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Open Water Referral Course in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the best place to do a Open Water Diver Referral Course. The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica offers great dive sites for beginner and experienced divers.
A PADI Open Water Diver Course Referral allows you to undertake the majority of your scuba training at home before completing your certification dives here with us in Costa Rica !
This alternative route allows you to eliminate study time from your vacation while maximizing available dive time on Costa Rica's best dive sites.
About the Course
What is a Open Water Referral Course ? The PADI Open Water Diver Course Referral allows you to undertake the majority of your scuba training at home (eLearning + pool sessions) before completing your last four ocean certification dives here at Rich Coast Diving in Costa Rica.
A PADI referral allows you to support your local dive shop and avoid having to study during your vacation. You’ll complete all of the (online) theory in advance, so while you are on holiday you can focus on the fun part of getting under water and exploring everything to be found beneath the water’s surface!
To put it simply, instead of spending 4-5 days of your holiday studying and practicing scuba skills in a pool, you’ll arrive with the majority of your PADI Open Water Diver Course already complete.
This way you get to dive more and enjoy all that the beautiful underwater world of Costa Rica has to offer.
What to know before you go...
How to Complete a PADI Open Water Diver Course Referral
What It Takes to Become a Certified PADI Open Water Diver
Let's first look at what it takes to become a certified diver here in Costa Rica.
Step 1: Knowledge Development
The first step the theory part of the PADI Open Water Diver Course. You can choose between learning in a classroom or using PADI eLearning. While classrooms can be useful for anyone who prefers in-person learning, PADI eLearning allows you to set your own pace and complete your studying at home or wherever you find yourself at the time. PADI eLearning is interesting, fun and has lots of great videos for you to watch and better understand what it means to become a scuba diver.
Step 2: Confined Water Skills
The second step is the confined water part of the course. This is when you will take your first breath underwater. You will practice using scuba gear in a pool with one of our experienced multilingual instructors. During the pool sessions, you’ll learn the basic scuba diving skills like clearing your mask, practicing your buaoyancy and lots of other fun skills. The pool excersizes help you build confidence before going on the boat and diving in the ocean.
Step 3: Open Water Dives
The final step is the best part ! You will do four open water dives on the best dive sites of Costa Rica. You will get to explore unspoiled dive sites and encounter incredible marine life.
PADI Open Water Diver is the first level of scuba certification that allows you to dive independently (with a buddy but without an Instructor or other scuba diving professional). By the end of the Open Water Diver Course, you’ll have the knowledge and skills required to dive locally or abroad.
How to start the PADI Open Water Referral Course
The following 5 steps will guide you through completing your PADI Open Water Course with using the Referral option. Here’s how to do it:
1. Contact your local PADI dive center and tel them that you are interested in completing a PADI Open Water Referral
2. Once you’re signed up, access your PADI Open Water Diver Course eLearning (Step 1). Work through the knowledge development, reading the information and completing the knowledge reviews and tests along the way (if you have aquestions or issues, you can ask your PADI shop/instructor for help).
3. When you finish your eLearning theory, you will start the confined water skills (Step 2). You will plan these pool or confined water sessions together with your local dive center and dive instructor.
4. When you completed both the eLearning theory and the pool sessions your instructor will provide you with your PADI Open Water Diver Course Referral form. This form will state the progress you have made during your course with your local dive shop.
5. Now you can send this form to us, here at Rich Coast Diving at email info@richcoastdiving.com. And within 12 months complete the remaining part of your scuba course. And remember this is the best part of the course as you will start to explore the ocean and discover some of Costa Rica's best dive sites. When you complete four open water dives with one of our experienced instructors we will certify you as PADI open water diver.
