Training agency
Scuba Schools International
A recreational and technical diver training organisation whose Extended Range (XR) line includes Cavern Diving, Cave Diving and Full Cave Diving, with mine-diving counterparts.
Scuba Schools International lists HEAD Watersports as its group company and organises its technical courses under the Extended Range brand [1]. Within Extended Range, SSI publishes three cave courses: Cavern Diving, which stays within the daylight zone; Cave Diving, which teaches penetration with a single navigational choice; and Full Cave Diving, which SSI describes as its highest-level overhead certification and which adds complex navigation and decompression [2][3][4]. SSI also refers to Limited Mine and Full Mine Diving courses [2][4].
SSI's public pages give prerequisites, session counts, suggested hours and maximum training depths, and link to SSI's standards for details. Penetration distances are not stated on the public pages.
3 courses
Cave-related courses
As published on the organisation's own course or standards pages; the official page is the authority. Similar names elsewhere are not automatically equivalent.
| Course | Prerequisites | Scope and published limits |
|---|---|---|
| SSI Cavern Diving ↗Cavern · checked 2026-10-14 | Open Water Diver certification; minimum 24 logged dives. | Extended Range course for cavern penetration within the daylight zone using single-line navigation: installing a continuous guideline, conservative gas management using the rule of sixths, buoyancy and trim, non-silting propulsion, evaluating cavern sites, emergency response and protecting formations. 7 academic, 1 pool and 4 open water sessions; suggested 12 hours.As published: strictly within the daylight zone; maximum training depth 40 m. No penetration distance is stated on the public page. |
| SSI Full Cave Diving ↗Full cave · checked 2026-10-14 | SSI Cave Diving certification; minimum 75 logged dives, of which at least 10 are cave dives. | SSI's highest-level overhead certification: complex navigation including traverses, jumps, tees and gaps; lost-line, lost-light, gas-sharing and lost-diver procedures; decompression. Sidemount, twinset or rebreather. 8 academic, 1 pool and 6 open water sessions; suggested 20 hours.The page's summary table lists a maximum training depth of 100 m; no penetration or gas limits are stated on the public page. |
| SSI Cave Diving ↗Intro cave · checked 2026-10-14 | SSI Cavern Diving certification. | Procedures and protocols for cave penetration dives with a single navigational choice, team diving, and equipment configuration (sidemount, twinset or rebreather, by certification). 8 academic, 1 pool and 6 open water sessions; suggested 18 hours.As published: maximum training depth 40 m; navigation limited to a single navigational choice. Penetration and gas limits are not stated on the public page. |
4
Providers stating this affiliation
| Provider | Where | How we know |
|---|---|---|
| Underworld Tulum | Tulum | Provider's own website |
| Plura Valley | Plurdalsveien 1495, Skonseng (Rana) | Provider's own website |
| Amigos Dive Center | Fort White | Provider's own website |
| Dive Wild | Harare | Provider's own website |
Further reading
Cave diver training stages and terminology
Cavern and cave diving: what is the difference
How to choose a cave instructor or training provider
Specialist areas: sidemount, rebreathers, scooters, surveying and scientific diving
Every fact on this page, with its source (3)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SSI's Extended Range cave line is Cavern Diving, then Cave Diving, then Full Cave Diving. | Verified | [2] [3] [4] |
| SSI describes Full Cave Diving as its highest-level overhead environment certification. | Verified | [4] |
| SSI's website lists HEAD Watersports as its group company. | Verified | [1] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction