Course overview

The PADI Advanced Open Water course at Sipadan opens up the region's signature diving, taking you to 30 metres on the dramatic walls of Sipadan Island and the macro reefs of Mabul and Kapalai. Across five adventure dives you build deep-diving and navigation skills alongside fun specialties like wall, drift or naturalist diving among turtles, reef sharks and barracuda. It is the certification that unlocks Sipadan's deeper, more advanced sites.

What you’ll learn

• Plan and conduct dives to 30 metres
• Navigate confidently with compass and natural references
• Develop deep-diving awareness and gas management
• Try specialty diving such as wall, drift or peak-performance buoyancy
• Improve buoyancy, trim and dive planning
• Build confidence across varied sites and conditions

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior Advanced Open Water) or 15
• PADI Open Water Diver or a qualifying certification from another agency
• Basic buoyancy and comfort in open water
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Deep and navigation dives

   The core Deep and Underwater Navigation adventure dives on a Sipadan-area wall and a Mabul reef.
2. Day2
   Elective adventures and certification

   Three elective adventure dives such as drift, wall or buoyancy around Mabul and Kapalai, finishing with certification.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Sipadan.

Frequently asked questions