Signing up for the Advanced Open Water Diver course can feel like a big step. While the course is designed to advance your skills, some divers want to gain experience before enrolling. If that sounds like you, consider the PADI Adventure Diver program. PADI Adventure Diver allows you to improve your skills with a PADI Instructor by your side to guide and support you. Read on to learn more about the difference between PADI Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver.
What Is PADI Adventure Diver?
Adventure Diver is a subset of the Advanced Open Water Diver (AOWD) course, meaning the materials you buy and the dives you do all count toward your Advanced Open Water certification.
Note: PADI Club Members get a 20% discount on Advanced Open Water Diver eLearning, which is used for both Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver.
In the Adventure Diver course, you choose three types of specialty diving you want to try. These can include:
- Dive Against Debris
- Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV)
- Drift Diving
- Dry Suit Diving
- Enriched Air
- Fish Identification
- Full Face Mask Diving
- Ice Diving
- Night Diving
- Peak Performance Buoyancy
- Rebreather Diving
- Search & Recovery Diving
- Self-Reliant Diving
- Shark Conservation
- Sidemount Diving
- Wreck Diving
- Underwater Naturalist
- Underwater Photography/Videography
Each dive is called an Adventure Dive, and every Adventure Dive counts toward the related PADI Specialty course and your Advanced Open Water Diver certification. You can do all your Adventure Dives in one day, over a weekend or spread them out over different scuba adventures.
How To Upgrade from PADI Adventure Diver to Advanced Open Water Diver
The Adventure Diver certification is a stepping stone from Open Water Diver to Advanced Open Water Diver. Your Adventure Diver certification card is proof you’re not a brand-new diver, but it won’t unlock dive sites where deep or advanced training is required.
Adventure Divers can upgrade to Advanced Open Water Diver any time by completing the deep and navigation Adventure Dives and the deep and navigation sections of the Advanced Open Water eLearning. If one or both of these Adventure Dives were completed during the Adventure Diver course, two additional Adventure Dives are needed to complete the Advanced Open Water Diver certification. There is no written exam for Advanced Open Water Diver.
Summary: PADI Adventure Diver vs. PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
Similarities:
- Study using Advanced Open Water Diver eLearning
- Earn credit toward PADI Specialty Diver certifications
Differences:
- Advanced: Five dives, including one deep dive and one navigation dive
- Adventure: Only three dives, no requirement to do a deep or navigation dive
If you want to improve your diving skills and confidence without committing to the full, five-dive Advanced Open Water Diver course, contact a local PADI Dive Shop to start your Adventure Diver training. Or, click below to get started on the Advanced Open Water Diver eLearning now.
