Explore More with PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Certification!

#1 Build confidence & sharpen skills

 The PADI Advanced Open Water course is ideal for anyone looking to improve in all areas of dive knowledge and skills, With the PADI Advanced Open Water course in Key Largo with Sail Fish Scuba, you’ll learn how to plan and navigate a deep dive site, use the right equipment, and follow essential safety procedures that keep every dive safe and rewarding. You’ll improve navigation, buoyancy, and air management while gaining experience in real-world conditions. Our PADI instructors in Key Largo give feedback and personal tips to help you dive smarter, safer, and with more confidence.

#2  Get Navigation Training
With the PADI Advanced Open Water course, you’ll sharpen one of the most underrated dive skills: underwater navigation. Many divers rely on guides, so after their first certification, the compass gets forgotten. At Sail Fish Scuba, every dive is a guided scuba tour of Key Largo’s reefs and wrecks, but not every dive in your future will be guided—and that’s where navigation training pays off.

 Picture this: a Caribbean reef shark glides past and you stop to take a few photos. Suddenly, when you look up, everything looks the same—flat bottom, no landmarks, no easy way to tell direction or orient yourself. A diver with navigation training will be far better prepared to reorient quickly and keep the dive on track without losing confidence. 

 Underwater navigation is one of those real-world scuba skills that makes you more confident every time you hit the water. Knowing you’ve been trained to handle a situation like this underwater—whether you’re scuba diving in Key Largo or anywhere else in the world—should be a huge motivator for taking the Advanced Open Water course. It’s about becoming a competent, confident, and safe diver.

#3 Get Deep Dive Training
With the PADI Advanced Open Water certification in Key Largo at Sail Fish Scuba, you’ll develop safe diving practices that give you the confidence to explore reefs, shipwrecks, and marine life in deeper waters down to 30 meters/100 feet. 

#4 Open new diving opportunities to advanced dive sites
There are several dive sites in the Florida Keys that require the Advanced Open Water certification.  In the Florida Keys, this means access to Key Largo's legendary deep wreck dives like the USS Spiegel Grove, the USCGC Bibb, and the Duane. Earning your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification lets you explore specialties like wreck diving, drift diving, and night diving, plus it’s the next step toward higher-level scuba training. And yes—it’s a lot of fun. Every dive pushes your skills further while keeping the adventure exciting. 

 There are also several Key Largo dive sites where diving on Nitrox can enhance your experience. When you complete the Enriched Air Diver course in-house with Sail Fish Scuba, it can be bundled at a discount with your PADI Advanced Open Water course.  

Ready to take the next step? Join us at Sail Fish Scuba in Key Largo and earn your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Start today and unlock a whole new level of scuba diving adventure. Book your adventure today!

 To start the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, you only need to hold your Open Water Diver certification. There’s no need for extra dives beyond those completed during your Open Water training—you just need to have finished all the dives required for that certification. In the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, you’ll complete five dives known as “Adventure Dives.” Two of these dives are mandatory: Deep Dive and Underwater Navigation. The other three dives are up to you. Discuss your preferences with us to explore the range of Adventure Dive options available!

At Sail Fish Scuba, we recommend Peak Performance Buoyancy, Night Diving, and Wreck Diving as popular Adventure Dives. Peak Performance Buoyancy helps divers improve their buoyancy control, allowing them to dive with less weight, feel more relaxed, and enjoy better encounters with marine life. Since poor buoyancy control is a leading cause of diver injuries, we place high value on mastering these skills for safer, more enjoyable, and environmentally responsible diving. Night Diving offers a chance to experience the underwater world in a new light, as many marine creatures become more active after dark. Night diving requires different skills than daytime diving, and at Sail Fish Scuba, we guide you step-by-step to help you become a safe and confident night diver. Wreck Diving lets you explore fascinating sunken ships, learn about their history, and develop the specialized skills needed to dive safely around these unique sites. Key Largo is renowned for its incredible wreck dive sites, including the famous USS Spiegel Grove, making it a top destination for wreck diving enthusiasts. 

