Photo by Mikhail Vedyokhin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Full Cave Diving
Master the most advanced overhead-environment training with beyond-light-zone cave diving, complex navigation, deep decompression, and emergency procedures. This advanced course teaches navigation beyond natural light, complex line-following in total darkness, deep cave decompression procedures spanning many hours, and emergency protocols specific to the most remote overhead environments. Full Cave Diving represents the highest level of cave training and qualifies you for the world's most challenging cave systems.
What it costs
No centre in the directory publishes a price for this exact certification yet. What follows is what the same training costs elsewhere.
Same training under a different agency
25 centres
A separate set of centres, teaching Full Cave 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.
- $1,000total
- $1,200total
- $1,800total
- $1,500total
- $1,320total
- $1,050total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- $275per day
- Protec MexicoMexicoFull CavePSAI1 student$420/day→ $1,680 for the 4-day minimum2+ students$370/day→ $1,480 for the 4-day minimum each$420per day
- $295per day
- Cave AdventurersUnited StatesFull CaveTDIPrivate class$450/day→ $900 for the 2-day minimumGroup class$350/day→ $700 for the 2-day minimum each$450per day
- $330per day
- $300per day
- Under The JungleMexicoFull CaveTDIprivate$345/day→ $1,725 for the 5-day minimumper diver in a group$295/day→ $1,475 for the 5-day minimum each$345per day
- $300per day
- Go Dive MexicoMexicoFull caveTDIprivate$330/day→ $1,650 for the 5-day minimum2+ divers$300/day→ $1,500 for the 5-day minimum each$330per day
- $350per day
- $235per day
- THB 49,000total
- THB 49,000total
- THB 49,000total
- THB 55,000total
- THB 50,000total
- €1,250total
- €2,000total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- €300per day
- MX$19,000total
Same tier, agency not stated
4 centres
These centres publish a price for Full Cave, 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.
- $1,500total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- $280per day
- THB 45,000total
- THB 60,000total
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
Cave Diving certification, minimum 75 logged dives total, minimum 10 cave dives.
No instructors or dive centres found offering this course.
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 SSI XR Full Cave Diving
What are the prerequisites for SSI XR Full Cave Diving?
SSI XR's standards require: Cave Diving certification, minimum 75 logged dives total, minimum 10 cave dives.
How many dives do I need before starting SSI XR Full Cave Diving?
SSI XR's standards state: Minimum 75 logged dives total.
What is the equivalent of SSI XR Full Cave Diving in other agencies?
At the same tier in TecDiveTools' cross-agency comparison: NSS-CDS Advanced Cave Diver, RAID Cave 2, NSS-CDS Cave Diver, IANTD Cave Diver, TDI Full Cave, ANDI Full Cave and PSAI Full 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.