PADI Advanced Open Water Dive Course
Koh Tao, Thailand

PADI Advanced Dive Course: Schedule

We’re flexible on schedule and can fit the dive course around your other plans, and to fit with the elective dives which you chose. But usually, the PADI Advanced Course runs something like this:

Day 1: Advanced Course Orientation & Training Dives

First you’ll meet your instructor and browse the course manual (called PADI Adventures in Diving). You’ll choose three elective dives which interest you and together will set a schedule for the coming of days. The good news is that unlike the open water course, the PADI Advanced Course is more diving focused and no there is no exam. (You’ll only need to make a short knowledge review for each dive).

Next, we’ll be out on the boat making two dives at two of Koh Tao’s dive sites during the afternoon. Typically we depart around 12:30 and return in the evening. Most likely we will begin with the Underwater Navigation dive. This involves using natural navigation techniques (observing depth, contour and coral formations) combined with compass work to navigate around the dive site. You’ll first practice you skills with a few exercises, then attempt to lead your instructor around the dive site and guide the way back to the boat. (Sounds easy?). The second dive of the afternoon will be one of the elective dives.

Assuming you choose the night dive (not to be missed), we’ll run it on either the first or second day. We will meet up at 18:00. Following the dive briefing as the sun goes down we’ll head out to Koh Tao’s White Rock dive site to the west of the island. Expect to see Great and Chevron barracuda hunting small reef fish, lots of crabs and nocturnal sting rays foraging in the sand for food.

Day 2: Koh Tao PADI Advanced Course – 2 dives

Next comes one of the highlights of the PADI Advanced course; we’ll visit the famous Chumphon Pinnacles dive site, approximately 12KM north-west of Koh Tao where we will conduct your Deep Dive.

Under the close guidance of your instructor you’ll descend to a maximum depth of 30 meters, experiencing nitrogen narcosis for the first time. We’ll make a couple of tests to appreciate the surrounding 4 atmosphere’s of pressure then explore the site. Chumphon Pinnacles is a spectacular site, with many batfish, giant grouper, barracuda and a carpet of anemones. And you have a chance of seeing some of Koh Tao’s larger species such as the reef sharks and even occasional whale sharks. The dive finishes with a safe, slow ascent back to the boat, performing a safety stop at 5 metres.

The second dive be your final elective dive of your advanced PADI course. The dive site will depend on your choice of dive combined with an assessment of the diving conditions around Koh Tao, to get the best possible diving experience.

As part of the PADI Advanced Open Water Course you’ll make five training dives.

Two of the dive are mandatory:

• Underwater Navigation Dive: Learn more about using a compass and timing device combined with natural navigation techniques to find your way round the dive site.
• Deep Dive: Dive right down to 30m – experience nitrogen narcosis for the first time.

In addition to the deep and underwater navigation dives, during the PADI Advanced course you choose three more elective training dives where you can try specialized diving activities. Options include:

Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive:
Perfect your buoyancy control and improve your air consumption rate, with our buoyancy workshop dive.

Wreck Dive:
Explore the HTMS Sattakut shipwreck – a former Thai naval vessel.

Fish ID:
Learn to identify the tropical reef species of Koh Tao, Thailand.

Underwater photography:
Get you hands on an underwater digital camera, and learn techniques to help you capture that perfect underwater image.

Dive propulsion vehicles:
James Bond style dive propulsion vehicle action – save air and see more of the dive site.

Underwater Naturalist:
Learn more about marine species, appreciating the symbiotic relationships between aquatic organisms.

Computer and multi level:
Learn a more sophisticated approach to dive planning, allowing to extend your bottom time and enjoy longer deep dives – head out and execute your dive plan using a dive computer to monitor your profile.

Search and recovery:
Devise and execute a range of search patterns based on varying conditions and size of target, and practice recovering heavy objects by using a lifting device.

Arriving on Koh Tao as a beginner, we can combine the PADI Open Water Diver & PADI Advanced Courses back-to-back.

The combined PADI training takes five and a half days. The schedule may be condensed, using PADI eLearning to take scuba diving theory online ahead of your arrival. Or, you can proceed at a more relaxed pace, taking a day off between each course.

We can apply a special discount when you take the PADI Open Water & Advanced courses together.
Get in touch to let us know your timeframe and requirements, and we can assemble a plan for you.