Your Open Water card says you can dive, but a handful of training dives is not much experience. The Advanced Open Water course on Ambergris Caye turns that new certification into real confidence, one supervised adventure dive at a time.
This guide is for newly certified divers who want more from their trip: a first night dive, a first deep dive, and the navigation skills to find the boat again. It covers how White Sands Dive Shop runs the course, the dives you will make, and the specialty courses that come next.
What is the Advanced Open Water course on Ambergris Caye?
Quick answer: The Advanced Open Water course Ambergris Caye divers take at White Sands Dive Shop is a practical, five-dive course for divers who have finished their first certification. You make three core dives, night, deep and navigation, plus two electives chosen from naturalist, drift, boat diver, multilevel or photography. It is about supervised experience, not classroom study.
How the Advanced Open Water course works
Our course description puts it plainly: Advanced is designed to give the novice a structured, well supervised way to gain practical experience after initial certification. It is not academically oriented. Instead, you complete five specialty dives and the training to carry out each one safely.
Think of it as a guided sampler. Each adventure dive introduces a different kind of diving, with your instructor briefing you before and coaching you underwater. By the end you have five more logged dives and a clearer idea of what you enjoy.
Who should take it
- Divers who just finished the PADI Open Water course on Ambergris Caye and want to keep learning on the same trip
- Divers who completed open water referral dives in Belize after studying at home
- Certified divers who have never tried diving at night or below their usual depth
- Anyone planning toward Rescue, Master Diver or the Divemaster course
If it has been a long time since your last dive, start with our scuba refresher course on Ambergris Caye and build up from there.
The three core dives: night, deep and navigation
Every student at White Sands Dive Shop makes the same three core dives. Together they cover the skills new divers most often lack: diving in the dark, managing depth, and knowing where you are.
Night dive
The reef you saw in daylight changes completely after sunset. According to NOAA, most coral polyps feed at night, catching prey with stinging cells called nematocysts. Those prey range from nearly microscopic zooplankton to small fish.
Under your torch, the coral heads that looked like stone at noon come alive with extended tentacles. A dive light is not included with our local night dives, but lights are on our equipment rental list.
Deep dive
The deep adventure dive takes you below the depths you trained at, with your instructor beside you as you plan the dive, watch your air and control your ascent. It is the dive many students take the course for, because it opens the door to deeper walls and offshore trips.
Navigation dive
Navigation teaches you to use a compass and natural features such as sand channels and coral formations. Finding your own way back to the boat or the anchor line is one of the biggest confidence boosts a new diver can get.
Choosing your two elective dives
The last two dives are your choice from our elective list. Pick the ones that match the diving you plan to do later in the trip, or the skills you want to sharpen.
| Dive | Type | What you practice | Good choice if you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night | Core | Light handling, signals and staying close to your buddy in the dark | Want to see the reef after sunset |
| Deep | Core | Planning, air checks and controlled ascents from greater depth | Plan offshore or wall dives |
| Navigation | Core | Compass headings and natural landmarks | Want to lead your own buddy dives |
| Naturalist | Elective | Recognizing reef life and interacting with it responsibly | Love marine life |
| Drift | Elective | Moving with a current and staying with the group | Expect current on future trips |
| Boat Diver | Elective | Boat etiquette, entries and exits | Will do most of your diving from boats |
| Multilevel | Elective | Planning a dive across several depths | Want longer, varied reef dives |
| Photography | Elective | Camera handling without losing buoyancy | Want pictures of your trip |
Not sure which two to pick? Tell your instructor what you hope to see and do, and choose together on the first day.
Advanced open water in Belize and offshore trips
Many students take Advanced before a bigger day on the water. Our full-day trips to the Great Blue Hole, Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef include three dives, plus breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks.
The deep and navigation training in this course is useful preparation for those days. Email us before you travel to check what experience a particular trip needs, so you can plan your course dives around it.
Between course dives you can join our regular reef trips, which leave at 9:00 with pickup at the dock of your hotel. Our guide to daily diving on the Ambergris Caye barrier reef covers those trips.
PADI specialty courses in Belize: what comes next
Advanced is a doorway, not a finish line. Our Water Sports page lists the courses that build on it:
- Enriched Air (Nitrox). For certified divers at least 12 years old and fit to dive. About three hours of online study, then a practical session and two reef dives on Nitrox 32.
- Specialty Diver courses. Full specialty certifications in areas such as night, deep, navigation, boat, drift, multilevel and photography.
- Master Diver. The highest recreational rating, which requires five specialty certifications.
- Rescue Diver. Twelve rescue scenarios and a multiple choice test over about three days, and the prerequisite for Divemaster.
- Divemaster. The first professional level, open to divers 18 and over who hold Advanced Open Water and Rescue.
For the whole ladder, from first lessons to instructor training, see our guide to learning to dive on Ambergris Caye. You can compare current Advanced and specialty course prices on our Water Sports page.
Learn with a PADI IDC Staff Instructor
Elbert Greer owns and operates White Sands Dive Shop and holds the PADI IDC Staff Instructor rating. The shop is a 5 Star PADI Dive Facility, a member of the PADI International Resort Association and licensed by the Belize Tourism Board. Get to know Elbert Greer’s background as a PADI instructor before you book.
Students notice the balance between fun and caution. This comment from Vivake K. Bhalla appears on our page of student letters and reviews:
“Elbert Greer was an outstanding instructor with a lot of experience and useful tips. He was very friendly and fun, but equally very strict about safety– perfect balance for and instructor.”
Advanced Open Water course, Ambergris Caye: your questions answered
What dives are in the Advanced Open Water course at White Sands Dive Shop?
Five specialty dives: three core dives (night, deep and navigation) and two electives chosen from naturalist, drift, boat diver, multilevel or photography.
Is Advanced Open Water a classroom course?
No. The course is not academically oriented. It focuses on supervised, practical experience in the water and the training to make each dive safely.
Can I take Advanced right after my Open Water course?
Yes. The course is designed for novices to gain experience after their initial certification, so many students continue straight on during the same trip.
What should I take after Advanced Open Water?
Popular next steps are the Enriched Air Nitrox course, individual specialty courses toward Master Diver, and the Rescue Diver course, which is the prerequisite for Divemaster.
Do I need my own dive light for the night dive?
A dive light is not included with our local night dives, but you can rent one from our equipment rental list.
Plan your Advanced course
Send us your certification level, your travel dates and the electives that interest you, and we will help you fit the five dives into your stay. Write to elbertgreer@fastmail.fm or phone 011 (501) 226 2405.