ADVANCED

The SSI Advanced Adventurer at Arrecifal runs across two days and five dives. Three of those dives are fixed: Perfect Buoyancy, Navigation, and Deep Diving. The remaining two are chosen from a list that includes Night and Limited Visibility, Boat Diving, Waves Tides and Currents, and Search and Recovery. The structure lets you sample disciplines before committing to a full specialty course — useful if you're not sure whether night diving or wreck navigation is the direction you want to take next.

The deep dive component takes the course to 30 metres, extending your certified range beyond the 18-metre Open Water limit. On El Hierro, that depth opens access to the more dramatic sections of the volcanic walls — areas where the rock drops sharply and the density of life changes as you descend. Buoyancy at depth behaves differently than in shallow water, and the deep dive session specifically addresses that adjustment under instructor supervision.

The buoyancy dive, often described by SSI instructors as among the most technically valuable of the advanced dives, addresses the precision control that separates comfortable divers from skilled ones. Doing it in the clear water of the Mar de Las Calmas — visibility regularly above 40 metres — gives visual feedback that's hard to match in murkier environments. Navigation follows a similar logic: clean water and readable seabed features make compass work and natural navigation much more teachable than in low-vis conditions.

Minimum age is 10 years. Prerequisites are Open Water Diver or equivalent from a recognised agency — non-SSI certifications are accepted at this level. The course can be combined with the Nitrox or Deep specialty for divers who want to maximise their time on El Hierro and leave with multiple endorsements.