Learning to dive comes down to three things: understanding what pressure does to your body and your air, practicing a set of skills until they are automatic, and then using those skills in real open water under an instructor's eye. Hawaiʻi is a good place for that last step. Water temperatures stay in the 70s Fahrenheit year-round, visibility at sheltered sites is often excellent, and the reef life gives new divers something to look at besides their gauges.
This page explains the main routes to a certification card, how to fit training around a vacation, and the rules that are easy to overlook in Hawaiʻi in particular: the medical questionnaire, the waiting time before you fly home, and the islands' high-altitude roads. We do not run courses or take bookings; for operators on each island, see our dive shop directory.
- Entry-level card
- Open Water Diver
- Try-dive option
- Discover Scuba (no card)
- PADI minimum age
- 10 (Junior Open Water)
- Open Water depth limit
- 18 m / 60 ft
- Medical form
- 2020 participant questionnaire
- Fly after diving
- 12–18 hrs minimum (DAN)
Three Ways to Start Diving in Hawaiʻi
1. A supervised introductory dive
Most dive centers offer a short introductory experience, often sold under PADI's Discover Scuba Diving name or an equivalent from another agency. You get a briefing, practice a few basic skills in shallow water, and then make a shallow ocean dive with an instructor beside you. It is a good way to find out whether you like breathing underwater before you commit to a full course. It does not certify you, and you cannot rent tanks or join regular fun dives on the strength of it.
2. The full Open Water course on the island
The entry-level certification, called Open Water Diver at PADI and similar names elsewhere, has three parts: knowledge development, confined-water skill sessions in a pool or pool-like bay, and a series of training dives in open water. Done entirely in Hawaiʻi, it usually takes several days of a trip. The upside is continuity, because one instructor sees you through from first breath to final dive. The downside is classroom time while the beach waits outside.
3. Learn at home, finish in Hawaiʻi
Many visitors split the course. They complete the knowledge portion through the agency's online program and the confined-water sessions with a dive center near home, then bring the paperwork to Hawaiʻi and do the open-water training dives here. Agencies often call this a referral. It turns a multi-day course into a short block of ocean dives, which suits a one-week trip. Ask the Hawaiʻi dive center in advance which agencies' referral forms it accepts, and how recent your pool training must be.
| Route | Certified after? | Vacation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory dive | No | Part of one day | Trying it out |
| Full course in Hawaiʻi | Yes | Several days | Longer stays |
| eLearning + referral | Yes | Ocean dives only | Short trips |
What the Open Water Card Lets You Do
Under PADI standards, an adult Open Water Diver is trained to a maximum depth of 18 meters (60 feet) and may dive with a certified buddy, without a professional, once certified. That covers a large share of Hawaiʻi's famous sites, including the shallower Oʻahu reefs, much of the inside of Molokini, and the Kona manta ray night dive, which takes place in comparatively shallow water. Deeper wrecks and walls, such as the deck of the Sea Tiger off Oʻahu, are better left until you have more experience or an advanced certification. Our Oʻahu and Maui site guides list typical depths so you can see what fits your training.
Age Rules for Kids and Teens
PADI's minimum age for the Open Water Diver course is 10. Divers aged 10 to 14 receive a Junior Open Water certification. Ten- and eleven-year-olds are limited to 12 meters (40 feet) and must dive with a PADI professional or a certified parent or guardian. Twelve- to fourteen-year-olds may go to 18 meters (60 feet) with a certified adult. Junior divers become standard Open Water Divers automatically at 15. Other agencies use broadly similar systems, but the details differ, so check with the dive center before you book a family course.
The Diver Medical Questionnaire
Before any in-water training, every student completes a medical screening form. Since 2020 most agencies have used the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire, developed by a committee of diving physicians together with the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Divers Alert Network and the University of California San Diego. If you answer no to every question, you sign it and carry on. If you answer yes to certain questions, you need a physician's signed approval before you can get in the water.
The practical advice is to fill in the form before you leave home. A yes answer discovered on the dock in Kona can mean losing a day while you look for a doctor. If you have asthma, heart conditions, diabetes, recent surgery or take regular medication, talk to your doctor early and bring the signed physician form with you.
Swim Skills You Will Be Asked to Show
Entry-level courses include basic water-fitness checks. Under PADI standards these are a 200-meter continuous swim (or 300 meters with mask, fins and snorkel) and a 10-minute float or tread without aids. They are not races, but if the thought of them worries you, spend some time in a pool before the trip.
The Hawaiʻi-Specific Rules: Altitude and Flying
Flying home
After diving, your body carries extra dissolved nitrogen for many hours. Flying lowers cabin pressure and can tip that into decompression sickness. Divers Alert Network's widely cited guidelines suggest a minimum surface interval of 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and 18 hours after multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, with longer waits after decompression dives. Many dive centers simply tell students to keep the last 24 hours before a flight dive-free, and that is the easiest rule to plan a trip around.
Driving to the summits
Hawaiʻi adds a twist that many new divers do not expect. You can drive from sea level to very high altitude in an hour or two. The summit of Haleakalā on Maui is about 10,000 feet. On Hawaiʻi Island, the Saddle Road crosses the island at more than 6,600 feet on its way between Kona and Hilo, and the road to Maunakea climbs much higher. The same physics that makes flying risky applies here. Plan sunrise at Haleakalā, a stargazing trip or a cross-island drive for the start of your vacation, before you dive, or leave at least the same waiting time you would before a flight.
If Something Goes Wrong
Symptoms of decompression illness can include joint pain, unusual fatigue, numbness, tingling, dizziness or difficulty breathing, and they may appear hours after a dive. Do not wait to see whether they pass. Call 911, breathe emergency oxygen if it is available, and tell responders you have been diving. In Hawaiʻi, the University of Hawaiʻi's Hyperbaric Treatment Center at Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu provides emergency recompression treatment for divers. It has had staffing-related interruptions in the past, which is one more reason to follow conservative profiles and to carry dive accident insurance.
Choosing a Course Well
- Ask about group size for the open-water dives. Smaller groups mean more attention on your skills.
- Ask where training dives happen, and what the backup plan is if surf closes the usual site.
- Check what is included: learning materials, gear rental, boat fees and certification processing are sometimes listed separately. Prices vary by island and season, so compare current quotes directly with dive centers.
- Build in a spare day. Weather or ear trouble can delay a dive, and you do not want your last training dive on the day you fly.
- Log every dive, including training dives. Your logbook is how future dive centers judge your experience.
Once you are certified, our best time to dive guide and marine-life etiquette page are good next reads.