Playa del Carmen is the perfect location for students to learn Spanish. It's also a great place to learn to dive. The town has several diving schools but we have chosen to work with one of the most experienced, Phantom Divers, which was first established in 1983.

Phantom Divers' instructors are all fully qualified PADI tutors (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and their equipment meets the rigorous safety standards imposed on the industry. They also speak several languages, so if their instructions in Spanish aren't clear, these can readily be translated.

Course A: Diving for Beginners

The Diving for Beginners course is a 3-day course leading to the PADI Open Water certificate for dives of up to 18 meters.

The course includes theoretical sessions, pool sessions, 4 ocean boat dives and equipment. Students will need 2 passport size photos.

As a first step students are required to read 3 chapters of the PADI open water manual. They need to do this before day 1 of the course.

• Day 1 of the course goes over the theory, introduces students to the equipment and includes initial training in a swimming pool (6 to 8 hours). This first training session will normally take place on a Saturday or Sunday, so as not to clash with the Spanish classes held in the mornings.
• Day 2 students practice the skills learned at the pool in shallow ocean reefs (3 hours in the afternoon).
• Day 3 students dive up to 60ft in open water, practice more skills and take the final dive test (4 hours in the afternoon).
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Course B: Advanced Diving Course

This is a 2-3 day course that leads to the PADI certificate for dives up to 30 meters. A pre-requisite for participating in the course is the PADI Open Water Course certificate or equivalent.

The course includes sessions on the theoretical aspects of diving and 5 ocean dives. The ocean dives include: 1 navigation dive, 1 deep dive, and 3 optional dives (photography, video, wreck dives, night dives, etc.).

All dives and other activities are programmed so as not to clash with the Spanish lessons taken in the mornings.

Course details

• Start dates: Jan 11, 25, Feb 8, 22, March 8,22, April 5,19, May 3, 17, 31, June 14, 28, July 12, 26, August 9, 23, Sept 6, 20, Oct 4, 18, Nov 1, 15, 29, Dec 13, 27.
• Duration: 2-3 weeks
• Hours/day: 4 hours Spanish + diving sessions as described
• Levels: All levels
• Minimum age: 16