI dive shops offer a variety of dive training schedules depending on how fast you progress. For new divers, the average time frame for Open Water Diver scuba certification is 3-5 days.
Interested in learning to dive or advancing your dive skills? The average cost to obtain your PADI certification will vary by dive course and location. Learn about your PADI dive certification options in this step-by-step breakdown:
All dive certifications require knowledge development and in-water training. After completing your PADI eLearning, you will begin your in-water training with your chosen Dive Shop. Please contact your Dive Shop directly for pricing as costs may vary by location. Notify your Dive Shop if you have already purchased your eLearning.
New Diver: You will want to begin with Open Water Diver. The knowledge portion of your dive training or eLearning costs around $230 USD. After you complete your eLearning, you will begin your in-water training with your chosen Dive Shop.
Continuing Education: After achieving your Open Water Diver certification, you can continue your dive journey with specialty courses to expand your underwater exploration skills and increase your bottom time, learn dive rescue and safety skills, ocean stewardship, underwater photography, or even how to become a dive equipment specialist. Pricing varies by course. Contact your chosen dive shop for in-water training costs. Learn more about continuing education courses.
Professional: Travel the world and get paid to do what you love or share your dive knowledge locally. As a PADI Divemaster or PADI Instructor, you’ll learn how to lead dives and help others with their dive education. Learn more about becoming a PADI Pro.
Learning to dive is an exciting and challenging experience. With PADI eLearning you can read, watch videos, and take quizzes at your own pace to achieve the dive knowledge and fundamentals required to confidently advance to your in-water training. An experienced PADI Instructor will help you every step of the way during your training to become a safe and competent diver.
No, your scuba diving certification is for life! However, diving regularly is highly recommended to maintain your dive skills and knowledge. Try to avoid long periods without diving (6 months or longer). If you haven’t been scuba diving recently, you should take the PADI Reactivate Scuba Refresher.
10 years old is the minimum PADI certification age in most areas. Student divers younger than 15 earn the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, which can be upgraded to PADI Open Water Diver certification at age 15. Children under 13 require parent or guardian permission to register for PADI eLearning.
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