Learning to dive in Anilao means completing your Open Water certification in one of the most biodiverse marine environments on Earth. By the time you complete your checkout dives, you will have already seen more marine life than most certified divers encounter in a year.
Prerequisites
- Minimum age: 10 years (Junior Open Water); 15 years for full OW certification.
- Medical: No history of heart conditions, asthma, or epilepsy. A self-declaration medical form is required; a doctor's sign-off if you have any flagged conditions.
- Swimming ability: Comfortable in open water; 200m swim and 10-minute float assessed before confined water.
Day 1: Knowledge and Confined Water
The course begins with the PADI eLearning modules (completed before arrival or on Day 1 morning). After the knowledge review session with your instructor, the afternoon moves to our shallow confined-water training area for skills practice: regulator clearing, mask clearing, buoyancy exercises, and emergency procedures. Most students find the water skills far more comfortable than they expected.
Day 2: First Open Water Dives
Two open-water dives at Ligaya's Garden to depths of 12 metres. You will repeat and demonstrate the confined-water skills in an open-ocean context, then complete a free-swim period to experience the reef. Most students agree that Day 2 is where everything clicks — and where the marine life starts to feel real.
Day 3: Certification Dives
Two final dives to 18 metres to earn the full certification. Skills include underwater navigation, deep dive planning, and emergency ascent procedures. Upon successful completion, your PADI certification card is registered digitally and valid for life worldwide. Your first post-certification dive — a guided exploration of Twin Rocks — is included in the course package.