Curso Advanced Open Water

The Advanced Open Water course at WeDive Lagos builds directly on Open Water certification using the same sites where daily guided trips operate. The course structure involves adventure dives in specialty areas, and the WeDive site catalogue gives a lot of scope for making those dives meaningful rather than generic. The Deep Diving adventure sits naturally alongside the Ocean Revival wreck complex: Hermenegildo Capelo and Almeida Carvalho at 33 m and Oliveira e Carmo and Zambeze at 28 m are just past and at the recreational limit respectively, making the transition to those structures a direct next step from the AOWD deep dive. Navigation as an adventure dive is a practical skill on the Algarve coast, where the underwater topography is rockier and less uniform than flat, sandy environments.

Several specialty areas available as AOWD adventure dives correspond directly to sites in the WeDive rotation. The Wreck Diving adventure fits with the Ocean Revival complex and the shallower Propeller's Paradise at 12 m. The Night and Limited Visibility adventure fits with the torch-dependent dives at Rocha Negra and Porto de Mos Wall. The Boat Diving adventure is effectively built into the operation, since most of WeDive's sites are reached by boat. Ian, the team's underwater photographer, makes the Photo and Video adventure dive a meaningful option — an actual practitioner on staff rather than a module delivered solely from a manual.

The course is delivered through SSI or PADI, both active at the centre, and the agency can be matched to the Open Water certification you already hold. The instructors delivering the AOWD course include staff with dual SSI and PADI qualifications and skipper certificates, so the team you trained with on your Open Water is the same team running the AOWD adventure dives. Cortinas at 15 m, with its sloping overhang and dense marine life, and Pedras Altas at 18 m, with its canyon profile through large boulders, are both within AOWD depth range and within the regular dive programme.

Completing the AOWD at WeDive puts you in range of all the major sites on the Algarve coast without further certification steps, and positions you for the full range of SSI and PADI specialty courses available at the centre. The 33 m wrecks at Ocean Revival — the main draw for most visiting divers — become the next natural target, accessible through the Deep Specialty or the Wreck Diving Specialty, both of which are offered at WeDive.