PADI Open Water course Koh Lipe
The standard course on Koh Lipe is run over 4 days, only one of which is a full day though. Lipe is located on the edge of a marine park and is home to some of the most spectacular dive sites in the Andaman sea if not the whole of Thailand and so is a fantastic place to get certified as a diver. We usually start the course at 4 pm in the afternoon which means that you can start the course on the same day that you travel to our beautiful island.
The daily schedule of what to expect during the course;
Day 1 (around 3 hours) - PADI Diver Training videos
We usually start this at the dive centre at 4 pm in the afternoon so that people who arrive on the same day can start the course. On the first day, we start off with dive theory in the form of the PADI dive videos and typically run through the first 3 of those and then complete the multiple-choice knowledge reviews at the end of each section. (you can also complete the theory for the course before you come with PADI eLearning).
Day 2 (full day) - Theory and skills practice
We usually get you to come into the dive center between 8 and 9 am as this is the busiest day of the course (unless you started the theory early on day 1 and completed most of that then). On day 2 of the course, we usually complete the rest of the theory and the confined water Open Water exercises. We carry out this diver training as shallow water beach dives just in front of the dive school. As we complete the confined exercises for the course just off the beach it will depend on when the high tide is as to when we complete those and so your Dive Instructor will let you know when that will be on the first day of the course. So when you aren't completing the confined sessions is when it is that you will be completing the rest of the theory for the course.
Afternoon 3 - Let's go scuba diving in the sea
Usually, you will have completed all of the theory and confined sessions by now and so have the morning off, if not then we have all morning to finish off any bits we need to. Then it's time to go scuba diving! We meet up at 12:30m to head out to the Tarutao national park for 2 boat dives at dive sites that are suitable for people without diving experience to dive down to a maximum of 12m. Here you will run through some of the basic skills we practiced during the confined water sessions.
Morning 4 - Last two ocean dives and certification
We usually go out scuba diving on our morning dive boat for the final two open water dives where you will dive down to a maximum of 18m. We meet up for our morning dive boats at 8 am and head out to the best dive sites in the Tarutao National Marine Park that the conditions allow, but they will be full of colorful soft corals and coral reefs full of marine life and if you are really lucky you may get to see a whale shark!. Then we'll head back to DJL after the two dives down to a maximum of 18m to complete your logbooks and be all done and your diving Instructor can certify you as an Open Water Diver and you'll get an email to confirm your diving license from PADI by lunchtime. If you are leaving straight after the course then you can catch one of the afternoon ferries off the island.
What are the requirements to take the diving course?
- You need to be a minimum of 10 years old
- You must be able to swim a minimum of 200m
- You must be able to float or tread water for a minimum of 10 minutes
- You must be in a reasonable physical condition.
All students must complete the PADI medical form at the start of the course. If you answer yes to any of the questions on the form then you need to get clearance from a doctor/diving physician. As there isn't anywhere on Koh Lipe you can do this we recommend checking the form you can download here before you book. This is to ensure that there isn't anything that could prevent you from taking the course once you are here. If there is anything that you answer yes to on the form then we recommend that you print off a copy of the form. Then take it to your doctor or a diving physician to see if they can sign you off as being fit to dive and then bring the signed off copy of the form with you. If you need the form in a different language then contact us as the form is available in many languages.
What can you do after completing Open Water on Koh Lipe?
How much does the course cost?
Payment for PADI Open Water course - Koh Lipe
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