Scuba courses
Open Water Diver Course

Want to become a scuba diver? Then your underwater adventure starts in Cape Town with the PADI Open Water Diver Course. The Open Water Diver Course teaches you the fundamentals of scuba diving and sets the foundation for all the other scuba dive courses.

This course allows you to scuba dive independently with a certified buddy, to a depth of up to 18 meters.

We start off by teaching you about diving and the ocean. After this we take you to a swimming pool, where we teach you scuba diving skills and how to use the diving equipment. When you are ready, we progress to the real adventure, diving in the ocean! With so many excellent scuba dive sites to offer, Cape Town will not let you down.

The PADI Open Water Diver Course is one of the best of its kind in the world through which to learn to dive. It is conducted by one of our certified PADI Instructors.

Quick overview of the Open Water Diver Course

• Minimum duration: 3 days
• Preparing for the course: Once you sign up, you will receive theory to do. This is homework to do before you come for the course.  
• Day 1: Scuba diving sessions in our swimming pool in Sea Point.
• Day 2 and 3: Four scuba dives total in the ocean around Cape Town
• You get the option to come for more pool traning sessions in the pool to build confidence.
• Your diving course can be constructed around your schedule. You do not need to do the course in 4 consecutive days!
• Bring your swimsuit, sunscreen, towel, and a snack.
• Minimum age : PADI junior open water diver – 10 years
• PADI open water diver – 15 years

To do the PADI Open Water Diver Course will normally take you 3 to 4 days. These days do not need to be done consecutively – we can tailor make the diving schedule to suit your schedule!

Daily dive course schedule:

On the days we scuba dive, we will meet at the Into the Blue Dive Centre (88 Main Road, Sea Point, Cape Town), normally at 8am or 9am. It is here where we do the registration, theory work, and kit you out with the scuba dive equipment that you will need for your course. Divers can expect to be finished by between 3 and 6 in the afternoon, depending on where we dive in the Cape on that day.

Course day 1 – Scuba dive theory

Before we can jump into the water and start scuba diving, we need to do a bit of course theory first to explain to you exactly how scuba diving works. There are two theory options to choose from:

The more traditional course option:

If you decide to use this option, you will receive a PADI crew pack with course theory materials.  Your theory will consist out of the following:

• A DVD to watch (+- 3 hours long). You can choose to watch this DVD in the comfort of your home, or in our classroom. If you decide to watch the DVD in your home, we are able to shorten your course to 3 days.
• Some quizzes to do with the instructor, to make sure that you understand what you saw in the DVD. This is also a great opportunity to ask your instructor any questions that you might have about the scuba diving.
• Knowledge reviews – there is some course homework that need to be done in your manual.
• A course theory exam.

E-Learning scuba course

This is a great way to get your scuba dive theory done if you are pressed for time, or do not want to spend too much time on your holiday doing homework and studying. With PADI e-learning, you can do all of your course theory in the comfort of your home, long before your holiday even starts!

Please note that if you do a e-learning course, you will not be receiving a crew pack from us, as all your theory is online. For this, you receive a R500 discount off the normal price, but there is a fee payable to PADI to sign up for the e-learning. Divers who follow this option would also need to buy their own log books. If you would like to sign up for the PADI e-learning, please click here.

Course day 2 – Pool sessions

By now you know the theory behind scuba diving, so on this day we take you to the pool to teach you how the equipment works, and to practice your scuba diving skills before we go to the ocean. The pool that we use is on our premises, which makes for the ultimate convenience!

Our professional and knowledgeable instructors will make sure that you are well taught, and that you will be comfortable with your diving gear before we take you diving in the ocean.

Course day 3 and 4: Ocean scuba dives around Cape Town

This is what the course was all about! We now take you diving in the ocean, where you get to practise your skills that you learnt in the pool. As an added bonus we also do some diving just for the fun of it. We do four dives altogether, after which you are ready to get certified!

