PADI Advanced Open Water
```html
PADI 5 Star Dive Center • Courtenay BC • Vancouver Island
Take your diving beyond the basics with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. Build confidence, improve buoyancy, develop navigation skills, and experience new types of diving while exploring the world-class cold-water dive sites of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
Advanced Open Water is where many divers discover the type of diving they love most. Whether your interests include wreck diving, deep diving, underwater photography, night diving, dry suit diving, or marine life encounters, this course helps you develop the skills needed to safely expand your underwater adventures.
Our instructors did not gain their certifications through warm-water zero-to-hero instructor mills. Students learn from experienced British Columbia dive professionals with commercial, military, technical and expedition diving backgrounds, gaining practical skills that transfer directly to real-world diving throughout Vancouver Island.
```
Availability: Contact us for booking information
```html
*Includes course materials and use of required scuba equipment
*Students are required to provide their own primary and backup dive lights for night diving activities
Advance Your Diving Skills on Vancouver Island
The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is designed to build confidence, expand your diving abilities, and introduce you to new underwater adventures. This course is not about sitting in a classroom—it's about getting in the water, gaining experience, and becoming a more capable diver.
At UB Diving, students complete their Advanced Open Water training in the cold-water environment of British Columbia while developing practical skills that apply directly to real-world diving throughout Vancouver Island.
You'll improve your buoyancy, strengthen your underwater navigation skills, experience deep diving, and complete three additional adventure dives selected to match your interests and diving goals.
Why Take Advanced Open Water?
- Increase your confidence underwater
- Improve buoyancy and air consumption
- Develop underwater navigation skills
- Gain experience diving deeper than 18 metres / 60 feet
- Discover specialty diving activities that interest you
- Prepare for more advanced training opportunities
Adventure Dive Options
Students can choose from a variety of Adventure Dives including Deep Diver, Dry Suit Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Night Diver, Search & Recovery, Underwater Navigation, Wreck Diver, Fish Identification, Underwater Naturalist, Digital Underwater Photography and many others.
Many students use Advanced Open Water as a stepping stone toward our Enriched Air Nitrox Diver, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Rescue Diver and Divemaster programs.
Real-World Applications
The skills learned during Advanced Open Water are used every day by divers exploring British Columbia's spectacular underwater environment. These skills become particularly valuable while diving locations such as the Nanaimo Wreck Trek, exploring deeper sections of Vancouver Island reefs, and participating in local charter diving adventures aboard our Dive Vessels.
Advanced Open Water certification is highly recommended for divers interested in expanding their experience throughout Vancouver Island Cold-Water Diving.
How to Become an Advanced Open Water Diver
Your training includes five Adventure Dives, including Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation, plus three additional dives chosen to match your interests.
Unlike many courses, there is no final exam. The focus is on gaining practical experience, improving your diving skills, and having fun while exploring new types of diving.
Many divers complete this course shortly after earning their PADI Open Water and Dry Suit Course Combo certification and continue developing their skills through local diving opportunities around Vancouver Island.
Continue Your Diving Adventure
After completing Advanced Open Water, many divers continue into Nitrox, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster training while exploring the world-class dive sites of British Columbia.
```