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Introductory Cave Diver in worldwide: 51 dive centres on TecDiveTools, with agencies, courses taught and a summary of what students say. 28 publish course prices.
TecDiveTools lists 51 dive centres teaching Introductory Cave Diver worldwide. 28 of them publish course prices, in the currency the shop advertises and with the date each was checked — not converted, and not estimated.
Listings are ordered by how much evidence exists about their technical diving, not by a star rating, with any paid Featured listing shown first and marked as such (how rankings work). 33 of these 51 carry reviews we have read and classified as being about technical or overhead training. The count excludes recreational certifications by name, so a busy resort does not outrank a one-instructor cave operation on the volume of its reef trips. Separately, 26 have at least one instructor whose reviews we have read and summarised — a dive centre carries no synthesis of its own. How we read and count reviews.
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About the course
This entry-level cave certification qualifies Cavern Divers or Overhead Environment Divers to conduct limited penetrations into cave systems (typically less than 130 fsw / 39 msw) using fundamental guideline protocols and basic emergency procedures. You'll master line-laying techniques specific to cave geometry, silt management in cave environments, and emergency protocols appropriate for introductory-level penetrations. Introductory Cave Diver is the essential step toward full Cave Diver certification and enables access to limited-penetration cave systems worldwide.
Divers must demonstrate competency in proper line-laying and following, silt management, navigation in limited light, emergency procedures including line-following ascent, and team management in overhead environments.
51 dive centres on TecDiveTools teach IANTD Introductory Cave Diver worldwide: Mexico (33), Thailand (9), United States (6) and Indonesia (3). Each is listed above.
Published prices for IANTD Introductory Cave Diver worldwide range across 6 centres in the TecDiveTools directory — roughly US$850 to US$1,200 at current exchange rates. In each centre's own currency: THB 30,000–39,000 (4 centres), $1,000 (1 centre) and €1,000 (1 centre). 5 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.
Between 2 and 6 days, based on the durations 8 centres publish for it worldwide. 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.
At the same tier in TecDiveTools' cross-agency comparison, dive centres worldwide also teach TDI Intro to Cave (131), RAID Cave 1 (4), NSS-CDS Apprentice Cave Diver (2), ANDI Intro to Cave (2) and PSAI Intro to Cave Diver (1). They are comparable rather than interchangeable — each agency sets its own standards and card, so check which one your next course accepts.
