The course
3–4 days · 5 pool sessions · 4 open water dives
PADI Open Water certification in Hurghada · Three to four days · Ages 15 and up
The Open Water certification is the licence that lets you dive anywhere in the world with a buddy, to eighteen meters, with nobody supervising you. Because it is the complete entry-level course, almost every diver you will ever meet started exactly here.
3–4 days · 5 pool sessions · 4 open water dives
€360 per person · eLearning and certification included
Ages 15 and up · junior from 10 · certified to 18 m
The PADI Open Water certification in Hurghada costs €360 per person and takes three days when the eLearning theory is finished before you arrive, or four when it is done here. You complete five confined-water sessions and four open water dives on Red Sea reefs. Afterwards you are certified to eighteen meters and dive with a buddy, with no professional required. The minimum age is fifteen, and children from ten certify as Junior Open Water Divers. eLearning, the certification fee, equipment, boat trips, lunch, marine park fees and hotel transfer within Hurghada are all part of the price.
This is the certification the rest of diving is built on. In other words, every specialty, every liveaboard and every dive center in the world starts by asking for this card. Furthermore, full course standards come from PADI. Red Sea Diving is a PADI dive operator based in Hurghada, Egypt, and has run diving and liveaboard trips on the Red Sea since 2000.
| Course | PADI Open Water Diver, the complete entry-level certification |
|---|---|
| Price | €360 per person |
| Duration | 3 days with the eLearning finished before arrival, otherwise 4 days |
| Dives | 5 confined-water sessions plus 4 open water dives on Red Sea reefs |
| Certified depth | 18 meters with a certified buddy, no professional required |
| Minimum age | 15 years for the adult certification. Ages 10 to 14 certify as Junior Open Water Diver |
| Prerequisite | Swim 200 meters unaided, or 300 meters with mask, snorkel and fins, plus a 10-minute float. Neither is timed. Signed PADI medical form. No flying within 18 hours after diving |
| Location | Pool or sheltered shallow water in Hurghada, plus reefs around the Giftun islands reached from the Hurghada marina |
| Availability | Year-round, on request, subject to boat and instructor availability |
| Included | PADI eLearning and digital materials, the certification fee, complete equipment with tanks and weights, a dive computer during training where required, boat trips on every training day, lunch and drinks, marine park fees, hotel transfer within Hurghada |
| Not included | Underwater photos and video. Transfer surcharge from El Gouna, Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, Soma Bay or Safaga |
| Operator | Red Sea Diving, a PADI dive operator based in Hurghada, Egypt, since 2000 |
The PADI Open Water Diver certification is the complete entry-level scuba qualification, and it allows a certified diver to dive to eighteen meters with a buddy and without professional supervision. Above all, it gives independence: you plan and make dives yourself rather than being led.
It also travels. Every diving country recognizes the card, it never expires, and no dive center anywhere will ask you for anything else before letting you on a boat.
Finally, it opens the ladder. Specialties, Advanced, Rescue and eventually professional training all sit on top of this one certification, so nothing you learn here gets left behind.
The Open Water certification in Hurghada runs over three or four days, with five confined-water sessions and four open water dives. Above all, nothing happens on a reef until it has already worked in the pool.
We send your PADI eLearning access as soon as you book. Consequently the theory is finished at home and your days in Egypt stay in the water.
First your instructor fits the equipment personally and explains how every piece works. Then you review the knowledge points that matter most before getting in.
Five sessions in a pool or pool-like shallow water cover mask clearing, regulator recovery, buoyancy, ear equalizing and out-of-air procedures. Meanwhile you finish the untimed swim and float the same day.
Next comes the reef. You repeat the key skills in open water on each dive, then swim the site properly for the rest of the time.
These two are noticeably easier, since the equipment already feels familiar and your breathing has settled. Navigation and a controlled ascent come in on these two.
Finally we process your PADI certification, which usually appears in the PADI app within a day or two. The physical card follows by post if you want one.
Every training day includes the boat trip, lunch and drinks. However, the exact schedule shifts a little with the weather and the sea state.
The Open Water certification in Hurghada asks for a minimum age of fifteen, a swimming assessment and a signed medical form. Importantly, no previous diving experience is needed at all.
Children from ten to fourteen certify as Junior Open Water Divers, with depth limits set by age. Younger children can start with PADI Bubblemaker or PADI Seal Team instead.
You complete a two hundred meter swim, or three hundred meters with mask, snorkel and fins, plus a ten-minute float. Neither part is timed, since the point is comfort in water rather than speed.
Everyone completes the standard PADI medical form before training starts. Nevertheless, if any answer flags asthma, heart or circulation problems, epilepsy, ear or sinus trouble, recent surgery or pregnancy, a doctor’s written approval becomes necessary first.
Plan the last training day at least eighteen hours before your flight home. Otherwise you risk decompression problems, so we refuse bookings that break this rule.
You earn the certification rather than buy it. Therefore the card follows once you complete the knowledge reviews, the water skills, the swimming assessment and all four dives to standard.
The €360 price of the Open Water certification in Hurghada covers one person from the first eLearning chapter to the certification card.
Underwater photos and video cost extra. In addition, transfers from El Gouna, Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, Soma Bay or Safaga may carry a small surcharge, which we confirm before you book.
