Want to learn to dive in Cairns, the home of the Great Barrier Reef? With world class instructors and a five-star dive school, this is a convenient and affordable PADI Open Water Diver course.
You’ll get all the top class tuition offered over two days of pool and classroom training at our Cairns learn to dive facility, as well as two memorable day trips to the Great Barrier Reef. These day trips are the perfect place to enhance your skills at two stunning reef sites with colourful and abundant marine wildlife.
At the end of two day trips you’ll have completed four open water dives, and be a certified PADI Open Water Diver! That’s when the real fun begins…
Prefer an overnight option? Check out our four day, one night Open Water Diver course, which includes an overnight stay on our liveaboard vessel OceanQuest.
Includes all equipment and tuition. Prices valid to 31 March 2024. Price is per person and includes all applicable fees, taxes and levies. Locals discount not valid for optional extras.
9am: Check in at our Dive Centre at 319 Draper Street, Cairns. Meet your instructor, complete paperwork and begin dive theory.
Lunch is not included, but you can bring a packed lunch or there are plenty of places to eat nearby.
Afternoon: Begin your scuba skills training in the pool and complete your tread water test, finishing at approximately 5.30pm.
9am: Pick up from Cairns city accommodation
Morning: Continue scuba skills in the pool and complete 200m swim test. Don your wetsuit and equipment for more skills training.
Lunch is not included, but you can bring a packed lunch or there are plenty of places to eat nearby.
Afternoon: Finish and review scuba theory, finish with a multiple choice exam.
8am: Check in and board AquaQuest at Cairns Marlin Marina for your day trip to the Great Barrier Reef
8.30am: Set off on a 90 minute cruise to the outer reef, receive a briefing, then gear up and do your first training dive
12pm: Fuel up with a hearty lunch
12.30pm: Hit the water for your second dive to refine your skills, and practise your snorkelling skills at the reef’s beautiful shallow cays. After your fourth open water dive you’ll be a certified diver – congratulations!
2.30pm: Cruise back to Cairns, arriving at approximately 4.30pm
Medical Declaration for Entry Level Divers
Diver Medical – Participant Questionnaire
All scuba participants must meet medical questionnaire requirements. Some conditions or medications may prevent you from diving. These requirements can be found on our Can I Dive? page, and we strongly recommend reviewing before booking.
It is required by Queensland law that you must wait at least 24 hours after diving before going to altitude or flying – there is no guarantee that this requirement will prevent decompression sickness. There are no current guidelines regarding diving after flying.
Altitude is defined as 300m/1000ft above sea level. Certain other tourist attractions around Cairns and Tropical North Queensland involve travelling to altitude. These include the Atherton Tablelands and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, so we recommend a gap between booking these experiences and any dive course or trip. Under normal circumstances, you should be out of the water on your last dive by around 2pm.
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“We started our week knowing absolutely nothing about scuba diving and ended it as adventure divers! Our instructor was incredible! He was super knowledgable and able to answer all of our questions in great depth! He was very patient with all of the team and took the time to ensure every one had the opportunity to pass! We didn’t just get a scuba licence from him, we also got a friend!”
– Olivia
