Mirissa Collective
PADI Open Water Diver — Nilaveli, Mirissa Collective

PADI Open Water Diver

The world's most recognised dive certification, earned in real ocean — not a pool. Three days. You leave with a licence that opens every ocean on the planet.

$420 / person

Schedule

Day 1 (14:00–18:00): Briefing + confined water session at the dive center

Day 2 (07:30–13:00): Open water dives

Day 3 (07:30–13:00): Open water dives

This is the one. Open Water is the certification that lets you dive, rent gear and join dives anywhere in the world, to 18 metres, without supervision. You do it over three days with us: theory and e-learning you complete before you arrive, confined-water skills to build the fundamentals, and — from day two — real dives on real reef. Small groups — never more than two divers to an instructor in open water — warm clear water, and an instructor who’s certified more nervous first-timers than they can count. You arrive unable to dive. You leave a diver.

What’s included

  • Pool / confined-water session and all open-water dives
  • All PADI course materials and certification fees
  • PADI e-learning — the link is sent by our manager after you book; complete it before Day 1
  • Full equipment throughout, plus water, tea and snacks
  • A day-by-day schedule in your confirmation and reminder emails
  • Book with a 50% deposit online; the remaining 50% is paid in person on Day 1

Not included

  • GoPro photos and video (not included on PADI courses)
  • DAN dive insurance (recommended)
  • Your e-learning time before arrival
  • Travel and ID

Good to know

Minimum age 15, and you must be able to swim 200 m and float for 10 minutes. No prior dive experience needed.

Highlights
  • Earn the world’s most recognised dive licence — valid for life, everywhere.
  • Learn in warm, clear ocean, not a swimming pool.
  • Real reef dives from day two.
  • Just two divers per instructor on your open-water dives.
  • Dive to 18 m once certified.
Requirements
  • No prior experience needed.
  • Water skills: you must be able to swim 200 metres (or 300 metres in mask, snorkel and fins) and float or tread water for 10 minutes — the standard PADI Open Water requirement.
  • Minimum age 15. Standard PADI Open Water only — we do not run Junior certifications.
  • Diver medical questionnaire, and your e-learning completed before Day 1.
Programme & duration

Three days — block them out. See the day-by-day times in the schedule above.

Medical, flight & insurance

Most people answer “no” to every question on the diver medical questionnaire and are cleared to dive. A “yes” to any question means a physician must sign the medical form confirming you’re fit to dive — bring the signed form with you on Day 1.

Planning to fly after diving? PADI and DAN recommend waiting at least 12 hours after a single dive, 18 hours after multiple dives, and ideally 24 hours for complete peace of mind.

We recommend DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network) dive insurance — recommended, not required, and no sign-up is needed to book. Dive safe, dive insured — get covered with DAN →

What to bring
  • Swimwear
  • Towel
  • Biodegradable sunscreen
  • Passport or ID for Day 1
  • Your e-learning completed before you arrive
Meeting & pick-up
  • Arrive 30 minutes before your start time — for registration, briefing and equipment fitting.
  • Our centre is right on the beach — most accommodation is a short walk or tuk tuk away. There is no tuk tuk pick-up service on the east coast.
  • Your confirmation email carries the exact meeting point and time.
Who it’s for

For: Anyone who wants to become a certified diver — nervous beginners included.

Not for: Not for people who only want to try diving once (that’s a Discover Scuba Dive), and not a single-day activity — block out three days.

Dive sites & marine life

Reef sites around Pigeon Island (5–20 m); deeper sites around 6 km south (to 30 m). You’ll likely see blacktip reef sharks in the shallows, schooling barracuda, trevally, turtles, moray eels and octopus.

Choose your date

August 2026

Mon
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Available Few spots Full Pre-book (off-season) Closed

Select a date to see availability for PADI Open Water Diver.