Congratulations on taking your giant stride into the aquatic realm!

Adventure Outfitters Dive Center is a 5-Star-rated PADI Dive Center and an SDI and IANTD Facility and family-run, Veteran-owned, business that prides itself on quality private and/or small-class sizes with personalized instruction. Our instructors are PADI, SDI/TDI and/or IANTD Scuba Diver Trainers. By having multiple certifying agencies, leading in safe practices and standards in diving worldwide, we can customize your experience even further. We make sure that each diver receives personalized attention, high-quality rental gear, explores unique dive sites, and has the best experience possible. We devote as much time as it takes to ensure that you not only master each skill, but become a confident, informed diver, ready for today’s high-tech dive scene.

WHY US?

Our classes are always small, only 1-3 students in our private and semi-private courses, and 4-6 in our group courses (upon request, we do larger classes, with multiple instructors/divemasters). For private and semi-private courses, we go by your schedule. We don’t require you to purchase extra, expensive gear for the class (others can require weight belts/weights/wetsuits/compasses, etc…). for these courses we offer a concierge gear service to bring all your gear to and from the pool and dive sites (saving you time from going back and forth to the dive shop) for $20 a day; all of our rental gear is regularly maintained in-house and top quality.

For all our courses, we don’t require time limits on the day of your dives. We have a very small student-to-teacher ratio. We always have professional Divemasters, Assistant Instructors and Instructors for our courses. Also, if you need more time that day to practice skills or are just having fun looking at the fish – you get that extra time! We always take students to two different dive sites, where you are introduced to different diving experiences. We also encourage all new divers to participate in our local guided trips and cleanup dives to receive additional training at no extra charge. If you have a friend, family member or partner that already dives, they can join you on the last dive(s). Per certifying agency standards, we are required to include a certified diver in our student count, making us responsible for their dives, therefore we charge a nominal fee per day for them to dive with us and have them sign a Certified Diver Waiver form.

HOW IT WORKS: The open water course is comprised of three sections:

1. INDEPENDENT STUDY: There are two options: You can choose either eLearning to accomplish your independent study on your own schedule (no classroom session necessary). Once you have paid your deposit, we email you an eLearning code for eLearning online registration; or chose the Study Materials and Classroom Session – You receive an Open Water Study Materials once you have paid for your course, you read the chapters and complete the knowledge reviews prior to attending a classroom session which will be prior to your pool session (classroom session is an additional $75 fee if you are having a private classroom session).
2. CONFINED (POOL) SESSION: We have a private pool, making it easy to schedule your pool session on your time. This allows us to review and practice skills in a calm environment without having to dive around others. Since we only have private and semi-private lessons, this is usually accomplished in approximately 5 hours. If you are in the group course and cannot make the group pool session, you may schedule a private pool session based on your schedule for an additional fee of $200.  On occasion, divers prefer the private pool and then participate in the group open water course.
3. OPEN WATER SESSIONS: Over the course of two days, we go to two different dive sites for your four open water dives. On the first day we typically go to either a Florida freshwater spring (Devil’s Den, Blue Grotto, or Hudson Grotto) or a spring-fed lake (Lake Denton) to perform most your skills. Weather permitting, we will go either on a Gulf boat dive, Gulf shore dive, a drift river dive or a spring dive for the second day. This allows you to experience different types of diving sites our area has to offer. If weather, conditions, scheduling and budget do not permit us to go to the Gulf, we will either go to a freshwater site to complete your dives 3-4.
4. COURSE DATES: 1-3 students – you can select your dates (most of the time we can accommodate your specific dates); 4-6 students – you will select from the one to two open water courses we hold each month for our group course, unless all the students are in one group (you all know each other – you can select your own dates). Group dates are posted on our website calendar or just ask us at the shop.
5. OPTIONAL ENRICHED AIR COURSE: To help our students continue their diving education, we offer a discounted rate for taking the Enriched Air Course within one month of their Open Water Course. The most popular specialty class, Enriched Air Diver is regularly $199.00.  For Open Water Divers, your fee will only be $179.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN YOUR COURSE:

1. All rental scuba equipment during entire course (regulator, BCD, tanks, weights, dive computer, compass, wetsuit, etc…)
2. All study materials, pool fees, course instruction and Certification card fee
3. Pre-course orientation– this is held prior to your pool session and required for all students – this is the time we will go over your paperwork, class schedule, necessary personal gear and details of your specific course

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR COURSE:

WE HAVE THE BEST SELECTION IN TOWN – WITH THE BEST PRICES!! ASK ABOUT OUR STUDENT PACKAGES!

Mask, DeFog, snorkel, fins, boots, SMB/whistle and Student Logbook: Every diver needs their own personal gear. (Needs to be safe and suitable, not snorkeling gear.)  Before you start your class, we will walk you through the different types of appropriate gear and what you will need for diving. You will have an opportunity to try on different types of gear to ensure a proper and safe fit. Our gear is all competitively priced, and hand selected by our instructors and service technicians to get you the best gear for the best price. You will need to have a well-fitting scuba mask, snorkel, pair of boots and fins, SMB, logbook and mask defog to complete the course. These are all personal items you will use during your underwater adventures. We match online prices from verified authorized dealers of our brands! Please consider your local, small business dive shop for your equipment needs.

