Welcome to the Learn to Dive in Nanaimo – Open Water Scuba Diving Course

Nanaimo Dive Outfitters provides professional, high quality instruction that makes learning how to dive a fun adventure!

We take the time to teach you right and give you all of the practice you need to ensure your underwater success!

The SDI Open Water Scuba Diving Course is an entry-level certification course designed to give you the necessary skills to safely conduct open water dives. The course consists of:

Part 1: Knowledge Development
We begin by explaining to you what scuba diving is all about. You will learn about the equipment you need, how diving affects your body, basic skills involved in diving, and how to plan to manage the risk of diving.

Part 2: Skill Development in Confined Water
The fun part begins here. We spend several hours in the pool teaching you the basic skills that you need to be a good scuba diver. We place emphasis on safety and good technique while having fun.

Part 3: Open Water Training
This is where the adventure really beings! You will have 4 – 6 dives to practice all of the skills you mastered in the pool and gain confidence in your diving. You will get to experience what the local waters have to offer and begin your life long exploration of the underwater world.

Optional Addition - DIVE DRY!
It is no secret that our waters are cold. You can increase your enjoyment of your diving by doing all of your ocean dives in a drysuit. You will be in the water longer and be more focused on your diving than the temperature. There are just a few more skills you need to learn, so we add a couple more dives to the ocean training to give you more time to master them.

Part 1 and 2 - $225
Part 3 - $175
Drysuit Option - $100
Course Total - $500

This course is the key to start exploring dive destinations around the globe or in your own backyard!

Prerequisites:

• You only have to be 10 years old to learn how to scuba dive. Those 10-14 will be issued with a Junior Diver certification card.
• You must complete a liability form and a medical information form before attending the course.
• Some physical fitness is required so you will need to be able to swim 8 lengths of a public swimming pool and tread water for 10 minutes.

Contact us for information on private Open Water Scuba Diver training.

Do you want to come to Nanaimo to finish your Open Water Scuba Diver training? Contact us for information on how we can help you finish your certification through a multi-agency referral from your local dive shop.

Would you like to learn the academic portion of the open water course in the comfort of your own home? Contact us for more information.

When you learn to scuba dive with Nanaimo Dive Outfitters we provide:

• A commintment to give you the highest quality instruction from an internationally recognized and respected training agency.
• Friendly and caring instructors who have your safety and enjoyment of your new adventure as their prime objective.
• Use of all equipment required to complete the course including personal dive computers.
• Two methods of learning – classroom(6-8hrs) or on-line self study (+2.5 hrs classroom review).
• Optional drysuit training including the manual and certification as a Drysuit Diver.
• Maximized time on 4-6 ocean dives.
• Regular weekly opportunities to dive as well as weekend and vaction dive trips.
  Continuing education opportunities to help improve and expand your knowledge and skills.
• Lifetime discounts on equipment through the NDO club.
• A new family made up of new friends and fellow divers!

Do you want to finish your required open water dives internationally? Upon completion of your pool & classroom training, you will be issued a Universal Referral Letter.

You will give this to your instructor at your vacation destination who will complete your required dives with you.

After that instructor signs off on your dives, you will bring the letter back to us and we will issue you your permanent certification card. Your international instructor should issue you a temporary card so that you may continue diving as a certified diving on your vacation.

Costs for completing your open water dives will be set by the other dive shop or instructor.

At Nanaimo Dive Outfitters, we’re not going to send you off with a referral letter in hopes that there will be an instructor available for a fair price at your vacation destination.

We will do our best to help you locate an instructor or dive shop at your destination, confirm costs, and ensure that the instructor will be available during your visit to complete your open water dives.

Please inform us as soon as possible of all the details of your trip so that if we don’t already know of an instructor at your destination, we can locate one for you.