Florida Underwater Sports

If you dream of floating underwater with colorful fish but also want to understand the details, the Discover Scuba Diver experience is for you. It’s a quick and easy way to learn the basics, get familiar with scuba gear, and explore the underwater world. Whether you’re close to home or at a dive destination, this introductory course teaches essential safety skills under the supervision of a PADI Professional. Open to anyone 10 or older with no prior experience. Give us a call to book your adventure!

See More Details

Are you intrigued by scuba diving? Of course! This 6-hour per day (for 4 days) diving course is about discovering new worlds, from exotic fish to colorful corals and hidden wrecks. Your PADI Open Water certification unlocks endless adventure. Our small, flexible classes let you learn at your own pace, with everything included in the cost—no hidden fees. The only items you need are a quality mask, snorkel, and fins. The minimum age is 10, and a parent is required for those under 16. Contact us to sign up!

See More Details

The Rescue Diver course is a top goal for many recreational divers, offering flexible scheduling to prepare you for diver emergencies. Starting with PADI’s eLearning program (included), the course features one day of EFR (CPR/First Aid) and two days of in-water rescue scenarios. Designed to build your skills and confidence in emergency response, this challenging course pushes your limits as a diver. We offer frequent classes, and the minimum age is 12. Call us for more details or to sign up!

See More Details

With your Advanced and Rescue certifications, it’s time to become a Divemaster. This role allows you to lead and inspire, refine your dive and rescue skills, and gain dive management experience. You’ll also assist with diver training, making you a versatile diver. The course is perfect for those looking to work at dive destinations or local shops. Prerequisites include being a PADI Rescue Diver, at least 18 years old, with recent CPR/First Aid training and 40 logged dives.

See More Details

Cavern and Cave courses are designed for divers eager to explore overhead environments—areas without direct access to the surface. These courses open up exciting dive locations in Florida and worldwide. Training includes eLearning, land drills, open water drills, and dives in North Florida’s freshwater springs. The cavern course spans 2 days, the intro to the cave is 2 days, and the full cave diver course is 4 days. Our goal is to ensure you’re comfortable and skilled in these environments. Classes are small (up to 3 students), and the minimum age is 18. Contact us to learn more or sign up!

See More Details

Are you ready to explore the underwater world? Scuba diving opens up exciting new experiences with exotic fish, colorful corals, and historic wrecks. Get your PADI Open Water certification and dive into adventure! Our small, flexible classes accommodate all schedules, whether during the week or on weekends. With no hidden fees, we provide everything but your gear—mask, snorkel, and fins. The course is open to ages 10 and up. Contact us to learn more!

See More Details

The PADI Mermaid™ course offers knowledge development and two water skill sessions that enhance your mermaid abilities beyond the Basic Mermaid™ level, transforming mermaiding into expressive underwater art. Since the PADI Mermaid course includes Basic Mermaid, you can jump straight into it without taking Basic separately. Open to ages 10 and up, participants must swim 50m unaided, float for 5 minutes, and be in good physical health. No prior diving experience is needed.

See More Details

Our flexible schedule makes it easy to get certified in Enriched Air Nitrox. Begin with PADI’s online learning at your convenience, then join us for a 2-3 hour classroom session at our shop. This course prepares you to plan and execute dives using enriched air nitrox, allowing for extended bottom times and shorter surface intervals. You’ll learn to analyze tanks and choose optimal mixes for your dives. Classes are frequent, and the minimum age is 12. Contact us to sign up or for more details!

See More Details

Although your PADI certification never expires, it's easy to have a break between dives. If you're planning a trip or local charter, the PADI Reactivate/Refresher course helps you conveniently review scuba concepts on your device and dive with a PADI Professional. It’s a great way to practice with equipment and sharpen your skills. Some charters require proof of recent dives, and you'll receive an updated certification card. Courses start at $149, including gear, pool dives, and certification. Add an open-water dive for an additional fee. Call us for more details!

See More Details

Explore flexible learning options with PADI’s eLearning program, where you complete the knowledge portion at your own pace, followed by 5 adventure dives over 2 days. You’ll experience deep and navigation dives, plus three more dives of your choice, building skills beyond the Open Water Diver course. Each dive counts toward a specialty rating, and with small class sizes, you’ll enjoy a comfortable learning environment. Classes run frequently, and the minimum age is 12. Gear rentals are available. Call us to sign up!

See More Details

Technical diving goes beyond recreational limits, encompassing cave or closed circuit rebreather diving, and appeals to experienced divers seeking new challenges and adventures. It requires advanced training, additional equipment, and a commitment to managing increased risks. Open circuit technical diving classes aim to extend your range from 130 to 300 feet, starting with air dives, then normoxic trimix to 200 feet, and finally hypoxic trimix to 300 feet. We offer scheduled and on-demand classes in Florida and the Caribbean for divers 18 and older. Contact us to learn more or enroll!

