Atlantis Diving Academy -- Courses

Is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the world's largest diver training and certification organization. PADI establishes standards for safe diver training, trains and certifies instructors, provides support materials and services to its members, and maintains training activity records. All diving services worldwide will recognized your PADI certification.

Bellow you will find the flow chart and progression of courses that will ultimately lead you to instructor. Lets walk though it shall we. The purple boxes represent experience programs. They have no prerequisites and are designed to let people try out diving and give them a little taste, hopefully get you into one of the yellow boxes. The Yellow Boxes are where everyone gets started. These are the progression of courses that give a diver their basic foundation. Gaining experience in different environments an individual might work his or her way toward a Master Scuba Diver, recreational diving highest nonprofessional rating!. Alternatively by choosing the Red route a diver will enter the professional realm. This is when you become a PADI member and start getting paid to dive. Interested in becoming an Instructor?

The PADI Discover Scuba/ Discover Scuba Diving programs let you experience the thrill of diving under the supervision of a PADI Instructor in a pool. During your adventure, you'll master some basic concepts and scuba skills that might lead to an open water adventure.

As soon as you Discover Scuba or Discover Scuba Diving, you're on your way to an internationally recognized certification. That's because you may learn skills from the PADI Open Water Diver course during your Discover Scuba adventure. If you and your instructor elect to practice these skills, they may be credited to the PADI Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver certifications.

NOTE - Discover scuba and discover scuba diving are designed to let students try diving out before committing to a certification level course and are not prerequisites to take the Open Water Diver course.

Now is the time to dive into the PADI Open Water Diver course, the most popular dive program in the world! This is your ticket to a lifetime of intense adventure with PADI, the dive company that sets the standards in the global diving community. As a certified PADI Open Water Diver, the most widely recognized and respected rating in the world, you have the freedom to dive with a buddy independent of a professional. If you already tried a PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience or are PADI Scuba Diver certified, check with your instructor to see how credit from these courses may apply to the open water program.

What do I need to start?
Virtually anyone who is in good health, reasonably fit, and comfortable in the water can earn a PADI Open Water Diver certification. If you are between 10 and 14 or have a child between these ages, there is a PADI Junior Open Water Diver program available.

What will I do?
Throughout the course, you’ll learn fundamentals of scuba diving, including dive equipment and techniques. You earn this rating by completing several pool dives and knowledge development sessions and by making four ocean dives.

How long will it take?
PADI programs are performance based. You proceed as you demonstrate mastery of the course skills. This allows you to work at a pace that is comfortable for you. Most complete the course in aproxamitly 2 weeks on a twice a week schedule, finishing with a weekend of diving.

Course includes equipment, text book and table (with witch we plan our dives) pool fees, classroom and certification fees.

The Adventures in Diving program offers both the Adventure Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver certifications. If you complete any three adventure dives, you can earn your PADI Adventure Diver certification. If you complete your Deep Adventure Dive, Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive and three Adventure Dives for a total of five, you can earn your Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

Have you always wanted to try underwater photography? How about wreck diving? Here's your chance because you can sample three dives of your choice, get a taste of what you like, and feel more comfortable in the water, strengthening your underwater skills and letting you enjoy diving more than ever.

PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver certification (or qualifying certification from another organization)
Minimum age: 15 years old (10 for PADI Junior Adventure Diver)

After your PADI Adventure Diver certification you can take the next step by completing two more adventure dives. If you've completed five total adventure dives that include deep and navigation, you're an PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.

PADI Adventure Dives can also count towards PADI Specialty Diver certifications. If you liked your Night Adventure Dive so much that you wanted to take a complete PADI Night Diver Specialty course, your Night Adventure Dive can count as the first dive of that specialty.

After your five dives, you'll be more experienced, feel more comfortable in the water and simply enjoy diving more because you better understand the underwater environment.

