If you are looking at continuing your scuba education after becoming an Open Water Diver, you may have come across two SSI qualifications that sound remarkably similar: the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver course and SSI Advanced Specialty Diver.
They are not the same thing.
To make matters more confusing, SSI has changed the name of one of its programmes. The course previously known as Advanced Adventurer is now called Advanced Open Water Diver.
Meanwhile, SSI also uses Advanced Specialty Diver as a recognition level for divers who have completed further specialty training and gained additional diving experience.
If you have been diving with SSI for several years, you may remember another complication. SSI previously used the Advanced Open Water Diver name differently.
It is therefore easy to understand why divers are confused.
In this guide, we explain what the names mean, what has changed, how the current advanced course works, how it compares with PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, and how you can progress to SSI Advanced Specialty Diver.
Why Did SSI Change Advanced Adventurer to Advanced Open Water Diver?
For many years, SSI offered a programme called Advanced Adventurer.
It provided a natural next step after SSI Open Water Diver and introduced certified divers to several different areas of recreational diving under the supervision of an SSI Professional.
The programme itself was easy enough to understand. The name sometimes caused confusion.
A diver comparing continuing education programmes might see:
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
and
SSI Advanced Adventurer
The different names could make the programmes appear much further apart than they actually were.
SSI has now renamed Advanced Adventurer as Advanced Open Water Diver.
The new terminology makes it easier for divers to understand where the programme sits within their continuing education.
However, there is an important complication.
SSI has used the term Advanced Open Water Diver before.
What Did SSI Advanced Open Water Diver Used to Mean?
Historically, SSI used Advanced Open Water Diver as a recognition based on a combination of specialty education and logged diving experience.
This approach reflected an important part of the SSI training philosophy.
Being an advanced diver should involve more than completing a short course. Divers develop through a combination of education and real diving experience.
As a result, someone who earned the previous SSI Advanced Open Water Diver recognition may have followed a very different training pathway from a diver completing today’s course.
This explains some of the confusion surrounding the new name.
If an experienced SSI diver tells you that Advanced Open Water means something different, they may be remembering the previous SSI recognition system.
Today, you need to distinguish between the Advanced Open Water Diver course and the Advanced Specialty Diver recognition.
What Does the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver Course Include?
The SSI Advanced Open Water Diver course is a continuing education programme for certified divers who want to expand their experience beyond their initial Open Water training.
Rather than committing immediately to several complete specialties, you can experience different types of diving through a structured programme.
The course includes five Adventure Dives.
These dives introduce different areas of recreational diving and allow you to develop additional skills under the guidance of an SSI Professional.
Depending on the programme, location and options available through your dive centre, your dives may introduce areas such as:
- Deep Diving
- Navigation
- Perfect Buoyancy
- Night and Limited Visibility
- Wreck Diving
- Boat Diving
- Search and Recovery
- Other available SSI diving experiences
The exact combination depends on the programme requirements and the options available at your training location.
There is one particularly important point to understand.
An Adventure Dive is not the same as completing the corresponding full SSI Specialty programme.
For example, completing a deep Adventure Dive introduces you to deeper recreational diving. It does not automatically mean that you have completed the full SSI Deep Diving Specialty.
The advanced course therefore gives you breadth of experience.
Specialty training gives you greater depth within a particular area.
What Can You Do After Advanced Open Water?
Completing the advanced programme gives you additional training and experience beyond your initial Open Water certification.
More importantly, it can help you decide where you want to take your diving next.
You might discover that you particularly enjoy deeper dives. You can then continue into the complete [SSI Deep Diving Specialty – INTERNAL LINK].
Perhaps underwater navigation is the area where you need more confidence. In that case, the [SSI Navigation Specialty – INTERNAL LINK] provides a logical next step.
You may decide that buoyancy control is limiting your photography, wreck diving or enjoyment of marine life. The SSI Perfect Buoyancy programme could then become your priority.
Alternatively, you might discover an interest in night diving, wrecks, marine ecology or another area of recreational diving.
This is one of the main benefits of an advanced programme.
You can try several different types of diving before deciding where you want to concentrate your future training.
Is SSI Advanced Open Water the Same as PADI Advanced Open Water?
This is one of the most common questions we hear from divers who have trained with different agencies.
The simple answer is:
They are broadly comparable programmes, but they are not the same certification.
PADI and SSI are separate diver training organisations. Each organisation has its own educational system, programme standards, materials and certification structure.
However, the current SSI Advanced Open Water programme occupies a broadly similar position to the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course.
Both programmes provide a logical next step after an entry-level Open Water certification.
Both use five training dives to introduce divers to different areas of recreational diving.
Both aim to expand a diver’s experience rather than turn someone into a specialist in five different disciplines over a few days.
There are differences in standards, educational materials and programme structure, but they serve a broadly similar purpose for a diver deciding what to do after Open Water.
This is one reason SSI’s name change makes sense.
Previously, someone searching online for an “Advanced Open Water course” could easily assume that PADI offered one while SSI did not.
