Want to learn to dive in warm, clear water?

Learn to Scuba Dive with the Dive BVI Team

The British Virgin Islands provide an excellent location to dive. Whether it’s your first time, you are completing training started at home, or you are experienced and expanding your skills, the BVI offer all levels of dive conditions. Easy access to a range of dive sites suitable for training along with our knowledgeable (and patient) instructors will help ensure a safe and enjoyable course. Over the years, Dive BVI instructors have issued over 6000 certifications ranging in courses from Open Water to Photography to Divemaster!

We teach all levels of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International) diving courses from Discover Scuba Diving to Divemaster. Below you will find a brief description of each course. Please reserve in advance for certification courses so we can schedule our staff and boat trips.

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Prior to Class:

Medical Questionnaire – Please bear in mind that all instruction requires the completion of a medical questionnaire – you can download the PADI medical statement in Adobe Acrobat format from us (Download PDF). If you need to answer ‘YES’ to any of the questions on page 1, page 2 of the form will need to be completed and signed by your physician. The remaining pages provide a guide for your physician.

Discover Scuba Diving

The first level in the PADI system, this resort course is designed to give you the opportunity to try out scuba diving under the supervision of one of our instructors. After a short session covering the basic theory of scuba, you get the opportunity to try out the equipment in shallow water whilst learning some basic scuba skills. The course concludes with a shallow dive on one of our beautiful reefs guided by one of our instructors. The dive portion can be repeated any number of times without having to repeat the theory and shallow water training.

Also, the training for the Discover Scuba Diving course can be credited towards either the Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver. You simply need to purchase the Open Water training pack from us so that you have the training manual to read and a training log book for us to sign-off. You then have 12 months to complete your training for either level of certification.

Scuba Diver

A recent addition to our menu of scuba training, this is an excellent stepping stone from the Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) course – especially if you don’t have enough time to complete the full Open Water certification. Once the DSD course is complete, two chapters of academic theory and one confined water session will be needed. Then, you complete one more open water dive with our instructor and you will receive the PADI Scuba Diver limited certification. This allows you to complete shallow dives (maximum 40ft) under the supervision of an instructor without having to repeat the DSD course each time. Also, the Scuba Diver course can be credited toward the full Open Water Course if done within 12 months.

Open Water Diver

The first level of full certification, the Open Water Diver course is designed to take a complete novice with no experience and produce a diver capable of safely planning and conducting dives with a buddy. No prior experience is necessary, although the DSD and Scuba Diver courses can be credited towards the Open Water Diver course if done within 12 months. The full course entails :

Theory sessions – home study with the PADI manual or the new PADI eLearning program, followed by review sessions with the instructor.

Confined water dives – an opportunity to learn the necessary scuba skills in a controlled environment (usually combined into 2 sessions).

Open water dives – 4 dives (completed over 2 mornings) giving an opportunity to apply the skills as well as getting comfortable with the ocean environment.
A full certification course will usually take around 3 to 5 days to complete – please book in advance to ensure we have sufficient staff availability.

Another option is to complete your theory and confined water work at home with a local PADI dive center prior to coming to the BVI (called a Referral). Your local center completes a referral form, which you bring with you. We complete your open water dives (usually over a 2 morning period) and issue your Open Water Diver certification.

Adventure Diver

Adventure Diver is a well suited for those wishing to advance their training beyond the Open Water Diver level but don’t have time to complete the Advanced Open Water course. The Adventure Diver course uses the materials and syllabus of Advanced Open Water but only requires the completion of 3 training dives and can hence be completed in one day. Upgrading to Advanced Open Water level is simply a matter of completing the remaining two training dives (the core dives of Deep and Navigation must be completed for Advanced Open Water but not for Adventure Diver).

Advanced Open Water Diver

The perfect follow-up course from Open Water Diver, the Advanced Diver program is designed to expand the diver’s knowledge and let him or her experience new dive situations under supervision. The program consists of 5 dives; the core Deep and Navigation dives and 3 elective dives. The diver can choose from Boat, Multilevel, Night, Search & Recovery amongst others. A manual is included with the course, however, the training is primarily diving with no exams. This is a great certification to get under your belt, as it is a prerequisite to many PADI courses.

Emergency First Response

A non-diving course, it is suitable for all. Designed to teach the basics of first aid and CPR, completing the course should give you the confidence to help when needed. This course now includes training on defibrillators. Dive BVI is proud to assist VISAR (Virgin Islands Search And Rescue) in training their volunteers. We are very proud of the work they do in and around the BVI.

Rescue Diver

One of the most important courses to learn, Rescue Divers focuses on raising your skills and confidence to the point where you could be of assistance to another diver. We cover situations from dealing with tired divers up to running searches for missing divers and rescuing unconscious divers. The course is made up of independent study with the manual and video, followed by a review with the instructor and a short test. We then run through the required exercises in controlled conditions, culminating in enacting a full rescue situation.

Divemaster

The first leadership level within the PADI system, completing the Divemaster course allows the candidate to lead qualified divers and assist in the training of student divers. An intensive course, the academic work required will bring your understanding of diving, diving skills and the diving environment to the highest level.

Specialty Courses

A variety of Specialty Courses are available – please contact us in advance to discuss availability.

Diver Propulsion Vehicle, Enriched Air, UW Digital Photography, Wreck, Night and Boat are just a few of the courses we teach!

DIVE BVI is a PADI 5 star facility and a SSI Partner in Paradise