LA HERRADURA WATER ACTIVITIES FIELD GUIDE
Three Days, Five Dives: Earning Your PADI Advanced Open Water in La Herradura
A compact 3-day course that uses five PADI Adventures in Diving immersions — including mandatory deep and underwater navigation dives — this guide explains what to expect, what to bring, and the elective options that let you tailor your progression.
Three Days, Five Dives: Earning Your PADI Advanced Open Water in La Herradura.
La Herradura’s blue-shelf coastline becomes a classroom across three focused days: five guided dives that broaden skillsets and open the door to deeper, more navigable underwater adventures. The PADI Advanced Open Water program here is built from PADI’s Adventures in Diving modules and is designed to let you experience a variety of immersion types while completing two compulsory profiles and selecting three electives to suit your interests.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
Five dives that build real-world skills
The course comprises five dives drawn from PADI’s Adventures in Diving; two are compulsory — deep diving and underwater navigation — and the remaining three are chosen by the student to expand specific skills.
Pick from night, wreck, photography and more
Beyond the mandatory deep and navigation dives, the program offers a long list of elective immersion types — from night dives and wreck diving to underwater photography and DPV (scooter) dives — allowing you to tailor the five dives to your interests.
A concise, 3-day progression
Structured across three days with approximately 4.5 hours of activity per day, the course compresses theory and in-water practice into an intensive, hands-on learning window that culminates in certification after five completed immersions.
What the day feels like
What the course feels like
The Advanced Open Water course is compact and purposeful: short daily blocks of guided dives and skill practice that alternate between mandatory profiles and chosen specialties. You’ll move deliberately through plane-and-depth work during the deep dives, then sharpen bearings and propulsion control during navigation and elective sessions, all under instructor supervision as you accumulate the five required immersions.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this course suits — and who should reconsider.
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
The course runs over three days with approximately 4.5 hours of guided activity per day.
You must bring your own mask and snorkel for all courses. For the Advanced course you must also bring your own compass; if you don’t have one the operator offers a special price of €40 (normal price €47). If you buy mask and snorkel at the center you will receive a 10% discount while on course.
Two dives are compulsory (deep and underwater navigation); the other three dives are chosen from a list of electives such as night diving, wreck dives, underwater photography, DPV, nitrox, and more — allowing you to tailor the five total immersions.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How long does the PADI Advanced Open Water course take here?
The course runs for 3 days with about 4.5 hours of activity per day.
How many dives are included and which ones are mandatory?
The program includes a total of five dives. Two dives are compulsory — deep diving and underwater navigation — and the remaining three are chosen by the student from available electives.
What electives can I choose from?
Elective options include night diving, wreck diving, underwater photography, DPV (scooters), nitrox, buoyancy control, search and recovery, naturalist diving, and several other PADI Adventures in Diving modules.
What equipment am I required to bring?
You must bring your own mask and snorkel for all courses. For the Advanced course you are required to bring your own compass; the operator offers a special price if you need to purchase one.
Can I buy gear at the dive center if I forget it?
Yes. If you don’t have a compass the operator has an offer price of €40 (normal price €47). You can also purchase mask and snorkel at the center and receive a 10% discount while on course.
Is there a minimum age to participate?
Yes — the course is available starting at 16 years of age.