Photo by Mikhail Vedyokhin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Cave Decompression
Combines cave diving with staged decompression, running mandatory decompression obligations while navigating a cave system. Teaches gas planning, stage management, and contingency thinking when both cave overhead constraints and decompression stops limit ascent simultaneously. For cave divers with decompression experience seeking to combine both skills.
Centres that teach this course
3 dive centres in the directory publish a price for this exact certification, checked Sep 2026. Each centre's own wording is shown beneath its name. Ranges cover whole-course prices only — where a centre charges per day or per dive, its rate is listed separately below, since a daily figure is not comparable with a course total.
- $1,100total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- CDT Mexico (Cave Diving Training)MexicoCave Deco (already deco)1 student$300/day→ $1,200 for the 4-day minimum$300per day
- CDT Mexico (Cave Diving Training)MexicoCave Deco (new to deco)1 student$300/day→ $1,800 for the 6-day minimum$300per day
- $400per day
Same training under a different agency
10 centres
A separate set of centres, teaching Technical Cave / Cave Decompression under a different agency. These are not the same certification — the standards and the card differ — but they cover the same depth and scope, which is why centres price them alike. Every row here names whose rating it is, and none of them is counted above.
- $600total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- $275per day
- Protec MexicoMexicoCave DecompressionPSAI1 student$470/day→ $1,880 for the 4-day minimum2+ students$420/day→ $1,680 for the 4-day minimum each$470per day
- $295per day
- $330per day
- $330per day
- THB 59,000total
- THB 59,000total
- THB 59,000total
- €1,000total
Same tier, agency not stated
1 centre
These centres publish a price for Technical Cave / Cave Decompression, but their own wording does not say which agency's certification it buys — many teach several and name the card only once you enquire, and some price one course for either agency. The figure is comparable; the certification is not identified, so we do not guess at one.
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- $280per day
These prices are not like-for-like. Two centres can charge very differently for the same certification because they include different things. One price may cover twinsets, stages, deco gas and cylinder rental for every training dive, a dedicated classroom for the theory, boat or transport to the site, and the agency's registration and materials; another may be tuition only, with all of that charged separately — or the other way round, with a centre bundling in extras the first leaves out. Class size, whether the course is one-to-one, and how many days are allowed for it move the figure too. Check what each centre's price includes before comparing them, and confirm with the centre before booking.
Consumables are usually extra. Sorb, helium, O₂ and other fills, park and cenote fees, certification fees and rental are commonly charged on top.
Packages combining several certifications, upgrades from an existing one, and open-ended day rates are excluded — none of them is the standalone price of this course, and including them would move the figures away from what a new student can actually book.
Prerequisites
TDI Full Cave Diver certification AND TDI Decompression Procedures Diver certification; Minimum age 18
Standards
What a diver must demonstrate to pass this course — not always published by the certifying agency.
Combines Full Cave and Decompression Procedures course standards. Requirements: cave navigation skills at depth, mandatory stop execution while managing cave environment, stage cylinder management in overhead, emergency procedures with limited ascent options, multi-level decompression gas switching
Instructors Teaching This Course
Mexico
United States
Indonesia
Dive Centres Offering This Course
Mexico
Indonesia
We're still building out the directory country by country, so this list isn't every instructor or dive centre teaching it in the world — more locations are coming soon.
Common questions about TDI Cave Decompression
How much does TDI Cave Decompression cost?
One centre in the TecDiveTools directory publishes a whole-course price for TDI Cave Decompression: Deep Dark Diving, at $1,100. 2 centres charge by the day instead, which is not comparable with a course total. Prices differ mainly in what they include, so compare the inclusions before comparing the numbers. Prices were last checked in September 2026.
How long does TDI Cave Decompression take?
Between 4 and 6 days, based on the durations 3 centres publish for it. The time depends on the centre's schedule, weather, and how quickly the required skills are demonstrated — agencies set a minimum number of dives, not a fixed number of days.
What are the prerequisites for TDI Cave Decompression?
TDI's standards require: TDI Full Cave Diver certification AND TDI Decompression Procedures Diver certification; Minimum age 18.
What is the minimum age for TDI Cave Decompression?
TDI's standards state: Minimum age 18.
What does TDI Cave Decompression training involve?
According to TDI's published standards: Combines Full Cave and Decompression Procedures course standards. Requirements: cave navigation skills at depth, mandatory stop execution while managing cave environment, stage cylinder management in overhead, emergency procedures with limited ascent options, multi-level decompression gas switching.
What is the equivalent of TDI Cave Decompression in other agencies?
At the same tier in TecDiveTools' cross-agency comparison: PSAI Cave Decompression Diver, NSS-CDS Tech Nitrox and Cave Decompression Diver and IANTD Technical Cave Diver. They cover comparable training, but each agency sets its own standards, depth limits and certification card, so they are comparable rather than interchangeable — check which one your next course accepts.
Where can I take TDI Cave Decompression?
20 dive centres and 26 instructors in the TecDiveTools directory teach TDI Cave Decompression, in Mexico, the United States, Thailand and Indonesia. Each is listed further up this page.
Does the price of TDI Cave Decompression include gas and equipment?
Not always — it varies by centre. Certification fees, equipment rental and boat or site fees are commonly charged on top of the course price. Each centre's price list on TecDiveTools shows what it notes as included.