Course overview

Earn the world's most popular scuba certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course on Maafushi, qualifying you to dive independently with a buddy to 18 metres. You learn the fundamentals on the island's calm house reef and complete four open-water training dives across South Malé Atoll sites teeming with reef fish, turtles and reef sharks in warm 27-30°C water. It is a lifetime certification recognised anywhere in the world.

What you’ll learn

• Assemble, use and maintain scuba equipment
• Master all essential underwater skills in confined water
• Clear your mask and recover your regulator with ease
• Achieve neutral buoyancy and efficient finning
• Plan dives with tables or a computer and dive with a buddy
• Respond to common problems and dive to 18 metres

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 10 (Junior Open Water Diver)
• No prior certification required
• Able to swim 200 metres and float/tread water for 10 minutes
• Diver medical questionnaire (physician sign-off if indicated)

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Theory & first skills

   Begin the knowledge development and start confined-water skills on the calm house reef.
2. Day2
   Confined water completed

   Finish the confined-water sessions and the knowledge-development exam.
3. Day3
   Open-water dives 1 & 2

   Apply your skills on the first two open-water dives at atoll sites such as Maafushi Corner.
4. Day4
   Open-water dives 3 & 4

   Complete the final two open-water dives among reef fish and turtles to certify.

Verified through iDive

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Frequently asked questions