SSI did.
It was called Advanced Adventurer.
Can PADI Divers Take an SSI Advanced Course?
Yes.
Scuba education does not require you to remain with one training agency throughout your diving career.
If you hold a recognised entry-level certification, such as PADI Open Water Diver, you can generally continue your education with SSI as long as you meet the prerequisites for the programme you want to take.
The same principle works in the opposite direction.
An SSI-certified diver can continue training with another recognised agency when they meet that programme’s entry requirements.
You don’t need to repeat your Open Water training simply because you change agencies.
Your certification history, diving experience and the prerequisites for your next programme matter more than the logo on your previous certification card.
What Is SSI Advanced Specialty Diver?
This is where the distinction becomes particularly important.
SSI Advanced Specialty Diver is not another name for the Advanced Open Water course.
Advanced Specialty Diver is a recognition level within the SSI system.
You earn this recognition by completing the required specialty education and gaining the necessary logged diving experience.
That represents a different type of progression from completing five Adventure Dives.
A complete SSI Specialty develops its subject in greater depth.
For example, experiencing a deeper dive during an advanced programme is different from completing the full Deep Diving Specialty.
The specialty develops your knowledge, dive planning, procedures and practical experience specifically for deeper recreational diving.
The same principle applies to navigation, night diving and other specialty areas.
Adventure Dives let you explore different types of diving.
Complete specialties develop your abilities within those areas.
How Do You Get SSI Advanced Specialty Diver?
You progress towards SSI Advanced Specialty Diver through continuing education and diving experience rather than by enrolling in a single Advanced Specialty Diver course.
This distinction is important.
You complete the required qualifying SSI Specialty programmes and build the necessary logged dives. Once you meet SSI’s current recognition requirements, you qualify for the Advanced Specialty Diver recognition.
For the current requirements, check the [official SSI Advanced Specialty Diver information – OUTBOUND LINK TO SSI].
Using the official SSI source here is important because training agency standards and recognition requirements can change over time.
The principle behind the recognition is straightforward.
SSI wants the recognition to reflect both training and experience.
Imagine two divers.
One completes five introductory Adventure Dives over a short period.
Another completes several full specialty programmes and continues building experience through regular diving.
Both divers have progressed beyond Open Water, but their training and experience are different.
SSI’s recognition system provides a way to acknowledge that continued development.
SSI Advanced Open Water Course vs Advanced Specialty Diver
The easiest way to understand the difference is to separate a course from a recognition level.
Advanced Open Water Diver
This is a course.
You enrol in a structured programme and complete five Adventure Dives covering different areas of recreational diving.
It works particularly well for divers who want to broaden their experience, develop confidence and discover which areas of diving interest them.
Advanced Specialty Diver
This is a recognition level.
You work towards it by completing qualifying full specialty programmes and accumulating the required diving experience.
It therefore represents a broader history of continuing education and logged diving rather than completion of one short advanced programme.
Once you understand this distinction, the two similar names become much easier to separate.
Do You Need Advanced Open Water Before Taking SSI Specialties?
Not necessarily.
This is an important feature of the SSI continuing education system.
You do not always need to complete an advanced course before progressing into full specialty programmes.
Individual specialties have their own prerequisites. If you meet them, you may be able to progress directly from Open Water Diver into the specialties that interest you.
For some divers, completing five Adventure Dives makes perfect sense.
Perhaps you have recently qualified and aren’t yet sure whether you are interested in deep diving, navigation, wrecks, night diving or another area.
Trying several different experiences can help you decide.
Other divers already know what they want.
If your priorities are deeper diving, better underwater navigation and using enriched air nitrox, for example, completing full specialties may provide a more useful route than sampling five different activities.
That is why we offer an alternative advanced training package at Ocean Tribe.
An Alternative to Advanced Open Water in Diani Beach, Kenya
At [Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach – INTERNAL LINK], we believe continuing education should reflect what you actually want to achieve as a diver.
The standard advanced programme is an excellent option for someone who wants to experience several different types of diving.
It isn’t necessarily the best route for everyone.
For divers who want more focused training, we offer an alternative package combining three complete SSI Specialty programmes:
SSI Deep Diving
Deep Diving develops the knowledge and practical skills you need to plan and conduct deeper recreational dives.
Rather than simply experiencing one deeper dive, you spend more time developing the planning, procedures and awareness required for deeper diving.
Diani also gives us access to dive environments where deeper training can form a natural part of your progression.
SSI Navigation
Being able to follow a dive guide is not the same as being able to navigate underwater yourself.
Navigation training develops your ability to use a compass and natural references, maintain awareness of your position and plan your route underwater.
These skills help you become a more confident and independent diver.
SSI Enriched Air Nitrox
Enriched Air Nitrox is one of the most useful specialties for recreational divers.
You learn how to plan dives using enriched air, understand oxygen exposure and maximum operating depths, and correctly analyse your breathing gas before diving.
