The three PADI Open Water courses on this list — Scuba Hurghada, Gagoblue and Diving Star — charge €250, €325 and €360 for the same certification. That is a spread of €110 on the same qualification, which always makes people suspect that someone is cutting a corner. Nobody is. The three numbers are three different answers to one question: how much of the course do you want inside the price?
What is in each of the three courses?
| Scuba Hurghada | Gagoblue | Diving Star | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €250 per person | €325 per course, unit not marked | €360 per course, unit not marked |
| Length | 3 days | 4 days | not published |
| Equipment | included | included | included |
| Meals | lunch and drinks | lunch, drinks | lunch, drinks on the boat day |
| Transfer | confirmed at booking | inside Hurghada included | inside Hurghada included |
| PADI E-Learning | not named | not named | included |
| Certification fee | €55 extra + course book | not named as extra | included |
| Daily fee on top | €5 park fee | €5 reserve tax | not stated |
Why is €250 not the cheapest number in that row?
The Scuba Hurghada course is €250 per person over three days with equipment rental, lunch and drinks. Outside it sit the PADI certification cost of €55 per student, the PADI course book, and the €5 marine park fee for each day on the boat. Add the certification and three days of park fee and you are at €320 before the book. The headline is the lowest of the three; the finished total is not far from the middle one.
What does €325 buy?
The Gagoblue course runs over four days with all equipment, lunch, drinks and the transfer inside Hurghada, and the operator names exactly two extras: €5 a day of nature-reserve tax and €10 if you are coming from El Gouna, Soma Bay, Makadi, Safaga or Sahl Hasheesh.
Its dives are from the boat rather than a pool-only start, and its instructors work in German and English. For a German-speaking beginner this is the one course on our Hurghada list with instructors stated in German and the contents set out line by line.
What does €360 buy?
The Diving Star course puts three things into one number that the others leave outside: PADI E‑Learning, the certification fees and the dive equipment. That changes the shape of the holiday, not just the bill — the theory is finished at home before you fly, and the days here are water days. Diving Star lists seven working languages, including Russian and German, and holds 4.9 on Google from 1,272 reviews as of 3 September 2026.
What does the course actually require of you?
No previous diving, basic comfort in the water, and a clean PADI medical questionnaire — all three schools say the same thing in different words. Bring swimwear, a towel and sunscreen; equipment is provided on all three. Bring cash for whatever your school leaves outside: €55 plus the book and €5 a day at Scuba Hurghada, €5 a day at Gagoblue, and at Diving Star €25 per car if your hotel is in Makadi, El Gouna or Sahl Hasheesh — that card says nothing about the daily park fee.
€250 is not the cheapest number in that row. It leaves the €55 certification fee, the course book and €5 a day of park fee outside — about €320 before the book.
How many days should you set aside?
Three at Scuba Hurghada and four at Gagoblue by the operators’ own numbers. Diving Star does not publish a length, and the E‑Learning it includes is done before arrival, which shortens the days spent here rather than the course. Whichever you take, do not put the last day of the course on the day before your flight: diving and flying need a gap, and your instructor will tell you the same.
And if a certification is more than you want?
A try dive from €45 takes you underwater for two dives with an instructor and no paperwork at all, and every school here treats it as the honest first step rather than a lesser one.
Updated 3 September 2026. Prices, durations, age limits and inclusions are taken from the operators’ cards.
