SSI Advanced Open Water course in Dahab (formerly Advanced Adventurer)
SSI's Advanced Open Water Diver course, called Advanced Adventurer until late 2025, is five adventure dives over about two days. Deep and Navigation are required, you pick the other three, and you finish certified to 30 m.
- Minimum age
- 12
- Duration
- 2 days
- Dives
- 5 adventure dives: Deep, Navigation and 3 of your choice
- Max depth
- 30 m (21 m for ages 12–14)
- Prerequisite
- Open Water Diver certification from SSI, PADI or another recognised agency.
- Certification lets you
- Dive with a buddy to 30 m and join the deeper dives that need Advanced, such as The Bells and the Canyon.
What the course is, and the name change
In October 2025 SSI replaced its Advanced Adventurer program with a new Advanced Open Water Diver program. The idea is the same: instead of one long course, you try five different kinds of diving, one open water dive each, with an instructor. The change is that Deep and Navigation are now required for everyone, and the other three dives are your choice from SSI specialty areas.
If you were searching for "Advanced Adventurer" or "Advanced Open Water" in Dahab, this is the same course. Each adventure dive is the first dive of a full SSI specialty, so it can later count towards that specialty.
SSI lists 5 academic sessions and 5 open water dives, with a suggested 10–15 hours of training. In Dahab that fits comfortably into two days, or two and a half with a night dive.
Who it is for
It is for certified Open Water divers who want more confidence, more depth and a taste of different kinds of diving. Many people take it straight after their Open Water course, while the skills are fresh. Others come back after a few holidays of fun diving.
The minimum age is 12. On the deep dive, juniors aged 12–14 are limited to 21 m. Adults go to a maximum of 30 m.
The five adventure dives
Deep (required): planned to a maximum of 30 m. You learn how depth affects your air, your no-decompression time and your thinking, and how to plan a safe ascent with a safety stop.
Navigation (required): compass headings, natural navigation from the reef and the sand, and judging distance underwater, so you can find your way back to the exit on your own.
Three of your choice, from the specialties SSI and the dive center offer. Popular choices in Dahab are Perfect Buoyancy, Night and Limited Visibility, Enriched Air Nitrox, Photo and Video, Science of Diving and Waves, Tides and Currents. Tell Mohamed what you enjoy and he will suggest the best mix for the sites and conditions during your stay.
Day-by-day schedule in Dahab
Day 1: navigation in the morning at Eel Garden or Lighthouse, where the sandy slope makes compass work easy to follow. In the afternoon, a buoyancy dive over the coral heads of the Islands. If you choose Night, you return to Lighthouse after sunset, the best night dive in Dahab, with hunting lionfish and Spanish dancers.
Day 2: the deep dive. In Dahab that is usually The Bells, dropping through the chimney to about 27 m and drifting along the wall into the Blue Hole, or the Canyon, a narrow gorge in the reef that reaches about 30 m. A fifth dive of your choice completes the course.
The order changes with the wind, the tide and how you feel. Deep dives are always planned within recreational limits and never go anywhere near the Blue Hole Arch.
What's included and what you need
Instruction for all five adventure dives, tanks and weights. Gear rental, transport to the sites, the SSI digital materials, the certification and the national park fee for the Blue Hole area are confirmed when you book.
Bring your certification card or the digital card in your app, and your logbook if you have one. A dive computer is strongly recommended for the deep dive. If you do not own one, a rental can be arranged. A torch is provided for the night dive.
The theory is done on the MySSI app, ideally before you arrive, so your time in Dahab is spent in the water.
Prerequisites and medical
You need an Open Water Diver certification, or an equivalent entry-level certification from another agency such as PADI. You also fill in the WRSTC diver medical questionnaire again before the course. Any yes answer means a doctor must sign you off before you dive, so check the form before you travel.
If your last dive was six months or more ago, add a Scuba Skills Update at Lighthouse first. It makes the deep dive far more relaxed.
SSI Scuba Skills Update in Dahab →
What you can do after the course
As an SSI Advanced Open Water Diver you can dive with a buddy to 30 m. In Dahab that opens up the best dives: The Bells into the Blue Hole, the Canyon, and the deeper walls at sites like Abu Helal and Moray Garden.
The course is also the step towards SSI specialties, Stress and Rescue, and later the SSI Advanced Specialty Diver and Master Diver ratings, which recognise your specialties and logged dives.
PADI Open Water card? SSI or PADI Advanced?
If you hold a PADI Open Water certification, you can join this SSI course directly, with no need to repeat anything. Agencies accept each other's entry-level cards as prerequisites, and dive centers worldwide accept both SSI and PADI certifications.
SSI Advanced Open Water and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver are now very similar: five adventure dives, deep and navigation required, and a 30 m limit for adults. Mohamed teaches both versions. If you want a PADI card, for example to continue a PADI pathway you have already started, choose the PADI Advanced Open Water course instead.
One possible confusion: until 2025, SSI's "Advanced Open Water" was a recognition rating for divers with four specialties and 24 logged dives. That rating is now called Advanced Specialty Diver.
Course price
The price depends on your dates, the adventure dives you choose and whether you are training alone or with a buddy. Send your dates and Mohamed will reply with an exact price.
💬 Get the exact price for your dates
Why do your Advanced course in Dahab
Dahab is deep close to shore, so you can reach 30 m on a shore dive in minutes, with no long boat trip. The famous deep dives, The Bells and the Canyon, are exactly what the course prepares you for, so you get to use your new certification straight away. Then plan your next dives with Mohamed.
Questions
Is SSI Advanced Adventurer the same as Advanced Open Water?
Yes. In October 2025 SSI renamed and updated Advanced Adventurer as Advanced Open Water Diver. It is still five adventure dives, now with Deep and Navigation required.
How long does the Advanced Open Water course take in Dahab?
Usually two days, or two and a half with a night dive. SSI suggests 10–15 hours in total.
How deep can I dive with SSI Advanced Open Water?
To 30 m for adults. Juniors aged 12–14 are limited to 21 m on the deep dive.
What is the minimum age for the SSI Advanced course?
12 years.
Can I do SSI Advanced with a PADI Open Water certification?
Yes. A PADI or other recognised Open Water certification meets the prerequisite.
What is the difference between SSI Advanced Open Water and PADI Advanced Open Water?
Very little in practice: both are five adventure dives with deep and navigation required and a 30 m adult limit. The learning platform and some elective choices differ.
Do I need Advanced to dive the Canyon or The Bells?
They go to around 27–30 m, beyond the 18 m Open Water limit, so Advanced or equivalent experience is recommended.