Course overview

The PADI Underwater Navigator specialty sharpens your ability to find your way around a dive site, an essential skill on Alor's current-swept reefs and walls where drift and disorientation are real. You learn to navigate with a compass and natural references, estimate distances and run patterns so you always know where the boat and exit are.

What you’ll learn

• Use a compass to follow accurate headings and reciprocal courses
• Navigate by natural references such as reef contours and slope
• Estimate distance using kick cycles and time
• Run square, triangle and search patterns
• Relocate a submerged object or boat anchor
• Plan navigation that accounts for Alor's currents

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 10
• PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or equivalent
• Comfortable with basic buoyancy control
• Able to manage mild current
• 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
   Compass & natural navigation

   Learn compass technique and natural-reference navigation, then practise headings and distance estimation on a reef near Kalabahi.
2. Day2
   Patterns & current

   Run search and pattern navigation on a current-affected site, learning to compensate for drift and relocate the exit.

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 Alor.

Frequently asked questions