Take the next step, become an Advanced Diver!
$399.00
Duration: 2 Days
Experience Level: Open Water
Dive Type: Ocean/Cenotes
What's included? The course includes the student manual, transportation to/from Playa del Carmen, equipment, certification (once you complete requirements), snacks, water, park entrance/boat fees, and some fish.
The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course is the certification for divers who want to further their education and experience, and are already certified as Open Water. Completed in 2 days, it is an exciting way to get a taste of some of the Specialty Courses we offer like drift diving in currents, diving on shipwrecks, and fine tuning your buoyancy skills. This course will prepare you for a range of different dive experiences and will qualify you to dive anywhere in the world to a depth of 100ft/30m.
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is a great way to expand your knowledge and become a better diver. The course can be done in 2 days and is 5 Adventure dives in total (in Playa del Carmen), with Deep and Underwater Navigation being the required dives, and three of your choosing, which could be Drift, Fish ID, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Wreck, Naturalist, etc. We also offer the option to upgrade to dive in Cozumel; perfect for Drift or Deep Adventure dives, or Fish ID and Naturalist due to the rich biodiversity within the protected marine park.
Please see more details below:
Deep Dive – During this dive we dive to a depth more than 60ft/18m and to a maximum depth of 100ft/30m. We will talk about how the greater pressure affects us, how light behaves at depth, and how our air consumption changes, as well as the potential effect of Nitrogen Narcosis.
Nitrox or Enriched Air Dive – This is a great dive to couple with the deep dive above. You will learn about how using higher oxygenated air allows for longer bottom times and shorter surface intervals. If you participate in the Nitrox or Enriched Air Diver Course, you can dive Nitrox 32 free of charge for the rest of your dives!
Underwater Navigation – This dive is all about enhancing your navigational abilities during dives using compass techniques and natural underwater references.
Drift Dive – This dive is all about preparing you for diving in currents. We will talk about safety equipment, buoyancy control, as well as some practice using an inflatable surface marker buoy. This is recommended as most diving in this area can involve strong currents, and almost all dives preformed in the ocean are drift dives.
Peak Performance Buoyancy – Your instructor will teach you some of the ‘Tricks of the Trade’ gathered over thousands of dives to help give you improve your overall control in the water, eliminated unneeded extra weight, and improve air consumption. Dives like this will prepare you for a more advanced adventures like the Cavern Diver Course.
Fish Identification – You will not only learn the common names of the fish you see on the reefs of the Caribbean but also the techniques to identify many of the fish you will encounter on future dive trips around the world.
If you do the Advanced Open Water course in Playa del Carmen:
Day 1
We will meet at 7:45 am at Blue Life and then we will head the Playa del Carmen reefs to do 2 dives. We will be back at the shop at noon. If you choose to upgrade your course to Cozumel, we meet at 7:45 am and return at about 1:30 pm.
Day 2 (Option 1)
Meet at 7:45 am at Blue Life. Then we will head to do 2 dives and you will be back at the shop at noon. Then you will have a bit of time to go and take lunch (we are close to the 5th Avenue where you can find a lot of places to eat).
You will arrive back at the shop at 12:30 to complete the 3rd dive, and will finish around 3:00 pm.
Day 2 (Option 2)
We may offer to take you to dive the cenotes depending on your experience and performance on day 1. We usually meet at the shop at 8:30 and drive to a cenote dive site to complete 3 dives. We are usually back at the Playa del Carmen shop at 5 pm.
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Daniel Brotman –
I did a Skill Refresh, PADI Advanced Open Water, SDI Enriched Air Nitrox, and Los Cenotes. Blue Life is safe, thorough, flexible, knowledgeable, and extraordinarily friendly. I obsessed over finding the perfect dive shop and Blue Life is it. Most of my dives were 1:1 but never more than 2:1. You will have an amazing time, see amazing things, become a better diver, and have friends for when you return. Much love to Andrea, Carolina, Hugo, Rodrigo, Sofia, and Steve.
