Advanced OPEN WATER COURSE

SSI ADVANCED OPEN WATER

Want TO BOOST YOUR SKILLS? THE SSI ADVANCED COURSE IS CALLING YOUR NAME

Loved your Open Water course and ready to level up? Want to boost your skills, build confidence and dive deeper into the underwater world?

This course is all about enhancing your dive skills and unlocking new adventures. You’ll complete five epic training dives - three right off the beach on Magnetic Island’s stunning shores and two from a local dive boat, taking you to some of the region’s best sites. Each dive helps you hone your techniques, expand your knowledge and take your diving to the next level.

By the end of it, you’ll be certified to dive to 30 meters, opening up a whole new world of deep-sea exploration. More depth, more adventure, more unforgettable dives - let’s do this!

Locals Tip: After your Advanced course, stay a little longer and book a fun dive on the SS Yongala. Even if you do your training dives on this wreck with us, the chance to go back and dive it for fun, without the skills and course content is something you wont regret!

Itinerary - Two incredible days, five unforgettable dives—your advanced diving journey starts here!

SHORE DIVING
Meet at Pleasure Divers Magnetic Island 8:30 AM. Gear up and get ready! Today’s 3 training dives take place right off the beach in Alma Bay or Geoffrey Bay, where you’ll learn a new set of dive skills! Wrap-up at 4:30 PM – time to chill and soak in the island vibes!
BOAT DIVING
- Board the vessel from either:
📍Townsville – 7:00 AM
📍Magnetic Island – 7:45 AM
- Set sail for an epic day of boat diving! You’ll complete two more training dives and experience your Deep Dive.
- Return to shore either:
📍 Magnetic Island – 4:45 PM
📍 Townsville – 5:10 PM
*NOTE: Pleasure Divers does not operate the vessel. Condtions of travel are set by the operator.

Can’t find a suitable date below?
Send us a message with your preferred date.

Details
SSI ADVANCED OPEN WATER COURSE

Cost $890 (incl GST)

Duration 2 days

When Once per month (see our booking calendar for dates)

Participants Minimum 3 participants, Maximum 6

Includes

Digital e-learning materials from SSI
SSI Certification - a licence to dive to 30m
Full gear hire for 2 days
Boat travel on Day 2 (including lunch on board)
EMC “Environment Management Charge”

1. Open Water Diver licence, from any agency
2. Recent dive experience: if you have not dived in the past 12 months please book a Refresher before enrolling in Advanced
3. At least 10 logged dives: whilst divers are permitted to book an Advanced course straight after their Open Water, it is best if you build up a small amount of ‘fun diving’ experience before we take you out for training on the Yongala
4. Complete the SSI Pre-Dive Medical screening questionnaire (and possibly get a dive medical, if the screening questions indicate this is necessary). Book a dive medical here if needed.
To secure your place in the course, we require a non-refundable $265 deposit.
See our T&C’s and cancellation policy.
NOTE: We need at least three students to run this course, so grab a couple of dive buddies and let’s make it happen! For the boat day, we also follow the guidelines set by the vessel operator. Be sure to check out their Terms & Conditions on our booking page. If you have any questions, just reach out—we’re happy to help!
Read the blog by our local island Dive Doctor, Dr Jay Short. Booking details at end of article.

Advanced-open-water-diving-course-Townsville

FAQs

We prefer our Advanced students to have some recent diving experience and some logged dives under their belt.
If you have not dived in the past 12 months, or you have not completed any fun dives since your Open Water course, then it is a good idea to build up a few logged dives or take a Refresher, before enrolling in an Advanced Open Water course with us.
Dive conditions can be challenging in our area, and we dive the Yongala Wreck which can be a challenging dive site. So having a bit of recent dive experience will put you in the best position to be able to tackle our Advanced course.
This course aims to extend and progress your exisiting skill set, so we expect those basic open water skills to be sharp!
Speak with our friendly office staff to determine if a refresher is necessary for you!
Yes. The SSI Advanced Open Water course is the equivalent licence to the PADI Advanced Open Water course. The change was made by SSI in October 2025, when the name Advanced Adventurer was changed to Advanced Open Water.
The course consists of 5 dives over two days. Two mandatory dives are Deep and Navigation and the other three dives are chosen from a list of popular specialties.
All training dives are taken from the first dive of individual specialities.
This licence qualifies the diver to dive to 30m.
This is determined by the instructor of the course and changes depending on many factors such as dive conditions and experience level of participants.
Most often we complete a Buoyancy Dive, then our mandatory Navigation Dive and finish with an Ecology Dive on Day 1.
On Day 2, we complete our mandatory Deep Dive and then possibly Boat Dive.
Get in touch with us if you have more questions regarding the particular dives.
Your Advanced Open Water cert is your quick easy ticket to deeper diving consisting of 5 training dives, each focused on a different area.
An SSI Specialty course consists of 2 dives, in one focus area, deepening your knowledge and skills in this topic.
Most people choose to do the Advanced course for the 30 meter license it provides.
But in addition to that, the Advanced gives you a taste of the content in a few of the Specialties.
Maybe! But maybe not!
The tour operators we use for Day 2 of our course do not visit the Yongala site every single day of the week.
So it will be dependant on a few factors such as day of the week, weather conditions etc.
If this shipwreck is on your bucket list, we recommend getting your Advanced certification first. And then booking the wreck dive separately, and dive it as an Advanced qualified fun diver! Thats where you’ll get the most out of diving the Yongala wreck.
Yes!
Minimum age to enrol is 12yrs.
12-14yr olds can complete their SSI Advanced Open Water training. They will be capped at a max depth of 21mtrs, with the option to upgrade to the full Advanced depth limit (30mtrs) at age 15.
You will need to come to the island to complete Day 1.
On Day 2 you may opt to board and disembark the vessel from the mainland - Townsville marina.
So it is not required to stay on the island overnight, but you will need to make a day trip for Day 1. Check SeaLink for ferry times.