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Deep Diving Specialty Course
The common reason for becoming a PADI® Deep diver is to dive beyond the recommended depth limits for entry level divers (e.g. 18 metres/60 feet).
This section explains how to make four (4) scuba training dives with a PADI Instructor and get certified as a Deep Diving Specialist - and you can do it in two (2) days.
PADI Deep Diver Course | Table of Contents
- Age Limits and Depth Restrictions for Deep Diving Specialty
- Benefits of Getting the PADI Deep Diver Specialty Certification
- Completing the Independent Study Lessons with eLearning™
- Course Requirements for PADI Deep Diver Certification
- Diving Gear and other Specialised Equipment You Can Use
- FAQ Section (including Diving Medical Questionnaire)
- Price for PADI Deep Diver Course in Pattaya, Thailand
- Video and Related Help Guides about Diving in Deeper Water
- What Comes after Completing the Deep Diver Specialty Course?
Important: The Deep Diver Specialty certification may count towards the PADI Master Scuba Diver Rating. Check our PADI® Specialty Courses List for further details on more than thirty other specialties (listed from A to Z).
What is the Meaning of Specialty Diver?
In simple terms, a Specialty Diver is someone with enhanced scuba diving abilities beyond entry level certifications (e.g. Discover Programs, Scuba Diver, Open Water Diver).
Signing up for specialist scuba courses is the ideal path to take if you want to learn new techniques and experience different kinds of underwater exploration.
Furthermore, you will get the best opportunity to acquire superior knowledge and skills in the diving activities that interest you the most because a 'Specialty Instructor' will be supervising the training.
Scuba Diving in Deep Water
Because many learners are scared of diving in deep dark water, there are special safety procedures to follow if you are going to descend below eighteen metres (60 feet).
Even so, having an opportunity to dive around sunken shipwrecks, and see large sea life creatures living forty (40) metres below the surface, are two popular reasons for taking the Deep Diver Specialty Course.
Diving deep is definitely not a 'must do activity' for all divers. But, after getting certified as Open Water Diver, it is commonplace for beginners to log a few confidence boosting dives and then 'take the plunge' to go deeper!
Age, Depth, and Prerequisite Certification
There are minimum age requirements and maximum depth limits for all the specialties that require scuba training dives in open water.
As a result, before you can enrol in the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course you will need to be (all):
- At least fifteen (15) years old.
- Already certified as (either):
- PADI Adventure Diver
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent (e.g. from one of the approved training agencies)
Number of Days: Two (2) (minimum)
Deep Water Training Dives: Four (4)
Maximum Depth: Forty (40) Metres (130 feet)
Important: Even though scuba certifications do not expire, we recommend taking the PADI ReActivate® refresher course if you have been inactive from diving for a while (e.g. longer than six months).
Reasons to Become a Deep Diver Specialist
Some divers choose never to make any deep dives. Whereas others can't wait to get certified as Advanced Open Water and sign up for the Deep Dive Specialty certification course.
Why dive deep?
This course is not for beginners. But, if you are looking to improve your dive planning skills you will benefit from the specialised training.
Increasing your maximum depth is another reason for signing up. After a successful completion, your new 'max depth' will be the same as the maximum depth for recreational scuba diving - 40 metres/130 feet.
Furthermore, some of the best scuba diving locations are deeper than thirty metres. Thus, the only way to go down that far is to get certified for deep diving.
Some of the things you can see beyond the normal light zone experienced at shallow depths, include:
- Abandoned Shipwrecks
- Healthier coral reef formations
- Large ocean-going vertebrates
- Sharks (e.g. bull sharks, nurse sharks)
- Sunken ruins and unclaimed treasure
It is important to understand that the techniques and procedures used when entering and exiting the water for diving deep will vary.
Exploring Deep Offshore Dive Sites
Having the knowledge and unique skills to explore distant locations away from the shore is another reason for taking the course.
Do you like swimming with big fish?
If so, you need to go diving in deeper water that attracts schooling vertebrates and pelagics, such as large sharks, groupers, and sea turtles.
Digital Learning Programs for Self-Study
In general, it is much easier for divers with a busy schedule to choose the online learning option to start scuba lessons.
Being able to complete the independent study portion of a multiple day course offers you some flexibility and convenience.
As long as you have a computer or a mobile device, you will be able to study the knowledge development portion at your own pace (online or offline).
Deep Diver eLearning: Up to Four (4) Hours
If you sign up for PADI eLearning® you can complete Deep Diver self-study assignments online for around 4,500 THB.
Following that, you would need to contact the dive shop to perform the required scuba training dives with a PADI Instructor to finish the course.
PADI Deep Diver: What Skills Will You Learn?
You need to participate in the instructor-led knowledge development sessions by completing all knowledge reviews from the Deep Diver student manual.
Here's why...
Of course, you will learn how to enter and exit deeper water in a safe and effective manner while wearing scuba gear (often from a custom-built dive boat).
Besides that, you will also learn about:
- Considerations for diving down to forty (40) metres of depth, buddy contact procedures, and how to recognise your personal limits.
- Colour loss (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue) and pressure-related physiological changes.
- Deep diving techniques, procedures, and hazards (e.g. omitted decompression stops).
- Nitrogen narcosis symptoms (e.g. hallucinations) and treatment.
- Planning and organising dive rescue equipment for deep dives and gas supply management.
Note: Did you successfully complete the elective Deep Dive from the Adventures in Diving Program? If so, an instructor may count it as being the first training dive of the certification requirements in this particular specialty course.
