Blue Hippo Diving

Tell me more The PADI Adventure Diver course is a subcourse within the Advanced Open Water Diver course and requires you to make 3 Adventure Dives that you and your instructor choose together. At your instructor's discretion, any Adventure Dives you make count towards your certfication so trying a single Adventure Dive moves you towards Adventure Diver. Your Adventure Dives can be chosen from AWARE Fish Identification, Boat, Deep, Digital Underwater Photographer, Drift, Dry Suit, Enriched Air, Multilevel, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search and Recovery, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Navigation, Underwater Photography or Wreck. Upon qualification you will be certified to dive to 30 metres. The minimum prerequisite certification for the Adventure Diver course is Open Water Diver.

Click here to watch a video about the Adventure Diver course.

How long will it take? The course involves approximately 3 hours of Knowledge Development where you'll learn the new dive tools and procedures required for your chosen Adventure Dives. You'll complete this primarily in your own time, using the Adventures in Diving manual and DVD, and short quizzes confirm you've picked up the information you need. This is followed by your Adventure Dives, in the Clyde Estuary or Scottish sea lochs, where you can apply and further develop your dive skills. The Adventure Diver course can be completed in 1 day.

How much does it cost? The course costs £215 including the Adventures in Diving Crewpack and PADI Adventure Diver certification card. Please note that prices include equipment hire, with the exception of undersuit/drysuit, however we can offer these at discounted hire rates for course participants.

Where can I go from here? Before continuing with further education in the form of the Rescue Diver course, you will need to upgrade from Adventure Diver to Advanced Open Water Diver. This will involve another 2 Knowledge Development segments and 2 additional Adventure Dives at an additional cost of £165 including PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification. These two Adventure Dives must be Deep and Underwater Navigation if you haven't already done them in the Adventure Diver course. Additionally you can enrol in any of our Specialty Courses with the exception of Search and Recovery Diver.

Note that any Adventure Dives conducted during the Adventure Diver course may count as the first dive towards the equivalent specialty, at your instructor's discretion. For example, your Deep Dive Adventure Dive may count as Deep Diver Open Water Dive 1.

New: Advanced Specialty Edition Packages - buy 5 Specialty Courses and get your Advanced Open Water Diver course for free.

Tell me more The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is the next logical step from the Open Water Diver course. You must complete the Underwater Navigation and Deep Adventure dives along with 3 Adventure Dives that you and your instructor choose together. Your other Adventure Dives can be chosen from AWARE Fish Identification, Boat, Digital Underwater Photographer, Drift, Dry Suit, Enriched Air, Multilevel, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search and Recovery, Underwater Naturalist, Underwater Photography or Wreck. Upon qualification you will be certified to dive to 30 metres. The minimum prerequisite certification for the Advanced Open Water Diver course is Open Water Diver. However, if you already have the Adventure Diver certification, those dives may count towards your Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

Click here to watch a video about the Advanced Open Water Diver course.

How long will it take? The course involves approximately 1 hour of Knowledge Development per Adventure Dive where you'll learn the new dive tools and procedures required for that Adventure Dive. You'll complete this primarily in your own time, using the Adventures in Diving manual and DVD, and short quizzes confirm you've picked up the information you need. This is followed by your Adventure Dives, in the Clyde Estuary or Scottish sea lochs, where you can apply and further develop your dive skills. The Advanced Open Water Diver course can be completed in 2 days ie perfect for a weekend.

How much does it cost? The course costs £325 including the Adventures in Diving Crewpack and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification card. Please note that prices include equipment hire, with the exception of undersuit/drysuit, however we can offer these at discounted hire rates for course participants.

Where can I go from here? Your further education would continue with the Rescue Diver course. Additionally you can enrol in any of our Specialty Courses.

Note that any Adventure Dives conducted during the Advanced Open Water Diver course may count as the first dive towards the equivalent specialty, at your instructor's discretion. For example, your Deep Dive Adventure Dive may count as Deep Diver Open Water Dive 1.

Tell me more The PADI Rescue Diver course is a pivotal step in expanding your knowledge and experience. Rescue Divers learn to look beyond themselves to consider the safety and well-being of other divers. Rescue Diver training expands the basic problem prevention and accident management skills you learn beginning with the Open Water Diver course. The minimum prerequisite certification for the Rescue Diver course is Advanced Open Water Diver. Prior to Knowledge Development Session 2 you must have taken the Emergency First Response course or an other sanctioned Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR-Primary Care) and basic First Aid (Secondary Care) course within the past 24 months.

Click here to watch a video about the Rescue Diver course.

