Skip Navigation Website Accessibility

PADI Open Water Diver Certification Course with Sea DwellersPADI Key Largo Dive Training Center

Are you ready to embark on one of the greatest adventures of your life?  With 72% of our planet covered in water, your options to explore are limitless!  Join us on your SCUBA adventure...  Learn to dive in beautiful Key Largo while exploring the 3rd largest barrier reef IN THE WORLD!!!

Why Sea Dwellers?  
Its simple...  You get MORE, and you get EXPERTS.  We only use In-house, certified Instructors that have completed background tests and are subject to randomized drug testing.  This allows us to control the quality of instruction, which provides you and your family with the safest and best experience. 

What's Included:
E-Learning Course Academics - We will issue your course materials via email at the time of your reservation and payment of course deposit. Complete the academics portion of your course at your own pace on your phone, tablet or computer. Most students are able to complete the coursework in an evening. If you are taking the course with a friend or family member, start building the dive buddy bonds early and do your course together! Grab a pizza and spend a few hours going over the material so you can ask questions, talk about what you are learning and begin to think like divers together! *E-Learning coursework MUST be completed prior to arrival for your first session with us.*

  • More Pool Time – Sea Dwellers’ Instructors are here to help you learn. The pool session consists of swim test, demonstration of each required skill by our Instructor, followed by evaluation of each skill executed by the student. Please plan your trip for at minimum two full days in Key Largo with our shop. Our Open Water course includes a second pool session if needed. While many students are able to complete the pool session on the first day, sometimes we will need to get you back in the pool for a second session on day two. This usually happens when we either aren't able to successfully complete all of the required pool skills on day one or when a student needs a bit of extra practice with a few skills that may have presented a challenge on day one and we want to ensure that they get a chance to work on it before the open water evaluation. If you are a rockstar in the water, or if we were able to complete all of the pool skills on day one, your Instructor will let you know that you will have the morning session on day two off and you can enjoy sleeping in a bit and maybe going for breakfast at Doc's Diner (a local FAVORITE) before joining us for your afternoon boat trip.
  • Open Water Checkout Dives - Spend 2 incredible afternoons doing a total of 4 open water checkout dives out on our stunningly beautiful reefs. Your checkout dives will consist of demonstrating the same skills you practiced in the pool in real world conditions under the direct supervision of your Instructor. When weather conditions don't permit the boat to safely leave the dock, we have a few options for our students with checkout dives scheduled. We can move you to a different day that looks like conditions will be better if you have time and we have space. If that doesn't work, we can still complete your dives but they will take place either in the canal/marina where our boat is docked or in the lagoon/basin at Rowells Park. The only thing that will prevent us from being able to get you in the water is lightning. 
  • All of your rental gear for your entire training process with us. We will expertly fit you for your entire diving system from top to bottom and outfit you from our full fleet of high quality rental gear. All of our rental gear brands are known, trusted and proven as well as are regularly inspected, maintained and repaired in our on site service department. 


The PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

  • Knowledge Development (e-learning course) to understand basic principles of scuba diving. This portion must be completed prior to arrival.
  • Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills: Completed at the beautiful Holiday Inn Key Largo Pool (heated from mid-December through the beginning of Spring)
  • Open Water Dives to review your skills and explore


The “Ultimate Dive Experience”

While training develops knowledge and skills, the only way to get experience is to go diving. This is why Sea Dwellers & PADI encourages more open water dives during training instead of just the minimum number of dives as required by industry standards.

The more you dive, the more you will enjoy the sport! With us you get more diving, explore new worlds, meet new friends ad see why diving with Sea Dwellers stands for “The Ultimate Dive Experience”!  We believe that the more diving you are able to do when you first get scuba certified, the more likely you will be to come back down diving again in the not too distant future. This is our goal, to provide you with ample time in the water to enable you to be comfortable, and happy with your abilities, which will entice you to keep diving! The happy diver is the diver that will keep diving!

TOTAL COURSE COST $645 plus tax.
What is included: e-learning academic course, pool sessions, rental gear, 4 open water dives from our dive boat (weather permitting), processing certification paperwork, and issuing digital certification card
*Gratuities for Instructor and Boat Crew are not included*
Questions about gratuities? Give us a holler at the shop or check out our 'Trip Advice from the PROS' page under the 'About Us' tab for more info!


ALL Sea Dwellers students receive a 20% discount on retail merchandise in our shop. *Not valid for use toward charter trips, courses or gift cards*