Explanation of levels
As with all sports, diving has multiple levels of difficulty for dives undertaken. This can be compared to the grading of skiing pistes as blue (easy) through red to black (difficult). When you are just starting out skiing you don’t go straight for the back runs – it would be dangerous! Exactly the same applies in diving.
To help you make sure you book on the right dive for you experience level, we have broken our dives into the three levels below.
What is given below is a guide as to the experience level we would expect someone to have. Clearly, there are people who are more confident in the water than others, so feel free to ask. Ultimately it is your decision to book on a trip, you know what you are capable of! However, if you do book on a trip beyond what your ability allows, the dive organiser may not let you dive.
| Level One - Entry | These dives are intended for those just starting out in diving. They will give a chance to dive in UK Coastal waters, but in simple conditions. They are perfect for those who have just got their Open Water or Advanced Open Water certification; there will be experienced divers about to help out. |
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| Minimum Qualification Level | PADI Open Water or equivalent | |
| Minimum Experience Level | None | |
| Type Of Dives | Easy shore or boat | |
| Typical Dives | Swanage Pier Selsey Bill Chesil Cove |
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| Level Two - Intermediate | Once you’ve gained some experience of UK diving, and are starting to be confident in the water, it’s time to move on to some more challenging dives. Going a bit deeper, and going further off shore (so there may be some long RIB/boat rides involved). You need to be happy to get on and dive at this level. Although there will be someone more experienced running the dive, the diving will be as buddy pairs rather then as a group. |
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| Minimum Qualification Level | PADI Advanced Open Water or equivalent | |
| Minimum Experience Level | 15 dives, 5-10 of which UK coastal | |
| Type Of Dives | Up to 25m, Wreck | |
| Typical Dives | Scylla James Eagan Layne Black Hawk Dakotian |
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| Level Three - High | Now you’re happy taking on the most challenging of UK dives. Anything within recreation limits is fair game! The dive organiser is here to get some diving in too, so and your buddy need to be self sufficient. Definitely no hand-holding here. We’ll book the boat, but the rest is up to you. |
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| Minimum Qualification Level | PADI Advanced Open Water and Deep Specialty or equivalent | |
| Minimum Experience Level | Significant UK coastal experience | |
| Type Of Dives | Up to qualification limits | |
| Typical Dives | Kyarra Persier Elk Aeolian Sky Lucy M2 |
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