Phil D –
Scuba course & Cenotes We just finished 4 days of scuba diving with blue life in playa del carmen. It was a fantastic experience due to the fact that there is such a diverse amount of wildlife and geological wonders in this area. I am already advanced open water qualified and my girlfriend decided to become advanced certified on this trip. We corresponded with Andrea from the office way in advance of our trip and she was responding to all of our emails (of which there were many) very quickly and accurately, we knew exactly what to expect and how much things would cost before we arrived. It is also very easy to pay online or in cash during your stay. The advanced course was taken by Steve and we can honestly say that he is one of the best scuba instructors we have both come across! He is so knowledgable and aware of all the correct procedures that you will come away such a better diver. He was also able to spot almost anything that was hiding under the water for us to see. Thank you Steve! We chose to dive in both playa del carmen’s reef and took the speed boat over to Cozumel (an island just off the coast with a protected nature reserve) if you have the choice make sure you go over there as it is worth the extra cost. We also took a day doing two dives in... We just finished 4 days of scuba diving with blue life in playa del carmen. It was a fantastic experience due to the fact that there is such a diverse amount of wildlife and geological wonders in this area. I am already advanced open water qualified and my girlfriend decided to become advanced certified on this trip. We corresponded with Andrea from the office way in advance of our trip and she was responding to all of our emails (of which there were many) very quickly and accurately, we knew exactly what to expect and how much things would cost before we arrived. It is also very easy to pay online or in cash during your stay. The advanced course was taken by Steve and we can honestly say that he is one of the best scuba instructors we have both come across! He is so knowledgable and aware of all the correct procedures that you will come away such a better diver. He was also able to spot almost anything that was hiding under the water for us to see. Thank you Steve! We chose to dive in both playa del carmen’s reef and took the speed boat over to Cozumel (an island just off the coast with a protected nature reserve) if you have the choice make sure you go over there as it is worth the extra cost. We also took a day doing two dives in the cenotes, which are huge fresh water caverns in the jungle. This was an amazing experience as neither of us had dived in fresh water or in a cavern, the sunlight filtering through is beautiful, if you already love diving in the sea, this is not to be missed. Our guide for this day was Lucca a very experienced cave diver from Italy, he was not only a very knowledgeable diver who made us feel at ease, but also knew a lot about the local area and gave us info on other excursions we might like, he was also a very funny guy, highly recommended. My girlfriend was pretty scared about being in the cavern and he made sure she felt safe at all times. Cheers Lucca! We also did our Nitrox certification whilst we were there and Blue Life made it easy for us, we will be diving nitrox a lot in future. The only bit of feedback on the negative side at all was that on our first day it had not been communicated to the instructors that we would do the nitrox course and so we missed out on the first day diving nitrox, although there had been a storm just before we arrived so it could explain the slight lapse in organisation, as everything else was great. In summary we would highly recommend blue life and all of its staff & instructors for making sure we had an amazing scuba experience!! More
Lloyd G –
Amazing dives with amazing dive shop in Playa Del Carmen I recently completed my PADI Advanced Open Water and Nitrox courses with Blue Life and had a fantastic time. Andrea was really helpful arranging everything, and Scuba Steve really was a great instructor for my Advanced Open Water course. I did the refresher, followed by 5 AOW ocean dives in Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel and I really appreciate Andrea and Steve organising a Shipwreck dives as one of these. I couldn\'t miss out on the opportunity to dive in a cenote, so a couple of days later I returned to Blue Life to complete my Nitrox course diving in Dos Ojos with William. Another great experience and completely different from the other dives. I went with Blue Life because of the great TripAdvisor recommendations, and I\'d 100% recommend Blue Life too!
Xin W –
Great diving Vale was an awesome instructor and Andrea was very helpful with our booking process, she even helped with airbnb booking.
arabellarobinson –
Best dive shop in Playa Invredible team who work really hard to make sure you’re happy every step of the way - I came to do my advanced and was able to do wreck, deep and drift (so everything I wanted to do on the course). Steve was a great teacher who knows the reef, the fish and everything you need to feel comfortable in the water - I also had one on one teaching for most of the course which was a real treat. Andrea and Frank go out of their way to get you to dive sites you want to see, connect you with other shops elsewhere and organise every little aspect of your package/course so it runs super smoothly. All in all a fantastic place and perfect if you want to dive in Playa del Carmen! THANK YOU!