See More Details

The Peak Performance Buoyancy course with Florida Underwater Sports in Sarasota, FL, is designed to enhance your buoyancy control and improve your diving skills. This course focuses on fine-tuning your buoyancy to achieve optimal trim and balance, making your dives more efficient and enjoyable. Through personalized instruction and practical exercises, you'll learn techniques to manage your buoyancy with precision, conserve energy, and reduce your impact on the underwater environment. It's ideal for divers looking to refine their skills and maximize their diving experience.

See More Details

The Kayak Diving Course with Florida Underwater Sports in Sarasota, FL, offers a unique way to explore underwater environments. Combining kayaking and diving, this course teaches you how to efficiently transition between the two activities, enhancing your diving adventures. You'll learn essential techniques for securing and managing your dive gear from a kayak, along with safety protocols and navigation skills. Ideal for adventurous divers seeking a new challenge, this course provides an exciting and practical approach to exploring aquatic sites.

See More Details

Diving a wreck is a real scuba adventure that gives us a chance to go back into the past. As you swim passed sunken ships, airplanes, and even trucks, you’ll feel like you’re in an underwater museum. But wrecks aren’t just rusting hunks of metal and piles of purpose-sunk concrete, they’re thriving ecosystems that teem with aquatic life. In class, you learn how to survey and map a wreck. And, explore it using penetration lines and reels. Contact us for more details! We'll show you the dangers and benefits of diving these wonderful marine habitats safely.

See More Details

Have you ever found a perfectly good dive light or knife on a dive? To hear divers talk about what they lost and have to replace, the ocean floor must be littered with all kinds of goodies. You never know when you or your buddy might lose something on a dive so Search and Recovery are handy skills to have. ​In this course, you use your navigation and mapping skills to find the item, and most importantly learn how to get that lost object, small, large, or just awkward, back to the surface safely. Whether you dropped your sunglasses or lost an anchor, we can prepare you for a successful search.

See More Details

Freediving is much more than just deep snorkeling—it's a unique way to connect with the underwater world. You’ll dive deeper, stay submerged longer, and feel truly in tune with the ocean. Beyond recreational diving, freediving is also a competitive sport, with divers training for years to set world records in disciplines like static apnea, dynamic apnea, free immersion, and constant weight freediving. It’s an incredible blend of skill, endurance, and oceanic adventure. Take this class now!

See More Details

Yes, you can find your way to the beach or boat and back. Do you know how to keep track of where you are and how far you’ve gone during your dive? Practice techniques to measure distance underwater, use natural navigation without a compass, and follow patterns using compass headings. The result is you can confidently find the beach or boat in any condition. Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you are going!

See More Details

Do you long to dive into those interesting wrecks and captivating deep walls that are beyond your recreational diving limit of 60 FT? ​With the Deep Diver certification, you will expand the gas planning techniques you learned during your open water course to include calculating surface-air consumption (SAC) or surface consumption rate (SCR). Alternative equipment configurations and considerations for deeper dives and make modifications to your setup to meet the dives goals.

See More Details

Imagine gliding (or flying) through the water effortlessly, that’s drift diving. Scuba dives down rivers and use ocean currents to see more fish, see more of the reef, and have longer dives, since with drifting you won't be working as hard. You can be relaxed and exhilarated at the same time! There are many techniques you learn in this course. Handling and deploying floats, lines, reel, the surface marker buoy or dive flag, using a drift line for communication with your buddy, and buoyancy control to manage your depth. These are just a few of the skills unique to drift diving.

See More Details

Night diving takes you to a whole new world. The dive site you know so well will have a different cast of characters as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge. It is marvelous to see how plants and animals differ and change behavior at night. Learn new ways to communicate with your buddy, those hand signals aren’t going to work in the dark. Other good skills you gain with this course and effective use of dive lights, entering, navigating and exiting the water in the dark. This is a great option for busy divers who can’t get out during “work hours”.

See More Details

There was a truly amazing, brilliant multi-colored fish on that last dive…you want to enter it in your logbook but what the heck was it? The PADI Fish ID course is for you. On far away trips and local dives you see a range of fish and logging a list of them can be a fun and educational activity. You will enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics. With just a little practice and some fundamentals, you can start to identify different groups and characteristics of similar fish.

See More Details

You rely on your equipment to be there and safely support you underwater. Return the favor and spend time with it above water so you don't miss a dive due to a broken fin strap or blown o-ring. Get hands-on with simple repairs that can save your dive. The more you know about how your equipment works the more comfortable you will be when diving. Build a save-a-dive kit that's appropriate for your gear as well as common items that will help any diver. See the inside of a regulator and how it works, then understand how to clean it to avoid common problems.

See More Details

Self-reliant diving appeals to divers for many different reasons. Photographers are a good example of a diver who would stray from the pack. Other examples are , divers who want to become self-sufficient in case of foreseeable emergency, and divers who want to improve their dive skills. It is an adventure activity that is not for everyone but does have its place.Some of the critical skills you will learn are recognizing and understanding the inherent risks, risk mitigation strategies, the best way to configure your equipment, and differences in dive planning and preparation.

See More Details