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If you’ve completed your Open Water Diver certification, the next logical step in most people’s minds is the Advanced Open Water Diver course. It’s the name everyone has heard of. It’s what dive shops around the world push as the obvious progression. But here at Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach, Kenya, we think you deserve better — and we’ve put together a package that proves it.
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is a five-dive programme designed to help newly certified divers build experience and explore new disciplines. Typically, it includes a deep dive and a navigation dive as mandatory components, with three further “adventure dives” chosen from a range of specialties. Completing the course raises your depth rating from 18 metres to 30 metres.
It’s a solid course. But here’s the thing — the deep dive qualifies you to 30 metres, not the full recreational limit of 40 metres, and the single navigation dive doesn’t lead to a full navigation certification. The three adventure dives follow the same pattern: you dip your toe in, do one dive, and move on. You walk away with an Advanced Open Water Diver card, but without the dedicated knowledge and skills that come from completing a full specialty course.
We think that’s a missed opportunity.
Instead of the standard Advanced Open Water Diver course, we offer a three-course combo package that covers some of the same core skills — deep diving and navigation — but expands on them and adds something the Advanced Open Water Diver course almost never does: a full SSI Enriched Air Nitrox (EANX) certification.
Here’s what’s included:
Go deeper and do it safely. This course equips you with the knowledge and skills to plan and execute dives to 40 metres— the full recreational depth limit, and 10 metres deeper than the Advanced Open Water Diver course qualifies you for. You’ll learn about specialised equipment, gas consumption calculations, and how to manage the challenges that come with depth. It’s not just about going deep — it’s about understanding what happens down there and making smart decisions.
A skill that every diver should have and most recreational divers sorely lack. This course teaches you how to use a dive compass properly, read natural references underwater, and return to your starting point with confidence. Where the Advanced Open Water Diver course gives you a single navigation dive, our SSI Navigation course is a full certification — meaning you finish with genuine, tested skills rather than a brief introduction. Good navigation makes you a more independent, more capable, and more enjoyable dive buddy. It also opens up more complex dive sites that would otherwise be off-limits.
This is where our package really pulls ahead of the standard Advanced Open Water Diver course. Nitrox — enriched air with oxygen mixtures of up to 40% — extends your no-decompression limits, reduces surface intervals, and decreases post-dive fatigue. Once you’re Nitrox-certified, you’ll use it for the rest of your diving life. It’s arguably the single most practical upgrade any recreational diver can make.
Let’s be direct about it.
The standard Advanced Open Water Diver course gives you one deep dive to 30 metres and one navigation dive, plus three “taster” dives in other disciplines. Our package gives you full, standalone certifications in three of the most useful and widely applicable diving skills available. You don’t just dip into Nitrox — you’re certified in it. You don’t just do one navigation dive — you complete the course. And your depth rating goes all the way to 40 metres, not 30.
On every dive you do after completing this package, you can dive on Nitrox. Every site you visit, you can navigate with confidence. Each deep dive you plan, you have the knowledge to do it properly.
That’s three internationally recognised SSI certifications versus one Advanced Open Water Diver card that contains two adventure dives in disciplines you were never fully trained in.
And the price? Our combo is $490. Comparable to — or in many cases cheaper than — what you’d pay for the Advanced Open Water Diver course at other dive centres, without the full specialty certifications.
This package is ideal for:
You’ll need a minimum of an Open Water Diver certification to enrol.
All three courses take place in the warm, clear waters of Diani Beach on Kenya’s south coast — one of the most beautiful and marine-life-rich diving destinations in East Africa. You’ll dive coral reefs, walls, and wrecks alongside turtles, lionfish, moray eels, and a spectacular array of Indian Ocean species. This isn’t a classroom. This is real-world diving in an extraordinary environment.
Yes. All three certifications — SSI Deep Diving, SSI Navigation, and SSI Enriched Air Nitrox — are internationally recognised by SSI (Scuba Schools International), one of the world’s largest and most respected dive training organisations. Your certifications are valid at dive centres and on liveaboards around the globe.
No. A valid Open Water Diver certification from any recognised agency is all you need to enrol. Whether you’re certified with SSI, PADI, NAUI, or another agency, you’re welcome.
The three courses can typically be completed in three days, depending on conditions and scheduling. We’ll work with your available time in Diani to put together the best schedule for you.
Yes. The SSI Deep Diving specialty certifies you to the full recreational depth limit of 40 metres — 10 metres deeper than the Advanced Open Water Diver course allows.
Absolutely. Once you’ve completed your SSI Enriched Air Nitrox certification, you can immediately start diving on Nitrox — including on any remaining dives during your stay with us. We use Nitrox on our daily dive trips, so you’ll be able to put your new certification to work right away.
Yes — particularly if you want to top up your depth rating to 40 metres or add a Nitrox certification. Many Advanced Open Water Divers find that their navigation skills need strengthening too, so the full SSI Navigation course is a worthwhile addition regardless of what’s already on your certification card.
You can book online for a discount, or contact us directly to discuss dates and availability. You can also reach us on WhatsApp — we’re always happy to answer questions before you commit.
If you’re looking at the Advanced Open Water Diver course and wondering whether there’s a smarter way to spend your money and your time in the water, this is it.
Three full certifications. Three genuinely useful skills. One package.
Book online now and save, or get in touch to find out more.
Ocean Tribe Dive Team
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