PADI Advanced Open Water in Columbus, OH
Take Your Diving to the Next LevelÂ
Ready to explore deeper, navigate with confidence, and master new underwater skills? PADI Advanced Open Water Diver is your gateway to becoming a more capable, confident diver. Columbus Scuba’s AOW course gives you the skills and experience to dive with confidence anywhere in the world.
Advanced Open Water Course Prerequisites
- Hold a PADI Open Water Diver certification (or qualifying certification from another agency)
- Be at least 12 years old (12-14 year olds earn Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)
What Is PADI Advanced Open Water?
 Course Price: $399
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver is your next step after Open Water certification. This isn’t just another course, it’s five adventure dives designed to build your skills, expand your comfort zone, and open up a world of dive sites.
You’ll complete five open water dives with an instructor, each focused on a different diving specialty. Two dives are required by PADI, Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation, and you’ll choose three additional adventure dives based on your interests and local conditions.
What makes Advanced Open Water different:
You’ll dive deeper (up to 100 feet), navigate with precision, and gain experience in conditions and scenarios that make you a more versatile diver. Most importantly, you’ll build the confidence that comes from real-world diving experience under expert guidance.
Your PADI Advanced Open Water certification is recognized worldwide and is often required or recommended for:
- Deeper dive sites at tropical destinations
- Wreck diving and drift diving
- Continuing to Rescue Diver certification
- Many liveaboard or advanced dive trips
Advanced Open Water prerequisites:
- Hold a PADI Open Water Diver certification (or qualifying certification from another agency)
- Be at least 12 years old (12-14 year olds earn Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)
This course is perfect for divers who:
- Completed their Open Water Certification and want to keep learning
- Are planning tropical dive vacations and want to access more advanced dive sites
- Want to dive deeper than 60 feet (Open Water Certification limit)
- Need AOW as a prerequisite for Rescue Diver or specialty courses
- Want to build confidence through guided experience
- Are working toward Divemaster or professional certifications
How PADI Advanced Open Water Course Works
The Advanced Open Water course consists of 5 adventure dives completed over 2 days. Unlike Open Water, there’s minimal classroom time—you’ll learn by doing. Each dive focuses on a specific skill or environment, building your experience and confidence.
Here’s your step-by-step journey to becoming a certified Advanced Open Water diver.
Course Overview
Typical Schedule and Time Commitment
Course Duration: 2 days (weekend format typical)
Day 1: Deep dive + Navigation dive + 1 elective dive (3 dives total)*
Day 2: 2 remaining elective dives*
*Schedule may vary depending on instructor’s dive plan and enviromental factors.
Time commitment:
- PADI eLearning: 4-6 hours (complete before your dives)
- Open water diving: 2 full days
Scheduling:
Advanced Open Water courses run May through October at local Ohio quarries. If pre-scheduled course dates don’t work for your schedule, contact us and we’ll do our best to arrange alternative dates based on instructor and site availability.
Before your first dive: Complete the PADI Advanced Open Water eLearning at your own pace. This ensures your dive days focus on skills and experience rather than classroom time. Your eLearning will be issued 1 busines day after booking the AOW course
Mandatory Adventure Dives
Deep and Navigation
Mandatory Adventure Dive #1 – Deep Dive
- Explore depths between 60-100 feet and learn how pressure, light, and gas consumption change as you go deeper. You’ll practice:
- Managing nitrogen narcosis awareness
- Monitoring air consumption at depth
- Planning safe deep dives
- Understanding color loss underwater
This dive prepares you for exploring wrecks, walls, and deeper dive sites worldwide.
Mandatory Adventure Dive #2 – Underwater Navigation
Master the most practical diving skill: finding your way underwater. You’ll learn:
- Natural navigation using reef features, sun angle, and depth changes
- Compass navigation and precise heading control
- Swimming patterns (squares, triangles, out-and-back)
- Returning to your entry/exit point accurately
Strong navigation skills make you a valuable dive buddy and prepare you for shore diving and low-visibility conditions.
Elective Adventure Dives
Choose Your Path
Your 3 Elective Dives
Columbus Scuba typically schedules Advanced Open Water courses with these three adventure dives:
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Perfect your trim, reduce air consumption, and protect marine life by mastering neutral buoyancy. This is the most popular elective dive for good reason.
Search and Recovery
Learn search patterns, object recovery techniques, and underwater problem-solving. Great for anyone interested in advancing to the Rescue Diver Course.
Night Dive
Experience the underwater world after dark. See nocturnal marine life, practice dive light communication, and build confidence for night diving anywhere.
Want different elective dives?
Contact us before booking to request alternatives such as wreck diving, fish identification, underwater photography, drift diving, or other PADI adventure dives. We’ll do our best to accommodate based on instructor availability and local conditions.
Advanced Open Water FAQs
How many dives are in Advanced Open Water?
The PADI Advanced Open Water course includes 5 adventure dives total:
- 2 required dives (Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation)
- 3 elective dives (Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, and Night Dive in our typical schedule)
All five dives are completed over 2 days.
What do I need before I can start?
You must hold a PADI Open Water Diver certification (or equivalent from another recognized agency) and be at least 12 years old. That’s it!
There’s no minimum number of logged dives required, though having a few post-certification dives under your belt can help you feel more comfortable.Â
How much does Advanced Open Water cost?
The course is $399 and includes:
- PADI eLearning access
- 5 adventure dives with instructor
- PADI certification processing
NOT included: Equipment rental (20% discount available when renting gear with us) and dive site entry fees.
Special offer: Schedule your AOW immediately after completing Open Water with Columbus Scuba and save $100!
How is Advanced Open Water different from Open Water?
Advanced Open Water has:
- Minimal classroom time (everything is eLearning or practical)
- Focuses on building real diving experience
- 5 adventure dives that introduce specialty areas
- Deeper depth limit (100 feet vs 60 feet)
Think of it this way: Open Water teaches you how to dive. Advanced Open Water teaches you how to dive confidently in different conditions and environments.
Can I choose my own adventure dives?
Our pre-scheduled Advanced Open Water courses typically include Peak Performance Buoyancy, Search & Recovery, and Night Dive as the three elective dives (along with required Deep and Navigation).
If you’d prefer different adventure dives—such as wreck diving, underwater photography, fish identification, or drift diving, contact us before booking so we can arrange instructor availability.Â
Can I complete Advanced Open Water at a quarry?
Yes! We conduct Advanced Open Water training at Gilboa Quarry that offers the depth (up to 100 feet), underwater features, and controlled conditions needed for safe, effective training. This site prepares you perfectly for diving anywhere in the world.
Quarry training means convenient scheduling, familiar conditions, and no travel to distant dive destinations just to advance your certification.
What comes after Advanced Open Water?
Most divers progress to PADI Rescue Diver, which is one of the most valuable certifications you can earn. Rescue Diver teaches you to prevent and manage dive emergencies, making you a safer, more confident diver and dive buddy. Beyond Rescue, you can pursue specialty certifications (Wreck Diver, Nitrox Diver, etc.) or professional-level training (Divemaster, Instructor).
Do I need a dive computer for AOW?
While not strictly required, a dive computer is highly recommended for Advanced Open Water, especially for the deep dive. A computer helps you monitor depth, bottom time, and no-decompression limits in real time.
Don’t have one yet? We offer dive computer rentals and can recommend models for purchase.
Ready to Take Your Diving to the Next Level?
Join the divers who’ve advanced their skills with Columbus Scuba. Whether you’re preparing for your dream dive trip, working toward Rescue Diver, or simply want to become a more confident and capable diver, Advanced Open Water is your next step.
