Open Water or Advanced: which destinations need which
Your card says how deep you are trained to go. The destination decides how much experience you need to enjoy it.
What the two cards mean
An Open Water certification trains you to dive to 18 m (60 ft) with a buddy. An Advanced Open Water certification extends that to 30 m (100 ft) and adds supervised dives in areas such as deep diving and navigation, often with a drift or current dive as an option. The names differ slightly between PADI, SSI and other agencies, but the depth limits are broadly the same.
The card is a minimum. Logged dives, recent experience and comfort in current matter as much.
What makes a destination harder
- Current. Drift dives, down-currents and strong surge need good buoyancy and a calm reaction when things change.
- Depth. Walls and pinnacles where the best life sits below 18 m.
- Blue water. Sites with no reef for reference, common where you go to see pelagic animals.
- Remoteness. Sites far from shore and medical help, where a small problem takes longer to solve.
- Cold water. Thermoclines and upwellings, such as those around Nusa Penida, change how a dive feels.
Every destination page lists its typical current and the level we recommend, plus the specific risks to know.
Destinations by level
Recommended level is what we think gets the most out of a destination. Operator minimum is the level many dive centres and boats ask for on their standard trips. Individual operators set their own rules, so always check yours.
- BonaireOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- FijiOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Great Barrier ReefOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Koh TaoOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- KonaOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Lembeh StraitOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Malaysia East CoastOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Malta and GozoOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- MoalboalOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Northern Red SeaOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Roatán and the Bay IslandsOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Similan IslandsOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Tulamben and AmedOpen Water recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- AnilaoAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- AzoresAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Belize Barrier ReefAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Cenotes of the YucatánAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · mild current
- Cocos IslandAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- CozumelAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- GalápagosAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- KomodoAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- MalapascuaAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- MaldivesAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Nusa PenidaAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- PalauAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · strong current
- Raja AmpatAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Rangiroa and FakaravaAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- SipadanAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Open Water · moderate current
- Socorro IslandsAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · strong current
- Tubbataha ReefsAdvanced recommended · operator minimum Advanced · moderate current
If you are an Open Water diver
Plenty of world-class diving sits within 18 m. Shallow reefs and muck sites such as Lembeh, Moalboal and Koh Tao are rich and forgiving. Choose a land-based trip where you can pick and skip dives, and tell the dive centre how many dives you have logged.
If a destination you want recommends Advanced, the Advanced course itself is often taught on location over two or three days. That is a reasonable way to step up, but it does not replace experience. A few days of easier diving first will make the harder sites more enjoyable.
Before any trip
If it has been a year or more since your last dive, a refresher with an instructor is worth the half day. Carry your own surface marker buoy and know how to deploy it. And treat any certification guidance here as a starting point: the local dive operator knows the day's conditions, and their call on whether a site suits you is the one that counts.