Kristyn Notholt –
Absolutely Amazing from the sites to the staff ! Blue Life is so wonderful I am already planning my next trip back. I came to Playa del Carmen to get my advanced open water and had such an amazing experience. MY instructor Valentina was so sweet and knowledgeable. She really went above and beyond to make sure I had an amazing experience.
Maher A –
Advance certification and cave diving. I had one of the best diving experience with blue life. They were reliable, flexible, and also respectful. Seriously I wouldn\'t think of another place when coming back to playa.
David W –
A Great Experience Blue Life was everything I had hoped for and much more than I expected. They provided highly professional service with an unusually caring and adaptable attitude. I can\'t see anything they can improve upon. Valentina was a joy to meet. She was thorough, helpful and an excellent instructor. There are probably other great dive shops in PLC, but I\'ll never know, because I can\'t imagine booking anywhere else. Dave
jsbaroody77 –
Wonderful Experience The staff at Blue life are extremely friendly and there local knowledge is invaluable. I felt safe and comfortable with them at all times in and out of the water. I came down to do a course and some fun diving with them. They were very accommodating, especially when it came to rescheduling my itinerary with them after my arrival day was pushed back due to weather. There was no issue in rescheduling and the staff made it happen. I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do on this trip. Thank you Blue Life.
Kyle K –
Advanced Open Water Cert We got our PADI Advanced Open Water Certification with Devin last weekend and it was a great experience! Even though it was pouring down rain and we couldn\'t take the boats out, Devin took us to the Cenotes both days so we could still get our certs. He was very patient and helpful with us. We had a great time and will be sending all of our friends to Blue Life in the future!
Cole N –
Professional, Fun, and Epic Dives My brother and I dove with Devin Raleigh today and we had the best time ever! I have my fresh Advanced Open Water and my brother has hundreds of dives logged and he guided the dives easy and simple enough for me, while making it interesting and fun for my brother. I highly recommend booking Blue Life for your scuba adventure!
scubadox –
Just LIke Everyone Says! Three of us divers (beginner to advanced) dove with Blue Life on Monday Oct 23rd. Our guide was Hugo and we did Dos Ojos. I must say that this dive operator is very easy to work with, and very professional. Their rental gear was in top shape, and Hugo, our guide, was extremely informative and helpful. He has much experience and stressed safety, and yet we had fun and came away more knowledgeable of cenote diving. I would highly recommend this company for anyone wanting to dive the cenotes in and around Playa del Carmen.
Jussi T –
Great service! We did the AOWD course (our deep dive was a shark dive, a great idea from the staff and special thanks for that) and a cenote dive through Blue life. Excellent service. I\'d highly recommend!
caleb116 –
Scuba diving in playa del Carmen Fernanda and the crew down at Blue Life were amazing. Very friendly and tried to accommodate everyone. We did our advanced diving course with them, and glad we did. They have all sorts of different dives, from reef to sharks to cenotes. A highly recommended dive is at cenote called \"el pit\". A deeper dive in a freshwater (and saltwater near bottom) cenote. Was a amazing dive! Dive guide Hugo was awesome and made you feel welcomed! Thanks guys!!!
