PADI Advanced Open Water Course – be better and go deeper

Why should you get PADI Advanced Open Water Certification?

Getting the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification is a great way to take your diving to the next level. The course is about extending your diving skills set, gaining confidence, and collecting diving experience. It’s a combination of adventure dives that will elevate your diving experience. This includes an Underwater Navigation Dive, a Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, a Deep Dive, a Wreck Dive, a Fish Identification Dive, an Enriched Air Dive, a Boat Dive, a Night Dive, and much more. You get to try our different types of diving and discover what you enjoy the most.

One of the biggest reasons to consider the Advanced Open Water course by PADI is to extend your maximum depth to 30 meters (100 feet), opening up access to a new and wider variety of dive sites, both those you have dived and those you haven’t. This includes exploring the wreck, which used to be at an off-limits depth, stunning landscapes at depth, and also marine life that lives beyond the shallows.

Another reason to consider this PADI Advanced course is safety. As you gain more experience and dive in more challenging conditions, you will learnt how to manage challenges like deeper dives and complex navigation with a diving compass. These skills not only make you a safer diver but also a confident and independent one.

When should you do the PADI Advanced Open Water Course Koh Tao?

The PADI Advanced Open Water course can be done as soon as you have completed your PADI Open Water certification. There’s no minimum experience requirement, so it’s ideal for any divers who want to improve their skills right away or for those looking to take on new challenges in their diving adventures.

Here are some scenarios that could be a great time to consider doing the course:

1. Right after your PADI Open Water Certification: If you are already very comfortable during your Open Water course, it makes sense to go straight into the Advanced Open Water course. This way you get to retain much of what you have learnt and build skills and experience based on that immediately.
2. When you want to dive deeper: While many areas on Koh Tao are perfect for Open Water divers at a max diving depth of 18 meters, many dive sites all over the world have minimum requirements as an Advanced Open Water Diver. This is because the minimum depth requirement differs across different parts of the world.
3. When you want to be more confident: For newer divers, the Advanced Open Water PADI Certification can help boost confidence by providing more divers with an instructor who can guide and recommend you on how to become a better scuba diver. You’ll get to refind your buoyancy, navigation, and other skills under guidance, which can give you a significant confidence boost.
4. During a diving trip or vacation: Many divers choose to do their Advanced Open Water course while they’re traveling because it’s a great way to make the most of unique dive sites available. For example, if you are visiting Koh Tao, you could explore deep dive spots, practice underwater navigation, and try a night dive all in a course that already includes everything.

To extend your diving skill set and experience, this course offers a glimpse into the diving specialty, such as navigation, buoyancy, deep, wreck, photo & video, and much more. Generally, a combination of our programs will elevate your diving experience. At the end of the course, you will be able to dive to a new max depth of 30 meters, which is more than enough for most of the sites in the world.

What’s included in our PADI Advanced Open Water course Koh Tao?

• PADI Certified Instructor and E-learning Materials (Multiple Languages)
• PADI Certifications (e-card)
• Scuba Diving Equipment (including torches for night dive, and a dive computer)
• Scuba Diving Insurance
• Lunches
• Pick-up Service from Main Road (only on Koh Tao)

PADI Advanced Open Water Course Schedule

*This schedule can be changed due to the weather and other factors

PADI Advanced Open Water Course Information

The PADI Advanced Open Water course consists of two key sections: knowledge development and adventure dive. Unlike the PADI Open Water course, it does not require major study before arrival. Most of the course will be done at the dive center and during the dive itself.

Knowledge Development on e-learning

The knowledge development is associated with the three chosen adventure dives and the two mandatory dives. They are normally done after the dive itself except the ‘Thinking like a diver’ section which can be done in advance after you receive the e-learning from our online booking.

Open Water Adventure Dives

There are two mandatory adventure dives: Deep Adventure Dive and Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive. The remaining three adventure dives are elective adventures that can be chosen based on your preference. However, our instructors may suggest what they think is best for your skill development.

Deep Adventure Dive

This deep adventure dive introduce you to the changes and safety involving a deep dive exceeding 18 meters (60 feet). You will descend to the depth beyond 18 but not exceed 30 meters (100 feet) under the direct supervision of a PADI professional instructor. You’ll have the chance to experience the change in light, pressure, and how to properly plan for your future deep dive adventure.

Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive

The underwater navigation adventure dive is all about becoming a diver who can confidently find their way underwater. You’ll learn to navigate using a compass, estimate distance by fin kicks, and perform a square/rectangle pattern underwater.

Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive (PPB)

Peak performance buoyancy focuses on mastering your underwater neutral buoyancy. It will make your diving smoother and more efficient. Most important of all is that you’ll be less likely to disturb the fragile marine ecosystem. You learn how to maintain a perfect trim and position to achieve neutral buoyancy throughout the dive.

Night Adventure Dive

Experience the underwater world after dark for the first time with a night adventure dive. You’ll get to dive with a torch and understand how diving changes in the dark. You’ll learn essential skills such as communication with different hand signals, and also how to use your equipment in low-light situations.

Wreck Adventure Dive

Wreck adventure dive is your introduction to a new exploration underwater. Wreck includes ships, planes, and other submerged structures. In Koh Tao, we have three shipwrecks all around the island that you can choose to explore. You’ll learn how to safely navigate the wreck. While you are unable to penetrate the wreck during your first adventure dive. This serves as the foundation for the PADI Wreck Specialty course in future learning.

Fish Identification Adventure Dive

A fun way to understand the different species underwater. You’ll learn the various behaviours, shapes, and color patterns, including the hand signal to identify each distinct species. These skills may seem simple, but they add depth to your diving journey.

There are many more elective dive adventures for you to choose from. Our instructor may also recommend you what seems best for your skills set and experience in order to prepare you for a more challenging adventure in the future!

Requirements for PADI Advanced Course

• The participant is at least 10 years old at the time of the experience
• The participant already obtained PADI (Junior) Open Water certification prior to the course.
• The participant’s last dive must be within 1 year of the date that he/she started the course. For longer inactivity, he/she is recommended to do a refresher dive together with the course for 1,000 THB from 1,500 THB.
• The participant is physically and mentally healthy. He/she may want to check out the PADI medical form first for better understanding.

*Please feel free to ask our dive professionals for more details.

Terms and Conditions

All reservations may not be cancelled. Full payment will be forfeited unless approved under a medical emergency or booked with a free cancellation benefit. For full information, please visit our terms and conditions here.