Join our Blue Holic Scuba family by starting the adventure of a lifetime. Once you have completed the Open Water Certification, you will be able to dive all over the world.
Diver certification for anyone from 10 to 99yo begins here! If you’ve always wanted to take scuba diving lessons, experience unparalleled adventure and see the world beneath the waves, this is where it starts. Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI®Open Water Diver course – the world’s most popular and widely recognized scuba course. Millions of people have learned to scuba dive and gone on to discover the wonders of the aquatic world through this course. To enroll in a PADI Open Water Diver course (or Junior Open Water Diver course), you must be 10 years old or older. You need decent swimming skills and be in moderate physical health. No prior experience with scuba diving is required.
Additional Charges
The base fee advertised here covers all instructor fees as well as the PADI fee to receive your Scuba Diver License card in the mail. There are additional charges on top of that to participate in the course.
The whole course will cost anywhere between $900-1200. This will cover everything:
Your Scuba Certification License allowing you to dive up to 60ft around the world (included in base fee)
Knowledge Development Classes and Final Exam (included in base fee)
YOUR OWN personal gear: Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Booties and Gloves (~$250-550+)
(add 15% off when purchased in our store, unlocks FREE Rental for rest of gear)
When you come into the shop to purchase your personal gear, one of our staff members will walk you through all the gear and have you try on everything! You will then be able to pick your gear based on fit, comfort and budget.
The cost varies depending on which gear you pick. We have different price points for all gear as well as different options depending on what your scuba life will look like (ie. heavy duty fins for California diving vs lighter fins for traveling to warmer climates). Make sure you talk to the staff member helping you and share what your scuba goals will be :)
We offer full day boat trips (no overnights!) to Catalina Island every Sunday. Each ticket costs $170 and covers three dives in the day as well as all snacks and meals throughout. Non Divers are more than welcome to join on the boat. Please use the code NONDIVER when purchasing a boat trip for a friend or relative that would like to join you on the boat!
Academic
Our PADI Open Water Diver course takes 4 days total and consists of three main phases:
Knowledge Development to understand basic principles of scuba diving.
Knowledge Development: After your first visit at the shop you will be emailed 5 PADI videos to watch at home before starting your first pool session! On your second Saturday at 1PM you will take your Knowledge Development class. Make sure you do your homework by completing the Knowledge Reviews in your Open Water Manuals before showing up! At the end of the class you will be more than ready to take your final exam which takes about 40 minutes. The class takes about 2 hours and gives many opportunities to ask any questions and clarify some techniques before practicing them on your final ocean! Please expect to be done, final exam completed by 4PM.
Confined Water Dives: Pool sessions run every Saturday morning from 7:30AM to 11AM at EG Roberts swimming pool (5 minute drive from our shop). Your instructor will take you through a set about of basic skills to start out with before heading to your first ocean. You will then be ready to practice more advanced skills on your second weekend before completing the course on the boat!
Open Water Dives: On Sundays we go on full day boat trips to Catalina Island aboard the Sundiver Boat docked at the Long Beach Harbor! These are full day trips from 6AM to 6:30PM. We board the boat at 6AM, sign paperwork and set up our gear. We will then head for the island. Warm breakfast and sleeping bunks are provided for the 2 hour trip to Catalina. Once at the island, we will suit up and jump in for our first dive! We will then take a break, snack, and jump in for the second dive. Have lunch and finally jump in for our third and final dive of the day then chill on our way back to the Long Beach Harbor!
When you purchase your boat and pool tickets you are reserving your spot for the whole weekend. The Open Water course takes two weekends to complete. Feel free to start with booking one weekend at a time ! We ask that you complete the course within three months of starting.
Please take a look at our DIVE CALENDAR to see when you'd like to get started!
Equipment
In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to usebasic scuba gear, including a mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy control device (aka BCD) and a tank. The equipment you wear varies, depending upon the time of year and the water conditions.
Before you start the course you will be required to purchase your own personal gear mentioned above (mask, snorkel, fins, booties and gloves). We offer 15% off to all of our students. When you buy your personal gear at our shop we will waive any rental fee for additional equipment (BCD, regulator, tank, weight belt... $95 rental fee cap waived).
Getting Started
If you are ready to take on this beautiful adventure in your life, please follow the following steps:
1. Add the PADI Open Water course to cart.
2. Navigate to our Calendar and reserve your spot for your first boat trip as well as your pool session! When you purchase your boat and pool tickets you are reserving your spot for the whole weekend.
