Are you a newly certified Open Water Diver and would like to expand your diving knowledge and skills?
Or simply curious about different ways of diving or experimenting new equipment? PADI has it covered for you!
Sidemount Diver, Night Diver, Dry Suit Diver, Deep Diver and Wreck Diver are the top 5 coolest PADI Specialties that will allow you to experiment new equipment and diving conditions like cold water or night diving, while also preparing you for more advanced diving.
Note that in this post I cover some of the less common PADI specialties. If you are interested in Nitrox diving, check out my Ultimate Guide to Enriched Air Diving.
Sidemount Diver
This is probably the coolest PADI Specialty, particularly if you are planning to progress your skills towards cave diving, tec diving or simply would like to increase your time below surface.
With the PADI Sidemount Specialty you will learn how to set up specific gear (sidemount harness, typically double tanks, and regulators), how to manage gas supply while diving with two independent cylinders, and how to manage and respond to possible problems or emergency situations.
Sidemount diving could also be useful in case you cannot carry the weight of a scuba cylinder on your shoulders.
In fact one of the skills I have enjoyed the most was the entry into water without scuba tanks – they will be given to you once you are in the water so that you can clip them to your harness.
In addition to the entry into water, you will also practice different finning techniques like the frog kick that are usually not taught in entry level diving courses as well as diving with multiple independent tanks (I tried with four tanks).
Night Diver
Diving at night is one of the most exciting experiences you could possibly have.
I find it particularly relaxing because at night you are way more focused as the field of vision is limited by the lighting capabilities of your torch.
You will be amazed by how the marine environment changes when the sun goes down.
Thanks to the Night Diver Specialty you will learn how to enter the water at night, navigate with reduced visibility, use diving torches, as well as how to communicate with other divers using light signals.
Having the night diver specialty will also turn handy because many resorts and scuba diving operators will require it to allow you to take part to a night dive.
Dry Suit Diver
Most people associate scuba diving with tropical beaches and barrier reefs, however scuba diving can be as exciting in lakes, flooded mines, or in cold seas.
That’s exactly where having a dry suit can be very handy.
Dry suit diving is not just about switching from a 5mm wetsuit to a dry suit. It is also about learning how to manage air inside a dry suit, how to manage additional exposure layers (a dry suit itself isolates you from water but not necessarily from temperature) and how to react to possible problems.
Many divers actually use dry suits also in relatively high temperature waters.
This is because depending on the length of your dive, even seemingly hot temperatures can become cold after some time.
If you are already planning to dive mostly in cold waters, check out this guide on How to Choose the Perfect Scuba Diving Drysuit.
Deep Diver
There are many reasons why you might want to reach depths beyond 18 meters / 16 feet.
This might allow you to enjoy a wall dive or reach a specific wreck or special coral formation.
Whatever the reason, taking the Deep Diver Specialty will empower you to reach your goal in a safer and risk conscious way.
The Deep Diver Specialty, often requested by diving operators to allow you to explore specific points of interest such as wrecks, will teach you how to handle specific deep diving equipment (e.g. how to use a diving computer), how to plan deep dives, and how to manage your gas supply.
Although this specialty does not touch upon decompression theory in detail, I think it is a good basis if you would like to approach the Tec Diving world.
In fact, many beginner level Tec diving courses will require you to have a certain number of logged dives at depths greater than 30 meters.
In case you are already an experienced diver and are considering becoming a PADI Divemaster, note that the Deep Diver Specialty is a prerequisite to obtain your Divemaster Certification.
Wreck Diver
Wreck diving is one of the most exciting diving experiences allowing you to explore sunken ships, airplanes, cars, tankers, or even trains.
Many divers embark on such experiences without adequate training often resulting in problematic situations.
In fact, there are some elements of wreck diving that are often overlooked especially when entering a wreck: overhead environment, constrained entry and exit from the wreck and possible silt reducing visibility.
The wreck diver specialty will allow you to safely explore wrecks. During the course you will learn how to survey and map a wreck and use penetration lines and reels.
You will also loarn techniques to avoid kicking up silt or other material that may reduce visibility and disturb marine life.
Keen to become a PADI Specialty Diver? Check out what are the requirements of each of the coolest Specialty Courses.
| PADI Specialty Course | Minimum Prerequisites |
| Sidemount Diver (Rec) | PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent, minimum age: 15 years |
| Night Diver | PADI (Jr.) Open Water Diver or equivalent, minimum age 12 years |
| Drysuit Diver | PADI Open Water Diver can be completed with a drysuit, minimum age 10 years |
| Deep Diver | PADI Adventure Diver, minimum age 15 years |
| Wreck Diver | PADI Adventure Diver, minimum age 15 years |
Want to start a PADI Specialty course but do not have a diving center close by?
Many specialties can be comfortably started by completing the theory on the PADI website.
After completing the theoretical online course you will receive a certificate that you can show to any PADI center to continue with the practical sessions and become a fully certified PADI Specialty Diver.