Diver Training

PADI Recreational Courses

These are our favourite and most popular courses. We are currently rolling out E-learning options for all of these. If you chose this option you can save time, by completing the theory portion of each one in the comfort of your own home, then you can skip class and save time by only attending the centre for the diving portion of your course. Currently we are offering E-Learning on Open Water, Advanced Open Water and the Rescue Diver course, with more being rolled out next month.

For more information on each please click the links

OPEN WATER DIVER

ADVANCED OPEN WATER DIVER

RESCUE DIVER

MASTER SCUBA DIVER

EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDER

Choose Aquanauts for your course because:

We are the only National Geographic, Instructor Development, 5 Star PADI Dive Centre, and the only official GUE facility in Devon or Cornwall, making us the highest rated dive centre in the area.
On qualifying you will receive £350 worth of vouchers*
Join our dive club after you pass and receive free equipment hire when you dive with us and free air whenever you want - making diving an affordable hobby.
Our club dive boats are just £15.
Free guiding on Monday evening open water boats so that you can gain confidence quickly.
Friendly, very active dive club that dives all year, in Plymouth, around the UK, and abroad. We also have marine conservation, nautical archaeological, and shipwreck diving groups that you can join, and a large membership base that welcomes new members and will buddy up with new people.
Our courses are completely flexible, weekends, evenings or weekdays, we will fit around you.
Receive a full crew pack, theory manual, and all PADI DVDs.
We have our own private, heated, training pool facilities - so we don't have to rush you through your training.
Final qualifying dives are completed from a very large, comfortable hardboat (the most modern in Plymouth), with a rear diver lift to make getting in and out while wearing equipment very easy. We also supply tea, coffee or hot chocolate throughout your day.
Our safety equipment is first class, we are the only boat that carries multiple GPS and VHF radios, Radar, Night Search Lights, Night Navigation Equipment, Full Diver Emergency Facilities, First Aid Kits, Oxygen and an Automated External Defibrillator.
We are open and staffed 7 days per week, year round.
Our shop and online shop is one of the cheapest for equipment in the country and we operate a UK price guarantee - we cannot be beaten on price and if you see something for sale anywhere in the UK cheaper, we'll match it and you still get our excellent local service and free help putting it all together.

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* applies to your first course

Discover Local Diving

Discover Local Diving is an escorted dive program aimed at introducing divers to the local area.

This program is aimed at anyone who feels they would like a supervised underwater tour.

This program is suitable for anyone but particulary the following:

1. Those who have trained abroad and would like to be introduced to UK diving.

2. Anyone who is recently qualified and would be like to improve thier experince and skill while under the guidance of a PADI professional.

3. Divers unfamiliar with Plymouths dive sites who would like a guided tour of our local sites.

4. Those returning to diving after a short period of in activity (along longer than 12 months please refer to our Scuba Review section).

Discover Local Diving is a supervised underwater tour designed to orient divers to unfamiliar aquatic conditions and environments. It may also be used to reintroduce divers to the open water environment after a period of diving inactivity. Divers may choose to discover new aspects of a dive site close to home or get an orientation to the local area while on a diving holiday. The guidance provided by PADI Members allows participants to comfortably explore different underwater environments, find items of interest and avoid potential hazards. Divers who have been inactive find that the Scuba Review program combined with Discover Local is just what they need to get back in the water.

Nat Geo Diver

If you're considering learning to dive and have an interest in the world in which we live, the National Geographic Diver program is the perfect way to integrate the PADI Open Water Diver course - the world's leading dive certification - with the wisdom and experience of National Geographic. Designed to integrate with the Open Water Diver Course, the National Geographic Diver program contains the same materials you'll get as part of the Open Water course along with the National Geographic Almanac and course DVD.

This is a 5 day course.

Day 1-4 Same as Open Water

Day 5 Buoyancy, Environment and additional Navigation training.

Issueable only through a National Geographic Dive Centre, ( we are the only one in Devon) the National Geographic Diver certification is aimed at developing a higher standard of diver through a combination of skills and knowledge training and assessment. By completing it, you demonstrate not only a knowledge of the environmental issues facing our planet and your place in "the grand scheme of things" but also that you've got the skills and awareness to act responsibly as a diver.

