The house in Ponta is booked for the middle of December. Everyone else in the group has a dive card, and you have about eight weeks to get yours. On paper that's far more time than the course needs. PADI says it takes at least four days to become a certified diver. Finish the theory first on PADI eLearning, and the in-water part can be done in three. PADI also says the same course can be spread over a few weekends, or even a few months.
At Scuba Evolution in Johannesburg, the PADI Open Water Diver course has three parts. PADI eLearning comes first, at home. Then five pool sessions in a heated indoor pool in Fourways, and four open water dives at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters. Nothing runs on a fixed class calendar, so the sessions go on dates that suit you. You have six months from the first pool session to finish. How the dates fall is what decides December, so this guide counts back from the day you leave.
How long does it take to get scuba certified?
At least four days, by PADI's count, and its main education page puts the average for a new diver at 3 to 5 days. PADI publishes a range for each part of the course. The spread is deliberate. PADI training is performance-based, so a skill you master quickly moves you on. A skill you aren't comfortable with gets repeated until you and your instructor agree you've mastered it. Larger groups tend to take longer.
| Part | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| PADI eLearning | Online, at home, at your own pace | 5 to 10 hours |
| Pool training | Five sessions in a heated indoor pool in Fourways | 6 to 10 hours in total |
| Open water dives | Four dives at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters, or the sea on request | At least two days |
| Your PADI eCard | Downloaded from PADI | Within 24 hours of finishing, usually sooner |
The hours are PADI's ranges for the course anywhere in the world. The places are ours. PADI allows up to a year for the eLearning alone. Our limit for the whole course is six months from your first pool session to certification.
How does the Open Water course run in Johannesburg?
Theory first, then water. The course opens with PADI eLearning, five modules of core theory worked through in your own time. Once the theory's done, five confined water sessions follow in a heated indoor pool in Fourways, with no more than four students per instructor. The four open water qualification dives come last, at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters, two inland sites within a drive of Johannesburg.
The course costs R5,650, VAT included, with eLearning, instruction, all scuba equipment and air fills in the fee. Dive site entry is paid separately. What learning to dive costs in Joburg sets that out line by line. One shortcut exists. A Discover Scuba session can count as your first pool session if you start Open Water within 12 months and its skills met the standard. It saves a session. Open Water is still booked at its normal price.
Can you get scuba certified in a weekend?
Not from scratch. PADI says the four open water dives must be spread over at least two days, and the pool training has to come before them. A weekend can finish a course, but it can't fit the whole thing. Over several weekends, yes. PADI describes that route for anyone who can't give the course four full days. With no fixed class calendar, the pool sessions and the open water weekend fit around your diary.
A one-day option does exist, but it isn't a certification. Discover Scuba Diving is a single pool session with an instructor. It tells you whether you like breathing underwater before you commit, and it doesn't qualify you to dive on the trip. How far you can go without a certification sets out the limits.
How do you count back from a December trip?
Start with the calendar. From the weekend of 24 October there are six weekends before December begins, and two more before the middle of the month. The open water weekend is the piece to fix first, because everything else has to happen before it. Work up from your departure date:
- Your departure date. If the trip starts with a flight, keep your last training dive well clear of it. DAN's guidelines call for at least 18 hours after several days of diving, and PADI rounds that up to 24. Flying after diving explains why.
- A spare weekend. When the weather turns on a dive day, the session moves to the next workable date. Leave one weekend empty before you go, so a moved dive doesn't land on the trip.
- The open water weekend. Four dives, spread over at least two days. Ask us for the next open water weekend that falls before your date, and book the rest around it.
- Five pool sessions. In Fourways, before the open water dives, on dates set with you once you've booked.
- The eLearning. Five to 10 hours at home, finished before your first pool session.
- This week. Read the medical questionnaire and check the swim. The swim is 200 metres, or 300 metres with mask, fins and snorkel, plus a 10 minute float.
Read the list from the bottom and that's the order you'll do it in. The medical form is the step that can't be rushed. A yes to any question means a doctor signs you off before any in-water session, the pool included. That appointment can't be arranged from a pool deck, and once the eLearning code is redeemed, a medical outcome can't be refunded. What a yes on the dive medical form means covers what happens next. If the swim is the worry, diving if you can't swim treats it as a six-week project, which is a good reason to start this week.
Can you do the open water dives at the coast?
Yes, on request. Qualification dives typically run inland at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters. Our course page also offers ocean qualification dives on request, for anyone who'd rather certify in salt water. If the sea is part of your December plan, say so when you book.
PADI also has a route called the Open Water Diver referral. You finish the eLearning and the pool training at home, and your instructor gives you a referral form recording what you've done. You take that form to another PADI dive centre, which runs the four open water dives. PADI says the form is valid for 12 months from your last training session. The receiving centre reviews your skills in a pool before the open water, and the final part typically takes a day and a half. PADI suggests confirming the schedule and price with that centre in advance. Its own caution is that students sometimes leave too long a gap after the pool.
What's the first step?
Book the course, then set the dates. The PADI Open Water Diver course is bookable online at R5,650, and training dates are set with you once you've booked. To check the next open water weekend before you pay, WhatsApp 082 557 3822 or call 010 335 1000, and have your departure date ready. Four qualification dives earn the card. The dives you log after it, in December and beyond, are what make you a diver.
Sources
- PADI Blog, How long does it take to get a scuba diving license?, for the four-day minimum, three days in the water with eLearning, the hours for theory and pool training, open water dives over at least two days, up to a year for eLearning, training over a few weekends or months, performance-based training and the eCard within 24 hours.
- PADI, Education, for the 3 to 5 day average for new divers.
- PADI Blog, Learn to scuba dive with a PADI Open Water referral, for how a referral works, its 12-month validity, the pool skills review at the receiving centre and the day and a half to finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get scuba certified?
PADI says at least four days, or three days of in-water training if you finish the theory on PADI eLearning first. The course can also be spread over a few weekends. At Scuba Evolution you have six months from your first pool session to finish.
How long does PADI eLearning take?
PADI estimates 5 to 10 hours for the Open Water theory, worked through at your own pace. It allows up to a year to complete it online. On our course, the eLearning is finished before the pool sessions begin.
Can you get scuba certified in a weekend?
Not from scratch. PADI says the four open water dives must be completed over at least two days, and the pool training comes before them. Over several weekends, yes: PADI says the course can be earned over a few weekends or a few months.
How many dives is the PADI Open Water course?
Four open water dives, after the pool training. On our course, five confined water sessions in a heated indoor pool in Fourways come first. The four dives follow at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters, or in the sea on request.
Can the Open Water dives be done in the sea?
Yes, on request. The four qualification dives typically run at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters, two inland sites within a drive of Johannesburg. Our course page also offers ocean qualification dives on request, so say so when you book.
How long do you have to finish the Open Water course?
Six months from your first confined water session. Dates moved for weather or site closures don't count against it. Booked sessions can be moved with at least 24 hours' notice.
Reviewed October 2026. Devon Ford runs Scuba Evolution, a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre in Glenvista, Johannesburg.
