Duration:
Operated By:
INCLUDING ALL GEAR HIRE, LEARNING MATERIALS AND PADI FEES
Who should take this course?
PADI
(Junior) Open Water Divers who are at least 10 years old are ready to
step up and enroll in an Advanced Open Water Diver course. Young divers
(10-11) may only participate in certain Adventures Dives – check with your PADI
Instructor.
If you’re already an Adventure Diver, you only need to complete two more Adventure Dives to earn the Advanced Open Water Diver certification.
What will you learn?
You’ll plan your learning path with your instructor by choosing from a long
list of Adventure Dives. There are two required dives – Deep and
Underwater Navigation – and you choose the other three, for a total of
five dives.
During the Deep Adventure
Dive, you learn how to plan dives to deal with the physiological effects
and challenges of deeper scuba diving. The Underwater Navigation
Adventure Dive refines your compass navigation skills and helps you
better navigate using kick-cycles, visual landmarks and time.
The other knowledge and skills you get vary with your interest and the
adventures you have – photography, buoyancy control, fish
identification, exploring wrecks and many more.
How can you start learning now?
Sign up for Advanced Open Water Diver Online
– PADI’s eLearning option – to get started immediately. The web-based
system lets you learn about seven of the most popular Adventures Dives –
including the required Deep and Underwater Navigation Adventure Dives,
plus Boat, Night, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Naturalist and
Wreck Adventure Dives. You study at your own pace through an easy to
use, interactive program. You also have access to an online version of
the Advanced Open Water Diver manual and can complete sections for other Adventure Dives as directed by your PADI Instructor.
You can also choose to read the Advanced Open Water Diver manual and watch the Advanced Open Water Diver video (a book and DVD package). Stop by our PADI Dive Center to enroll in the course, get your materials and start learning. Your PADI Instructor will meet with you to schedule knowledge review sessions along with your Adventure Dives.
What equipment will you use?
Beyond using basic scuba equipment, you’ll need a compass and dive knife or dive tool. You’ll also use specialized gear depending on the Adventure Dives you choose. For example, you’d obviously use a dry suit for the Dry Suit Adventure Dive or a sidemount configuration during the Side-mount Adventure Dive. Your PADI Instructor will explain the equipment that you need and may suggest additional gear, such as dive light for night diving or lift bag for search and recovery diving.
Visit our floating dive center to learn more about the gear you will need to start your adventures in the Advanced Open Water Diver course.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
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The video below is zoomed in 3x. 🥲
Had a fantastic scuba diving 🤿 experience with Adam and the team. Adam went above and beyond to accommodate my request after hours when I missed the online booking deadline. The customer service was exceptional, and the team made the entire experience enjoyable and stress-free.
The dive itself was amazing, with a great variety of marine life 🐟🐠🦀🐡to see underwater. It was an unforgettable experience, and I highly recommend Adam and the team to anyone looking for a professional, friendly, and memorable scuba diving adventure.
I would definitely use this company again on my next trip to the Gold Coast.
At the time of booking the dates to complete my course, the 1st day of pool diving was advertised as 5-8pm on Friday evening. I work Fridays and normally finish at 5pm, but figured taking 1 hour of leave would be fine. After paying for the course and confirming the booking, I received details for pool diving starting at 1pm on Friday.
I emailed them to clarify, and advised what they had sent was not what was advertised. They didn’t respond/acknowledge the false advertisement and confirmed 1pm start. So my 1 hour of annual leave turned into 5.
I then had to contact them multiple times in regard to gaining access to my eLearning. Which thankfully, I did early. As there was far more than I had anticipated. Upon arrival for day 1 of diving, I was told the other people booked with me hadn’t turned up, and we would have to reschedule. I politely told them I would not be rescheduling due to the a) false advertisement of the session time and b) the hours of leave I had to take to attend. Thankfully, the instructor was lovely and did the pool session with me, but we did post-pone the 2 days of diving, which was fine.
