Open Water Diver Course

About the Course

Open the doors to a whole new world with the PADI Open Water Diver Course! This internationally recognized, lifelong certification allows you to dive independently with a buddy anywhere in the world up to 18 m / 60 ft.

This course follows official
PADI Open Water Diver standards,
ensuring your certification is recognized worldwide.

Begin your scuba journey in the warm, tropical waters of Hilo, Hawai‘i, where volcanic shorelines and thriving reef systems create an ideal environment for skill development. Our training prioritizes comfort, control, and mastery so you leave feeling confident rather than rushed.

Our primary shore dive site is located near a Hawaiian green sea turtle cleaning station. While wildlife encounters are never guaranteed, turtle sightings here are very common, along with reef fish, octopus, and other endemic marine life. This setting offers students an incredible opportunity to observe natural reef behavior while learning responsible interaction and environmental awareness.

New to diving or short on time? You can begin with our
Discover Scuba Diving experience
and upgrade seamlessly toward certification with no repeated training and no wasted cost.

Course Breakdown

• Step 1: PADI eLearning Complete your online academic training in approximately 3 to 7 days at your own pace. Topics include dive theory, equipment use, safety procedures, and problem management.
• Step 2: Confined Water Training Approximately 8 hours of instructor led training in a controlled environment. Sessions may be completed over 1 or 2 days and include buoyancy control, mask skills, regulator recovery, emergency procedures, and a swim assessment of 200 m without fins or 300 m with fins, mask, and snorkel.
• Step 3: Open Water Dives Four instructor supervised ocean dives conducted over 2 days. You will demonstrate required skills while exploring real reef environments along Hilo’s coastline.

Why Train in Hilo?

Direct, supervised instruction on Hilo’s lava shoreline beaches and our abundant coral reef shapes you into an experienced diver ready to explore a multitude of scuba experiences around the world. Lava entries build strong fundamentals in awareness, timing, and control, while staying calm and instructor guided throughout the process.

Healthy coral reefs allow divers an insight into what a thriving ocean looks like. Learning in these conditions helps students develop excellent buoyancy, respectful finning techniques, and reef safe habits from day one.

Our passionate and educated staff care about your experience and mastery of knowledge. We teach to build long term confidence, not just to check boxes.

An indoor shallow pool creates a safe environment for your first breaths underwater and for building skills before heading into the ocean.

Weather & Ocean Conditions

Hilo’s weather and ocean conditions vary seasonally and daily. Our instructors evaluate surf, visibility, tides, and overall conditions each day to ensure safe and effective training. Training locations and schedules may be adjusted to provide the best learning environment possible.

Flexible Certification Pathway & Pricing

• Discover Scuba Diving $325
  Introductory one day experience with confined water training and an optional supervised ocean dive. No certification issued.
  
  
  Start here:
  Discover Scuba Diving
  
• PADI Scuba Diver Certification $650 total
  Two day certification with limited depth privileges to 12 m / 40 ft under professional supervision. This is an excellent option if you have limited time but want a certification outcome.
• PADI Open Water Diver Certification $999
  Full certification including eLearning, confined water training, and four open water dives. Certified to dive independently up to 18 m / 60 ft worldwide.

Courses are structured so students can progress step by step. If weather, comfort, or scheduling limits completion, you are refunded for the uncompleted portion and leave with the highest certification level achieved. For example, if you complete two days but cannot continue, you will be refunded the Open Water portion and finish as a PADI Scuba Diver.

Post Dive Travel Considerations

For safety reasons, flying or traveling to higher elevations is not permitted immediately after diving. Divers must wait a minimum of 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after multiple dives before flying.

This includes inter island flights and driving to higher elevation routes or destinations. Please schedule your course so you are not flying off island or planning major elevation changes immediately after your training dives.

Why Choose Hilo Ocean Adventures?

• Small group, personalized instruction
• Direct, supervised training on Hilo’s lava shoreline beaches and coral reefs
• Healthy reef environments that showcase thriving ocean ecosystems
• Passionate, educated staff focused on your comfort and mastery of skills
• Indoor shallow pool providing a safe environment for your first breaths underwater
• Green Fins certified dive center committed to environmentally responsible diving practices
• PADI Five Star Dive Center recognized for high quality instruction and safety standards

Our goal is to train divers who are safe, confident, and environmentally responsible so you can dive anywhere in the world with skill and respect for the ocean.