Nico Dives Cool Bali

Become a Certified Advanced Open Water Diver in Bali

Take your diving skills to the next level and explore some of Bali’s most famous dive sites while gaining confidence underwater. The Advanced Open Water Diver Course is designed to improve your experience, extend your depth limits, and help you become a safer and more comfortable diver.

During your Advanced Open Water Course over two exciting days, you will complete five Adventure Dives in different environments in Bali. You will explore two very different Bali dive destinations, such as Padang Bai, Tulamben, and/or Nusa Penida, or Amed, depending on the program you booked. At Nico Dives Cool Bali, we keep our groups small and adapt each course to the divers’ interests and the conditions on the dive sites.

What You Will Learn with the Advanced Open Water Course

The Advanced Open Water Course includes 5 Adventure Dives that combine theory, Advanced training, and real diving experience. The Advanced Open Water Course is designed to allow divers to try out 5 specialty programs. Each Adventure dive corresponds to the first dive of the corresponding specialty program. Every Adventure Dive completed counts as the first dive of that specific Specialty Program.

The two mandatory Adventure dives are:

Deep Dive
Learn how to safely plan and conduct dives down to 30 meters. You will understand depth limits, air consumption, and safety procedures. The Advanced Open Water Course allows you to dive up to 30 meters in depth and opens the door to more advanced diving experiences worldwide.

Navigation Dive
Improve your underwater navigation and orientation skills using a compass and natural navigation techniques. This Adventure dive builds confidence and independence underwater, transitioning you from a follower to an independent leader.

On top of those 2 mandatory Adventure dives, our instructors strongly recommend adding:

Perfect Buoyancy
The Perfect Buoyancy Adventure dive is one of the most valuable dives you can do. You will refine your trim, learn how to control your breathing, and reduce your air consumption. Better buoyancy also contributes to better protection of marine life.

Depending on the conditions and your interests, you can then choose two additional Adventure Dives:

- ● Wreck Adventure Dive: We do this on the famous USAT Liberty Wreck in Tulamben.
- ● Waves, Tides and Currents (Drift Dive): recommended in Nusa Penida.
- ● Fish Identification: learn to identify fish species on any dive site.
- ● Search and Recovery: find and retrieve objects underwater in Padang Bai or Tulamben.
- ● Underwater Photography and Videography: perfect if you own a camera, great in Padang Bai.
- ● Night Dive (minimum 2 divers required): can be done in Padang Bai or Tulamben (with an overnight in Tulamben).

Every dive is a real adventure, designed to build your confidence, expand your comfort zone, and naturally develop your advanced diving skills.

Who the Advanced Open Water Course Is Suitable For

To sign up for this course, you need to have the Open Water certification (SSI or equivalent).

This course is perfect for:

- ● Divers who want to gain confidence and experience under the supervision of a dedicated diving instructor
- ● Divers wanting to explore deeper dive sites in Bali (up to 30 meters depth)
- ● Divers who can’t decide which specialty course to take next, and want to try out some specialty program before committing to complete one or more full specialty programs.
- ● Divers preparing for specialty courses, as the Advanced Open Water course gives credits towards the full specialty certification, any time after.
- ● Anyone wishing to improve buoyancy, underwater navigation, and advanced diving skills in general

You do not need to be an “advanced” diver already. The course is designed to help you progress step by step in a relaxed environment. We organize transport, equipment, meals, and logistics so you can fully focus on diving and learning.

Here Are the Key Benefits of the Advanced Open Water Course

Learn through real diving and build confidence quickly

The Advanced Open Water Course focuses on learning by doing. Learn the fundamental concept at your own pace through e-learning before starting your training with our experienced instructor in Bali. During your Advanced Open Water course, you’ll apply and deepen your knowledge directly underwater alongside your instructor, who will teach you every step of the way.

Each Adventure dive introduces different practical diving skills in real diving conditions, making learning natural, fun, and highly effective. Five Adventures dives, practicing advanced diving skills with an experienced instructor, dramatically improve your skills, knowledge, confidence, and comfort as a diver. By the end of your Advanced Open Water course, you will feel significantly more relaxed and capable underwater.

Improve buoyancy and air consumption

Our Advanced Open Water Course will help you refine your buoyancy control, trim, and breathing techniques. Better buoyancy means better control underwater.

As a result, it will :

– increase your safety and comfort;

– improve your air consumption and allow you to do longer dives;

– contribute to protecting fragile coral reefs;

– assure you of more relaxed and enjoyable diving experiences.

These enhanced buoyancy skills benefit every dive you will do in the future

Dive deeper, up to 30 meters

Upgrade your diving certification and safely extend your depth limit to 30 meters. Many famous dive locations around the world require an advanced certification. The Advanced Open Water Course allows you to explore deeper reefs, dramatic drop-offs, wreck dives, night dives, and stronger current environments. Diving deeper opens the door to some of the best dive sites in Bali and in the world. By becoming an Advanced Open Water Diver, you gain access to exclusive dive sites, increasing your chances of encountering larger marine life and seeing unique species.

