Advanced Course

If you’re unsure which specialty programs suit you best, consider joining the SSI Advanced Adventurer program! This fantastic opportunity allows you to test out various specialties before making a commitment to a full program. It’s a perfect way to get a taste of advanced diver training and discover how it can enhance your diving experiences.

In the Advanced Adventurer Program, you’ll get the chance to explore 5 different specialties. After a detailed briefing with your SSI Instructor, you’ll complete one open water training dive for each specialty.

With this trial program, you have the freedom to explore new depths in specialty diving. Plus, you can complete the full specialty programs later on, with the credits from your Advanced Adventurer training applying toward them.

Advanced Adventurer Course Overview 

You’ll need to complete the Underwater Navigation and Deep Diver segments, which are the mandatory adventure dives for this course. After that, you can choose three additional dives from SSI’s Specialty Diver courses. We highly recommend the Perfect Buoyancy dive as one of your selections. If you’re diving in Gili Trawangan, the Drift Diver (Waves, Tides, & Currents) segment is fantastic as well. 

For your fifth and final specialty, the Boat Diver course is a solid choice for those new to the marine environment, while many guests also find the Underwater Photography course appealing, though this may come with extra fees. Alternatively, consider the Night & Limited Visibility dive. Just keep in mind that some specialties, like Ice Diver, Dry Suit Diver or Altitude Diver, aren’t available in Gili islands. Overall, you can complete the class in just 2 days.

Advanced Adventurer Course Dives Overview

Perfect Buoyancy – The Perfect Buoyancy adventure dive is probably the most important dive where you can refresh and refine your core diving skills. In addition, we also focus on proper weighting, trim and effective breathing techniques. This is typically the first dive of the course, so we can continue to work on your core diving skills throughout the next four (4) dives. 

Underwater Navigation – One of the highlights of the Advanced course is the Navigation dive. This dive focuses on essential skills that help you understand your location underwater. It might feel like your divemaster has a magical talent for returning to the exact spot where you began, but there’s a precise method behind it. By participating in the Navigation Dive and practicing the techniques you’ll learn throughout the course, you’ll build your confidence and become adept at navigating any dive site with various navigation methods. You can choose to continue with the Underwater Navigation specialty course.

Deep Dive – Probably the most anticipated dive of the course, the adventure Deep Dive is your first step in exploring deep reefs and wrecks. It prepares you in fundamentals of dive planning, managing nitrogen narcosis and calculating your Surface Air Consumption (SAC) rates. With increased depth, the importance of factoring in increased air consumption, effect of strong currents and increased exposure to nitrogen is vital. The maximum depth of the dive is 30 meters. If you do fall in love with diving deep, you can carry on with the Deep Diver specialty course.

Wreck Diving – Shipwrecks have continued to fascinate divers since the advent of the sport itself. Apart from the history and myth associated with each shipwreck they also add up as vibrant marine ecosystem, buzzing with life. The Wreck adventure dive is your first step to safely plan and navigate a wreck dive. Glenn Nusa wreck is the primary wreck diving site in the Gili islands. Sitting in between a sand bank at 28 meters, this wreck calls for a thrilling dive where moderate to strong currents are normal. This dive however does not allow for wreck penetration. If safe exploration of wrecks fascinate you, continue on to the Wreck and Advanced Wreck diving specialties. 

Night and Limited Visibility – An entire new world of marine life seems to become active after the sun goes down and it is this sense of unknown adventure, that lures divers into jumping into the ocean at night. The Night adventure dive will teach you new hand signals to be used, proper usage of torches, carrying redundancies and also basics of night navigation. The reefs around Gili islands are bustling with macro creatures which are active at night, allowing divers to soak in new experiences. 

Other adventure dives available – Drift (Waves, Tides & Currents), Fish Id, Marine Ecology and Introduction to Nitrox.

Typical Schedule for Advanced Adventurer Course

Day 1:

• 09:00 am – Dive briefing and planning with instructor.
• 10 am to 11:30 am – Adventure Dive 1 from the boat.
• 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm – Lunch Break
• 1:15 pm – Dive briefing, dive planning and equipment assembly
• 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm – Adventure Dive 2 from the boat
• 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Break
• 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm – Dive briefing and planning
• 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm – Night adventure dive from boat/shore.

Day 2:

• 09:00 am – Dive briefing and planning with instructor.
• 10 am to 11:30 am – Adventure Dive 4 from the boat.
• 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm – Lunch Break
• 1:15 pm – Dive briefing, dive planning and equipment assembly
• 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm – Adventure Dive 5 from the boat
• 3:30 pm to 4:00 pm – Debriefing, dive logging and certification.