The Typical PADI Advanced Open Water Course?
The PADI Advanced Open Water Course offers divers the chance to enhance their skills and explore new underwater environments. Building on the foundation of the Open Water Diver course, this program allows you to dive deeper and engage in a variety of specialized diving activities. Whether you’re interested in exploring shipwrecks, mastering underwater navigation, or experiencing the thrill of night diving, the Advanced Open Water Course offers the flexibility to tailor your training to suit your interests.
In this blog, we will provide a step-by-step guide on what to expect during your PADI Advanced Open Water Course, from the initial orientation to the thrilling adventure dives that will enhance your confidence and competence as a diver.
Advanced Open Water Diving Phuket
Unlike the initial Open Water course, the PADI Advanced Open Water Course does not require any classroom or pool sessions. The course in Phuket is conducted over two full days with a total of six dives.
Your first day often includes a diving day trip to the local dive sites around Phi Phi & Shark Point. Day two of the course is then usually a local day trip to the Racha Islands.
The course begins each day with a convenient hotel transfer, picking you up between 7:00 and 7:50 a.m., depending on your hotel location in Phuket. After pickup, you’ll be taken to the main diving pier at Ao Chalong, where you’ll meet your PADI Instructor for the course.
Once at the pier, you’ll set up your diving equipment onboard the boat and enjoy a freshly prepared breakfast. Your instructor will then provide a detailed briefing, covering important information about the boat, the day’s dive sites, current dive conditions, and the marine life you might encounter.
Knowledge Reviews
Before diving, you’ll review the knowledge components related to the day’s adventure dives, which are necessary for completing the PADI Advanced Open Water course. Ideally, you will have already completed these knowledge reviews online using PADI eLearning before boarding the boat. These reviews are designed to be straightforward and ensure you understand the key concepts for each dive.
Completing your knowledge reviews at home ahead of time is highly recommended, as reading on a moving boat can be challenging for some. At Aussie Divers, we aim to provide access to your PADI Adventures in Diving theory as soon as possible to make your preparation as smooth as possible.
Likely Dive Locations
During the two days of the Advanced course, you will typically participate in one diving day trip to the dive sites around Phi Phi and Shark Point, and another day trip to the Racha Islands, closer to Phuket.
Day 1
Generally, the Phi Phi day trip is scheduled first, followed by the Racha day trip, but the order may vary depending on availability, the date of your last dive, and dive conditions.
Phi Phi offers some of the best diving in the region and is perfect for a variety of PADI Adventure Dives, including Digital Underwater Photography, AWARE Fish Identification, Drift Diving, and Multilevel and Computer Diving.
Some of the best diving in Thailand is found around the Phi Phi islands, including Koh Bida Nok, Bida Nai and Shark Point. The Phi Phi Islands are around a 3-hour boat ride from Phuket, giving Advanced students ample time to go over any questions they may have with the instructor.
In the evening the Phi Phi day trip usually returns to the Chalong pier around 6:30 – 7 pm, where the minibuses will be waiting to return you to your hotel.
Day 2
The dive sites at the Racha Islands provide ideal conditions for the two compulsory PADI Adventure dives: the Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation Dive. We often conduct the Wreck Adventure Dive here as one of the three elective dives.
Dive sites at Racha Noi are approximately two hours away by boat. Locations such as Banana Bay on the eastern side or Marina Bay on the western side allow us to access deeper waters. After completing a dive, you’ll enjoy a delicious freshly cooked lunch on board while the boat moves to a new dive site, suitable for your Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive.
Following the second dive and a one-hour surface interval, the boat will head to Racha Yai, where you’ll likely dive at the Racha Yai wrecks like Harruby and/or the just sunk (2023) MV Meditation, offering perfect conditions for the Wreck Adventure Dive.
Expect to return to your hotel or resort between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. after a full day of diving at Racha Yai and Racha Noi.
Completing the PADI Advanced Open Water Course
Upon completing the PADI Advanced Open Water course, you’ll be certified to scuba dive to a depth of 30 meters, greatly enhancing your diving skills and opportunities.
Book your PADI Advanced Open Water course with Aussie Divers today. New courses start every day, offering flexibility to fit your schedule.