This course is constructed in such a way as to teach you diving in a safe and exciting way. You can be rest assured that, as a PADI open water diver, your certification will be recognised anywhere you might go in the world.

1. Will my certification be recognized internationally?
   Yes! Your diving certification is not just limited to Cape Town, but is valid worldwide. PADI is the most widely recognized diving certification agency in the world – almost 80% of all recreational divers get certified through PADI. This means that your certification will be recognized wherever you go!

2. How safe is it to scuba dive in the Cape?
   Statistically scuba diving is one of the safest sports there is out there, with very few injuries. Part of the reason for this is that divers get trained very well, and if you stick to the rules there is very little that can go wrong.

3. What about sharks in Cape Town?
   Sharks are a bit like dogs – there are many different types in Cape Town, and not all of them are dangerous! You get big ones, small ones, cute ones, ugly ones... some are friendly and some not so friendly. There are some shark species that we specifically go look for at times, as they present no danger to humans and are really nice to see while diving. Seeing a Great White shark on a normal scuba dive in Cape Town is extremely rare – between our staff we have thousands of dives under the belt and we have never seen one! That said, there are no fences in the ocean, which means that there is always a chance of meeting one on a dive. Meeting a shark underwater does not mean that it will attack you however. Scientists say that shark attacks on human are normally a case of mistaken identity, for example, a surfer on the surface might look like a seal to a shark. Scuba divers however spend most of their time under the water and not on the surface and as such do not look like a Great White’s natural pray. The bubbles also tend to scare them away!

4. Is the water cold around Cape Town?
   Cape Town’s water is not tropical, but we wear nice wetsuits to keep us warm when we go diving. We believe that there is no such thing as cold water – only divers that are incorrectly dressed!

5. What do I need to bring with?
   You need to bring the following:

   • A towel

   • Swimming clothes

   • A snack to eat and something to drink during the day

   • Sun screen with an adequate SPF factor; it can get hot in Cape Town

6. Can you pick me up from my hotel in Cape Town?
   Yes, we can arrange for transport for those situated in Cape Town and surrounds. Contact us to arrange this!

7. Can I drive with you to the dive site from Into the Blue’s Scuba Centre in Cape Town?
   Yes, you can. Contact us to arrange this!

8. Can you take pictures of me while diving?
   We have an underwater camera at the centre that we can take with. Please note that booking is essential for this!

9. How old do I need to be to do the diving course?
   You need to be at least 10 years old. Divers between ages 10 and 15 will receive a PADI junior open water certification, which is automatically upgraded to a full open water certification once you reach the age of 15.

10. How fit do I need to be to scuba dive?
    You do not need to be very fit, but you do need to be reasonably healthy, and should able to swim. Please download our Medical Questionaire, and if you answer “yes” to any of the questions on there, you would need a note from your doctor to say that you are healthy enough to scuba dive.

11. I don’t have any friends that scuba dive in Cape Town– who can I dive with after I get certified?
    We have some very exciting programs to take you out diving on guided dives after your certification. Speak to us to see which one will work the best for you!

12. What’s next after I quality?
    Once you have qualified as an open water diver, you can take part in the following programs:

    • Guided dives – use your qualification to explore Cape Town underwater!
    • Diving holidays – sign up for one of our scuba holiday and get to dive in the best diving destinations in the world!
    • The PADI advanced open water course! Here we teach you more about the exciting adventures that can be had underwater – like wreck diving, deep diving, and underwater photography.

13. Can I buy this scuba course as a gift for someone?
    Yes! We can email you a voucher that you can give to a friend as a gift. This voucher will be valid for one year.

14. How can I stay in touch to know of any dive excursions that you have?
    You can sign up for our newsletter by clicking here, and you can follow us on our Facebook page by liking us here. This way you will always be in the loop about weather conditions and any exciting trip or dives that we are doing.

15. What about my MPA scuba dive permit?
    Divers who do a dive course with us automatically receive a MPA permit from us that is valid for one month. This is included in your course price.