Upon arrival for the first day of ocean diving, I was provided with an expired oxygen tank. They later tried to pass this off as test for learning divers. But the initial shock on the woman’s face when I pointed it out and refused to use it, shows otherwise.
Due to the dive boat being filled to capacity with gear and guests, minimal personal items were allowed on board, which at the time was understandable. However, the boat died on the back in. It was cold and overcast, and the person they contacted to collect us took over an hour to do so (despite the boat trip being 10 minutes to where we were). I was shaking with blue lips, and no way to get warm. And ended up having the flu on and off for 2 weeks afterwards (and prior to this I hadn’t been sick since Xmas 2022).
All their equipment throughout the experience appeared poor. Held together with zip ties, regulators and tanks leaking, to which their solution was to smack them multiple times until they stop. But at that point, my dive experience was minimal. So how was I to know any better.
However, I just completed 6 dives, over multiple days, in a third world country. And this confirmed that none of that experience is normal, nor up to par. If a third world country can do it, I certainly expect better on the Gold Coast.
What an incredible day! Swimming with whales has always been a dream of mine — and Captain Adam and Monica made it even better than I imagined. From the moment we got on the boat, they were friendly, professional, and clearly passionate about what they do.
Adam knows everything about whales — he shared so many cool facts and explained their behavior in a way that made the whole experience even more special. Monica was amazing too — always helping us get ready, checking on everyone, and making sure we were safe and comfortable the entire time.
We spent plenty of time in the water and had several opportunities to swim close to these gentle giants. You can really tell they care about giving everyone the best experience possible, while also respecting the whales and the ocean.
Honestly, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you never forget. If you’re thinking about doing it — just go for it! You’ll be in the best hands with Adam and Monica 💙🐋
What an incredible day! Swimming with whales has always been a dream of mine — and Captain Adam and Monica made it even better than I imagined. From the moment we got on the boat, they were friendly, professional, and clearly passionate about what they do.
Adam knows everything about whales — he shared so many cool facts and explained their behavior in a way that made the whole experience even more special. Monica was amazing too — always helping us get ready, checking on everyone, and making sure we were safe and comfortable the entire time.
We spent plenty of time in the water and had several opportunities to swim close to these gentle giants. You can really tell they care about giving everyone the best experience possible, while also respecting the whales and the ocean.
Honestly, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you never forget. If you’re thinking about doing it — just go for it! You’ll be in the best hands with Adam and Monica 💙🐋
I went whale watching this week and was lucky to see a whale family and a pod of dolphins swimming together — such a magical moment! 🐋🐬
The staff were incredibly friendly and took great care of us throughout the trip.
It felt like a private tour because it was just me and my friend on the boat. So personal and peaceful!
Highly recommended for anyone who loves nature and wants a truly special encounter with marine life. 🌊✨
Highly recommend this tour! 🙌
My friend and I loved this tour, the guides cared for the animals and were as filled with joy to watch the whales as we were, teaching us interesting facts along the way.
(Tour date: June 28)
The weather was stunning, the tour leaders were exceptional and informative.
We were lucky enough to have found several pods over a few hours, was able to swim with the whales and several dolphins. An unforgettable experience
The whales were giant and were swimming with grace and dignity. I could almost feel that this animal is full of wisdom. They were free from competition or comparison and just doing their own things.
I got too excited and drank water when they swam right under us!
Yet, what made this tour so memorable was the silent appearance of the white sea snake . Among the silence in the water with ray of sun, the sea snake appeared from nowhere, swam with the twist and twirl right under me, and disappeared in silence. The moment of divinity.
Everything was silent from the beginning to the end.
I felt that I encountered something very special.
Adam, Alba, thank you for giving us such a special experience.
Your passion towards your job and hospitality is truly inspiring.
I just wished if there was a waterproof microphone, I could appreciate more of Alba's marine biology talk. I would have loved to listen more to what she could share with us.
This experience let me forget the time and space.
Thank you..!
