The open water course is made up of five modules and takes approximately 4 days to complete. Chapters from the manual are learnt via self study and instructor review in conjunction with a short DVD to reinforce key points. At the end of each chapter a knowledge review is completed and discussed.

Practical in water learning consists of pool sessions to teach and review underwater skills and then four open water dives.  Dives one and two are conducted at a depth of 12 metres and dives three and four at 18 metres. During these open water dives kep skills will be undertaken and confidence built.

The final stage of the PADI Open Water course is an exam, which is multiple choice and covers all that you have learnt over the previous four days.