The fourth qualifying dive at Miracle Waters is done and the kit is drying on the back of the bakkie. A brand-new diver asks the question that tends to come up on the last day of an Open Water course: book Advanced now, or go and dive first? A friend did Advanced the week after Open Water. Someone at work said to wait until the logbook fills up a bit. Both sounded certain.
Open Water qualifies you to 18 metres with a buddy. Advanced Open Water raises that to 30 metres through five Adventure Dives, including Deep and Underwater Navigation. PADI asks for no extra logged dives, and many divers go straight on. Divers still fighting their buoyancy, ears or nerves tend to gain more by logging dives first.
What is the difference between Open Water and Advanced Open Water?
Open Water teaches you to dive. Advanced gives you five more dives under instruction, each built around one kind of diving. The Open Water course runs in three parts: knowledge development, skills practice in confined water, and four open water dives. PADI's guide to the Advanced course points out that Open Water takes people who have not worn scuba gear before and turns them into divers. That's the bigger step of the two.
Advanced has no pool sessions and no exam. You work through eLearning for the dives you've chosen, then make five Adventure Dives with an instructor. Two are fixed. On the Deep Adventure Dive you go below the Open Water limit, somewhere between 18 and 30 metres. On the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive you practise compass work on land first, then underwater. The other three are your choice.
| What differs | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water Diver |
|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Learning to dive from scratch | Building skills on five more supervised dives |
| Maximum depth | 18 metres (12 metres for Junior divers aged 10 or 11) | 30 metres (21 metres for Junior divers aged 12 to 14) |
| In the water | Pool sessions, then four open water dives | Five Adventure Dives, no pool sessions |
| Required dives | Four open water training dives | Deep and Underwater Navigation, plus three you choose |
| PADI eLearning | 5 to 10 hours | 6 to 8 hours |
| PADI's time estimate | As little as 2 to 4 days | 2 to 3 days |
| Minimum age | 10 | 12 |
| Entry requirements | Fit to dive; a 200 metre swim, or 300 with mask, fins and snorkel, and a 10 minute float | An Open Water, Junior Open Water or qualifying entry-level card |
| Our price | R5,650 | R5,000 |
How deep can you go with Advanced Open Water?
Thirty metres, or the depth you reached on your Deep Adventure Dive if that was shallower. PADI counts anything below 18 metres as deep, so a dive to 19 metres qualifies. Junior Advanced Open Water Divers, aged 12 to 14, are limited to 21 metres. Local law or a boat's own rules can set a lower limit, and those come first. Going past 30 metres, towards the recreational limit of 40, takes further training such as the Deep Diver speciality.
The extra 12 metres cost time. PADI's Recreational Dive Planner gives a maximum bottom time of 56 minutes at 18 metres and 20 minutes at 30 metres. You also breathe through your air faster the deeper you go. That's why the Deep Adventure Dive spends its time on planning around no-decompression limits, watching your gas and spotting the early signs of narcosis. The numbers behind each limit are in the guide to how deep you can scuba dive.
How long does Advanced Open Water take?
PADI puts the course at two to three days, plus six to eight hours of eLearning. Most of our Advanced divers finish all five dives over a single weekend, and nothing says they have to. PADI's own course guide mentions divers who spread the dives across a holiday or a whole season.
Open Water takes longer, because it starts from nothing. PADI quotes five to 10 hours of eLearning and as little as two to four days in total. Ours runs five pool sessions in Fourways and then four open water dives, on dates set with you rather than a fixed class calendar. The guide to how long it takes to get scuba certified covers how those weeks usually fall.
Can you do Advanced Open Water straight after Open Water?
Yes. PADI's prerequisite is an Open Water or Junior Open Water card, or a qualifying entry-level card from another training organisation, and being fit to dive. PADI's course guide is plain about it: you need no dives beyond the ones you made during Open Water training. No waiting period applies either.
Age changes the card you get. From 15 you earn Advanced Open Water Diver. Between 12 and 14 it's Junior Advanced Open Water Diver, with the 21 metre limit. A 10 or 11 year old can earn Junior Adventure Diver and complete the Deep Adventure Dive on turning 12 to earn the junior Advanced card. At 15, a Junior Advanced Open Water Diver becomes an Advanced Open Water Diver automatically.
Should you do Advanced straight away or log dives first?
It depends on how your Open Water dives felt, more than on a number in the logbook. DAN draws the line well: "Experience is earned over time through exposure to diving, while skills may be learned." Advanced adds skills and five supervised dives. Logged dives add experience. Neither replaces the other.
Going straight on tends to suit you if:
- Your Open Water dives felt settled. You hovered at the safety stop, equalised without a fight and checked your gauges without being prompted. Advanced builds on that while it's fresh.
- You might not dive otherwise. A survey of 305 trained divers in Western Australia, cited by DAN, found that within two years of certifying, 20% had gone at least a year without a dive. Booked dives tend to happen. Good intentions tend not to.
- A trip needs the card. PADI notes that many liveaboards accept only Advanced divers and above.
- You want your first dive below 18 metres with an instructor. DAN cites a Western Australian study of more than 1,000 dives in which 38 went past commonly accepted no-decompression limits. Those divers were unlikely to have been that deep before. The risk sat with going somewhere new. The Deep Adventure Dive puts your first time below 18 metres under supervision.