Mike M –
Crazy Good Diving with Amazing team I went for 4 days of diving with the Blue Life team, with the planning done by Fernanda and Alex, and Hugo leading the dives. I took several courses for the Advanced SDI certification and Hugo seamlessly incorporated the in-water learning as part of the diving experience. I dove nitrox for 3 days and air for the last day. The variety of diving opportunities in the Playa del Carmen area is truly amazing, and with no prior experience in this area I relied heavily on Fernanda to put together a program and she delivered in spades. I did two dives near the Blue Life office in Playa, including one with bull sharks, the other a reef. The sharks were an amazing sight and not to be feared. We then did two dives in Akumal, which is famous for turtles. My wife and teenage daughter went snorkeling at the same time and had an amazing experience with Louis acting at a guide. On this dive we were joined by two friends who had limited diving experience, and one diver was pretty nervous after a bad experience during her open water course. Hugo ensured that these dives were flawless and memorable for all of us. FYI, Hugo also knows the absolute best taco stand in Mexico - seriously crazy good. Our third day were cenote (cave) dives at the Dos Ojos (two eyes) site. Truly a great experience, but may not be suitable if you are claustrophobic. This dive needs good buoyancy control so best to do this after a couple open water dives if you are a bit rusty. Transportation was all handled by Blue Life. This was just myself and Hugo, and was another great day. The fourth day was truly amazing - diving the wall in Cozumel. Blue Life took care of all ferry transportation from Playa, and transfer to the marina on Cozumel. This trip included a group of 6 divers and Hugo. We were joined at the boat by the captain and a second dive master/mate so there was plenty of staff per customer. There are very strong currents in this area and the safety briefing was thorough and showed that Blue Life had significant experience in this area. I had requested pricing and information from several other dive shops in Playa del Carmen, and what set Blue Life apart was Fernanda taking the time to put a package together with a set price schedule that was easy to understand. I only provided the basic outline of the sites I wanted to dive (cenote, sharks, the Wall). All of the other shops just sent me a price list and told me to pick things. Blue Life had an excellent web site which allowed me to research the itinerary and Fernanda got the itinerary right on the first draft - no changes needed!
Ryan P –
AOW I\'m a little late with this but better late than never! I previously dove with blue life in April and had an incredible experience. So I went back to get my AOW in July and it was even better. I dove with Rimas the entire time. 11 dives in 3 days. That\'s how I do it. Blue life is always game. The first days I did all of my aow courses and a few fun dives. All 1 on 1. This isn\'t the norm with other dive shops. My third day there was one other diver with us in the cenotes but we were at the same skill level so it was all good. Ponderosa might be my fave now, or maybe the pit... idk all the cenotes are so unique and great in their own way. Rimas was great with my aow classes. I had some difficulty at first with a couple but he was able to coach me through them and by the end I was able to do perform the skills on my own. I also highly recommend the wreck dive in cozumel if conditions and time permit. On my last day blue life let me dive on nitrox for free because I had gone on 8 dives in the past 2 days. I can\'t tell if it made a difference but it was very much appreciated. Oh and Fernanda was great scheduling everything for me even though I booked my trip 3 days before heading down there and she was on holiday. But she was able to do everything remotely and blue life once again came through. Thanks and I\'ll see you guys for my rescue diver course!
BrittonNB –
Incredible diving and dive instructors! Great for beginner and advanced divers! My best friend and I spent two days diving with Hugo and Fernanda in August 2016. On the recommendation of Fernanda, I decided to work towards my PADI advanced open water certificate since another girl in our group was doing the same. Fernanda cleverly figured out away for me to complete all five skills training dives over the course of my vacation, which was great! The first day we did two dives in Akumal. We saw tons of turtles and a beautiful reef. That night we did a night dive in Playa - my first one! I highly recommend the night dive- the sea really comes alive at night and the stars are beautiful when you surface! The second day we did 3 cenote dives. Being a new diver (I\'d only done 9 dives at that point including the dives from the day before), I didn\'t quite know what to expect...turns out its pretty dark in the cenotes (you definitely need a flash lights to see most of the time) and there is a spot about 30 feet down where its hard to see because of the halocline (mixing of fresh and salt water). Long story short, I got a bit panicked when we reached the halocline and I couldn\'t see, so I came up to the surface scared and convinced I should sit the dive out. Our dive instructor that day, Hugo, calmed me down and was extremely patient and kind. Hugo agreed to do the dive with me next to him so I felt more comfortable. He ended up holding my hand and guiding me for most of the dive, and I\'m so glad he did, because it really calmed me down and allowed me to relax and enjoy the dive, which was spectacularly beautiful and unique! I was much better on the second and third cenote dives but I still needed some hand holding (literally). If it wasn\'t for his kindness and patience, I would\'ve missed out on cenote diving entirely because of my fears and new diver nerves, which would have been a shame since the cenotes are so unique and interesting to dive. I cannot recommend Blue Life highly enough and look forward to returning to Playa and diving with them again soon! Note to the ladies- the cenotes are realllly cold. I dove with a 5mm suit and was cold, so I used Blue Life\'s vest and hood as well, which kept me toasty and comfortable.