PADI Open Water Diver certification (or qualifying certification from another organization)
Minimum age: 15 (12 for PADI Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)

This certification includes five Adventure Dives, including the Deep Adventure dive, the Underwater Navigator

The PADI rescue diver course entails SERIOUS FUN; you will learn everything you need to know about handling diving emergencies. This course focuses on minor problem recognition and prevention, as well as handling worst-case scenarios. Students will complete in-water training sessions, which will build the skills and confidence needed to handle diving emergencies such as:

After completing the above skills students will have the opportunity to apply their newly acquired knowledge in simulated emergency scenarios; providing the opportunity to get feedback on their performance and have loads of fun in the process!
Knowledge development is provided through a combination of individual study, training videos and instructor presentations, with an exam to assess student understanding.
This course is excellent for any diver and an extremely valuable course for anybody planning to dive without professional supervision.

Any time you're diving from 300 to 3000 metres/1000 to 10,000 feet above sea level, you're altitude diving. If you want to explore the hidden world of a mountain lake, the PADI Altitude Diver Specialty course is for you. The course familiarizes you with the rules and procedures necessary to use the Recreational Dive Planner at altitude. This includes: Altitude dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards. Special Recreational Dive Planner procedures for diving at altitude. Safety stops and emergency decompression procedures, and Special equipment necessary for altitude diving.

This course will introduce you to the most common fish families and species found in temperate and tropical waters as well as our own waters. You'll also learn basic fish identification and scientific survey techniques as well as how important personal involvement is in aquatic conservation. During the course you'll practice basic fish identification techniques, collect fish identification data. information on Project AWARE and aquatic protection worldwide, characteristics of local fish families and species, fish survey techniques and strategies, fish identification dive planning and organization and procedures.

If you dive within the light zone of a cave, the area near the cave entrance where natural light is always visibly, you're cavern diving. If you want to explore secrets hidden in caverns around the world you'll need your PADI Cavern Diver certification. During your first open water dive you'll practice line handling, reel use and emergency procedures without entering a cavern. But, for your next three dives, you're headed into the cavern, staying within the light zone and 40 metres/130 feet total distance of the surface. You'll also cover the following: Planning, organization, techniques, problems and hazards of cavern diving. Special equipment use, such as lights, guidelines, reels and redundant breathing systems. Proper body position, buoyancy control, air management and emergency procedures. Cavern diving hazards such as silting, line problems, disorientation and emergencies.

Emergency First Response gives you the tools you need to perform CPR and First Aid. Whether you're a diver or a non-diver, Emergency First Response prepares you to properly handle potentially life-threatening situations. This comprehensive program is composed of two core modules that can be taught in tandem or as stand-alone courses: Emergency First Response - Primary Care and Emergency First Response - Secondary Care. Together, these courses proved extensive instruction in CPR and First Aid, as well as providing optional (yet recommended) Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and Emergency Oxygen sections.

Whether it's a regulator problem, a wet suit tear or a broken mask strap, the Equipment Specialist course can

help. This Specialty course prepares you for the basic equipment maintenance, care and adjustments you'll encounter every day. In addition, you'll get the valuable background on equipment repair and purchase, making you better able to protect your investment. During your the course, you'll familiarize yourself with the operation and maintenance of your personal equipment. Your instructor might also provide the opportunity to review new or unfamiliar dive equipment. Theory, principles and operation of dive equipment, routine recommended care and maintenance procedures
Common problems with equipment and recommended professional maintenance procedures, simple suggestions for comfortable equipment configurations and an introduction to new equipment .

Looking for extreme diving? You've found it. The PADI Ice Diver Specialty certification allows you to test the limits of fun.You will learn ice diving planning, organization, techniques and potential problems as well as site selection, preparation, special equipment and safety diver procedures. You'll then put this all into practice when you ice dive within the light zone (within 40 meters/130 feet total distance from the surface, including vertical and horizontal).

Since there's so much to see underwater you'll want to make the most of your stay. The PADI Multilevel Diver Specialty course tells you how by introducing you to the many varieties of multilevel diving. You'll learn what multilevel diving is and why you want to plan for multilevel dives. You'll also get to see the various types of multilevel dive calculators (including the Recreational Dive Planner, Wheel version and dive computers), as well as learn about multilevel dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques, and potential problems.

If you want to fine-tune your buoyancy and to soar over reefs, extend bottom time by reducing air consumption and prolong the life of your dive equipment, the Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course is for you. You'll use PADI's Basic Weighting Guidelines to determine the correct amount of weight. Then you'll practice the fundamentals of peak performance buoyancy during two open water dives, including the buoyancy check, fine-tuning underwater, weight positioning for trim, streamlining and visualization.

