Open Water vs Advanced Open Water: Do You Need AOW for a Liveaboard?

What Open Water lets you do

An Open Water Diver can dive independently with a buddy to a maximum depth of 18 metres / 60 feet, in conditions similar to those experienced during training. That covers shallow reef diving in the Maldives, Red Sea house reefs, Caribbean shore dives and most Indonesia liveaboard sites under 18m.

What Advanced Open Water adds

AOW (around 25 hours, $300–$500) consists of five adventure dives:

• Deep Adventure Dive — to 30m, the new depth limit

• Underwater Navigation — compass and natural reference

• Three electives from: Night, Drift, Wreck, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Nitrox, Search & Recovery, Underwater Photography

Which liveaboards require AOW

DestinationMinimum certWhy GalápagosAOW + 50 divesStrong currents, depth, cold water Cocos IslandAOW + 50 divesPelagic dives at 25–35m in current SocorroAOW + 50 divesOpen ocean, oceanic conditions Komodo (south)AOW recommendedStrong currents, deeper pinnacles Raja AmpatOW accepted, AOW recommendedSome sites have current; drift dives common Maldives (central atolls)OW acceptedMost sites under 25m Red Sea (north)OW acceptedShallow wrecks and reefs Red Sea (south / Brothers / Daedalus)AOW + 50 divesOffshore, current, depth

Should you do AOW before or after the liveaboard?

Doing AOW before your trip is the safer option — you arrive comfortable with night and drift diving rather than learning during your holiday. Many liveaboards do offer onboard AOW upgrades for $250–$400, which is convenient but eats into your dive time.

Logged dives matter as much as cards

Cruise directors look at your logbook. An AOW diver with 20 lifetime dives is treated more cautiously than an OW diver with 80 logged dives. If you haven't dived for over 12 months, plan a refresher dive on day one.