Ready to take your next step in diving?
So you've conquered open water and now you're ready for the next underwater challenge? Diving the Spiegel Grove in Florida, visiting the graveyard at the bottom of Lake Jocassee? We have you covered. Our instructors are certified to teach most advanced scuba diving certification courses both locally (inland) and off the coast (even in other countries). Advanced scuba courses can take the form of just sampling a few different speciality dives or going full on into a specific course to earn your certification. These certifications allow you to dive deeper, longer with different configurations of gear. If you're interested in excedding the recreational limits, reach out to us. We have technical diving instructors on staff and would love to have a conversation about where you want to go with your diving.
Certain dive certifications will have prerequisites you must meet before being eligible. Please reach out to us for more information.
Advanced Scuba Diving Courses
Environment Specific
Most Popular
Most Challenging
- Navigation
- Solo Diver
- Search & Recovery
- Public Safety Diving
- Rescue
- Divemaster
- Drysuit
- Full Face Mask
- Night/Limited Visibility
- Drift Diver
- Underwater Photographer
- Boat Diver
- Fish ID
There is a lot of confusion surrounding "advanced" certifications, so we've made it simple by explaining the different levels of certification below. First and foremost, the advanced certification can refer to both a certification level (like advanced adventure diver) OR an advanced certification class (like wreck, deep, etc). To make it even more confusing, you have Master Diver as well as Dive Master. Hey, we didn't come up with the names, we are simply here to explain. Read on below to get a better explanation of the crazy terminology.
- Advanced Adventure Diver: This scuba diver has completed the 1st dive of 5 different advanced specialty courses. 4 of these dives MUST involve in-water training and include the deep & navigation dives and 2 others the diver chooses. (Nitrox is a commonly taken class which does NOT involve in-water training). A common pathway is Deep, Navigation, Wreck, Buoyancy & Computer Nitrox. To make things more confusing, taking the 1st part of Computer Nitrox does NOT certify you to actually dive Nitrox, so most students pay for that as a separate advanced specialty but it still counts towards your advanced rating. Your Advanced Adventure diver certification increases your depth rating to 30m/100 feet.
- Advanced Certification: An advanced certification is awarded when you fully complete ALL dives within that specialty course. For example, if you took the 1st dive of a wreck certification for your advanced adventure diver certification, you would need to complete the remaining dive to obtain your full wreck certification. Just like the Nitrox example above, you will not be cleared to penetrate wrecks until you obtain the full wreck certification (2 dives).
- Master Diver: Master diver is a rating, not a certification level. Obtaining Master Diver is a recognition of your training level by obtaining 4 advanced specialty certifications, Rescue course completion & having a minimum of 50 logged dives. You may have 1 advanced specialty that does not involve diving to qualify (computer nitrox for example).
- Dive Master: Dive master is the 1st professional rating a diver can obtain. This rating takes you from the student side to professional side by aiding the instructor and requires you have a minimum of 40 logged dives, have a current CPR, first aid & O2 provider certifications to begin. There are many people who obtain this ranking for the knowledge & experience without ever going into teaching.