3. Once purchased, come to the shop 1 week before your first Saturday to sign your paperwork & pick up your gear and class materials. Please allow 40 minutes when you come to the shop as we would like to take our time to take you through and try on all the personal gear. We ask you to come at least 4 days before your start date so that you have enough time to watch the PADI videos and scan through the manual at home before you start your course.
Feel free to give us a call if you have any additional questions- we are happy to help! We can be reached M-F from 10AM to 7PM at (323) 641-7416 and Saturdays from 10AM to 4PM as well.
FAQ
Still not 100% sure how to proceed? Its normal, this is a lot of information. Let me break it down all over for you!
Okay you've read about the Open Water course. You understand that the Open Water fee on this page covers the instruction however does not cover boat trips ($170 each, you will need two to complete the course), course materials: Open Water Manual ($70.80), SMB ($36), Log Book ($10), and Personal Gear (5 items: mask, snorkel, fins, boots and gloves, costs between $250-600+ all together). All of the course materials can be bought directly in the Blue Holic retail shop located on Olympic.
Next step, you've added the Open Water course to cart. Now you can navigate to the Calendar to see when you would like to start your class. You understand that when you buy the pool session and boat trip, this reserves your spot to begin the course that weekend!
Before the first weekend of your course, you will come into the Blue Holic Scuba shop to sign your paperwork and get all course materials including your personal gear! Which you will get 15% off of in the store, and it will unlock free rentals for all heavy duty gear (Wetsuit, Tank, BCD, Regulator, Weights). Once you've gone to the shop to sign the paperwork and collect materials, you will receive a code to videos online to start watching along with scanning the manual before starting youre first weekend!
Blue Holic Scuba is located at 3636 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. Hours are Monday to Friday 10AM to 7PM and Saturday from 10AM to 4PM. On Sundays Blue Holic is closed because we're off diving!
What about the actual course? How does it work?
The course is going to take about 4 days, aka. 2 full weekends. On Saturdays we go to the pool, on Sundays we go to the ocean.
The first weekend you are going to learn basic skills and learn to get comfortable with this new gear and breathing underwater. On Saturday you will perform basic mask and regulator skills in the pool and on Sunday you will do those exact same skills, but in the ocean!!
The second weekend we're going to get into more "advanced" skills that you will be more than ready for because... the whole time in between both weekends you've been studying in your Open Water Manual and completing the knowledge reviews (little quizzes) at the end of each chapter! On your second Saturday, you will head to the pool for your second pool session in the morning then join Keline in the classroom in the shop at 1PM to go over the quizzes in depth so everything is fresh in your mind when you take your final exam! And then finally your final ocean trip on Sunday where you can complete your course in one or two final dives (mainly practicing Compass Navigation and Buoyancy) and enjoy an extra dive with your instructor, no skills needed, just practice your buoyancy and enjoy flying with the fish!
What about rental gear? Is it included? When do we pick it up?
Rental gear is included with purchase of your personal gear in the shop. This means that when you buy all five items of personal gear in our shop (Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Boots and Gloves all 15% off) you will receive free rental of your 7mm Wetsuit*, BCD, Regulator, Tank, Weights and Hood.
Rentals pickups are on Thursday and Fridays (first come first served) and drop offs happen on Monday or Tuesday. Our hours on weekdays are 10AM to 7PM and we are located at 3636 W Olympic Blvd, STE A on the corner of Olympic and 4th Ave.
Please make sure you read about how to clean your rental gear before returning it. Wetsuits, BCD's and Regulators must be returned free of salt and sand. Dunking them in freshwater and soaking for 20 minutes will do the trick. Make sure you rise after the soak before hanging to dry. And remember to keep your dust cap on the reg before dunking it! You will learn about this on your first pool session :)
* (please call ahead for special sizes, we will do everything in our power to accommodate! Shop: 323-641-7416)
More Frequently Asked Questions...
Q. How does Blue Holic Scuba compare to other stores?
We care, we are passionate and we love what we do. We have tried to surround ourselves with like minded individuals be it on the Sundiver boat with Captain Kyaa, Eryn and Captain Rob or with our staff of instructors: Michelle, Keline, Son, Gabi and Joseph. We are always ready to laugh when we need to and zero in on our mission to make quality divers in this world. We are proud to have created a safe space for people to be themselves and enjoy some safe, quality time in the ocean!
