Advanced Open Water in Cozumel
PADI and SSI
At A Glance
Duration
Minimum 2 days
Certification
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or SSI Advanced Adventurer your choice
Price
SSI: $570 USD | PADI with eLearning: $715 USD
What's Included
Gear rental, all boat dives for the course, Marine Park fee, certification fees, course materials
Number of Dives
5 specialty dives (deep dive and navigation are mandatory; 3 others chosen from available options)
Maximum Certified Depth After
30 metres / 100 feet (ages 15+); 21 metres / 70 feet (ages 12–14)
Minimum Age
12 years old
Prerequisites
Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver certification (PADI, SSI, or qualifying equivalent)
The Course That Opens Advanced Cozumel
The Open Water certification gets you in the water. The Advanced Open Water certification gets you into the best of it. Sites like Punta Sur, Devil’s Throat, and Colombia Deep the dives that experienced Cozumel visitors put at the top of their list require Advanced certification and the depth limit that comes with it. Staying at 18 metres means missing the wall dives, the dramatic swim-throughs, and the open blue sections of Cozumel’s most exceptional sites.
The Advanced Open Water course is not a remedial skills course. It assumes you can dive it uses five specialty dives to expand what you can do. Each dive tries a different type of diving and builds confidence in conditions and depths that Open Water training does not cover.
What the Course Covers
The Advanced Open Water course consists of five dives. Two are mandatory:
Deep Dive
A dive to a minimum of 18 metres, planning for depth, monitoring no-decompression limits, and experiencing the effects of depth on air consumption and buoyancy. In Cozumel, the deep dive typically goes to around 30 metres on one of the Marine Park walls.
Underwater Navigation
Compass navigation and natural navigation techniques to move confidently underwater without a guide leading you. Essential for independent diving.
Each specialty dive also counts as credit toward a full specialty certification if you choose to pursue it later.
SSI Advanced Adventurer Vs PADI Advanced Open Water
The course structure is the same under both agencies five specialty dives, mandatory deep and navigation components, identical depth certification on completion. The differences:
- SSI Advanced Adventurer ($570): More affordable. Digital materials delivered through the MySSI app. Certification is equally recognised worldwide.
- PADI Advanced Open Water ($715): Higher cost reflects the PADI eLearning platform fee. Broader name recognition among recreational divers unfamiliar with SSI.
For most divers, SSI Advanced Adventurer is the better value option. The certification carries the same weight at dive operators around the world.
What Advanced Certification Unlocks in Cozumel
With Advanced certification and at least one dive with Pelagic Ventures, you become eligible for the best scuba diving in cozumel at the advanced sites on the southwestern tip. Punta Sur and Devil’s Throat require this certification plus the prior-dive assessment not because operators are cautious for its own sake, but because the site is genuinely demanding and an underprepared diver creates risk for everyone on the boat.
The wall dives Colombia Deep, the deeper sections of Santa Rosa Wall, the northern end of Palancar also benefit significantly from the additional depth allowance. An Open Water diver on the shallow sections of these sites has a good dive. An Advanced diver gets the full site.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The only requirement is a current Open Water Diver certification. Many divers earn their Open Water certification and then spend time building experience before taking the Advanced course either at home or on subsequent trips to Cozumel. There is no minimum number of dives required before starting Advanced.
The deep dive component reaches a minimum of 18 metres and typically goes to around 30 metres / 100 feet in Cozumel's Marine Park. Exact depth depends on conditions and the site used on the day. Your instructor will brief you fully beforehand.
Yes. Open Water takes a minimum of 3 days and Advanced takes a minimum of 2 days a 5-day diving itinerary covers both. Contact Pelagic Ventures when planning your trip to ensure the schedule works for your available days.
The natural progression is the Rescue Diver course, which is available through Pelagic Ventures as a specialty course. Beyond that, the Divemaster program is the first professional-level certification. Specialty courses Nitrox, night diving, deep diving, and others — can be added at any point.
Ready to book your Advanced Open Water course?
Contact Paulino and Mary Cozumel’s most experienced small-group dive operation since 1994. Marine Park fee always included. Gear rental included in course price.