The PADI courses go in this order: Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, then Divemaster. Everything else slots in beside that spine. Specialities such as Nitrox and Deep Diver come after Open Water. A Refresher sits wherever you've had a gap. Discover Scuba Diving and Scuba Diver come before it, for anyone not ready for the full course.
Most people hit the confusing part on the same Monday. If you're already certified, the card is in your wallet, the PADI website lists dozens of courses, and nothing says which one is next. This is the order, what each step asks of you, and why it comes where it does. Prices are ours, as at 3 November 2026.
If you would rather click through it than read it, our PADI course pathway lays the same route out step by step. If you aren't sure where to start, the six-question course quiz gives you an answer in a minute.
What are the PADI courses in order?
The core ladder has four rungs, and each one is a prerequisite for the next.
- Open Water Diver. Your first certification. You dive with a buddy to 18 metres.
- Advanced Open Water Diver. Five Adventure Dives, and your limit moves to 30 metres.
- Rescue Diver. The course where you stop diving only for yourself.
- Divemaster. The first professional rating.
Around that spine sit four groups. Starters are Discover Scuba Diving and Scuba Diver, for people who want to try or are short of time. Specialities are Enriched Air (Nitrox), Deep Diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy and the rest. Refreshers are the Refresher Course and ReActivate. Support courses are First Aid Primary and Secondary Care, which you need before Rescue Diver.
Where do you start: Discover Scuba, Scuba Diver or Open Water?
Start with Open Water if you want to dive properly, Scuba Diver if you're short of time, and Discover Scuba Diving if you only want to try it.
Discover Scuba Diving (R1,000) is a supervised session, not a certification. There's no exam and no card, and the minimum age is 10. If you carry on to Open Water within 12 months, the pool session counts as your first confined water dive.
Scuba Diver (R4,300) is a real certification and a subset of Open Water: the first three knowledge sections, the first three pool sessions and the first two open water dives. You're certified to 12 metres and dive under the supervision of a PADI professional rather than independently with a buddy. It suits a holiday that is already booked. Upgrading to Open Water later means finishing what's left, and nothing is repeated.
Open Water Diver (R5,650) is the full course: eLearning, confined water sessions and four open water dives. Children can take it from age 10 as PADI Junior Open Water Divers, with shallower depth limits than adults. For how long it takes in Johannesburg, see how long it takes to get scuba certified.
What comes after Open Water?
The next step for most divers is Advanced Open Water (R5,000). Despite the name, it is for new divers. You do five Adventure Dives. Two are compulsory, a deep dive and an underwater navigation dive, and you choose three, such as night, wreck or buoyancy. Your depth limit moves from 18 to 30 metres. It is a prerequisite for several specialities and it is the course that turns a card into a diver who has seen different types of diving.
The real decision is timing. Some people go straight on and some are better off logging dives first. We cover that in Open Water vs Advanced Open Water.
What comes after Advanced Open Water?
Two paths open up, and you can walk both.
Rescue Diver (R5,500) is the next step on the ladder. PADI asks for age 12, an Advanced or Adventure Diver certification including the Underwater Navigation dive, and Emergency First Response (CPR and first aid) training within the last 24 months. Our First Aid Primary and Secondary Care course (R2,200) covers that last requirement. Rescue is hard work, and many divers say it changed how they dive. It is also the gate to Divemaster.
Specialities are the other direction. Enriched Air Diver (R3,200) is a classroom-based course with no required training dives. Deep Diver (R4,500) takes you to the 40 metre recreational limit. Peak Performance Buoyancy (R3,800) is the one that makes every other dive easier. Our Altitude Diver course (R3,500) is the local one, because the dives you do around Johannesburg are altitude dives.
Which PADI courses come after Rescue Diver?
Divemaster (R19,600, PADI's application fee is paid separately) is the first professional level. PADI asks for age 18, Rescue Diver, current CPR and first aid training, and 40 logged dives to start and 60 to certify. It lets you lead certified divers and assist instructors. Instructor is the step above it.
The other long-term goal is Master Scuba Diver, the highest non-professional rating. PADI asks for age 12, Rescue Diver, five Speciality Diver courses and at least 50 logged dives. Specialities such as Nitrox, Deep and Peak Performance Buoyancy all count towards it.
Do you need to do the PADI courses in order?
Mostly yes, because the core ladder is built on prerequisites. You can't start Rescue Diver without Advanced (or the Adventure Diver equivalent) and you can't start Divemaster without Rescue. Specialities are looser. Most need Open Water plus an age minimum, and some ask for Advanced. Check each course page for its own prerequisites.
What is flexible is the speed. There's no deadline between courses, and your certification doesn't expire. If you've had a long gap, a Refresher Course (R1,650) or ReActivate (R1,800) gets you back in the water. We cover that in does your PADI certification expire.
How do the PADI levels line up by depth?
Depth is the quickest way to read the ladder. These are the adult limits.
- Discover Scuba Diving: 12 metres in open water, with an instructor.
- Scuba Diver: 12 metres, with a PADI professional.
- Open Water Diver: 18 metres.
- Advanced Open Water Diver: 30 metres.
- Deep Diver: 40 metres, the recreational limit.
Junior divers have lower limits that rise with age. Rescue and Divemaster don't change your depth. They change what you can do for other people. The full numbers sit in how deep can you scuba dive.
What should a Johannesburg diver do first?
Open Water, then a few logged dives, then Advanced Open Water before a sea trip. Take Peak Performance Buoyancy once you notice your own air use, and Rescue Diver when you want more control. Add Nitrox if you plan several dives a day.
Bass Lake and Miracle Waters are the closest sites to Johannesburg, and the sea trips to Sodwana, Aliwal Shoal and Ponta do Ouro are a drive of seven to eight hours. Our guide to first ocean dives from Johannesburg helps you choose.
Sources
- PADI, Open Water Diver: The entry certification and its depth limit.
- PADI, Advanced Open Water Diver: The five Adventure Dives and the move to 30 metres.
- PADI, Rescue Diver: Where rescue training sits in the ladder.
- PADI, Divemaster: The first professional level.
- PADI, Master Scuba Diver: Rescue Diver, five specialities and 50 logged dives.
- PADI Blog, Divemaster requirements: Age 18, Rescue Diver, 40 logged dives to start, 60 to certify.
- PADI, Scuba Diver: The supervised-diver certification.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the PADI courses in order?
Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, then Divemaster. Specialities such as Enriched Air and Deep Diver slot in after Open Water, and Discover Scuba Diving or Scuba Diver come before it.
What comes after PADI Open Water?
Advanced Open Water Diver for most divers. It takes your depth limit from 18 to 30 metres through five Adventure Dives, and it opens the way to Rescue Diver and several specialities.
What comes after Advanced Open Water?
Rescue Diver, with Emergency First Response training within the last 24 months, or any speciality that suits you. Both paths count towards Master Scuba Diver.
Do you need Advanced Open Water before Rescue Diver?
PADI asks for Advanced or Adventure Diver with the Underwater Navigation dive, age 12, and CPR and first aid training within 24 months. At Scuba Evolution we teach Rescue after Advanced Open Water.
What are the PADI levels by depth?
Discover Scuba and Scuba Diver go to 12 metres, Open Water to 18, Advanced Open Water to 30 and Deep Diver to 40, which is the recreational limit.
How long between PADI courses?
There's no required gap and your certification doesn't expire. After a long break a Refresher Course or ReActivate rebuilds skills before the next step.
Reviewed November 2026. Devon Ford runs Scuba Evolution, a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre in Glenvista, Johannesburg.
