PADI Certification & Training

If you’ve been dreaming about exploring the underwater world but still haven’t had the opportunity, you need to learn the first steps to make your dream come true. Here are the PADI certifications you need to know about, especially if you want to go diving in Iceland:

• PADI Scuba Diver certification. This first PADI dive certification level is the easiest to attain. However, at this level you cannot dive independently, meaning a professional guide or instructor needs to accompany you at all times. Your depth is also limited to 12m (40ft). Note that we cannot offer diving tours for those holding only PADI Scuba Diver certification, as a higher level specialty certification is needed to dive into the cold, mysterious waters of Iceland. 
  
  
• PADI Open Water certification. This is the most common way to start underwater adventures. We recommend that you obtain this certification first. PADI Open Water training is not much more difficult to complete than the PADI Scuba Diver certificate, but it means you can choose your diving partner freely and don’t need to be supervised by professionals during your dives. You can dive as deep as 18 meters (59ft).
  
  
• Dry Suit PADI Specialty Diver certification. With this certification, you learn how to properly put on and use a dry suit, which is necessary when diving in cold waters. The dry Suit PADI certification card expands your options of diving locations and is mandatory for almost all dives in Iceland. PADI Open Water certification is a prerequisite for this specialty training, which you can get during our 2-day Silfra diving and Dry Suit certification tour.

Do you have years of diving experience and feel like it’s time to dive deeper? There is a range of advanced PADI specialty diver certifications, which not only allow you to log more varied dives but also enable you to try other activities, such as underwater photography. Let’s take a closer look at a few of them:

• Advanced Open Water Diver (AWOD) PADI certification. Show off your advanced scuba skills by obtaining this PADI certificate, which requires a minimum of 20 logged dives. After finishing this certification course, you will be a diver that can confidently reach depths as great as 30m (100ft). 
  
  
• Night Diver certification. Open Water certification is enough to obtain this PADI specialty diver certification, which focuses on proper usage of light, communication, and navigation in the dark. This diving course opens up an entire range of possibilities as you get to witness mysterious nocturnal marine life.
  
  
• Underwater Photographer certification. If you enjoy taking pictures as much as diving, this certification will be your most treasured achievement. On top of all safety regulations when shooting, you will learn about choosing camera systems and composing images underwater. A similar training course is offered for underwater videography.
  
  
• Master Scuba Diver certification. If you’ve reached this point, you’ve reached the top. Master Scuba Diver is the highest level recreational diving PADI certification, making you a true expert in most things-diving. Becoming a Master Scuba Diver is a long process, requiring all preceding recreational certifications, 5 PADI Specialty Diver certifications and at least 50 logged dives.

If you’re ready to take your passion for diving to the next level and share it with others by teaching them how to dive, it’s time to start looking at professional PADI courses and certificates. There are a total of 7 PADI professional diving certifications. These will be some of the more notable certificates of your professional diving career:

• Dive Master certification. This certificate will commemorate your introduction to the world of professional diving. As a Divemaster, you will be a guide for keen recreational divers and help Dive Instructors during their classes.
  
  
• Open Water Scuba Instructor certification. If your passion is sharing knowledge, this is when professional diving becomes truly rewarding. As a Dive Instructor/Specialty Instructor, you not only get to help people who already know what they’re doing, but actually teach fellow diving enthusiasts and grant various PADI recreational diving certification levels and specialty certifications.
  
  
• Master Scuba Instructor certification. At this point, there is no question that you are among the top diving instructors. To get to this level, you will have to grant 150 PADI certifications, take part in at least three diving seminars and teach 10 “Emergency First Response” courses.
  
  
• Course Director certification. If diving is what you are most dedicated to in life, you can become the teacher of teachers. The Course Director organizes and teaches PADI Instructor Development Courses and prepares dive professionals for higher-level teaching certifications. It’s an extremely responsible and rewarding peak of a professional career as a diver.

You can obtain any of these certifications with us! Some require no prior knowledge and are meant to introduce you to the alluring underwater world. For others, you will need years of proven diving experience and certifications.

Contact dive@adventures.is and let’s make it happen!

The requirements highly depend on the chosen certification and your prior experience. If you’re looking to obtain beginner recreational diving certifications, such as Open Water PADI certification, rest assured that you can come along without any prior knowledge. We will do our part to ensure you leave with spectacular memories of your first dives and a certificate to be proud of.

For all advanced PADI certification training, you are required to bring proof of your previous dives and certificates. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for the training and certification you have in mind, we will gladly discuss your options based on your experience when you email us about training at dive@adventures.is

Please evaluate your physical health, if you have some medical issues please check health certificate and get physician approval if needed. You can also check our diving book before joining our tour.

Dry suit sizes: While we would like everyone to join our tour, our gear sizes reflect what is available on the market, and it is important guests are within the size parameters. This ensures the safety equipment can serve its purpose and keep guests from getting cold in the glacial water.

Weight limit: 99-265 lbs (45-120 kg)

Height limit: 4'11" - 6'7" (150-200 cm)

Diving is quite costly but not much more than other popular activities such as surfing, kayaking, and water skiing. The very basics, for instance, a PADI dry suit certification, cost approximately 700 USD. Usually, you can expect the cost of training to increase when you aim for more advanced PADI certification levels, especially if you haven’t completed all mandatory logged dives.

Overall, costs depend on the individual case. Should you decide to train and become PADI certified with us, we will provide you with precise numbers before you begin your training course.