Course overview

Sharpen your sense of direction with the PADI Underwater Navigator certification in North Malé Atoll. Across three dives on reef and channel sites you master compass and natural navigation, distance estimation and pattern searches — essential skills on the atoll's larger reefs and drift sites where currents can quickly shift your position.

What you’ll learn

• Navigate accurately with a compass
• Use natural references such as reef contours and ripples
• Estimate distance by kick cycles and time
• Run reciprocal, square and search patterns
• Relocate a point and find your way back to the boat

Prerequisites

• PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or equivalent
• Minimum age 10
• Completion of a diver medical questionnaire; physician sign-off if required

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
   Pre-dive theory

   Complete the knowledge development and dive-planning material before the in-water sessions, online or at the dive base.
2. Day2
   Compass & natural nav

   Cover navigation theory, then practise compass and natural navigation on a reef dive.
3. Day3
   Search patterns & assessment

   Run distance estimation and search patterns on a second site, then certify.

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 North Male Atoll.

Frequently asked questions