Open Water Diver

The PADI Open Water course is your first diving course. At Aquanauts, we will fit the course in around you and this can be taught either through standard lectures (attend the centre for 4 days) or through PADIs E-learning portal (attending the centre for a combined total of 3 days).

The PADI Open Water course certifies you to dive to a depth of 18m and is the ideal introduction not just to a sport, but to a whole new way of life.

Day 1: Course intro and pool training

Day 2: Lectures and complete pool training

Day 3: Two shore dives to build confidence

Day 4: Two hardboat dives on real dive sites

You don't need to bring anything except yourself, some lunch and a sense of adventure. As part of the standard course you are given an Open Water crew pack which includes all your training materials, logbook, manuals, DVDs and dive planner. For the E-Learning option you will have access to the downloadable manual and online videos, you will also be given the electronic dive planner and logbook. You may purchase a hardcopy manual as well if you require.

When you complete the course you will be given a temporary card valid for 90 days while your main certification card is produced by PADI. With these you may go on dive trips, rent equipment and take advantage of the many opportunities available ONLY to trained divers. You are now in for a real thrill. Your diving horizons are widely open for traveling to exotic places. In more than 175 countries you will find PADI centers and meet new friends who are PADI divers.

Course Options:

Standard If you book a classroom based course, we will send you your manuals, DVDs and materials. You must complete all the knowledge reviews in your own time and watch all the DVDs. You then attend the centre for 4 days as above.

E-Learning All the theory is taught through PADI's e-learning portal. Once this is complete you attend the centre for a total of 3 days (2 half days and 2 full days). There will be no need to complete the course intro or lectures sections above. We will send you the online pack, and your logon for the PADI portal. You will have access to an electronic manual but you may purchase a hardcopy manual as well if you want.

Dates Please have a look at our course dates here for courses that are already set up, or if you wish to book further ahead or if there are 2 or more in your group please mail us with your available days in the comments field when you buy and we will contact you to arrange.

You can either pay for the course in full or you may pay an initial deposit of £150 to receive your learning materials with the balance due 2 weeks before your course start date.

When you pay we will send you all your materials and if you have bought the e-learning option once we have reviewed your order we will email you your link and logon to begin your training with PADI. We will also arrange for one of our instructors to call you to discuss the course in full and arrange the dates that you will be attending the centre.

- Price includes all the equipment hire, necessary materials, gas and boat fees.

click here to BOOK NOW

Student Internships

As the only PADI National Geographic Dive Centre in Devon we have been recognised for our level of service and expertise and can offer you diving qualifications that are recognised worldwide. The PADI Divemaster qualification is the level of certification required for scientific diving around the world, as well as the course required if you wish to travel as a working recreational diver. If you have no previous diving experience we can qualify you up to the Divemaster level for only £1200, or only £900 if you are accepted onto a Divemaster Internship, and even less if you are already a qualified diver. You can of course go further and we can also offer full instructor level training, as well as training in technical diving and other areas of interest like Archaeology.

For less than £2000 we can also arrange for you to take the HSE Commercial Diving qualification, HSE SCUBA,(previously known as HSE part IV) This is a 10 day full time course that can be arranged during your spring, summer or winter breaks.

As an RYA centre we can run boat handling courses, giving you an RYA Level 1 or 2 Powerboat qualification.

We can also teach HSE First Aid At Work courses and Oxygen Administration. By choosing to take control of your own training, you an arrange your courses to suit your uni and personal schedule, for approximately the same cost. We work 7 days per week all year round so can be as flexible as necessary.

Internships

We also offer working Divemaster Internships where, if you are already Rescue Diver qualified, you can come to Aquanauts and work in the centre for 30 days in a number of different jobs, learning how to fill cylinders, maybe crew the diveboat, work in the dive shop, run the equipment store, and perhaps maintain equipment. After 30 days you will have earned a free Divemaster course and learned some very valuable skills and work experience that will set you up for a career in diving if you wish. Spaces are limited and acceptance on to an internship is decided by the Centre Manager.