Open Water Certification

PADI Open Water Diver Course

Learn Where the Diving Is Real

Hilo's east side is an advanced dive environment. Lava rock entries, open ocean swell, and conditions that change by the day. Divers who learn here leave ready for anywhere in the world.

The PADI Open Water Diver course is your lifelong certification to dive with a buddy, without a professional, to 18 m / 60 ft. We run it in two parts: knowledge and pool training first, then four ocean dives.

Our goal is not to rush you to a card. It is to build the comfort, buoyancy, and judgment you will lean on for every dive after this one.

Course Options & Pricing

Full Open Water Course: $799 per person

Parts 1 and 2 booked together. One day of pool training, then two days of ocean dives on Hilo's reefs. You finish as a certified PADI Open Water Diver.

How you pay: $300 at booking. The ocean dives are charged on each dive day as it happens, so you never pay for a day the ocean cancels.

• Day 1: Pool, 8am to 4pm
• Day 2: Ocean dives 1 and 2
• Day 3: Ocean dives 3 and 4

Ocean days move with conditions.

Part 1: Knowledge & Pool: $300 per person

All confined water training in our heated pool, plus your eLearning review and swim assessment. This does not issue a certification card. You leave with an official PADI Referral, valid for 12 months, to finish your ocean dives with us or any PADI shop worldwide.

Part 2: Four Ocean Dives: $499 per person

Four instructor led ocean dives over 2 days. PADI allows a maximum of 2 training dives per day. Finish with your Open Water certification.

Charged as each dive day happens. If conditions cancel a day, you are not charged for it.

Referral students must bring their signed logbook and PADI Referral paperwork, signed within the last 12 months.

Private Course Upgrade: $349 per student

One on one pacing for nervous swimmers, young divers, or anyone who wants extra time with their instructor.

Included

PADI instructor. Pool and classroom time. Four guided ocean dives. All scuba gear: BCD, regulator, wetsuit, mask, fins, weights, and tanks. Certification processing.

PADI eLearning

All options require PADI Open Water eLearning, purchased directly from PADI. It is not included in course pricing. Most students finish in 8 to 12 hours.

1. Go to store.padi.com and open the Open Water Diver eLearning course.
2. Sign in or create a PADI account using the same email you booked with.
3. When asked to choose a dive center, select Hilo Ocean Adventures.
4. Finish before your first pool session.

Requirements

• Ages 10 to 59. Divers under 15 certify as Junior Open Water, limited to 12 m / 40 ft.
• PADI eLearning completed before your first pool session, with Hilo Ocean Adventures selected as your dive center.
• PADI Medical Questionnaire completed before arrival.
• Swim test: 200 m without fins, or 300 m with mask, fins, and snorkel, plus a 10 minute float.
• Able to handle active lava rock entries while carrying gear.

What to Bring

• Photo ID
• Swimsuit and towel
• Reef safe sunscreen
• Light jacket for after dives
• Referral paperwork and logbook (Part 2 referral students)

Conditions & Post Dive Travel

Hilo's ocean changes daily. Our instructors check surf, swell direction, visibility, and tides every morning and choose the site and schedule that give you the best training. If the ocean is closed, we move your dives, not your standards.

Following PADI guidelines, wait 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after multiple dives or multiple days of diving before flying or traveling above 1,800 ft. That includes inter island flights, Saddle Road, Mauna Kea, Volcano, and driving to Kona.

Policies

Payment. Part 1 is charged at booking and is non-refundable. Ocean dive days are charged as they happen. If conditions cancel a day, you are not charged. If we cannot finish before you leave Hilo, you leave with your PADI Referral, valid 12 months at any PADI shop.

PADI Five Star Dive Center. Green Fins certified and committed to environmentally responsible diving.