Advanced Open Water Diver

Advanced Open Water Diver

Most people elect to take the Advanced Open Water Diver Course after they have completed their basic certification. The course consists of five so-called adventure dives which are the first dives of the respective diving specialty courses. Two of those adventure dives, a deep dive and an underwater navigation dive, are obligatory, while the remaining three are elective and can be chosen among a number of options - peak performance buoyancy, search and recovery, boat, night, self-reliant, underwater scooter, underwater photography, underwater naturalist, etc. During the course participants gain further experience beyond the foundational diving skills taught in the Open Water Diver Course, which allows them to become more safe and seasoned divers.

You can complete all five ocean dives from shore or you can choose to do some of the dives from a boat.

Duration: 2 days

Prerequisites: Open Water certification

Price:

  • ¥ 40000 - 5 shore dives
  • ¥ 45000 - 2 shore + 3 boat dives
Scope of the course

There seems to a misunderstanding regarding what the goals and scope of the Advanced Open Water Course are. The number one reason for enrollment for most participants is the fact that on paper an advanced certification allows going to a depth of 30 meters. Yet, it is important to remember that the obligatory deep dive during the advanced course is only the first of four dives in the Deep Diver Specialty course. This is true for the remaining four adventure dives.

Therefore, please note that although the advanced course gives exposure to various aspects of diving beyond the basics, it should be thought of as a taste of specialties diving course and participants need to stay humble.

Where we will dive

The exact diving locations for the Advanced Open Water scuba diving course are subject to the weather conditions and your preference.

We usually do the shore dives at Cape Maeda (Blue Cave), Cape Manza (Onna Village), Sunabe (Chatan), or Motobu (Gorilla Chop).

If you prefer to do some of the dives from a boat, we can take you to Cape Manza (Onna Village), Kerama Islands, or Minna Island.

Please note that unless we have a large group of people, we can do night dives only from shore. In addition, we recommend that you complete the underwater navigation dive from shore as well, since this would give you more time to master all the required skills.

Getting to the dive sites

We offer free pick-up service from hotels in Onna, Yomitan and Chatan. Pick-ups from other locations are also possible upon request. Please inquire.

Please note that the Advanced Open Water diving course can be tiring. In order to minimize travel and give you more time to rest, we would recommend that you find accommodation in Onna Village or Chatan for the duration of the course.

Notes

† Gear rental is not included in the price. You can rent a full set for ¥ 4000 for the duration of the course and a partial set at a reduced rate.
‡ It is possible to select a different number of boat dives during a course than the ones indicated above. In that case the price will be adjusted accordingly.
§ When combining dives from a course with fun dives on a single day, every fun dive is charged as follows - ¥ 4000 per boat dive and ¥ 3000 per beach dive.

Why stop here?

Our Enriched Air (Nitrox) course can be taken concurrently with our Advanced Open Water course. Diving on nitrox (a gas mixture containing a higher percentage of oxygen than regular air) does require special training, yet it is a simple and valuable skill that is worth having for divers of all levels.

Once you complete your Advanced Open Water Course, you are qualified to continue with our Rescue course.

You can also choose among several specialty courses. We highly recommend Deep Diving as it teaches you skills that you cannot pick up informally.

If you have more than 100 logged dives under your belt, bring your diving to the next level with the Self-Reliant Specialty we offer. This course is a lot of fun and will open up your eyes to see the challenges and safety aspects of scuba diving from a completely new angle.