Photo by Mikhail Vedyokhin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Full Cave
Full Cave is the core cave-diving certification — it removes the depth/distance limits of Intro to Cave and covers complex navigation, multiple gas switches, team procedures, and emergency response across jumps, circuits, and traverses in a real cave system. It's for divers who've completed Intro to Cave and want unrestricted cave access rather than the conservative penetration limits that course imposes. It's the milestone most cave-training progressions are built around: everything after it (DPV Cave, Stage Cave, Cave Decompression, cave surveying) assumes Full Cave as a baseline. No fixed depth — cave dives are limited by gas planning and distance from the exit rather than a stated maximum depth; the course itself runs over 8 dives and 240 minutes of accumulated bottom time in real cave systems.
Centres that teach this course
14 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.
- $1,800total
- $1,500total
- $1,320total
- $1,050total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- Under The JungleMexicoFull Caveprivate$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
- Cave AdventurersUnited StatesFull CavePrivate class$450/day→ $900 for the 2-day minimumGroup class$350/day→ $700 for the 2-day minimum each$450per day
- Go Dive MexicoMexicoFull caveprivate$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 60,000total
- THB 60,000total
Charged by the day or dive rather than as a course price:
- €300per day
- MX$19,000total
Same training under a different agency
13 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
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
- $330per day
- $300per day
- THB 49,000total
- THB 49,000total
- THB 49,000total
- THB 55,000total
- THB 50,000total
- €1,250total
- €2,000total
Same tier, agency not stated
3 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
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 Introductory Cave Diver, minimum age 18.
Instructors Teaching This Course
Mexico
United States
Thailand
Indonesia
Philippines
Other locations
Dive Centres Offering This Course
Mexico
United States
Thailand
Indonesia
Philippines
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 Full Cave
How much does TDI Full Cave cost?
Published prices for TDI Full Cave range across 7 centres in the TecDiveTools directory — roughly US$1,000 to US$1,800 at current exchange rates. In each centre's own currency: $1,050–$1,800 (4 centres), THB 60,000 (2 centres) and MX$19,000 (1 centre). 7 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 Full Cave take?
Between 2 and 6 days, based on the durations 10 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 Full Cave?
TDI's standards require: TDI Introductory Cave Diver, minimum age 18.
What is the minimum age for TDI Full Cave?
TDI's standards state: Minimum age 18.
What is the equivalent of TDI Full Cave 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, ANDI Full Cave, PSAI Full Cave Diver and SSI XR Full Cave Diving. 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.
What course comes after TDI Full Cave?
After TDI Full Cave, divers usually go on to specialise. TDI's next courses include TDI Cave Decompression, TDI Cave Surveying Diver, TDI DPV Cave, TDI Cave Sidemount and TDI Stage Cave.
Where can I take TDI Full Cave?
112 dive centres and 152 instructors in the TecDiveTools directory teach TDI Full Cave across 6 countries, most in Mexico, the United States, Thailand and Indonesia. Each is listed further up this page.
Does the price of TDI Full Cave 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.