ycfeng91 –
Great experience getting OW and AOW certified with Blue Life! I learned how to dive in 5 days with Valentina at Blue Life - and it was a fantastic experience! Would definitely recommend. My instructor made me feel very safe and did a great job explaining diving concepts. When I struggled with a particular skill, like clearing the mask, she was very patient and gave me great tips to overcome the challenge. Got to dive at some very beautiful sites in Playa and Cozumel!
MrJackRivers –
Excellent team in an incredible location... I was a solo traveller to Playa in Nov 15 staying at the Riu Yucatan, looking to move from being a just-trained Open Water Diver to being a Rescue Diver. Over the space of the two weeks, Sarah successfully took me through the Advanced Open Water, Nitrox, Emergency First Responder and Rescue Diver courses, making me a much better Diver along the way! As I hadn\'t dived since my Open Water almost a year previously, we started with some easier shallow dives (albeit on some rather rough seas... as it was my first ocean dive I quickly learn that little boats and rough seas make for a rather seasick diver!). It was a short 100m walk from the Shop to the boat pickup, although I still struggle to carry two tanks... The training aspects took place in various areas including the Playa Reefs, a nearby cenote for the confined aspects, and Akumal (with a rather large turtle being spotted resting on the reef!). The EFR course took place at the shop and was a useful exercise in preparing for if something goes wrong whilst on your Dives. The Rescue course was certainly different to the other course, with the focus being on both looking after yourself whilst Diving, being able to identify problems before they happen both with yourself and other divers, and being able to help when things go wrong. The most important part of these courses for me was that it was one-to-one throughout, giving the best chance of picking everything up and going over the more challenging aspects a couple of times. After completing the courses, I signed up to a three-day dive package including two dives at Dos Ojos (a Cenote close to Tulum), two dives over at Cozumel, and two dives on the Playa Reefs. The Dos Ojos dives led by Hugo, were incredible to see and thanks to those dives, I intend to return next year to undertake the Cavern diving course (not sure if Cave diving is really for me just yet!). a 10 minute drive from the main road through the jungle before finally entering the clearing and finding the caven entrance. The two dives took different routes with the first leading to the bat cave. The next two dives at Cozumel were the toughest, purely because of the need to be at the ferry port by 7.30am - the rest of the day was a breeze! Sarah met me at the port and we took the ferry over (about 45min and a pretty smooth ride - albeit with pretty cheesy adverts throughout). Upon arriving, we took a quick taxi over to the marina and were met by our boat for the day and the other divers. The Reefs at Cozumel are on a whole different level to those at Playa, with much larger formations and arches to swim under and around. A deep dive against the wall with the deep blue on one side and the coral formations on the other is a great experience! The final Dives were back on the Playa Reefs with Dive one being on the wreck! This was my first wreck dive and whilst the strong current made it a serious workout, it was a great wreck to see! Dive two... Throughout the trip I\'d been pestering Sarah because I wanted to see the Bull Sharks, however as my trip was quite early in the month, they hadn\'t yet arrived. As a last minute change of plan, for the final dive of my trip, we\'d be looking to see if they\'d arrived yet! Whilst most of the dive sites are quite far out, the sharks like to congregate surprisingly close to the hotel complexes... We descended down and waited a few minutes. At first, I thought we were going to be let down, but then shadows in the distance were spotted (and the Jaws theme started playing in my head). We stayed in a tight group as the 7/8 large Bull Sharks approached and started circling us. 30 minutes later it was time to ascend after a Dive experience that will stay with me forever! And most importantly, I kept all limbs. Sarah was an excellent instructor and somehow put up with all of my questions (seriously... a LOT of questions) throughout! I\'ll definitely be returning next year to Cavern dive, and hopefully look to start my Dive Master after that.