THINGS TO BRING DURING YOUR POOL AND OPEN WATER SESSIONS: Your personal gear, swimsuit, towel, snack/sack lunch, water and sunscreen (if needed). Group open water students are required to pick up their rental gear for open water sessions prior to the course. If you need someone to bring it for you, no problem! We charge $20 for a transport fee. Please arrange with the shop prior to your dives.

RENTAL GEAR: (Your course fees includes the study materials, all rental gear, tanks, and weights, certification card fee, pool entry fee, and instruction): You never have to pay for rental gear and tanks during any portion of your open water course. We do require you to pick up your rental gear for your course the day prior.

COURSE FEES: For a small group course: $599

ENTRY FEES: The entry fees for dive sites range from $20 – $50 and the boat charter fees range from $150 – $250. This is a fee that is charged by the operator of the dive site or vessel. Possible shore dive options are free (optimal conditions only). The dive sites we choose for your class will be based on site availability, visibility and weather conditions and are up to the discretion of your instructor. Sorry, we cannot offer transportation to and from the dive sites due to liability and insurance purposes.

We are honored that you have chosen us as your local dive shop. We will try our very best to assist you will all your learning, diving and gear needs! We are a full-service retail dive shop that sells top-of-the-line gear and uses high quality rental gear. We regularly service our rental gear. We have local Florida trips planned every week and one or two international trips each year. We also have free cleanup dives and have a fantastic guest lecture series.

Prior to booking, please review the Cancellation & Deposit Policies on the FAQs Page.

For more information or to book this course, please contact us at info@adventuretampa.com or call 813-832-6669.

Medical Form: For this course, there are several forms you will need to fill out including a Medical Statement If you answer “yes” to any question on medical statement questionnaire, please let us know ahead of time and we will email you an additional Medical Form which a physician will need to sign verifying you are medically fit to dive. This is a standard form that doctors usually fill out if they know your medical history and email/fax back to you.

Important information for your review:

DEPOSITS & CANCELLATION POLICY: We know that issues do come up and we will work with you as best as we can, however since we have such small classes, we must stick to our schedule as best as we can to make it fair to our instructors and other students.

Cancellations: To protect students and instructors alike, Adventure Outfitters enforces the right to charge full price unless the student cancels at least one week prior to a course. Check to see if your credit card has trip insurance available and activated or investigate travel insurance if you are traveling here. For more information, visit DAN’s website. Please consider your health and safety a top priority for this course. Cancellations due to health will require a doctor’s note and will incur a rescheduling fee.

Deposits: We know that issues come up and we will try to work with you as best as we can. However, since we have such small classes, we must adhere to our schedule as best as we can to make it fair to our instructors and other students. Deposits are nonrefundable.

To ensure specific course dates and/or to cover the study material costs the following, non-refundable deposits are required. For any private or semi-private course: 1-2 students – A $250 deposit is required; for a group course: 3-6 students – A $200 deposit is required; or for a Referral student(s) – A $200 deposit is required. If you must reschedule any course dates, there is a $150 rescheduling fee. All remaining costs (any rental, entry and outstanding course fees) will be paid prior to any pool or open water session.

If you require extra days to complete your course, we require an additional $200 fee per day for the instructor’s time. Open water courses take three days.

WHAT IS NEXT AFTER YOU COMPLETE YOUR COURSE:

We will always be here for you to answer any questions you may have as you begin your dive life!

On the last day of your open water course, we will take a photograph of you for your certification card, teach you how to fill out your logbook, and register your certification with the certifying agency. You will immediately receive a temporary card via email that is good for 90 days and your permanent card will be delivered to the shop usually within two weeks. We will then email you to stop by the shop and pick it up at your convenience.

Once you have become a certified diver, we will add you to our mailing list so you can be caught up with our current local dive trips, cleanup dives, continuing education courses and sales and free guest speakers!

Like us on Facebook to keep up with the latest events, sales, trips and continuing education courses.

IMPORTANT REASONS TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL DIVE SHOP!

1. Your local dive shop is the only place where you can take courses, see and try on gear, learn about trips, local dives, and learn about your equipment based on your diving needs and budget.
2. Your local dive shops are also where you can get your tanks filled or get tank rentals for your local trips!!!
3. We spend a lot of time researching and educating ourselves on all the latest technologies, safety measures and updates in the dive community – we like sharing our accurate knowledge and latest industry news! We sell what we wear!
4. We can help you select the proper dive gear that fits you and your budget – the internet can’t do that! We also match all legitimate online or sale prices. PLEASE have us be the first place you look for gear – we want you to base your decision with the proper knowledge.
5. Members of the dive community are fun and interesting, just hang out at the shop when you have a little time and get to know us and all our friends and fellow divers – it’s a great place to learn new things and find a dive buddy!
6. We have many local guided trips each month, free guest lecture series every six weeks, clean up dives 6-8 times a year, and two huge sales, and much more!!