Logging dives first tends to suit you if:
- Buoyancy is still a fight. Five new tasks on top of hovering can crowd out the learning. If you do go on, the Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive is a sensible elective, and PADI's course guide recommends it.
- Equalising was slow. One of DAN's experts names equalising injuries as typical of divers in training or early on. Pressure doubles in the first 10 metres, the biggest proportional change on any dive, so easy shallow dives are the place to sort it.
- You were anxious on the Open Water dives. The deep and navigation dives are compulsory. For divers who don't yet feel ready for depth, PADI suggests a speciality course first.
- Someone else planned every dive. Another of DAN's experts says a diver who can explain a dive from preparation to debrief is probably pacing well. If you couldn't brief your last dive, plan a few inside 18 metres with a buddy.
Is Advanced Open Water worth it?
For most divers who plan to keep diving, yes. You get five dives with an instructor beside you, a 30 metre limit and a head start on specialities. PADI says it's generally not considered difficult, especially next to Open Water. On the navigation dive you learn kick cycles, natural landmarks and timed swims, so you can find the exit without following anyone. That skill earns its keep at every depth.
Each Adventure Dive may also credit towards the first dive of the matching PADI speciality. PADI's example is the dry suit: try it on Advanced and you already have one of the two dives for Dry Suit Diver. The Deep Adventure Dive does the same for Deep Diver.
The card isn't the experience, though. One of DAN's experts lists certifications gained quickly, with the minimum required experience, as a sign of a diver going too far too soon. The card says you trained to 30 metres. The logbook says whether you're comfortable there. A diver whose holidays stay shallow may find 18 metres is plenty for a while, and that's a fine reason to wait.
Where do you do Open Water and Advanced in Johannesburg?
The Open Water Diver course is R5,650. It includes PADI eLearning, all scuba equipment and air fills. Five pool sessions run in a heated indoor pool in Fourways at four students per instructor, then four open water dives at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters. Open Water students also get free DAN Student Dive Cover for the course, paid for by DAN.
Advanced Open Water is R5,000, with eLearning and all scuba equipment included. The Open Water + Advanced Combo is R9,500, against R10,650 booked separately. There's no waiting period between the two, so the combo can run back to back or be spread over a fortnight or a year. Air for the Open Water course is included; air fills for the Advanced dives and dive site entry fees are paid separately. The guide to what it costs to learn to dive in Joburg sets out the rest.
Sources
- PADI: Advanced Open Water Diver course, for the five Adventure Dives, the 30 and 21 metre limits, the 18 metre definition of deep, prerequisites, ages, time and speciality credit.
- PADI: Open Water Diver course, for the 18 metre limit, the swim and float requirements, the Junior ages, the course phases and time.
- PADI Blog: Advanced Open Water Diver, Everything You Need to Know, for no extra dives before the course, what the deep and navigation dives teach, scheduling, difficulty and the Junior Adventure Diver route.
- PADI Blog: How Deep Can Open Water Divers vs. Advanced Open Water Divers Go?, for the depth reached on the Deep Adventure Dive and the 56 and 20 minute bottom times.
- PADI Blog: What's the Difference Between PADI Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver?, for the 18 to 30 metre Deep Adventure Dive, navigation practice and liveaboard entry.
- PADI Blog: Are You Ready for Your Next Scuba Certification?, for enrolling straight after Open Water and the speciality route for divers not ready for depth.
- PADI Blog: PADI Certification Rules, for Junior Open Water depth limits and local rules taking precedence.
- DAN Alert Diver: The Effect of Experience on Risk, for experience against skills, the Western Australian studies and the expert panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Advanced Open Water worth it?
For most divers who plan to keep diving, yes: five dives with an instructor, a 30 metre limit and credit towards specialities. Divers still working on buoyancy or equalising, or who dive shallow sites once a year, may get more from logging dives first.
Can you do Advanced Open Water straight after Open Water?
Yes. PADI needs only an Open Water or Junior Open Water card, or a qualifying entry-level card from another agency. No extra logged dives are required, and many divers go straight on.
How long does Advanced Open Water take?
PADI gives two to three days, plus six to eight hours of eLearning. Most of our divers finish the five Adventure Dives over one weekend, though they can be spread out.
How deep can you go with Advanced Open Water?
Thirty metres, or the depth reached on your Deep Adventure Dive if that was shallower. Junior Advanced Open Water Divers aged 12 to 14 are limited to 21 metres. Open Water Divers stop at 18.
How many dives do you need for Advanced Open Water?
The course is five Adventure Dives: Deep and Underwater Navigation, plus three you choose with your instructor. You need no dives beyond your Open Water training dives to start.
What is the minimum age for Advanced Open Water?
Twelve. Divers aged 12 to 14 earn Junior Advanced Open Water Diver, limited to 21 metres, and become Advanced Open Water Divers automatically at 15. Children aged 10 or 11 can earn Junior Adventure Diver.
Reviewed October 2026. Devon Ford runs Scuba Evolution, a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre in Glenvista, Johannesburg.
