OUR DIVING COURSES AND ADVENTURES

Come have fun with us!

Galapagos Dive Training and Conservation is affiliated with PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

With a PADI qualification you can dive in nearly 200 countries and territories, at thousands of dive centres and resorts. PADI is the world’s leading diving and ocean exploration organization, enabling people around the world to seek adventure and save the ocean through underwater education, life-changing experiences, and travel.

See Our Prices

See our Terms & Conditions

Discover Scuba Diving (DSD)

Experience the magic of breathing underwater with Discover Scuba Diving (DSD). The DSD program does not offer a diving certification but rather an introductory dive experience, during which you learn the basic skills for safe and fun diving under the supervision of a Galápagos Dive Training PADI Instructor.

Minimum age: 10 years old.
Maximum depth: 12 meters.
Schedule: 7:30 am to 12:00 pm or 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

Program: Our DSD activity begins at our office, where you will learn about the use of equipment, the techniques you will employ for safe diving, and the wonderful experiences that you will have with us. Then, after trying on and selecting the right equipment, we will transfer to the dock and take our boat to the Punta Estrada dive site.

Following a briefing about the location, the facilities on our boat, water entry and exit techniques, dive safety, and the day’s conditions, we will conduct a confined open water session (maximum 5 meters in a protected area) where, with your instructor, you will practice buoyancy techniques and equipment use. Then, you will do our Punta Estrada Adventure Dive to a maximum depth of 12 meters / 40 feet.

Sightings: During the program you will be able to observe a great variety of reef animals, including small marine invertebrates, such as molluscs and crustaceans, parrot fish, goat fish, witch fish, damsel fish, cod, horse mackerels, moray eels, a variety of different ray species, white tip sharks, and Galapagos sharks. Sea turtles and sea lions are also likely to be present.

PADI Registration: Upon completion of the Adventure, participants receive a Certificate of Participation from PADI, (Note - the certificate is not a diving license).

Certification: Upon completion, you will receive a Certificate of Participation registered with PADI

The Program includes:
PADI Instructor
Theoretical and practical sessions
Diving equipment
Snack
Towels
Water (bring your reusable container)
Certificate of Participation

Not included:
Extra dives
Tips

See Our Prices

If you would like to book our DSD trip, please Contact Us.

Open Water Course

If you want to progress your SCUBA training, perhaps after a DSD, you can take our Open Water course.

Being certified to breathe underwater is like having a superpower. With this capability you can explore the world’s aquatic ecosystems and discover thousands of marine species, from tiny life forms such as nudibranchs to the largest of sharks, rays, dolphins and whales. Uniquely, while training with us, you will also learn the about citizen science initiatives designed to care of these ecosystems, and how you can contribute to them (*). Our Open Water course is certainly something you will never forget!

Minimum age: 10 years old.
Maximum depth: 18 meters.
Requirements: Able to swim, free of heart disease, advanced respiratory disease, and any temporary congestion, such as influenza (flu).
Please note: If you are 60 or older, or if you are suffering from any type of significant illness, a medical certificate is recommended to confirm your fitness for diving
Schedule: daily morning and afternoon trips (7:30 am to 12 pm / 1:30 pm to 5 pm).

Program: Open Water is the most popular PADI program worldwide and is taught in two sections. The first part is academic and conducted with easy to access online materials. This section can be undertaken in your own time, at home or, while you are in the Galapagos. The second part is a mix of confined (pool-based) and open water practical training, during which you learn how to handle scuba equipment and become an independent diver. This section usually takes 3 days to complete and provides for a total of 4-dives in the sea. Following certification, you will be qualified to dive a maximum depth of 18m.

We teach the open water part of the course in Academy Bay at several sites, including Punta Estrada, Loberia, El Bajo, and El Barranco.

Our instructors take no more than four adult candidates at a time (or a maximum of five adult participants when assisted by two instructors). Children aged 10 to 12 years are taught in smaller groups.

PADI Registration: Upon successful completion of the course, participants receive Open Water Diver certification from PADI - a lifelong qualification.

As far as the practical in water sessions go, both pool training and open water dives take place in the morning or afternoon, according to your availability. When you’re ready to for the sea, you will most likely undertake two dives per day, over two days.

On day 1 you will dive to a depth of 12 metres/40 feet.

On day 2 you will go down to 18 metres/60 feet which is the maximum depth that Open Water certified divers.

Sightings: During the programme you will observe a great variety of animals including marine invertebrates, such as molluscs and crustaceans, and reef dwellers such as parrot fish, damselfish, jacks, cod, and scorpion fish. You may also spot moray eels, sea turtles, different species of rays, sea lions, and sharks. If circumstances allow and you conduct you final two dives outside of the bay, you may have the opportunity to see a wide variety of sharks and rays, depending on the site you visit.

Certification: Once you have passed the Theory and Practical sessions involved, you will receive your Padi Open Water Diver License, this is valid for life and your passport to underwater adventure!

The Program includes:
PADI Instructor
Theoretical and practical sessions
Diving equipment
Snack
Towels
Water (bring your reusable container)
PADI certificate

Not included:
Extra dives
Tips

Please note (*) Participation in our citizen science training requires that you download the ‘Shark Count’ application which allows you to report marine species sightings during your dive experiences.

See Our Prices

If you would like to book an open water course, please Contact Us.