Dive Gear and Specialist Equipment
You need to wear standard scuba gear for the four training dives conducted in open water. Other specialist equipment for deep dives that you'll use, may also include:
- Underwater computer and diving watch
- Dive flag and float (e.g. diver down flag)
- Scuba accessories (clips, hooks, and reels)
- Diver Propulsion Vehicle (sea scooter)
- Navigation tools (e.g. underwater compass, nav-finder)
- Digital cameras and underwater photography equipment
- Surface signaling devices or inflatable signal tube
Note: Using different underwater torches will be useful as the surroundings become darker and if you will be navigating your way through any dangerous structures (e.g. 10 best wreck dives in the world).
FAQ Section and Medical Questionnaire Form
What's the Deepest Diving Certification?
The term 'deep dives' has a different meaning in recreational scuba diving than it does in technical diving.
The deepest dive made for recreational purposes should not be below forty metres (130 feet). Whereas, a professional technical diver can go down to sixty (60) metres (200 feet).
Can I Survive Below 40 Metres Underwater?
We refer to the US Navy decompression dive tables to answer this question. Divers can only stay at forty seven metres (160 feet) for around five minutes before they need to decompress during the ascent.
Is it Possible to Scuba Dive the Titanic?
The Titanic is resting at a depth of 2,100 fathoms (12,500 feet). Because normal air consumption through a standard tank only lasts about fifteen minutes at 40 metres, scuba diving to the Titanic is impossible.
Fun Fact: The deepest scuba dive ever made is 332.35 metres (1,090 feet) undertaken by Ahmed Gabr in September 2014 in Dahab, the Red Sea. Using open circuit scuba, it took only fifteen (15) minutes to make the descent, but the ascent took thirteen (13) hours and thirty five (35) minutes.
Can a Certified Deep Diver Dive Alone?
The diving buddy system is a safety procedure pairing two or more divers together. Also, the group should perform pre-dive safety checks (Begin With Review And Friend) before entering the water.
Nonetheless, PADI does consent to a kind of 'solo diving' through the Self-Reliant Diver certification course, which is available in Pattaya, Thailand.
Is it Easier to Blow Bubble Rings at Depth?
You may have seen divers make 'flying saucer' bubbles ascend from the abyss to the surface. So, what is a divers bubble ring? Our blog article explains the technique for blowing ring bubble circles underwater.
Can I Touch the Underwater Organisms?
Divers share a common responsibility to protect and conserve nature. As a result, interacting passively with aquatic animals helps to safeguard the habitats of delicate and sensitive sea life.
What Should I Not Do after Diving a Deep Ocean?
After cleaning the gear, there are several kinds of activities that divers should avoid doing. They include:
- Physical exercise
- Flying in a plane, including traveling to altitude (e.g. mountain hiking).
- Drinking alcohol
- Having a full body massage, hot bath, or hot shower
- Forgetting to log the dives
When Should You Do a Scuba Refresher?
Suppose you don't go diving for more than six months. There is a simple way to refresh the knowledge and skills that you already learned.
After a long period of inactivity, taking the PADI ReActivate® program will help you brush up on the safety procedures and scuba diving fundamentals.
Medical Requirements: Free Download
You must be in good physical and mental health and be medically fit for recreational scuba diving. You can review the Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire Online to check whether you need to be evaluated by a physician.
It is not appropriate to ask dive staff (e.g. divemasters, instructors) for medical advice or clearance to go diving. Instead, you can contact the Divers Alert Network (DAN) if you have questions about your medical fitness to dive.
Price for PADI Deep Diver Specialty Course in Thailand 11,500 THB*
We have qualified instructors and expert dive guides who can teach in several languages, including English, Thai, and Chinese.
The price includes (all):
Boat trips (with free soft drinks served on board)
Professional tuition from a "Private Scuba" Instructor
Free rental of required diving equipment (including a dive computer)
PADI Deep Diving Specialty Manual and Certification Card
Hotel transfers within Pattaya City limits
Important: You will usually be making two (2) scuba training dives in the same day. The PADI flying after diving guidelines say you need to wait a minimum of eighteen (18) hours after the second dive before you go to altitude. Please send an email to our team if you need further information.
YouTube Video and Knowledge Base for Deep Divers
Most of the information and advice in this section focuses on deep scuba diving activities which we usually conduct from a boat in Thailand.
We also have a list of blog articles about snorkeling and freediving - with other popular watersport tourist attractions at the beach resort of Pattaya.
Scuba Diving Help Guides
- Discover Technical Diving
- Diving Emergency Action Plan (EAP Flowchart)
- PADI Rebreather Diver Course
Note: The short video presented by PADI highlights what to expect when taking the Deep Diver Specialty course. It also emphasises how the protocols and procedures for scuba divers vary at some of the deepest dive sites around the world.
What Comes after the Deep Diver Specialty?
Deep diving is very popular with almost all divers because of the excitement and exhilaration that going to "bottomless" submersions can offer.
So what comes next? Your certification links to almost all other scuba certifications, including the popular Specialty Courses offered by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
Even so, the PADI® Deep Diver course combines really well with several other specialty courses such as, AWARE Shark Conservation, Boat Diver, Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) Diver, Multilevel Diver, and Wreck Diver.
Note: All course prices for diving are subject to change and assume that all prerequisites have been met to start the training. Click here to contact the team at Private Scuba in Thailand to make a booking or send an enquiry.