Q. Can I still SCUBA dive even when I cannot swim well?
You do not have to know how to swim well in order to SCUBA dive. Of course, knowing how to swim is important.
People who cannot swim well are most afraid of drinking water and sinking. However, when a diver wears wetsuits, he or she floats automatically. Also, SCUBA diving is a sport which a diver has to sink with a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA).
The biggest hindrance to start diving is not that you cannot swim well, but it is that you are afraid of water by not swimming well. Please stop worrying, and when you let the instructor know about your issues, they will lead you safely and comfortably into the wonderful underwater world.
Refresh Diving
Regular price$150.00 USD
-18 in stock
The REFRESHER course will be conducted on saturdays in the pool only. This price does not include rental gear, pool entry fee or ocean trip.
The refresher course is WAIVED with a purchase of the ADVANCED Course. This might be a really good way to move forward as we will be put you with an instructor for 6 dives in the ocean. You can get comfortable again diving, all while learning how to navigate, perfect your buoyancy and deep dive. The Advanced course will be two Sunday boat trips, 6 dives total, and give you the license to dive up to 130ft.
This course does not include rental gear. Rental Gear is $95 MAX (we recommend you purchase your own personal gear: mask, snorkel, fins, boots and gloves 15% off in shop- unlocks FREE RENTAL for wetsuit, BCD, Regulator, Weights and Tank)
Please call us for more details (323) 641-7416
Refresh Diving Course FAQ
Q. What do I do after purchasing Refresh Diving Course?
Please head to the dive calendar to reserve your spot for the pool. This will let us know when you will be joining!
Q. It has been a while since I had my last dive as a certified SCUBA diver. I am worried if I will be able to dive well again.
Then the refresher course was made for you! Your instructor will brief you about the key skills of scuba and then train you again in our deep pool. This will allow you to get comfortable again before heading to an ocean trip. If you are still worried about the ocean then the Advanced Course may be the best step forward for you as you will be able to dive with your instructor in the ocean, clearing out any kinks and learning some more along the way.
PADI Discovery Diving Program
Regular price$100.00 USD
0 in stock
A quick and easy introduction into what it takes to explore the underwater world. Although this is not a scuba certification course, you'll learn all the steps it takes to be a PADI certified diver.
Description
Have you always wondered what it’s like to breathe underwater? If you want to try scuba diving, but aren’t quite ready to take the plunge into a certification course, Discover Scuba Diving is for you. PADI dive shops offer this program either in a pool, off a beach or from a dive boat. You can try scuba close to home or while you’re on vacation at a dive destination. While not a scuba certification course, Discover Scuba Diving is a quick and easy introduction to what it takes to explore the underwater world. To sign up for a PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience, you must be at least 10 years old. No prior experience with scuba diving is necessary, but you need to be in reasonable physical health. Are you ready to try it out? Use the event locator to find and schedule a Discover Scuba Diving experience near you.
Academic
You learn the basic safety guidelines and skills needed to dive under the direct supervision of a PADI Professional. If you make an open water dive, you’ll practice a few more skills in shallow water to prepare for your adventure. Get ready to:
Go over thescuba equipment you use to dive and how easy it is to move around underwater with your gear.
Find out what it’s like to breathe underwater.
Learn key skills that you’ll use during every scuba dive.
Blue Holic Scuba will provide all thebasic scuba gearyou’ll use including a mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy control device, dive gauges and a tank.
Getting Started
First check out our CALENDARto make sure our Pool schedule fits yours. Then give us a call at (323) 641-7416 to confirm everything and finally, stop by our shop, Blue Holic Scuba, to enroll in the course and your gear. Your PADI Instructor will schedule a time with you to get started with the course, check your progress and make sure you understand all important scuba diving information.
Discovery Diving Program FAQ
Q. Who should take discovery diving program?
Don't you wonder how breathing underwater would be like? How about the world beneath the water?
This program is for those who feels not ready to jump into SCUBA diving certification courses.
Q. What do I do after purchasing Discovery Diving?
After you purchase Discovery Diving, the instructor will contact you according to your account via email or phone call. Then, you will schedule for meeting.
You will come to our dive shop on the scheduled day and will go through orientation, instructions, and you will schedule an appointment for your swimming pool session.
