Courses

Whether you want to try diving for the first time, get certified or start out on a professional dive career, you can have confidence in our PADI certified and insured instructors and divemasters.

padi elearning logoRecommended - Start your Open Water course online with PADI eLearning. Sign up through the link below to complete the knowledge development portion of the course. Then come to Belize and develop the remaining skills by diving with us in the pool and in the warm open water of the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

If you plan to do a lot of diving near home, you may prefer to register with your local PADI dive center.

Getting Started

Course Materials

padi course manualPADI require students to have their own copy of the course manual (unless the theory has been done online) and Recreational Dive Planner (RDP). You can buy yours before you arrive from your local PADI dive center. We have a limited supply in stock. Prices (in addition to your course) are US$:

Medical

medicVirtually anyone who is in good health, reasonably fit, and comfortable in the water can dive. However, there are some medical considerations and PADI require that all students complete a medical questionnaire before taking part in any in-water activities. If you answer 'yes' to any of the questions then you must get sign-off from a physician. To save valuable vacation time, we recommend that you do this before you arrive, but there is a diving doctor at the recompression chamber in town who can examine you if necessary.

Insurance

As an access member of the local recompression chamber, our divers benefit from direct access to chamber services at anytime and if uninsured, are only charged a nominal cost recovery fee. However, we highly recommend that you have your own insurance to cover the cost of this and other eventualities.

dan logoDivers Alert Network is a non-profit organization, which helps divers in need with medical emergency assistance and promotes diving safety through research, education, products and services. As a DAN Member, you are eligible for dive accident, trip, group term life, and equipment insurance.

Free insurance for new divers - DAN Student Membership is free to all entry-level divers residing in the DAN Americas area. It provides you with up to US$20,000 recompression treatment insurance during your initial student training. Enroll now.

padi logoCourse List

Discover Scuba Diving (resort course)
(1/2 day – skills, 1 dive)

classroomExperience your first ever scuba dive. You'll watch a short video, learn a few skills in the pool and then dive Mexico Rocks accompanied by your instructor. You don't get a PADI certification, but you do get a credit towards either Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver.
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Scuba Review
(1/2 day – skills, 1 dive)

Revise your scuba skills. If you are a skier, would you tackle a black run on the first day of your vacation? Scuba diving should be no different! If you are a certified diver who hasn't dived in over 6 months, this is for you. It includes a brief review of diving theory, practice of open water skills in the pool with an emphasis on safety, followed by a single open water dive supervised by your PADI divemaster or instructor. This is a recognized PADI course although there is no certification card for it.
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Scuba Diver
(2 days - theory, skills, 2 dives)

guagesAn abbreviated version of Open Water Diver aimed at those who only have 2 days available for their dive training. This course covers theory, skills development in the pool and 2 open water dives with skills practice and time to explore the underwater world under the supervision of your instructor. You receive a PADI certification entitling you to dive to a maximum depth of 12m/40ft when supervised by a dive professional.
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Open Water Diver
(4 days - theory, skills, 4 dives)

poolGet your 'PADI', the most popular dive qualification in the world. This course covers knowledge development, skills development in the pool and 4 open water dives with skills practice and time to explore the underwater world under the supervision of your instructor. You receive a PADI certification entitling you to dive to a maximum depth of 18m/60ft when accompanied by another diver of equal or higher certification.

Don't stop here, the Advanced Open Water course is designed to follow-on immediately. 
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Open Water eLearning
(2-3 days - skills, 4 dives)

Get online with the PADI eLearning system and complete the knowledge development portion of the course at your convenience. Bring along your eLearning Record. You will develop the remaining skills with us in the pool and on 4 open water dives to achieve your Open Water Diver certification (see above). Note that there is a separate fee payable to PADI for this option.
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Open Water Referral
(2 days - skills, 4 dives)

readySave precious vacation time by completing the knowledge development and pool work at home with your local PADI dive center. Bring along your referral papers. We will take you out on 4 open water dives with skills practice to finish off your Open Water Diver certification (see above).
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Adventure Diver
(1 day - 3 dives, no tests)

An abbreviated version of Advanced Open Water, but still great fun. You'll get a thorough briefing before each of your 3 dives, but there are no written tests! You select which 3 of the 12 dive types listed under Advanced Open Water that you want to do. You receive a PADI certification, which can be credited towards Advanced Open Water and if you do a deep dive, you'll be entitled to dive to a maximum depth of 30m/100ft when accompanied by another diver of equal or higher certification, else you must stick to 18m/60ft.
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Advanced Open Water
Diver (2 days - 5 dives, no tests)

boatDive better, deeper, longer. Designed to follow-on immediately after Open Water Diver, this course enhances your diving skills. You'll get a thorough briefing before each of your 5 dives, but there are no written tests! You must do these 2 dives:

