Learn to Scuba Dive with the PADI Open Water Diver Course!

Have you ever wondered what's beneath the ocean's surface? Now is your chance to find out! Embark on the adventure of a lifetime with the PADI Open Water Diver course — your first step toward becoming a certified scuba diver. This experience will open the door to a world of underwater exploration and discovery.

What You'll Learn:

During this course, you'll learn the essentials of scuba diving, from foundational skills to real-world diving experiences. You'll begin with knowledge development, followed by hands-on practice in the water, and finish with exhilarating dives in open water to apply what you've learned.

With guidance from a professional PADI Instructor in a relaxed and supportive environment, you'll feel confident as you progress through the course.

Course Prerequisites:

• Minimum age: 10 years
• Ability to swim
• Comfortable in water
• Medically fit for diving

Course Breakdown:

Knowledge Development: 

This portion of the course covers the theoretical foundation of scuba diving. You have two options for completing it:

1. PADI eLearning (Best Option): Complete the academic portion of your scuba training online before arriving at Anthony’s Key Resort. This option lets you study at your own pace, so your knowledge development is already complete by the time you arrive. That way, you can focus solely on the fun part—your waterwork dives—while enjoying your vacation to the fullest without needing to study on-site.

2. PADI Open Water Diver Crew Pack: If you prefer to complete your studies in person, you’ll receive a physical "crew pack" when starting the course. The package includes your logbook, student record file, and the PADI Open Water Diver Manual, which you’ll use to complete your knowledge reviews at the resort. Expect to spend about 5-10 hours on this portion.

Waterwork:

• 5 Confined Water Dives: In these five dives, you’ll practice essential scuba skills in a safe and controlled environment, preparing you for real-world diving.

• 4 Open Water Dives: After honing your skills in confined water, you’ll complete four open water dives to develop your abilities further and explore actual ocean dive sites.

• Water Skills Requirements:

  • Float or tread water for 10 minutes without aids.
  • Swim 200 meters/yards without aids or 300 meters/yards using a mask, fins, and snorkel.
  • Maximum dive depth: 18 meters (60 feet).

Can’t decide whether to get your scuba certification while on vacation or at home before you travel? With a PADI® Open Water referral, you don’t have to choose! A PADI referral allows you to complete most of your scuba training at home – then, finish your certification dives once you're here. This means you can avoid studying during your vacation! 

Sign-up at a PADI shop at home and do the confined water work in a pool and theoretical part with your local instructor. After completion, your local instructor will sign your PADI Referral forms. Our instructors will complete your training with 4 open water boat dives. Once certified, you can spend the rest of your time exploring with your dive buddy and gaining additional dive experience. 

Course prerequisites: 

• 10 years minimum age 
• Able to swim, medically fit for diving, comfortable in the water 
• Original referral forms from your local dive center; completed knowledge and confined-water dives

Time commitment: 

• Referral Open-water dives: 1.5 days (4 dives)

The Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about advancing your skills. You'll practice navigation and buoyancy, try deep diving and make three specialty dives of your choosing (it's like a specialty sampler platter). For every specialty dive you complete, you can earn credit toward PADI® specialty certifications.

PADI Advanced Open Water Certification is a two-day course consisting of five dives:

• Two core dives: Deep and Underwater Navigation 
• Three elective dives: Night, Fish ID, Multi-level, Wreck, Drift, u/w Naturalist, Buoyancy, Equipment, or Boat. 

Course prerequisites:

• 12 years minimum age
• Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification)
• The maximum depth depends on your age, but maximum depth is up to 21 meters/70 feet

Time commitment:

• Entire course: 2-3 days

Note: 

• This course is performance-based with no tests.

Build your scuba skills and gain more confidence.

Have you always wanted to try digital underwater photography, wreck diving, or deep diving? There’s a long list of scuba adventures you can take part in during this program. Complete three Adventure Dives and you earn the Adventure Diver certification.  It’s a great opportunity to work with your instructor to build your scuba skills and gain more confidence. Get a taste of what you like and enjoy scuba diving more than ever. If you're short on time, this course takes only one day (3 dives), and you may apply the credit toward the Advanced Open Water course.