Saw so many whales, Dolphins and. Sea Turtle.. our crew were just fantastic. Adam and Alba were just Awesome.!!
Adam and Monica – what a team! Honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day. Adam was an awesome captain and guide, went above and beyond to make sure we had the best time. Super friendly, professional, and made everything feel easy and fun. Monica was just as great – they really work so well together. Highly recommend booking a tour with Aqua Adventures, you won’t regret it!
Also no reminders about the kayaks being hollow ( water comes in from under) had I known, I could have arranged to place valuables with staff possibly.
Cut my ride short and returned the kayak.
Unfortunately lost some tech in water too. Costly lesson.
Lady who received it the kayak seemed genuine.
It was an incredible day, all thanks to Monica, our guide, and Adam, the captain.
Monica was awesome and made sure we were well-prepared and comfortable the whole time. You could tell she is really passionate, and her good energy was contagious! Adam did a great job by getting us to the perfect spots to see the whales up close and swim next to them. He made sure we had a great adventure!
The tour was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we also got some cool photos and videos, and having such an awesome team made it even better for us!!! We will be forever grateful for it. Thank you so much Monica & Adam, keep doing a great job!! Absolutely unforgettable day!
It was an incredible day, all thanks to Monica, our guide, and Adam, the captain.
Monica was awesome and made sure we were well-prepared and comfortable the whole time. You could tell she is really passionate, and her good energy was contagious! Adam did a great job by getting us to the perfect spots to see the whales up close and swim next to them. He made sure we had a great adventure!
The tour was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, we also got some cool photos and videos, and having such an awesome team made it even better for us!!! We will be forever grateful for it. Thank you so much Monica & Adam, keep doing a great job!! Absolutely unforgettable day!
Even though the water visibility was reduced, the crew exceeded our expectations to make sure we had an awesome time seeing and swimming with the whales.
Booked the swimming with whales tour but unfortunately didn’t get to swim with any whales. I completely understand that it’s out of anybody’s control however the difference in the price point between the whale watching and the swimming is massive. ( especially when I spent 300 dollars per person). Our tour guides were great and we loved the whale watching element but very disappointed in paying so much more per person for snorkel rental and a wetsuit and paying nearly double when I booked directly through the website. Would take this into consideration when booking.
They offered a 50% off the next trip if you book again if you weren’t successful swimming with them, I would prefer a refund of 150 dollars per person.
Despite one of us getting a small bought of seasickness due to the slightly choppy water, we still got to see many whales and also dolphins.
The guys were very well informed, had great senses of humour and were also very kind, and took their time to make sure we saw as many whales as possible on our trip.
On our boat we also had some people that booked to go swimming with the whales so that was an also experience.
Was a very very good day…Happy smiling faces all round!
Highly recommend 😎
The boat moves much faster than a commercial boat from sea world and it’s much lower to the water so you get a much better view of the whales, and you’re not fighting with a million people to the railings to get a photo
I’ve been on so many trips now it’s really the luck of the draw with what you see. Can’t wait to go again
We have been on a few of the larger whale watching boats, and you can never really see much due to crowding, being on the smaller boat and up so close with the whales was magical they were just swimming past us putting on a magical show. Incredible! An experience we will never forget.
We will be back !
Sorry, my photos don't show how fab the experience was.
The conditions were stunning! Whales and their calves came so close to the boat it was unbelievable and as a bonus we even saw dolphins!
I obviously recommend 100% Aqua Adventures! Thanks again to the crew????
Small boat is really good for whale watching !
Michael and Adam are really friendly and experienced.
You can’t miss this trip.
Monica and her partner were so great, keeping us
informed and filling us in with fun facts about whales. It was just brilliant and if I have another day in the coast I will possible go back out with them:)
Oh and these videos do no justice to what I experienced :D
Fish, corals and even dolphins. We'll definitely come back next time ????????????





