How long will it take? The course involves approximately 15 hours of Knowledge Development where you'll learn the foundation for preventing and handling dive emergencies. It's divided into 5 segments that you'll complete primarily in your own time, using the Rescue Diver manual and DVD, and a Final Exam confirms you've picked up the information you need. You also need to prepare an Emergency Assistance Plan, which can also be used in the Divemaster course should you go on to do it! You will learn 10 rescue skills, which you need to demonstrate in open water, followed by participation in 2 Open Water Rescue Scenarios. The course needs to be run over at least two days (either one evening in the pool and one day in open water, or two days in open water) but, as always, the schedule's flexible and can be tailored to suit your requirements.

How much does it cost? The course costs £325 including the Rescue Diver Crewpack and PADI Rescue Diver certification card. Please note that prices include equipment hire, with the exception of undersuit/drysuit, however we can offer these at discounted hire rates for course participants.

Where can I go from here? Your further education would continue with the Master Scuba Diver or Divemaster courses. Additionally you can enrol in any of our Specialty Courses.

Tell me more The Emergency First Response Primary Care (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and Secondary Care (First Aid) and (optional) Care For Children courses teach you how to provide emergency care for someone in need. These courses make learning easy by providing a non-stressful environment in which you practise and apply emergency care skills. Emergency First Response courses are based on internationally recognised medical guidelines for emergency care - guidelines produced through a consensus process of practising professionals in the emergency medical field. The Care For Children course can be taught separately, in which case the whole curriculum is followed, or taught in conjunction with the CPR/First Aid course, in which case the course content is integrated for efficiency and to avoid unnecessary repetition. This course is for divers and non-divers alike and can therefore be taken at any point in your diving education path. However it, or another sanctioned CPR/First Aid course, must be taken prior to progressing past Rescue Diver Knowledge Development Session 2 and Rescue Training Session 2.

How long will it take? The CPR/First Aid course involves a total of approximately 5 hours of Knowledge Development where you'll learn the foundational information specific to Emergency Responder care. You'll complete this primarily in your own time, using the Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care Participant Manual and DVD, and a Final Exam confirms you've picked up the information you need. You will then participate in an instructor-led Skill Development and Scenario Practice session lasting approximately 3.5 hours. During this you will learn and practise 8 Primary Care required skills and 4 Secondary Care required skills, followed by 4 Primary Care scenarios and 1 Secondary Care scenario that will allow you to apply your Emergency First Responder knowledge and skills to realistic incidents.

Taught separately, the Care For Children course, will involve approximately 5 hours of Knowledge Development where you'll learn how to provide emergency care for injured or ill infants and children. You'll complete this primarily in your own time using the Care For Children Participant Manual and DVD and a Final Exam confirms you've picked up the information you need. You will then participate in an instructor-led Skill Development and Scenario Practice session lasting approximately 3.5 hours. During this you will learn and practise 12 required skills, followed by 4 scenarios that will allow you to apply your Care For Children knowledge and skills to realistic incidents involving children.

Integrated with the CPR/First Aid course, the Care For Children course will involve an additional 2.5 hours Knowledge Development where you'll learn how to provide emergency care for injured or ill infants and children. You'll complete this primarily in your own time using the Care For Children Participant Manual and DVD and a Final Exam confirms you've picked up the information you need. You will then participate in an instructor-led Skill Development and Scenario Practice session lasting an additional 1 hour. During this you will learn and practise 4 required skills, followed by 2 scenarios that will allow you to apply your Care For Children knowledge and skills to realistic incidents involving children.

How much does it cost? The CPR/First Aid course costs £95 including the Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care Participant Manual and certification. Taught separately the Care For Children course costs £95 including the Emergency First Response Care For Children Manual and certification. Integrated with the CPR/First Aid course it costs £45.

Where can I go from here? As this is a stand-alone, non-diving course there is no further education offered.

Tell me more The PADI Master Scuba Diver rating is the highest nonprofessional rating in the PADI system of diver education. It defines a diver who has aquired dive experience and knowledge by participating in a variety of PADI courses. The goal of the Master Scuba Diver program is to produce divers who a) know how to prevent, recognise and treat most diving related problems and injuries, plus can perform role-model inwater diver rescues b) understand decompression theory as well as prevention and treatment of decompression illness c) have good navigational skills and excellent buoyancy control d) respect the aquatic environment e) are familiar with different types of dive equipment and are proficient at using a variety of specialised dive equipment. The minimum prerequisite certification for Master Scuba Diver is Advanced Open Water Diver and Rescue Diver. The minimum prerequisite logged dives is 50.

