• DURATION  3-4 Days.
  • FOR  Beginners.
  • MINIMUM AGE  10
  • eLEARNING
  • DIVES INCLUDED  4
  • REQUIREMENTS  Able to Swim 200m , Complete Diver Medical,  10 minute float/tread water

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.

  • Swimwear
  • Hat
  • Sunscreen
  • Dry Bag
  • Water bottle (we can provide water but not in single-use plastic)
  • Towel

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,

About Photos of Your Experience

If you wish to have photographs or video of your experience then Ocean Tribe can arrange to have a photographer in the water during the dives. Photographs and video taken on the experience will be available to purchase online following the dives.
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Typical PADI Open Water Diver Course Timeline

Day 1 - Online Learning & Pool Training

padi open water diver course pool

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.

. . .

Morning Day 2

padi open water diver course elearning

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.

. . .

Day 3- Open Water Dives 1 & 2

padi open water diver course instructorOk 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.
. . .

Day 4- Open Water Dives 3 & 4- CERTIFICATION

padi open water diver course instructorAnother 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?

PADI eLearning Can Save You Course Time

PADI eLearning allows a lot of course flexibility. To save you time to enjoy further your Kenya beach holiday in Diani, you can complete the PADI Online eLearning for the PADI Open Water Diver course (and even the PADI Discover Scuba Dive has a section on eLearning) before you even come to Diani. This then will require the first day in the pool followed by the ocean, cutting the course time.