About this tour
When Sarah from our team ran the Advanced Open Water Course in New Zealand, she spent four days tackling specialty dives that take you beyond your initial certification. You're picking from a solid menu — Deep, Drift, Wreck, Buoyancy, Navigation, Night — and combining four of them to earn your Advanced OW card. The course lands you in genuinely stunning spots (Bay of Islands is a popular pick), and you'll need at least 24 logged dives under your belt plus a clean bill of health to start. It's a serious step up in skills and confidence, not a casual weekend tick-off.
Highlights
- Pick your own specialty combo — Deep, Drift, Wreck, Night — tailor the course to your interests
- Four days immersed in advanced techniques across varied dive environments
- Bay of Islands and other scenic NZ locations make for stunning dive sites
- Elearning component means groundwork fits your schedule before water time
- All equipment provided — no need to lug your own kit
- Instructors guide you through each specialty until you're genuinely ready
- Reaches divers ready to push beyond recreational basics into technical work
What to expect
The course unfolds over four days, each focused on a different specialty. Sarah found the structure gives you time to absorb techniques without rushing — you're not cramming everything into a weekend. You'll complete elearning modules beforehand (gear knowledge, theory, planning), then hit the water with your instructor for practical drills in each specialty. Deep dives teach pressure management. Drift trains you to handle current. Wreck covers navigation in tighter spaces. Night demands new buoyancy and light discipline. By day four, you're noticeably more comfortable reading the underwater environment and managing variables that would've rattled you as an Open Water diver.
Pacing feels solid because you're building on real skills, not just collecting stamps. The Bay of Islands and similar locations aren't just backdrops — they're chosen because they offer genuine variety for practising each specialty. Weather and sea state can shuffle the schedule, so flexibility helps. You'll be in the water most mornings, so early starts are the norm.
What travellers say
- Customisable specialty mix lets you build skills that match your goals
- Four-day timeframe gives genuine depth, not a rushed box-tick
- All SCUBA equipment supplied — travel light
- Elearning front-loads theory, maximising water-time value
- Instructors invest in your competence before signing you off
- Strict medical requirements rule out divers with certain health conditions
- Must have 24+ logged dives and Open Water cert before enrolling
- Transport to dive sites is your own cost and logistics
Themes summarised by our team from public information about this tour. Verify specifics on the operator's page before booking.
Good to know
This is a proper step forward if you've logged dives and want to dive safely beyond recreational limits. Instructors know what they're doing, the elearning cuts classroom time, and picking your own specialties means you're learning skills you'll actually use. It suits divers aged 12+ with solid fitness who are genuinely ready to progress.
You'll need to prove your Open Water cert and log at least 24 dives beforehand — rookies can't jump straight here. Medical screening is strict (asthma, heart conditions, pregnancy, spinal issues, poor fitness will disqualify you), and you can't dive for 48 hours after flying, so plan your arrival carefully. The four-day commitment is real, and you're covering transport to the dive site yourself. Bring your own food and water — that's not included. Depending on which specialties you choose, some (like Night) might add equipment costs. Cold-water locations mean wetsuit comfort matters, and rough conditions can mean reshuffled plans.
Tour sold and operated by Viator via Viator. Descriptions on this page are original BugBitten summaries written by our team — not copied from the operator. Prices and availability are confirmed at checkout.