Click here to watch a video about the Master Scuba Diver.

How long will it take? As Master Scuba Diver is not a single course, but a package of 5 Specialty Courses, the duration depends on your chosen package. Please see the individual Specialty Course descriptions for durations. Alternatively have a look at our new Advanced Specialty Edition Packages where you buy your 5 Specialty Courses and get your Advanced Open Water Diver free of charge!

How much does it cost? The cost depends on which 5 Specialty Courses you choose to include in your package. We price the Master Scuba Diver package on a 'Buy 4 Get 1 Free' basis, where the cheapest course is deemed to be the free one. Take the total cost for all 5 courses and subtract the cheapest one to get your package price. This cost will include all the individual crewpacks and certifications as well as Master Scuba Diver certification card, wall certificate and emblem. Please note that prices include equipment hire, with the exception of undersuit/drysuit, however we can offer these at discounted hire rates for course participants.

If you already have all the prerequsite certifications detailed above, you can apply for your PADI Master Scuba Diver certification for only £35.

Where can I go from here? This is as far as you can go on the PADI non-professional education ladder! Congratulations if you've made it this far, you've done really well. You may want to chill-out now or maybe you want to continue taking our Specialty Courses. Could we suggest it's maybe time for you to change direction and start thinking about going down the professional route beginning with the Divemaster course?

Tell me more The PADI Divemaster course is the first step into the professional levels of recreational scuba diving. Working closely with a PADI Instructor, you will expand your dive knowledge and hone your skills to the professional level. PADI Divemaster training develops your leadership abilities, qualifying you to supervise dive activities and assist instructors with student divers. PADI Divemaster is the prerequisite certification for both the PADI Assistant Instructor and PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor certifications. The minimum prerequisite certification for the Divemaster course is Advanced Open Water Diver and Rescue Diver. The minimum prerequisite logged dives is 20 to start the course and 60 prior to certification.

How long will it take? The Knowledge Development section involves approximately 30 hours studying where you'll about dive leadership skills, using the Divemaster manual and DVD, and dive theory, using the Encyclopaedia of Recreational Diving. The Diving Knowledge Workbook allows you to test your theory knowledge and is a very useful learning tool. You'll complete all of this primarily in your own time and 8 Final Exams confirm you've picked up the information you need. The leadership exams cover Divemaster Conducted Programs, Supervising Student Divers and Supervising Certified Divers. The theory exams cover Physics, Physiology, Equipment, Skills and Evironment and Decompression Theory and the RDP (Recreational Dive Planner). You also need to prepare an Emergency Assistance Plan, but you can use the one from your Rescue Diver course!

The Waterskills and Stamina section involves a 400 metre/yard swim, a 15 minute float/tread, an 800 metre/yard snorkel swim, a 100 metre/yard tired diver tow and a Rescue Assessment! These don't all have to be done at the one session but you will probably want to start working on your swimming fitness as soon as you sign up for the course, if not earlier! The Demonstration Quality Skills section involves a skill circuit in which you must score at least a 3 for all 24 basic skills, including a 5 for at least one underwater skill, with a total of at least 82.

The Practical Application section involves a Mapping Project of a dive site, an Equipment Exchange underwater in the pool (!) and A Divemaster Conducted Program where you conduct part or all of an actual or simulated Scuba Review, Discover Local Diving or Discover Scuba Diving program. You can then take (Option 1) Internship which consists of participating in at least a) one Open Water Diver course confined water training session, b) four additional confined water training sessions from any PADI course or program, c) one Open Water Diver course open water training dive, d) one Adventure Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver or Specialty Courses open water training session e) three additional open water training sessions from any PADI course or program and f) one supervisory situation with certified divers not in a formal course. The alternative is (Option 2) Practical Training Exercises, which is used when logistics and actual supervisory situations make an internship unfeasible, which consists of the following scenarios a) certified divers in open Water, b) Open Water Diver students in confined water, c) Open Water Diver students in open water and d) continuing education students in open water.

How much does it cost? The course costs £450 excluding the Divemaster Crewpack. Your certification fee is also not included as it is payable directly to PADI as part of your professional membership. Please note that prices include equipment hire, with the exception of undersuit/drysuit, however we can offer these at discounted hire rates for course participants.

Where can I go from here? Your next step is Assistant Instructor where you will learn how to help out our instructors in the pool and open water. Alternatively, you may wish to progress straight to Open Water Scuba Instructor and, if you want to go down that route, we would be delighted to put you in touch with our preferred Course Director. Meanwhile there are probably still some Specialty Courses you haven't done....