PADI Open Water Diver Course in La Romana: 3-Day Certification

Learn to dive and earn your certification in a single long weekend

The PADI Open Water Diver course in La Romana is a 3-day scuba certification class combining pool training, skills practice, and four open water dives in the ocean. You'll learn breathing, buoyancy control, hand signals, and emergency procedures from a live instructor before diving on your own. Hotel pickup and drop-off from Bayahibe resorts, all equipment, and the certification fee are included.

The Experience

You arrive as a non-diver and leave certified. The course splits into two parts: the first day or two happens in the pool, where your instructor teaches you to assemble your gear, breathe underwater, and master the skills that keep you safe. You'll practice proper breathing, find neutral buoyancy, use hand signals to communicate with your dive partner, control your finning, work the inflators and deflators on your BCD, equalize pressure in your ears, and clear your mask underwater. You'll also pass a swim assessment—treading water for 10 minutes without touching the pool wall and swimming 200 yards at your own pace—to confirm you're a capable enough swimmer for open water diving.

The final segment is four open water dives in the ocean around Bayahibe, where you'll perform most of the skills you practiced in the pool and learn a couple of new ones, like entering through surf or rolling backward off a boat in full scuba gear. Your instructor stays with you the entire time. The whole course compresses into 3 days, which means you can fit certification into a long weekend or a week of vacation without derailing the rest of your trip.

Hotel pickup and drop-off from Bayahibe resorts is included, so you don't arrange your own transport. All equipment—tank, regulator, BCD, wetsuit, fins, mask—comes with the course. The instructor is multilingual and can teach in English, Spanish, Italian, French or another language depending on availability. Souvenir photos from your dives are available to purchase separately.

What’s included

• Certification fee.
• professional instructor in your choice of language.
• all scuba equipment (tank, regulator, BCD, wetsuit, fins, mask).
• pool training with skills practice.
• four open water dives in the ocean.
• hotel pickup and drop-off from Bayahibe and Dominicus resorts.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Coral Point Diving

Is this one for you?Your free weekend becomes your diving certification—complete the course in 3 days and dive independently by day four with a professional instructor guiding every step.

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Top questions

What do I learn in the pool before my first open water dive?

The pool training covers assembling your gear, breathing on scuba, achieving neutral buoyancy so you neither sink nor float, using hand signals to communicate underwater, different finning techniques, operating your BCD's inflators and deflators, equalizing pressure in your ears, and removing and replacing your mask and regulator while submerged. You'll also complete a swim assessment: treading water for 10 minutes and swimming 200 yards.

How many dives do I do in the ocean, and what happens during them?

You complete four open water dives in the ocean around Bayahibe. During these dives, you'll perform most of the skills you practiced in the pool and may learn new techniques like entering through surf or doing a back-roll entry from a boat. Your instructor is with you the entire time.

Is hotel pickup included, and which resorts does it cover?

Hotel pickup and drop-off are included for resorts in Bayahibe and Dominicus only. If you're staying at a resort in that area, the course operator will arrange your transport to and from the training site.

What equipment do I need to bring, or is everything provided?

All scuba equipment is provided with the course: tank, regulator, BCD, wetsuit, fins, mask, and everything else you need. You don't need to own or rent gear separately.

Can I take this course if I'm not a strong swimmer?

You must pass a swim assessment as part of the course: treading water for 10 minutes without touching the pool wall and swimming 200 yards at your own pace. The course requires at least a moderate level of physical fitness. It's not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health.