Discover different diving environments

One of the highlights of completing your Advanced Open Water Course in Bali is experiencing multiple diving styles within a single program:

- ● Shore Diving in Tulamben: Easy conditions with a shore entry across a unique black volcanic pebble beach.
- ● Boat Diving in Padang Bai: Dive from a traditional boat and explore the beautiful Blue Lagoon dive sites.
- ● Reef Diving in Amed: Enjoy relaxed dives along colorful coral slopes using a traditional fishing boat.
- ● Drift Diving in Nusa Penida: Dive from a speedboat and experience exciting currents and drift dives around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan.

This variety prepares you to dive confidently anywhere in the world.

Advanced Open Water Diver Course in Amed

Typical Course Schedule

The Advanced Open Water Course takes 2 days.

Usually:

- ● 3 Adventure dives in Padang Bai and 2 Adventure dives in Tulamben, or the reverse.
- ● When available, one day may take place in Nusa Penida or in Amed.

The best dive locations chosen for learning

- ● The USAT Liberty Wreck in Tulamben is our preferred site for the Wreck Adventure Dive thanks to calm conditions and incredible marine life. In general, the calm conditions at Tulamben dive sites make it ideal for training. It is the perfect place to teach Adventure dives like Perfect Buoyancy, Navigation or Deep. Night diving is also possible if you are willing to spend the night in Tulamben (minimum of 2 divers). A night dive on the Liberty Wreck is an unforgettable experience, with groupers hunting, moray eels, and fluorescent marine life.
- ● Padang Bai offers protected sites ideal for skill development: Perfect Buoyancy, Underwater Navigation, Underwater Photography and Videography, Fish Identification. Padang Bai is also great for encounters with rare marine life. Expect turtles, reef fish, nudibranchs, frogfish, and incredible macro life. Night dives here reveal crabs, lobsters, plankton, and occasionally white-tip reef sharks.
- ● Nusa Penida offers the right conditions to safely practice Waves, Tides, and Currents Adventure dives, with some amazing drift dives in the north of Nusa Penida. Deep, Perfect Buoyancy or Fish Identification are also suitable for Nusa Penida dive sites. The iconic dive with the majestic manta rays and stunning reefs in Nusa Penida makes it an incredible experience.
- ● Amed offers relaxed diving conditions and beautiful coral reefs, making it an excellent location for skill refinement and confidence building. Its gentle slopes and diverse marine life are ideal for Perfect Buoyancy, Fish Identification, and Underwater Photography & Videography Adventure dives. Expect colorful reef fish, turtles, macro critters, and healthy coral gardens in a peaceful environment that allows divers to focus on improving technique while fully enjoying the dive experience.

Experience Bali’s best dive locations during your Advanced Open Water Course

During your advanced open water course in Bali with us, you will explore multiple world-class dive environments over two days, including:

- ● Vibrant coral garden, fantastic macro, and rich marine biodiversity in Padang Bai.
- ● The famous USAT Liberty wreck in Tulamben – an absolute must-do!
- ● Crystal-clear waters, stunning reefs, and majestic manta rays encounters in Nusa Penida.
- ● Relaxed diving conditions, healthy coral reefs, and diverse marine life in Amed.

This makes the course one of the most exciting ways to discover the best of Bali diving while improving your advanced skills.

What are you waiting for? Contact us today to book your Advanced Open Water Course in Bali.

What Differentiates Us from Other Dive Centres

Nico Dives Cool Bali differentiates itself through a highly personalized approach and maintains some of the lowest instructor-to-student ratios in Bali. This focus on individual attention and premium quality makes us the ideal choice for divers transitioning from beginner levels into Advanced and Specialty training.

We provide high-quality, personalized training across Bali’s most diverse sites, including Padang Bai, Tulamben, Nusa Penida, Amed, and Candidasa. This variety of locations exposes you to different conditions and environments, building your confidence as a versatile diver.

Nico Dives Cool Bali exclusively uses high-end premium scuba diving equipment, including Apeks regulators, Suunto dive computers, and Aqualung BCDs, ensuring maximum comfort, reliability, and safety on every dive. Seac and Scubapro BCDs and regulators are also part of our equipment selection. Our diving equipment and gear are maintained to the highest professional standards for an exceptional diving experience in Bali.

Beyond providing incredible recreational diving across Bali, we offer dedicated pathways to help you master advanced skills and earn specialty certifications, guiding you from your first diving adventure through professional levels and extended-range training. Safety and quality always come first. Our goal is to make you smile, and we really mean it!