Open Water Diver

The PADI Open Water Diver course at Buceo Pichicuy is the full entry-level certification, structured in three phases. Knowledge development can be done online via PADI eLearning at your own pace, or at the dive center itself — the choice is yours. Confined water sessions happen in pool-like conditions where you build and practice skills under direct instructor supervision before going anywhere near open water.

The open water phase consists of four dives in the waters around Caleta de Pichicuy. This is where the center's focus on local biodiversity actually matters: you're not doing checkout dives in a sand pit, you're completing your certification in the same waters the instructors and divemasters dive regularly and know in detail.

The center offers the course in three packages. The Clásico (CLP $290,000) uses a physical manual. The AWARE package (CLP $340,000) adds eLearning, a Project AWARE or Coral Reef Conservation specialty, and a PADI gift. The Full Experience (CLP $450,000) stacks full eLearning plus one of four additional specialty courses — Peak Performance Buoyancy, Emergency O2 Provider, Underwater Navigator, or Underwater Naturalist — saving CLP $110,000 over buying separately.

The team delivering the course includes PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors and Specialty Instructors. Once certified, you're a PADI Open Water Diver — a globally recognized credential that lets you dive to 18 meters with a buddy anywhere in the world.