The Open Water certification at €360 is the only one of the three that lets you dive to eighteen meters with a buddy and no professional. Consequently it is the one worth doing if the days are there.
One day, two supervised dives, no certification at all. For trying diving once before committing. €50 per person.
Two days, two open water dives, certified to twelve meters and always with a professional. Upgrades later. €260 per person.
Three to four days, four open water dives, certified to eighteen meters with a buddy. The complete entry-level course. €360 per person.
If you have the days, this is the one worth doing. Nevertheless, a properly conducted Discover Scuba Diving experience may credit toward part of it when PADI standards and timing allow, so ask your instructor before training starts.
Water temperature in Hurghada runs between twenty-two and thirty degrees across the year, so a thin wetsuit is enough. Visibility frequently passes twenty meters, and the training reefs sit in sheltered bays with almost no current.
As a result, your attention stays on the skills rather than on the conditions. Our Hurghada dive sites page shows the reefs we normally use, while the diving safety page explains our equipment, ratios and emergency procedures in detail.
For independent medical guidance before you start a course, Divers Alert Network publishes clear advice worth reading.
All training for the Open Water certification happens in Hurghada, on the Egyptian Red Sea coast. First the five confined-water sessions run in a pool or sheltered shallow water close to town, and afterwards you make the four training dives from a day boat leaving the Hurghada marina.
The reefs we use sit in the sheltered bays around the Giftun islands, roughly thirty to sixty minutes out. Because those sites are shallow, calm and almost currentless, they suit a first certification far better than the exposed offshore reefs do.
The €360 covers hotel transfer inside Hurghada. Moreover, we collect students from El Gouna, Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, Soma Bay and Safaga for a small surcharge, which we confirm in writing before you book.
Non-diving family can join the Giftun island and snorkeling trip on a similar route that day. Further practical answers sit on our diving FAQ, while the full ladder of courses is listed on the PADI courses page.
Once certified, most divers build experience first and then specialize. Advanced Open Water is the usual next step, followed by Enriched Air Nitrox, Wreck Diver and eventually Rescue Diver, which most divers later call the most useful course they ever took.
Experience matters more than cards, though. Join our daily diving trips in Hurghada to log dives on different reefs, or step up to a liveaboard week where four dives a day is normal.
Gallery
Why us
Above all, oxygen and full emergency equipment on board, plus a documented action plan and a proper briefing before every dive.
Indeed, more than two decades of diving and liveaboard operations out of Hurghada, on every Egyptian route.
Furthermore, we keep students in small groups, so nobody waits on the surface while somebody else repeats a skill.
Regulators and buoyancy devices go through regular servicing, and sizes run from child to XXL.
Moreover, €360 covers eLearning, certification, equipment, every boat day, lunch and marine park fees, with no surprises at the marina.
In addition, we teach buoyancy and reef contact from the first session, because good habits are easier to build than to fix.
Questions
The PADI Open Water Diver course in Hurghada costs €360 per person. In other words, that covers PADI eLearning, the certification fee, complete equipment, five confined-water sessions, four Red Sea dives, boat trips with lunch, marine park fees and hotel transfer within Hurghada.
Yes. The eLearning and the required digital materials are part of the price, so nothing is added afterwards.
Yes. Complete standard equipment, tanks and weights are included, along with a dive computer during training where required.
Lunch, drinks on board and transfers from hotels inside Hurghada are included. However, pickups from further afield may carry a small surcharge.
The five confined-water sessions run in a pool or sheltered shallow water in Hurghada. Meanwhile the four open water dives are made from a day boat on the reefs around the Giftun islands.
Three days when the eLearning is finished before you arrive. Otherwise it normally takes four, because the theory is then done in Hurghada.
Four open water training dives, alongside five confined-water sessions in a pool or pool-like conditions.
Usually yes. Even so, tell us as early as you can, because we need to send the eLearning access before the first training day.
Bring swimwear, a towel, sunscreen and your passport or a copy. We provide everything else, from mask and fins to the wetsuit.
None at all. The course is built for complete beginners, and no certification is needed to enroll.
Fifteen for the adult certification. Meanwhile students aged ten to fourteen earn a Junior Open Water Diver certification instead.
Yes. You complete a two hundred meter swim, or three hundred meters with mask, snorkel and fins, plus a ten-minute float. Neither part is timed.
Sometimes, but only with written approval from a doctor. Complete the PADI medical form first and send it to us before traveling.
The Open Water certification allows eighteen meters as an adult, with a certified buddy and no professional required. Junior certifications carry shallower limits until fifteen.
No. Certification is earned rather than bought, so the card follows only after every performance requirement is met to standard.
Not within eighteen hours of your flight. Therefore we schedule the last training day well before your departure.
No, the card is for life. Nevertheless, after a long break away from diving a short refresher is strongly recommended.
Send us your dates, your hotel, the number of guests, ages and anything medical we should know. Subsequently, we reply within twenty-four hours with availability, the eLearning link and the pickup time.
Prefer to talk? Message us on WhatsApp or write to info@redsea-diving.com.
This page was last reviewed by the Red Sea Diving instructor team in September 2026.
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