Comparison
Open Water vs Advanced Open Water
What the second certification actually gives you, and whether it is worth taking straight away.
Open Water is the entry-level certification that lets you dive independently with a buddy to around eighteen metres. Advanced Open Water is the usual second course, extending that to around thirty metres.
The question most new divers ask is whether to do them back to back or to log some dives in between. The answer depends on what you want to dive, and in Australia that answer is often clearer than elsewhere.
Open Water Diver
The foundation certification. Independent diving with a buddy, to around 18 metres, within no-decompression limits.
Strengths
- Sufficient for the majority of recreational dive sites worldwide
- Never expires
- Recognised internationally by every operator
- Covers all the fundamental skills and emergency procedures
Limits
- 18 metre limit rules out many Australian wreck and offshore sites
- No formal navigation training beyond the basics
- Operators may require more for demanding sites regardless of the card
Best for: Everyone. It is the prerequisite for everything else and the point at which you can start diving independently.
Advanced Open Water
Five guided dives including deep and navigation, extending the depth limit to around 30 metres.
Strengths
- Opens up a large proportion of Australia's best dive sites
- Formal navigation training, which matters for shore diving
- Introduction to several specialty disciplines
- Usually a prerequisite for deeper charter trips
Limits
- The name oversells it — it is an introduction, not an advanced qualification
- Does not substitute for actual experience at depth
- Elective dives are often chosen by what the centre is running rather than what you need
Best for: Divers in Australia specifically, because so many signature sites sit between 18 and 30 metres.
A great many of Australia's best dives sit in the 18–30 metre band: the SS Yongala, HMAS Canberra, the ex-HMAS Brisbane, Wolf Rock, Flat Rock, the deeper Solitary Islands sites and much of Port Phillip Heads.
Without Advanced, a substantial part of Australian diving is simply unavailable. That is why it is the most commonly taken second course in the country, and why it is more worth having here than in destinations where the diving is mostly shallow reef.
Most agencies allow Advanced immediately after Open Water. Many instructors suggest logging a handful of dives first, so the course builds on comfort rather than substituting for it.
The counterargument is practical: if you are on a dive holiday with limited time, doing both is a reasonable use of it, and the deep dive is supervised. If you are diving locally and in no hurry, ten or fifteen dives in between will make the Advanced course considerably more useful.
The three elective dives are frequently assigned by whatever the centre is running that weekend, which is a wasted opportunity.
A Victorian or Tasmanian diver benefits enormously from the drysuit dive. A diver heading to Queensland wrecks benefits from the wreck dive. A photographer benefits from peak performance buoyancy far more than from a photography module.
The honest answer
In Australia, Advanced Open Water is worth taking — the depth limit is the constraint that most often stops people diving the sites they travelled for.
Log some dives first if you can. Ten or fifteen dives between the two courses turns Advanced from a formality into genuinely useful training, and gives you a basis for choosing electives that match your actual diving.
Frequently asked questions
Is Advanced Open Water actually advanced?
No. It is a supervised introduction to several diving types that extends your depth limit. It does not make you an experienced diver — dives do that.
Do I need Advanced for the SS Yongala?
Operator requirements vary, but the depth makes it strongly advisable and some operators require it along with a minimum number of logged dives.
How many dives should I do between the courses?
There is no rule. Ten to fifteen is a reasonable target — enough that buoyancy and air consumption have improved, so the Advanced dives teach you something rather than just being deeper.