3. Open Water certification consists of five open water dives:

- Open Water Dive 1: This dive teaches you to dive in open water and how to pick up your gear on the surface, how to breathe from a scuba regulator and submerge underwater.

- Open Water Dive 2: Learn about diving with your guide underwater, learn about navigation underwater using a compass, depth gauge and a swim fin. Also learn about deep water skills like mask clearing, buddy breathing, and descent rate adjustment techniques.

- Open Water Dive 3: Learn about different ways to enter the water (with fins), exposure suit inflation problems underwater, and problems with equalizing while swimming or diving. You will also practice deep dives where you will be encouraged by your instructor/s to swim to the maximum depth of 18 meters (60ft.).

- Open Water Dive 4: This is the final test dive, to your maximum depth of 18 meters (60ft) with final exercises focusing on buoyancy and equipment handling.

- Open Water Dive 5: This additional and non-mandatory dive should be a freediving exercise to complete with your Instructor, but many use it to improve some complex skills.

Test time! The Open Water Certification test is conducted under the instruction and direct supervision of a PADI Instructor and includes knowledge development (study phase), confined water skills (practice phase) and open water skills testing (evaluation phase).