  1. Deep
  2. Navigation

Plus any 3 selected from the following list:

  1. Fish identification
  2. Boat
  3. Drift
  4. Multi-level
  5. Night
  6. Peak performance buoyancy
  7. Underwater naturalist
  8. Underwater photography

You receive a PADI certification entitling you to dive to a maximum depth of 30m/100ft when accompanied by another diver of equal or higher certification.
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Emergency First Response
(1 day)

efr logoFun and informative basic first aid and CPR training for divers and non-divers alike. It covers CPR, assessment and management of both injury and illness. It will give you the confidence to be a 'Good Samaritan' in the event of an accident of emergency. You receive a PADI certification identifying you as competent in CPR and injury assessment. Note that CPR qualifications must be renewed every 2 years.
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Rescue Diver
(3 or 4 days - theory, skills, 5 dives)

Train to help other divers if things go wrong and have great fun in the process. This course includes theory, practice of in-water rescue techniques in the pool, tests of these techniques in open water and most likely some truly appalling acting by your instructor and fellow students!  The highlight of this course is a simulated search, recovery and resuscitation of an unconscious diver from the bottom of a local dive site. The skills that you will use in this scenario are built up in small steps throughout the course and by the time you get the simulated call for 'help!' you will be more than ready to manage the situation. You receive a PADI certification identifying you as an experienced diver capable of caring for others and assisting in the highly unlikely event that a diving accident occurs. You must have a valid CPR qualification such as Emergency First Response to complete this course.
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Specialty Courses
(1 to 3 days - theory, skills, 2 to 4 dives)

cesaExtend your diving knowledge and experience in any one of a number of specialty dives. Note that some specialties have additional requirements beyond an entry-level dive qualification, so if you are planning to do a specialty, please email us first. We currently offer the following specialty courses:

You receive a PADI certification identifying you as experienced in your chosen specialty. Each specialty certification can be credited towards the Master Scuba Diver rating.
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Master Scuba Diver
(Varies depending on experience)

diverThe highest non-professional rating within the PADI organization. To apply for this prestigious award you need proof of certification in:

You receive a PADI certification identifying you as a highly experienced individual with extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of recreational diving. You also receive a personal recognition letter from PADI congratulating you on your outstanding achievement.

We are happy to treat Master Scuba Divers as dive professionals and you are welcome to plan your own dives whenever conditions allow. You also qualify for a 5% discount on all our services.
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Divemaster
(At least 14 days - theory, skills, unlimited dives)

OKOnce you decide to become a dive professional, this is the first course to take. You will learn instructor level diving theory and extensive safety and rescue skills. You get hands-on experience helping with the real customers of our dive center.

Although this course takes a minimum of 14 days to complete, we encourage you to spend longer than this to get a real 'feel' for the dive industry, as well as additional experience in boat handling, compressor maintenance, and recompression chamber orientation. 

By the end of the course, you will be able to assist with divers in training, lead qualified divers and take charge of a day boat. 

You will receive certification as a PADI divemaster, which will entitle you to seek employment anywhere in the world as a dive professional. You  will also be eligible to join PADI as a fully paid up member. This entitles you to quarterly publications with information about jobs, changes in the industry and opportunities for instructor training.
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Assistant Instructor
(5 days - theory, practical)

Gain a valuable qualification in its own right and receive 5-days credit towards your full Instructor Development Course. The emphasis of the AI course is to teach you the PADI philosophy of recreational diver training. As well as a brief review of the diving theory covered on the divemaster course, you will learn how to organize and conduct knowledge development presentations, confined water training sessions, and open water training sessions. You will practice these on simulated students until you are comfortable with all aspects of training. This is an invaluable experience and gives you an insight into what the actual Instructor Examination will be like.

Although this course usually takes 5 days to complete, we encourage you to spend longer than this to get a real 'feel' for the dive industry, as well as additional experience in boat handling, compressor maintenance, and recompression chamber orientation. If an extensive review of the divemaster section is required, the course will be extended accordingly.

By the end of the course, over and above the duties of divemaster, you will be able to teach certain levels of divers in training, specialty courses, Discover Scuba Diver and PADI Seal Team for kids. You will also be able to teach Emergency First Response after additional training. 

You will receive certification as a PADI Assistant Instructor, which will make you a highly sought after addition to the staff of any dive center worldwide.
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© 2007 The Belize Academy of Diving. All Rights Reserved.
PO Box 69, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize • Tel. +501 226 2873 • info@belize-academy-of-diving.com