Frequently Asked Questions About Scuba Diving

We teach through PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), the world’s most widely recognized and respected scuba diving organization. Your PADI certification card is honored by dive resorts, liveaboards, and charter boats worldwide.

The course consists of three straightforward steps: 1) PADI eLearning completed online at home; 2) Confined water skill practice in a heated indoor pool in Raleigh; and 3) Four open-water checkout dives conducted over two days at Fantasy Lake Adventure Park in Wake Forest, NC.

No. Your PADI certification is valid for a lifetime. However, if you have been inactive for more than 6 months to a year, reputable dive charters will require you to complete a Scuba Refresher / PADI ReActivate session to ensure you remember safety and emergency procedures.

Children as young as 10 years old can earn a PADI Junior Open Water certification. Divers aged 10–11 have a 40-foot depth limit and must dive with a certified parent or professional. Divers aged 12–14 have a 60-foot depth limit. At age 15, the certification automatically converts to a full adult PADI Open Water certification.

All students complete the standard PADI Medical Questionnaire. If you answer “NO” to all health questions, no doctor visit is needed. If you answer “YES” to any condition (such as asthma, high blood pressure, or past surgeries), a medical doctor must sign the release approving you for diving prior to pool training.

You must complete a continuous 200-meter swim (or 300m with mask/snorkel/fins) without stopping, and a 10-minute water float or tread in deep water. There is no time limit on the swim.

Students must provide their own personal gear: a properly fitted scuba mask, snorkel, open-heel fins, and neoprene booties. All life-support equipment (BCD, regulator with octopus, depth gauge, compass, scuba tanks, air fills, and weights) is provided during all training sessions.

Swimming fins are generally too short and flexible to propel a diver wearing heavy scuba gear. Snorkeling full-foot fins do not accommodate boots needed for walking around quarries and rocky entries. We recommend open-heel scuba fins paired with 5mm neoprene dive boots.

Yes! We offer private 1-on-1 and VIP private family instruction customized to your schedule. Contact us directly at (919) 247-0356 to plan custom dates.

We organize annual instructor-led group dive trips to Cozumel (Mexico), the Florida Keys (Key Largo/Islamorada), and historic North Carolina coastal wreck charters off Morehead City and Beaufort.