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PADI Open Water Diver Course — scuba diving certification course in Mexico's Riviera Maya
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Most Popular

PADI Open Water Diver Course

Your passport to the underwater world — learn to dive in paradise

4.9 TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice — 8 Years in a Row
5.0 Google
20 Years Experience
Private & Small Group
Free Hotel Pickup

About This Course

The PADI Open Water Diver certification is the single most valuable credential you can earn as a traveler. Recognized at every dive center in every country in the world, it opens up the 70 percent of our planet that lies beneath the surface — coral reefs, shipwrecks, underwater caves, kelp forests, and marine ecosystems that most people will never experience. Your certification never expires, and once you have it, you can dive anywhere on Earth for the rest of your life. Getting certified in Mexico's Riviera Maya gives you an advantage that students in other locations simply do not have: your classroom is one of the most spectacular diving destinations on the planet. While other students practice skills in cold, murky quarries and lakes, you will learn in crystal-clear cenote water with visibility exceeding 100 meters and warm Caribbean reefs teeming with marine life. Your four certification dives will include cenote cavern dives through ancient geological formations and ocean reef dives alongside sea turtles, nurse sharks, and tropical fish. These are experiences that certified divers travel from around the world to enjoy — and they are your training ground. Our PADI Open Water course follows the standard curriculum: knowledge development (theory), confined water dives (skills practice), and four open water certification dives. We strongly recommend completing the theory portion through PADI eLearning before you arrive in Mexico — this online course can be done at your own pace from home and saves 1-2 days of your vacation. When you arrive, we jump straight into the water. Our instructors are patient, experienced, and multilingual. They understand that learning to dive can feel intimidating, and they create a supportive, no-pressure environment where you can learn at your own pace. Class sizes are kept small — never more than 4 students per instructor — to ensure you receive the attention and feedback you need to become a confident, competent diver.

Course Details

Price
$450 per person
Duration
Home study + 2 days diving
Min Age
10 years old
Max Depth
18 meters (60 feet)
Prerequisite
None — complete beginners welcome
Certification
PADI Open Water Diver — valid worldwide, never expires
Languages
English, Spanish, French, German
Enroll NowWhatsApp Seth

Course Schedule

Here is what your Home study + 2 days diving look like.

Before Arrival

PADI eLearning (Recommended)

Complete the theory portion online at your own pace from home. This covers diving physics, physiology, equipment, planning, and safety. Includes knowledge reviews and a final exam. Saves 1-2 days on your trip.

Day 1

Confined Water Training

Meet your instructor, review key concepts, and enter the water for your first time with scuba equipment. Practice essential skills — breathing, mask clearing, buoyancy control, regulator recovery — in a calm, controlled environment. By the end of the day, you will be comfortable breathing underwater.

Day 2

Open Water Dives 1 & 2

Your first real dives in a cenote or on the ocean reef. Apply the skills you practiced in confined water while exploring an actual dive site. Maximum depth 12 meters. Your instructor stays with you the entire time, guiding you through the dive while you practice skills in a real environment.

Day 3

Open Water Dives 3 & 4 — Certification!

Complete your final two certification dives, extending to 18 meters. By now you will feel confident and comfortable underwater. These dives are more about enjoying the dive sites while demonstrating your competence. After your fourth dive surfaces, you are a certified PADI Open Water Diver.

What's Included

Everything you need — no hidden fees.

Most Popular

PADI Open Water Diver Course

$450per person — all inclusive

The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world's most popular and widely recognized scuba diving certification. Earn your certification while diving in crystal-clear cenotes and vibrant Caribbean reefs — not a cold quarry.

What's included:

  • All PADI instruction and certification fees
  • PADI eLearning access code
  • All diving equipment for the course duration
  • Confined water training
  • 4 open water certification dives (cenotes & ocean)
  • Free hotel pickup & drop-off every dive day
  • PADI certification card (digital + physical)
  • Small class sizes (max 4 students per instructor)
  • Snacks and water on dive days
Enroll Now

Open Water Course — FAQ

Common questions about the PADI Open Water Diver Course.

The course is two days of diving in Mexico plus videos, quizzes, and exams done at home before you arrive. We strongly recommend completing the eLearning before your trip so you can jump straight into the water. We can adjust the schedule to fit your vacation if needed.

You need to be able to swim 200 meters without stopping (any stroke) and tread water or float for 10 minutes. These are PADI requirements and are assessed on your first day. You do not need to be a competitive swimmer — just comfortable in the water. If you are unsure whether you meet these requirements, contact us and we can discuss options.

PADI offers a referral system. If you cannot complete all four open water dives during your stay, we issue a referral that allows you to complete the remaining dives at any PADI dive center in the world within 12 months. However, we strongly encourage completing the course here — your certification dives in cenotes and Caribbean reefs are far more spectacular than what most dive centers elsewhere can offer.

Absolutely. The PADI Open Water course is designed to make you a competent, independent diver with two days of diving plus home study. The curriculum has been refined over decades and has certified over 28 million divers worldwide. By the end of the course, you will have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to dive safely anywhere in the world to 18 meters. That said, like any skill, diving improves with practice — we encourage you to keep diving after certification.

Children aged 10-14 can take the Junior Open Water Diver course, which follows the same curriculum with a depth restriction of 12 meters (instead of 18) and requires diving with a certified adult. At 15, the certification automatically upgrades to the full Open Water Diver rating. We have certified many young divers who go on to become passionate lifelong divers.

Discover Scuba Diving is a single-day introductory experience — you dive once with an instructor and receive no certification. The Open Water course is a full multi-day certification program that teaches you to dive independently (with a buddy) and earn a credential valid worldwide. If you are unsure, try Discover Scuba first. Many of our guests start with DSD and then sign up for the full course.

Already Certified? Go Further.

If you already have your Open Water certification, the Advanced Open Water course extends your depth limit to 30 meters and unlocks the most spectacular cenote dives in Mexico.

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course — another course option

Start Your Open Water Course

Tell us your dates and we will set up your PADI eLearning access and plan your course schedule. Your certification journey starts with a single message.

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