The minimum age to begin the Advanced Open Water Diver course is 12 years old. Divers aged 15 and older receive an Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Divers between 12 and 14 years old earn a Junior Advanced Open Water Diver certification.

Divers aged 10 to 11 can earn a Junior Adventure Diver certification. Once they turn 12, they may complete the deep dive and upgrade to a Junior Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Junior Advanced Open Water Divers are automatically upgraded to an Advanced Open Water Diver certification on their 15th birthday. Any replacement certification card or eCard issued after a diver’s 15th birthday will show the Advanced Open Water Diver certification rather than the junior version.

Course prerequisites for PADI Advanced Open Water: PADI Open Water Diver, Junior Open Water Diver, or a qualifying entry-level certification.

 Scuba diving requires a certain level of health and fitness. All students must fill out the Diver Medical Questionnaire.  If you have chronic medical conditions, are on prescription medications, or have recently had surgery, you might need written clearance from a physician before diving.  You can find the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire linked at the bottom of our Sail Fish Scuba Policy Page. 

Safety is always our top priority. If ocean conditions make it unsafe or unfavorable to complete the planned training dives, we have several backup options to ensure you can still continue your course:

• Training Lagoon: We have access to a protected, confined-water lagoon where we can complete some of the specialty dives as well as the required Underwater Navigation. 
• Alternative Dive Sites:
  If the Spiegel Grove is not suitable to complete the deep dive or wreck specialty dive, but the ocean is still safe for diving, we may switch to the Benwood Wreck.  At a specific area of the Benwood wreck known as the “elevator shaft,” the depth reaches roughly 75 feet, making it an alternative site for completing a Deep Dive. 

We choose our dive locations based on the day’s weather, ocean conditions, and the captain’s professional assessment. Because of this, please be prepared for the possibility of diving at alternative sites when needed. Your safety is always our top priority, and we’ll always select the location that gives you the safest and best-quality training experience. 

Please note:  Florida weather can be unpredictable, and for safety reasons mentioned above we reserve the right to adjust dive sites on the day of your training. We ask that you come into your course with adaptability and understanding, as changes may occur to ensure the safest and best possible experience. 

While completing your Advanced Open Water course, you’ll have the chance to try a variety of specialty dives that help you uncover what types of diving you enjoy and sharpen your skills. Even better, each dive can count toward a specialty certification. For instance, if wreck diving sparks your interest, that dive can be credited toward your Wreck Diver certification.

Consider these courses as your next steps:

• Consider enrolling in the PADI Enriched Air Diver course!  Enriched Air (also known as Nitrox or EANx) has more oxygen and less nitrogen than regular air,  meaning you can enjoy longer dives and have a shorter surface intervals. It’s no surprise the PADI Enriched Air Diver course is the most popular specialty! 
•  To boost your confidence and improve your ability to assist others underwater, the PADI Rescue Diver course is a great next step. You'll develop strong skills in accident prevention and rescue management, learning how to recognize and avoid potential dive-related accidents—making diving safer and more enjoyable for both you and your dive buddies. 

At Sail Fish Scuba, we’re dedicated to helping you take your diving skills to the next level with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. This exciting program is designed for certified divers ready to expand their experience and explore new underwater adventures.

We keep our groups small, with an instructor-to-student ratio of 4:1 or fewer, ensuring you get personalized guidance and support throughout the course. Our experienced instructors will lead you through five adventure dives, including deep diving, underwater navigation, and specialty dives tailored to your interests.

Dive confidently as you explore vibrant reefs, fascinating wrecks, and diverse marine life—all while sharpening your skills in a safe and supportive environment.

Join Sail Fish Scuba for your PADI Advanced Open Water course in Key Largo and unlock new underwater horizons with expert guidance every step of the way.