All of the dive centres that Planet partner are personally checked by our staff so you may be sure of the highest standards of safety and instruction. The majority of the centres are PADI certified., those that are not offer a similar course structure and compatible certification.

As a certified PADI Open Water Diver, the most widely recognized and respected rating in the world, you have the freedom to dive with a buddy independent of a professional. If you already tried a PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience or are PADI Scuba Diver certified, check with your instructor to see how credit from these courses may apply to the open water program.

Virtually anyone who is in good health, reasonably fit, and comfortable in the water can earn to dive. You must be older than the age of 14 to begin the PADI Open Water Diver program. For those of you who are not above the age of 14 and would like to participate in the PADI Open Water Diver Program, then the PADI Jr Open Water Diver program is available to you.

If you are between 10 and 14 or have a child between these ages, there is a PADI Junior Open Water Diver program available. A PADI Jr Open Water Diver between the ages of 10 and 11 years may only dive with a PADI Professional, a certified parent or certified guardian to a maximum depth of 12 metres/40 feet.

Throughout the course, you’ll learn fundamentals of scuba diving, including dive equipment and techniques. You earn this rating by completing five pool dives and knowledge development sessions and by making four open water (ocean or lake) dives.

The full PADI Open Water Course usually takes 5 days, although this can vary slightly depending on the resort. However, we understand that your holiday time is precious to you and you may not wish to spend time studying theory but would rather be in the water having fun! There are two option to help shorten the course time in resort:

Referral Course: this is where you do the theory and pool training before you go on holiday which then just leaves the 4 qualifying dives to complete the course. Most PADI registered UK dive schools can help you with this, just visit the PADI web site at www.padi.com to find your nearest centre.

This a great way to maximise the time you can spend actually diving on your holiday but may prove more expensive overall to split the course this way.

Express Course: this is where we send you a ; Crew Pack' C which includes a CD Rom , for you to self study the Theory prior to your holiday. This then just leaves you to sit the PADI Open Water paper in resort, do the pool training and then the 4 qualifying dives - but no classroom work !