Who specialty courses are for
Specialty diving courses are for divers who already hold Open Water Diver or a higher certificate and want to learn a new area or dive with more confidence. Each course teaches one thing: diving deeper, at night or under ice, buoyancy control, underwater navigation, nitrox or dry suit diving.
What these courses have in common
The courses are short and practical: a short theory part and usually two to four dives with the instructor, so you spend most of the time in the water. Some courses have no dives at all. You can take most of them with a PADI or SDI certificate. If you already made a dive in that area on the Advanced Open Water Diver course, it can count towards the specialty certificate.
How to choose
Useful on every dive
We usually recommend the nitrox and buoyancy courses first. Nitrox extends your no-decompression time and shortens surface intervals, and precise buoyancy lets you move easily and use less air. No dives are required for the nitrox certificate.
Deeper, longer and in cold water
The Deep Diver course lets you dive safely to 40 m. With a dry suit you can dive in Lithuanian lakes all year round, and it is also required for the Ice Diver course, which runs in winter in Lake Galvė. The sidemount and twinset courses teach diving with two cylinders: more gas for longer dives and a backup air source.
Navigation, search and wrecks
The Underwater Navigator course teaches you to find your way by compass and natural features. These skills help on night dives, wreck dives and on the search and recovery course. If you dive from boats or in currents, the boat diving and delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB) courses are useful.
Nature, photography and equipment
The underwater photography course teaches you to handle a camera, light and composition underwater. The PADI AWARE, coral reef conservation and marine ecosystems courses help you understand and protect underwater life; some of them need no diving experience. The emergency oxygen provider and equipment specialist courses also have no dives.
What comes next
Some specialties lead straight to technical diving. The first PADI TecRec course, Tec 40, requires Advanced Open Water Diver, nitrox and Deep Diver certificates (or 10 dives to 30 m), and twinset or sidemount skills help when diving with technical equipment. A nitrox certificate is also needed for the rebreather courses. If you want to be able to help others, take the Rescue Diver course, one of the basic courses.
Frequently asked questions
Which certificate do I need?
Open Water Diver is enough for most specialty courses. The ice, twinset and Cavern courses require Advanced Open Water Diver, while the emergency oxygen and PADI AWARE courses need no diving certificate. The exact requirements are on each course page.
Which course should I take first?
We usually recommend the buoyancy and nitrox courses: they help on every dive.
Do AOWD dives count?
Yes. Each elective dive on the Advanced Open Water Diver course is the first dive of that specialty course, so it can later count towards the specialty certificate.
Do I need my own equipment?
We provide the diving equipment on most courses. The dry suit course requires your own dry suit, and a dry suit is mandatory for the ice diving course.