Open water diver certification course
General Course Info
The PADI open Water Diver Certification course is comprised of 3 sections:
1) PADI eLearning (online training), at your own pace: $217+tax
2) Confined Water (pool) skills (5 dives, 10min float/tread, 300m relaxed Mask, Snorkel, Fin swim, generally completed over 1 weekend, or 2-3 weekday sessions but depends on student needs and not guaranteed in that timeframe): $200+tax
3) Open Water Certification dives. 4 dives in a lake or quarry completed over 2 days (per regulations, we can not complete all 4 in 1 day): $200+tax
I accept payments in full or as you go through the sections. Everyone's schedule is different, and it can take some longer to complete all 3 sections, or wait for summer weather, etc. Altogether, it is $617 + tax ($660.19).
ALL rental gear is provided. You don't have to bring anything other than your swimsuit/trunks and towel. The confined water dives are generally a total of 8-10 hours of pool time.
We most often teach the pool portions either in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Dike (summer months only) and the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA but have the ability to use other pools if there is a big enough group to travel to. There are multiple Open Water locations. Lester Milligan (Big Blue) in Mason City, Brushy Creek near Webster City and some limited dates to use Turkey Ridge, 10min North of Cedar Falls.
Because of how PADI OWD is taught, you also have the ability to start with 1 instructor/shop and finish with another. For example, if you do the eLearning and pool here, then have a vacation planned to a tropical location, you can complete the final dives there with another PADI Instructor. It's a really nice option to have, especially for us "winter states." We usually start doing lake dives near the end of May to early June and end the regular season early October.
We accept cash, checks, Venmo, or credit cards to get started.
After payment, you are assigned a code through PADI, and they e-mail you directions to start immediately.
If you would like to purchase any of your own gear (popular starting gear are mask, snorkel, boots and fins, wetsuit, etc.), we have a great selection to choose from in the store.
We are very flexible with schedules. We understand life is crazy and we try to accommodate as much as possible. Family/group savings available.