EmanuelePasquale –
Bellissima esperienza Ho fatto il mio corso advanced al Blue Life Diving. Fernanda, Hugo e Sara sono stati eccezionali in tutti gli aspetti, dall\'organizzazione alla realizzazione delle lezioni e delle immersioni. Sono stati molto professionali e mi hanno fatto divertire molto.
mrsmoha –
PADI I stayed only a week in Playa and wanted to make my Padi advanced diver course. After sending Blue Life Diving a request, Sarah immediately answered and we met an hour later. She did a great job in describing all the options for the adventure dives and answered all my questions. The course itself was with Josiah and Hugo. I had a great time with them and learned a lot! They are very professional and I always felt safe. I would definitely recommend Blue Life Diving!
lrice422 –
Excellent, as usual This was our second dive experience with Blue Life. Last year, we completed the open water course and this year my husband completed the advanced open water certification. Sarah worked to arrange all of our dive preferences and my husband had a lot of fun on his dives. Hugo was the instructor and he was very professional and knowledgeable. I would not hesitate to book this company and we will be returning for some more diving in the future!
A TripAdvisor Member –
Another amazing Blue Life experience! My wife and I came to Tulum for our first anniversary and to get our Advanced Scuba Certification. Hugo is an amazing dive master and we had a fantastic time in the ocean and amazing Cenotes. If you are planning on diving in the Playa del Carmen/Tulum area, these are the guys! Frank and Sarah are a pleasure to deal with. I can\'t say enough good things. We\'re looking forward to coming back!
Alberto_vmc –
Good and quick response to adverse weather Our instructor was Peter: excellent. And Frank, the manager, kept a very efficient communication before, during and after the course.
Manolo3869 –
Felt like Indiana Jones My wife and I did our advanced water certification as well as Cenote diving with Blue Life. It was an unforgettable experience and Peter our instructor made it very special. Cenote diving was amazing, really felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movies, lol. Frank was very reliable, flexible, easy to work with and gave me the best prices possible. Couldn\'t have asked for a better diving experience and Blue Life made it happen.
Leiangulo –
Best diving in Playa! We did our Advanced Scuba Diving course with Bluelife and it was an incredible experience. We had the chance to dive with Karla, Frank and Pete, and all of the dives went very well. We ended up doing two extra dives at some Cenotes - definitely recommend it! Thanks again to the Bluelife team for a wonderful diving trip.
Melissa S –
Great Diving Experience Pete did a great job training my husband and I in the open water diving course. He was very patient with us as we were learning the basics of diving. It was an unforgettable experience (especially diving in Dos Ojos) and we will probably be back in October to do the Advanced Open Water Diving course.
Shane P –
Best time ever!!! I just got my PADI Open Water Certification through Frank from Blue Life, and I can\'t say enough good things about my experience ... I even got a Deep Water Adventure dive all thanks to Blue Life. Every aspect of my dive trip was taken care of perfectly--transportation to and from dive sites, equipment, and the best dive sites the area has to offer. Frank and Karla provide impeccable service and top professional divers as guides and instructors. Whether you\'re looking to get OW certified, Advanced OW, full cave, tech diving. Aside from certifications; if you\'re just looking for some great diving (the Cenotes, great wreck and reef dives) I, personally, can see no reason why anyone would choose any other shop than Blue Life. I can\'t thank them enough for facilitating my entry into diving ... it was an absolute pleasure to work and dive with them. I\'m already planning my next dive trip and I will certainly go with Blue Life. So, thank you to Frank, Karla and Pete ... I look forward to diving with you again!
Fturrent –
Jaw-dropping experience I\'m quite skeptical when it comes to courses, specially when it involves something as delicate as diving, but let me tell you that Frank exceeded my expectations both as an instructor and a friend. You can tell right away that he is a person that loves teaching a as well as scuba diving, which makes him one hell of an instructor. I had such a great time with Frank and Karla that I\'m definitely going back to get my cavern certification later on this year.
Julian Van Heerden –
Totally awesome to do the course with Blue life!!!! Got so much out of this experience, and more that i thought too. Thanks Frank!!!!