PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty Course

You’ll discover more when you know what you’re looking at…

What are you looking at:
An angry green moray, trying to bite the photographer?
Or a chilled-out green moray at a cleaning station?

You’ll get more out of every dive when you know what you’re looking at.
There’s so much to see on every dive you make in Curacao, that it’s pretty overwhelming.

You can spend 20 minutes just kneeling by one small coral head, counting all the different types of fish, hard and soft corals, worms, plants and invertebrates on it, in it, under it and around it. (And that’s before you start learning about their behaviour and interaction.)

Your PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course is a great way to break down the overwhelming-ness.

Once you know and understand more about what you’re seeing underwater, you’ll notice and learn something new every time you dive – even on the familiar dive sites you dive all the time. (Just ask the Dive Bus crew!)

fish id

To get the most out of this wonderful course, take your PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty first, to gain the skills and confidence to get a closer look without damaging, and make the most of your new – and ever increasing – awareness of the amazing underwater world. And get so much more from every dive.

The PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty certification counts as a credit towards your PADI Advanced Open Water course, and as one of the five Specialty courses for your PADI Master Scuba Diver rating.

At a glance:

More info

Can I do this?

You can take this PADI dive course as soon as you’re a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver, and if you wish you could remember the names of the underwater critters like your Dive Bus Instructor can…

What will I learn?

You’ll learn about the different major aquatic life groupings and how they interact so that you’ll find it easier to remember, identify and understand the plethora of marine life you’ll see on your training dives at The Dive Bus.

With the PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course under your belt, you see the aquatic world differently. Instead of seeing ‘blue fish’, you’ll see individual species with distinct strategies for surviving in a complex, interactive ecosystem.

Plus you’ll learn how to spot the smaller, more interesting marine life – remember, anyone can spot the big stuff!

And you’ll learn about the role of aquatic plants, food chains and predator prey relationships, and how to interact responsibly with aquatic life so you don’t harm or frighten it.

The Dive Bus teaches this course with frequent reference to the excellent Paul Humann Reef books (divers’ marine-life bibles). Pick up your own whilst you’re here at The Dive Bus – you won’t regret it but your non-diving family and friends might ;o)

How long does this course take?

2 training dives in total, over 1 day. If you already did your Underwater Naturalist Adventure Dive for your PADI Advanced Open Water course, your Dive Bus Instructor may count it towards your Underwater Naturalist Specialty, so you only have 1 training dive to go.

What will I be qualified to do?

Impress the heck out of your fellow divers by knowing what you’re looking at!

Can I start learning right now?

There’s no PADI manual for the Underwater Naturalist Specialty but you’ll find useful and fascinating information about all of the PADI Adventure dives in the PADI Advanced Open Water manual.

If you don’t have one already, pick one up whilst you’re here in Curacao – along with your Paul Humman “divers bibles” ! – or visit your local PADI dive store back home.

What's next after this course?

Open Water certified? Take your Advanced Open Water course for a broader taste of some of the other fun, underwater activities you can enjoy, learn more skills and increase your confidence. Each Specialty Diver certification you have counts as credit towards your Advanced Open Water course.

Advanced Open Water certified? here are heaps of PADI Specialty Dive courses to enjoy and each moves you one step closer to earning the coveted status of PADI Master Scuba Diver: the highest certification level for recreational scuba divers.

To become a PADI Master Scuba Diver, you’ll also need to take your Rescue Diver and Emergency First Responder course. Save money when you take both courses with The Dive Bus…

The PADI Underwater Naturalist Diver Specialty certification counts as a credit towards your Advanced Open Water course, and towards earning your Master Scuba Diver rating.

I'm in: What are my next steps?

Download PADI Medical Statement and Questionnaire and check out the Medical Statement to ensure you have no contra-indications for scuba diving and that you’re in reasonable physical health.

Everything clear? Do it: book your PADI Underwater Naturalist Diver Specialty course with The Dive Bus now!

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