PADI AOW - why?

[Erwin Kodiat]

If you plan to pursuit the higher level certification then Advanced OW is a must. But if you only a fun diver who love to learn by doing, don't Put Another Dollar In (PADI) ...
I have many fellow divers who are mostly experienced and knowledgeable but only have the basic certification like Open Water, it is all depend on what you need ...

 

[anni]

If I was going to do my AOW again I would try to get a lot more out of it. At the time, I thought it was just five supervised adventure dives. All I wanted was the qualification, and to learn how to navigate. We just did the bare minimum (I didn't really learn even how to navigate properly) and later, when I helped out elsewhere as a DM trainee on AOW, I realised how much extra instruction you can have with AOW and how I didn't get it. I would say don't treat it as just 5 supervised adventure dives - make sure they teach you properly too and that you will feel confident with those types of dives afterwards, otherwise it's a waste of money.