Diver in flat horizontal trim over bright white sand

Open Water + Peak Performance Buoyancy Combo

Name: Open Water + Peak Performance Buoyancy Combo
Brand: PADI
SKU: OWP001
Price: 8200.00 ZAR
Availability: InStock

SKU OWP001

R 8,200.00 ZAR R 9,450.00 ZAR

Product variants

One extra dive. Two certifications. And the one skill everything else rests on.

Ask any experienced instructor what separates a competent diver from a struggling one and you'll get the same answer. It isn't equipment, and it isn't nerve. It's buoyancy. Divers who have it use less air, hold their depth without thinking, never touch the reef, and have spare attention for everything else. Divers who don't spend years compensating.

Most people fix it eventually, usually after a few hundred dives of trial and error. This combination fixes it at the start, while the habits are still forming and before anything has to be unlearned.

And it costs you almost nothing in time. PADI standards permit Peak Performance Buoyancy to be taught concurrently with the Open Water Diver course. The Dive One skills fold into your Open Water dives, and just one additional dive after certification completes the specialty. Five dives instead of four, and you leave with two certifications.

What You End Up With

PADI Open Water Diver, qualifying you to dive independently with a buddy to 18 metres anywhere in the world, and PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy, a full specialty certification in the skill that underpins everything else.

There's a third thing too. Completing Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive One and its Knowledge Review credits as an Adventure Dive toward the Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certifications. So you also walk away with one of the five Advanced dives already banked, and a speciality that counts toward Master Scuba Diver.

Booked separately these come to R9,000. Ready to start properly? Book the combo below, or get in touch with our team if you'd like to talk through how the two run together.

What This Course Entails

The Open Water Diver course runs as normal: five eLearning modules in your own time, five confined water sessions in a heated indoor pool in Fourways, and four open water qualification dives at Bass Lake Adventures or Miracle Waters, with ocean qualification available on request.

Peak Performance Buoyancy runs alongside it. You'll cover the theory separately, and the specialty's Dive One skills are completed at any point during Open Water Dives 2 to 4, which is exactly where buoyancy training does the most good. Weighting, trim, streamlining, hovering and visualisation techniques all get proper attention rather than being squeezed in.

One additional open water dive after your Open Water certification completes the specialty. All scuba equipment is included throughout. Site entry fees for the dives are quoted separately.

Prerequisites

No previous diving experience required. This combo starts from scratch.
Minimum age is 10 for the Junior certifications and 15 for the standard ones.
Able to swim 200 metres, or snorkel 300 metres, and float unassisted for 10 minutes.
Complete a basic health screening questionnaire to confirm you're fit to dive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really only one extra dive?

Yes, and it's PADI standards rather than us being creative. Peak Performance Buoyancy may be taught concurrently with the Open Water Diver course: the Dive One skills are completed at any point during Open Water Dives 2 to 4, and only one additional dive is needed after your Open Water certification to finish the specialty. Two certifications, five dives instead of four.

Does this count toward Advanced Open Water?

It does. Completing Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive One and the Knowledge Review earns you credit for an Adventure Dive toward both the Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certifications. So you finish with your Open Water certification, a full specialty, and one of the five Advanced dives already banked. The specialty also counts toward the Master Scuba Diver rating.

Why do buoyancy training so early?

Because almost everything divers struggle with afterwards traces back to it. Burning through air, kicking the reef, feeling task-loaded, ending up too deep or too shallow without noticing. Fixing buoyancy while the habits are still forming is far easier than unlearning three years of compensating for it, and every dive after it is better.

Do I have to do the courses back to back?

Not at all. Book the bundle once and then schedule each course as it suits you, whether that's over a fortnight or across a year. The saving is on the package, not on cramming it in, and your bundle price is held regardless of how long you take.

Is equipment included?

Yes. All scuba equipment is included for the duration of every course in the bundle, exactly as it would be if you booked them separately. Site entry fees for qualification dives, and any boat or charter fees, are quoted separately.

What if I don't end up completing the whole bundle?

Talk to us and we'll sort it out sensibly. The discount applies to the package as a whole, so if you stop partway we'd settle up at the standard price for the courses you actually completed. Nobody gets penalised for a change of plan.

Are air fills included in the course price?

No, and that is deliberate. Air is charged as you use it, per fill, and invoiced to you after your session. Every diver breathes differently, and a nervous first-timer will get through considerably more air than someone on their fourth qualification dive. Building a worst-case air allowance into every course fee would mean the lightest breathers subsidising the heaviest, so instead you pay for the air you actually use and the course price stays lower for everyone. We confirm the current fill rate with you when we book your dates, and you are welcome to ask us for it at any point before that. Dive site entrance fees are also paid separately, at the site on the day. Everything else, including your PADI eLearning, your instruction and the use of all scuba equipment, is covered by your course fee.