The PADI Open Water Diver course is one of the most popular entry-level scuba diving courses in the world.
More people become scuba divers in this way than any other. Once you have the PADI Open Water Certification you can use the diving license to go diving with a buddy anywhere in the world.
At the end of the course, you will be qualified to dive with a buddy to a depth of 18m. Your first scuba diving certification card.
And what better place to learn than Kenya? From the dive base in Diani, we have sheltered dive sites which are perfect for allowing beginners to get comfortable in the water and complete the skill training as well as a chance to take in the wonders of the thousands of different marine species on the coral reefs and exciting local dive sites such as wrecks.
The course is broken down into three segments, the knowledge development, confined water (in a swimming pool) training and open water dives.
Completing the knowledge development section, starts before you begin the course and requires you to complete the PADI Online learning for the Open Water Diver Course. This can be accessed via the PADI Library app or via the PADI website.
PADI’s cutting-edge digital learning leads the world in diver education and enables you to complete the knowledge development in the comfort of your own home. You can take notes in the app to discuss with your PADI Instructor any concepts which you don’t understand. Assessment of learning is done via quick reviews at the end of every section in the online learning, which you must get correct to proceed so its sure you understand.
Right now we are getting wet. This is the reason you are here. Our confined water training for the Open Water Diver course is conducted in the swimming pool at the dive base where the course is being held.
The pool session teaches you to use SCUBA safely and procedures to troubleshoot any problems you potentially might have. The swimming pool environment allows you a safe area to practice with no outside factors to worry about such as poor visibility, surge or current.
This is about making sure you are comfortable using the scuba unit so our Instructors will make sure you have ample time to practice skills and perform them with ease before moving on to the next section of the course.
The final 2 days of the PADI Open Water Diver course are when you go diving for real. We will go by boat out to a local reef which is suitable for conducting the training.
A short segment of each dive will be spent repeating some of the skills that you mastered in the swimming pool before the “tour” section of the dive when you will get to go and see the wonders of the marine life in the Indian Ocean and practicing your own diving skills in this “weightless” environment.
You will have four dives in total after which you are a fully certified PADI open water diver, assuming that you have met all of the other course performance requirements.
All the equipment you will need is typically included on a PADI Open Water Diver Course. You’ll use all the basic scuba gear including a mask, snorkel and fins, a buoyancy compensating device (jacket) that also carries your scuba tank, a scuba regulator to breathe from and instrumentation to monitor depth and air supply. You will also wear a scuba wetsuit and a weight system. All Ocean tribe rental equipment is from top manufacturers such as Aqualung and ScubaPro.
For our PADI Open Water Diver Courses we offer a choice of open water venues to complete your ocean dives, once you have completed the pool training.
The first option departs from our Diani dive bases and will visit 2 or 4 local Diani coral reef dive sites up to a maximum depth of 12m. These sites have a vast array of marine life including the turtles that Diani is particularly famous for and normally last around half a day.
For a full day out on one of the dive days we have the option to visit the Kisite National Marine Park where there is a good chance of encounters with wild dolphins in the water. This is a full day trip and includes a dhow/boat ride to the dive site, marine park fees and a lunch on board. The boat departs from Shimoni and we transport you from Diani.
We recommend on the Diani Dive trips not bringing anything that you don’t want to get wet. Our dives prior do carry dive bags but space can limited and we can store items in the dive centre,
You will study the Open Water Diver Online material initial sections. We will then begin the pool training doing the assessment swims (200m normal or 300m with snorkel gear on and a 10 minute tread water). Following this you will begin to learn and practice skills with your PADI Instructor.
Ok this morning or the evening before you can finish off the PADI Open Water Online learning. We will then jump back in the pool to learn more skills and practice. This gives you time to really become comfortable in the water before going diving in the ocean.
Ok this is it. Why we are here. Your instructor will meet you at the dive base and you will go out to one of the dive sites most suitable for beginners in the local area. You will do two dives on which there will be a few skills to show you are comfortable with and tours of under the sea, where you can admire the magnificent aquatic life we have here in Kenya. Back at the dive centre it’s time to log your dives with your instructor in your PADI dive log.
Another morning in the ocean. Meet up at the dive centre then its out to the reef to complete the final two training dives. Following a similar format to the previous day, your PADI Instructor will brief you before each dive before assessing a few skills in the water, then leading you on an underwater tour. Once you have completed all of the course requirements and logged your dives you will be certified as an PADI Open Water Diver and able to dive all over the world. Where will your next dive adventure take you?
How do you access your PADI eLearning on a Kindle Fire? PADI eLearning is the most current way for divers to participate in the knowledge development sections of PADI dive courses. While you can take part in the elearning through your PADI profile in a browser on your PC, many people like doing their elearning…
Ocean Tribe is delighted to announce that we are now offering PADI Freediving courses in Kenya from 30th September 2021. This is a fantastic opportunity for underwater enthusiasts to learn the discipline of freediving and immersion without scuba tanks. What is Freediving? Do you freediving is similar to snorkeling (although at a much deeper level)?…
The PADI IE has just been completed here in Diani Beach, Kenya and we are delighted to announce that we have 5 new PADI Instructors. Congratulations to Mathilda, Lorraine, Joe, Alisha and Xander, who all completed the PADI IDC with Award-Winning Ocean Tribe PADI Course Director Mark Slingo. We are so proud of the way…
The question of how to prepare for your PADI IDC is of vital importance to getting off to a good start on the PADI Instructor Development Course. The IDC can be a fun or fulfilling learning experience or it can be stressful as you struggle to keep up with everything. Being well prepared can make…
PADI IDC Dates- Are you a Divemaster looking to take that next step to become a PADI Instructor. Here at Ocean Tribe PADI 5 Star IDC we have news. Kenya has officially opened its international borders again so we have scheduled our PADI IDCs up to the end of the year and the first half…
What should I bring for my diving course? Coming to learn to dive with us in Diani can be done as a standalone experience or as part of a larger safari adventure. While we encourage you to carry all the standard travel garb with regard to clothing, swimwear, sunglasses, hats etc, there are a couple…
Book your diving today!
