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Open Water Referral Course in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the best place to do a Open Water Diver Referral Course. The Pacific Coast of Costa Rica offers great dive sites for beginner and experienced divers.
The Referral Diver Program allows you to undertake the majority of your scuba training at home before completing your certification dives here with us in Costa Rica !
This alternative route allows you to eliminate study time from your vacation while maximizing available dive time on Costa Rica's best dive sites.
Holiday Season
Specials !
Choose a FREE Specialty Course with your
Open Water or Advanced Course !
Valid for courses completed before December 25th 2024.
What to know before you go...
How to Complete a Referral Diver Program
What It Takes to Become a Certified Open Water Diver
Let's first look at what it takes to become a certified diver here in Costa Rica.
Step 1: Knowledge Development
When you register for the Referral Course you will receive the online digital learning. This allows you to set your own pace and complete your studying at home or wherever you find yourself at the time. The digital learning is interesting, fun and has lots of great videos for you to watch and better understand what it means to become a scuba diver.
Step 2: Confined Water Skills
The second step is the confined water part of the course. This is when you will take your first breath underwater. You will practice using scuba gear in a pool with one of our experienced instructors. During the pool sessions, you’ll learn the basic scuba diving skills like clearing your mask, practicing your buoyancy and lots of other fun skills. The pool excersizes help you build confidence before going on the boat and diving in the ocean.
Step 3: Open Water Dives
The final step is the best part ! You will do four (4) open water dives on the best dive sites of Costa Rica. You will get to explore unspoiled dive sites and encounter incredible marine life.
Open Water Diver is the first level of scuba certification that allows you to dive independently (with a buddy but without an Instructor or other scuba diving professional). By the end of the Open Water Diver Course, you’ll have the knowledge and skills required to dive locally or abroad.
How to start the Open Water Referral Course
The following 4 steps will guide you through completing your Open Water Course with using the Referral option. Here’s how to do it:
1. Contact your local dive center and tell them that you are interested in completing a Referral Diver Program.
2. Once you’re signed up, access your Open Water Diver Digital Course Materials. Work through the chapters, reading the information and completing the knowledge reviews and tests along the way (if you have a questions or issues, you can ask your shop / instructor for help).
3. When you finish your online theory and exam, you will start the confined water skills. You will plan these pool sessions together with your local dive center and dive instructor. When you complete the pool session you come to Costa rica and complete you four (4) open water dives with us, here at Rich Coast Diving at email info@richcoastdiving.com.
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Why Rich Coast Diving ?Rich Coast Diving will help you begin your Dream Career as a Dive Professional. Our PRO Courses have been the starting point for hundreds of professionals from around the world. Rich Coast Diving takes pride in the quality and the professionalism of our teaching methods. But also the fun during our courses. Read testimonials of those who have been here recently.
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How do I get There ?Rich Coast Diving is located in the small town of Playas del Coco. You can either fly to the capital of Costa Rica named San Jose (SJO Int'l Airport) and take a shuttle bus to Playas del Coco (5 hours). We can recommend the Interbus shuttle company. For bookings go to www.interbusonline.com Or you can fly to Liberia (Daniel Oduber Int'l Airport) which is less then 40 min from Playas del Coco and from this airport we can arrange your pickup ($50 USD one way).
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AccommodationFor our Professional Candidates we have several accommodation options. Contact us for prices and availability.
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What do I need to Bring ?As a (future) dive professional we highly recommend that you bring your own dive equipment. If you do not own your own set of equipment yet, you can buy your personal set at our dive shop at a discounted rate or rent it (for divemaster internship only). As a dive professional the following items are mandatory and you cannot start you course without them ! We do sell all items with a 20% discount for our PRO participants if you can not bring them from your home country. As per Instructor Manual you need a dive computer, DSMB, compass, knife / divers tool, sound device (wisle).
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What is the best time of the Year for the Instructor Training Course in Costa Rica ?During the ITC you will spend most of your time in the classroom attending seminars, workshops and presentations. Then there are several pool sessions and a few training dives in the ocean. All of our training dive sites are conveniently located within 15 minutes away. We have access to great training dive sites with shallow and deep water. Conditions underwater can change from day to day but generally the water temperature ranges from 26 - 28 Celcius. So a 3 mm shorty wetsuit will be sufficient to keep you warm. Costa Rica offers year round diving and therefor you can join our Professional courses any time of the year !
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What is your cancellation policy ?Divemaster Training For divemaster training you may cancel your reservation by written confirmation to info@richcoastdiving.com up to 14 days before the start of your PRO course. We can not refund digital course materials that have been send to the candidate. In case of cancellation with notification within 14 days prior to arrival, your deposit will not be fully refunded. We charge: - 50% of your course fee - 100% of the accommodation price - 100% of the course material price Instructor Training We do not refund payments made towards the Instructor Training Course however if possible we will reschedule to the next available date.
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Course Price & FeesBecoming a Dive Professional is an investment in an amazing future career and totally worth it. We want to make sure that you can plan your budget accordingly by understanding all the costs and fees. You find an overview of the prices and fees on our price list. Do not hesitate to contact us for any questions or concerns you have regarding the costs of the PRO Courses. If you are interested to know more about becoming and SSI or PADI dive professional. Read our blog SSI vs PADI - The best choice for dive instructors.
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How do I pay ?We are flexible and offer different payment options for you comfort. Please contact us for the details. Please note that bank and transfer fees are to be paid by the customer. On arrival you can settle your final payments by credit card or payment in cash (USD/EUR/CRC).
After Open Water Diver - What´s Next ?
Are you ready for your next scuba certification? If you’re like most people, you want to avoid looking like a new diver.
The fastest way to improve your skills is to take additional scuba courses. Most divers enroll in the Advanced Open Water course or take Specialties to improve their buoyancy, underwater navigation, or underwater photos.