You can find out more in our [SSI Enriched Air Nitrox course – INTERNAL LINK].
Why Choose the Ocean Tribe Advanced Alternative?
Our Deep Diving + Navigation + Enriched Air Nitrox package includes six dives and gives you three complete SSI Specialty programmes.
That makes it fundamentally different from completing five Adventure Dives.
Neither approach is automatically better.
They serve different purposes.
If you want to sample five areas of diving, the Advanced Open Water route makes sense.
If you already know that Deep Diving, Navigation and Nitrox are skills you want, completing the full specialties gives you more focused education in those subjects.
Those completed specialties also contribute towards your continuing SSI recognition pathway.
For divers who want to keep progressing, this can make the package an attractive alternative to the standard advanced course.
Which Advanced Diving Route Should You Choose?
Your choice should depend on your experience and what you want from your diving.
If you have recently completed Open Water and aren’t sure what interests you yet, Advanced Open Water gives you an opportunity to explore several different activities.
You might discover a passion for wreck diving, night diving or underwater navigation that you hadn’t previously considered.
The five Adventure Dives provide variety without requiring you to commit immediately to several full specialties.
If you already know what you want to learn, the decision may be different.
Completing full specialty programmes allows you to concentrate on fewer subjects in greater depth.
For example, a diver planning a holiday involving deeper wrecks may gain more from complete Deep Diving, Navigation and Nitrox training than from five unrelated introductory experiences.
The important question isn’t simply:
“Which certification card should I get next?”
A better question is:
“What do I want to be able to do after my next course that I cannot confidently do now?”
That question usually leads to a much more useful training decision.
Don’t Choose a Course Just Because It Says “Advanced”
The word advanced can be misleading in recreational scuba diving.
A certification card doesn’t suddenly transform a relatively inexperienced diver into an expert.
Divers develop through quality training followed by experience.
Training introduces knowledge, procedures and skills. Regular diving gives you opportunities to apply those skills in different environments and conditions.
An advanced course can provide an excellent next step after Open Water.
Specialty programmes can develop particular areas of your diving further.
Logged dives then help turn training into practical experience.
You shouldn’t simply aim to collect the next certification card.
Aim to become a safer, more confident, more capable and more independent diver.
Advanced Diver Training with Ocean Tribe in Kenya
If you are diving with us at Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach, we can help you choose a progression based on your existing certification, experience and goals.
Choose the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver course if you want to explore five different areas of diving through Adventure Dives.
Alternatively, our Deep Diving + Navigation + Enriched Air Nitrox package provides a more focused pathway through three complete specialty programmes and six dives.
Both routes continue your education.
They simply approach progression differently.
If your longer-term goal is SSI Advanced Specialty Diver, completing full specialties also contributes towards the education required for that recognition while you continue building your logged diving experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SSI Advanced Open Water Diver the same as Advanced Adventurer?
SSI renamed its Advanced Adventurer programme as Advanced Open Water Diver. The new name makes its position within the diver education pathway easier to understand, particularly when comparing SSI training with programmes offered by other agencies.
Is Advanced Open Water the same as SSI Advanced Specialty Diver?
No. Advanced Open Water is a course built around five Adventure Dives. Advanced Specialty Diver is a recognition level that reflects completed specialty education and logged diving experience.
Is SSI Advanced Open Water equivalent to PADI Advanced Open Water Diver?
They are broadly comparable programmes and occupy a similar position within each agency’s recreational diver pathway. They remain separate certifications issued by different training organisations.
Can a PADI Open Water Diver take an SSI Advanced Open Water course?
Yes, provided you meet the SSI programme prerequisites. You do not normally need to repeat Open Water training simply because you want to change training agencies.
Do I need Advanced Open Water before taking SSI Specialty courses?
Not always. Individual SSI Specialty programmes have their own prerequisites. If you meet them, you may be able to progress directly into the specialties that interest you.
Does an Adventure Dive give me an SSI Specialty certification?
No. An Adventure Dive introduces you to an area of diving. A complete SSI Specialty involves more comprehensive education and practical training in that particular subject.
Should I take Advanced Open Water or complete full specialties?
Choose Advanced Open Water if you want to experience several different types of diving before deciding where to specialise. If you already know which skills you want to develop, completing full specialties may provide a more focused training pathway.
What is the Ocean Tribe alternative to Advanced Open Water?
At Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach, we offer a package combining the complete SSI Deep Diving, Navigation and Enriched Air Nitrox specialties. The package includes six dives and provides a more focused alternative for divers who already know which areas they want to develop.
Take the Next Step in Your Diving
Still unsure which advanced qualification is right for you?
That is precisely why we don’t believe in automatically selling every diver the next course on a training chart.
At Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach, Kenya, we look at your existing certification, diving experience and what you actually want to achieve.
Choose Advanced Open Water to explore several different diving experiences, or take our Deep Diving + Navigation + Enriched Air Nitrox package for a more focused route through three complete specialties.
The goal isn’t simply another certification card.
It is better training, more experience and better diving.