If you want to learn about the plight of worldwide aquatic ecosystems and what you can do to protect them, this Specialty course is for you. This non-diving Specialty course may also be conducted in conjunction with other PADI Specialty Diver courses. You'll learn about aquatic ecosystem degradation and the conservation measures protecting aquatic resources. This includes: the Project AWARE philosophy, the importance and interdependence of worldwide aquatic ecosystems, current issues such as fisheries, coastal zone, management and marine pollution, the status of several critically degraded marine environments, what you can do to help.

Have you ever dropped something in the water? Are you looking for lost treasure? The PADI Search and Recovery Diver Specialty course will teach you effective ways to find objects underwater and bring them to the surface. You'll learn search and recovery dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problems. You'll also cover limited visibility, search patterns and safe object recovery using lift devices.

If you're interested in aquatic life then the PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course is for you. This course is an introduction to the underwater aquatic environment and will help develop safe and responsible aquatic life interaction techniques. You'll learn underwater naturalist dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problems. You'll also get an overview of the major aquatic life groupings, interactions and factual information that dispels negative myths. You'll put this information into practice during your two open water dives.

When you're underwater, knowing where you are and where you're going comes in handy, especially if you're looking for that beautiful reef that you've heard all about. The PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course will help you become a pro at finding your way underwater. During your PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty course, you'll learn underwater navigation dive procedures, techniques, planning, organization and potential problems. You'll also be introduced to natural navigation, underwater patterns, distance estimation and further your compass navigation skills. You'll put these into practice during your three open water dives.

The PADI Underwater Photographer Specialty course can help you learn how to take your fist underwater photographs or fine tune your existing skills to produce photographs that will stun your friends. You'll learn the basics of underwater photography such as composition, film type and camera handling, with special emphasis on practical techniques. You'll learn underwater photography dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problems. You'll also learn how to care for and maintain your camera equipment.

Do you want to show the underwater world to your land-based friends? Take the PADI Underwater Videographer Specialty course and you'll learn the skills necessary to shoot your own underwater footage. You'll learn about selecting, maintaining and caring for your underwater video equipment as well as safe diving practices while on a videography dives. Further, you'll learn videography fundamentals, such as exposure, focus, shot types, moves, story line and shot sequencing. Then you'll get to put your knowledge to actual use during your three open water dives.

The lure of exploring sunken vessels, airplanes and automobiles is something most divers can't resist. The PADI Wreck Diver Specialty course introduces you to wreck diving and helps you develop the skills and knowledge necessary for safe and fun wreck diving. Information contained in your wreck diver program includes: the planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of wreck diving, the preparation and use of lights, air supplies, special equipment, penetration lines and reels, limited-visibility diving techniques and emergency procedures.

The Deep Diver Specialty course offers you the opportunity of a lifetime - going deep to see thing others can only dream about. You'll learn deep dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and hazards. You'll also put this knowledge to the test as you go on four open water dives that range from 18-40 metres/60-130 feet.

Night Diver

When you go night diving you'll see a whole new world. Even your local dive site takes on a new personality at night, as many underwater creatures and plant life (different from those you see during the day) are active at night. You'll learn night dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problems. You'll also learn how to control your buoyancy, navigate and communicate at night. Since many of the plants and animals you'll see are different, you'll also get an introduction to nocturnal aquatic life.

PADI Enriched Air Diver $219
By diving with enriched air rather than standard air you can extend your no decompression limits. This means more time underwater. For example, if you dive to 15 metres/50 feet on air, your no decompression limit is 80 minutes. But, diving on EANx36 gets you 220 minutes of no decompression time - an increase of 140 minutes. The PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty certification emphasizes the theoretical and operational considerations involved with enriched air diving.

Boat Diver

Through the PADI Boat Diver Specialty course, you can learn the techniques and procedures for diving from different types of boats. The more boats you're diving from, the more diving you're doing. As part of your PADI Boat Diver Specialty course, you'll learn about: Boat diving planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards, proper boat diving etiquette, including equipment storage and conduct, Common boat terminology, specific and local boat diving laws and ordinances, overview of emergency and safety equipment needed on- private dive boats.