Course prerequisites:

• 12 years minimum age
• Open Water Diver/Junior Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification)
• The maximum depth depends on your age, but maximum depth is up to 21 meters/70 feet

Time commitment:

• Entire course: 1 day 

Enriched air, also known as nitrox or EANx, contains less nitrogen than regular air. Breathing less nitrogen means you can enjoy longer dives and shorter surface intervals. No wonder Enriched Air Diver is the most popular PADI® specialty.

After finishing your independent study, you'll learn how to analyze a tank, fill out an enriched air log, and set your dive computer for nitrox. There are two optional dives.

Course prerequisites:

• 12 years minimum age
• PADI Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification)

The PADI Scuba Diver course is a subset of the PADI Open Water Diver course. If you're short on time but really want to become a diver, the PADI Scuba Diver rating might be right for you ̶ particularly if you expect to go scuba diving primarily with a dive guide. This course is an intermediate step for earning an Open Water Diver certification if that's your ultimate goal.

PADI Scuba Divers are qualified to:

• Dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Professional to a maximum depth of 12 meters/40 feet.
• Obtain air fills, rent or purchase scuba equipment and participate in dive activities as long as properly supervised.
• Continue dive training by completing the PADI Open Water Diver certification and taking certain specialty diver courses.

The PADI Scuba Diver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge Development (eLearning, independent study, or in a classroom) to understand basic principles of scuba diving - just the first three of five sections of the Open Water Diver course.
• Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills - just the first three of five dives of the Open Water Diver course
• Open Water Dives to use your skills and explore - just two of four dives of the Open Water Diver course.

Course prerequisites: 

• 10 years minimum age
• Able to swim
• Medically fit for diving
• Comfortable in the water
• Scuba Divers may only dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Professional to a maximum depth of 12 meters/40 feet.

Time commitment:

• Entire course: 2-3 days

The PADI® Rescue Diver course will change the way you dive – in the best possible way. Learn to identify and fix minor issues before they become big problems, gain a lot of confidence, and have serious fun along the way.

The water training sessions are serious fun. You'll practice handling scenarios such as a leg cramp and assisting a tired diver by role-playing with other students and your instructor.

Course prerequisites:

• 12 years minimum age
• Adventure Diver/Junior Adventure Diver (or qualifying certification) with completed Underwater Navigation Dive
• EFR Primary and Secondary Care training (or qualifying training) within 24 months

Emergency First Response® primary and secondary care training teach you what to do in the critical moments between when a life-threatening emergency occurs and when emergency medical services arrive. Learn how to perform CPR, provide first aid that eases pain, assess a variety of injuries and illnesses, and practices bandaging and splinting in a role-playing scenario.

Course prerequisites:

• No minimum age
• Desire to help others

Learn to Dive at Roatan’s Legendary Dive Destination!

What better place to get your feet wet with Scuba Diving than at one of the pioneer dive resorts in all the Caribbean? Here on scenic Roatan, home to one of the world’s most majestic barrier reefs, Anthony’s Key Resort will provide you with a safe, solid introduction to the sport. In the space of a single afternoon, you'll start what for many has become a lifetime passion!

Anthony's Key Resort is one of the pioneer dive resorts in the Caribbean and has been in operation for more than 50 years. We continue to rank as one of the world's top dive operations. Our seasoned dive instructors understand how to help beginners start outright. Your safety is our number one priority! All dive boats are equipped with a DAN Emergency Kit. The Cornerstone Hyperbaric Chamber & Clinic, staffed by trained medical physicians, is located right onsite in case of emergency.

Your Discover Scuba diving course includes a short video, classroom session on the theory and skills of scuba – then you‘ll practice those skills in shallow water before moving on to do a 40’ dive in the ocean. Your sessions can be credited toward a full PADI Open Water Certification and as a PADI dive center, you’ll be learning to dive with the best!

Includes:

• Classroom Instruction
• Shallow Water Session/Instruction
• 1 Reef Dive to 40' with Instructor
• Tanks, Weights & Weight Belt
• Dive Gear Included: Mask, Fins & Snorkel, BC Jacket Regulator w/ Console and Alternate Air Source and Wetsuit