Diving Courses

AMBA will travel to two atolls of the Maldives during the cruise. Our diving Dhoni will take the divers to beautiful dive sites, specific to the adventure dive you are doing. Let’s say, a Drift Dive at Miyaru Kandu (Shark Channel) where you cross the most beautiful channel in Vaavu Atoll and see 40+ Grey Reef Sharks, White Tips and a few Eagle Rays. Mantas, schools of Barracudas and Jackfish and a couple of turtles on a single dive! Or a sunset/night dive with numerous Nurse Sharks near Alimatha & Dhiggiri. Or a Deep Dive at Kandooma where you have a chance of seeing magnificent soft corals and even 7-8 Eagle Rays flying by. The dive site for a specific adventure dive is subject to weather conditions, safety, and feasibility.

You get the chance of not only seeing the pristine lagoons but also will be able to see the sandy white beaches of the island nearby the lagoon. The Peak Performance Buoyancy adventure dive will be conducted in one of those lagoons where you see lots of life but also have the calmness of the lagoon to perfect your buoyancy. You will also be living on a lovely boat, with all the facilities and features you need right at your fingertips. There’s morning coffee, a wonderful big breakfast right after the first dive, lunch with different cuisines from all over the world for lunch (including vegetarian and vegan options upon request) after the second dive. A sweet snack in the afternoon after the third dive followed a tasty dinner after sunset. Doing the Advanced Open Water course at AMBA is a no-brainer for most people! The course is a lot cheaper than local islands in the Maldives, and substantially cheaper than resorts in the Maldives.

• PADI, Advanced Open Water Diver e-learning
• AMBA-logbook
• 5 Adventure Dives in world-class dive sites
• Daily 2–3 dives for the rest of the tour.
• Free rental for ALL scuba equipment during the course
• PADI Advanced Open Water Diver License card.

Requirements for participation
• Certified as PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or equivalent certification from other organizations.
• Medically fit to dive

Structure of the course
• Knowledge Development
• E-learning and self-study before coming on board on AMBA.
• Knowledge review and additional help with theory by Instructor online or once on board
• In Water Training

III. Open Water Training: 5 Adventure Dives conducted at different dive sites.

I. E-Learning Self Study
Once the course is confirmed, the student will receive e-learning for the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course as an email. The student can progress through the e-learning at their pace, with the only deadline being that the e-learning must be done before coming on board on AMBA Live aboard.

II. Knowledge Review and additional help from Instructor
Our instructors will have direct contact and communication with the students, ensuring they are progressing through the course. The students can request for online classes for explanations needed for the theory, making sure they are thorough with the theory. Once on board, the instructor will also conduct Knowledge Reviews and extra classes if required.

III. Open Water Training
The Advanced Open Water Course consists of 5 Adventure Dives. The Adventure Dives offered at AMBA are Deep, Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Drift & Night Adventure Dive. The Adventure Dives are selected with a lot of thought in mind about what the students will see and how it will improve them as a diver and make them more experienced.

A. Deep Adventure Dive
The Deep Dive is a mandatory dive in the Advanced Open Water Course. This is probably the first Adventure Dive our Advanced Open Water students will do. The reason for this is basic. This gives the students the ability to go to 30m in any dive afterward if needed! Of course, not all dives are done at this depth. The Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive and the Night Dive are very shallow, being only about 10-12m deep. Being able to go to 30m lets you do some wonderful dives which you wouldn’t have been able to do if not. Like Channel dives. Most channels in Central Maldives start at 30m.

B. Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive
The Navigation Adventure Dive is also a mandatory dive in the Advanced Open Water Course. In this dive, the students will practice their buoyancy and also navigation skills using a compass. Kick cycles and how to use kick cycles to estimate distances will also be taught.

C. Peak Performance Buoyancy
The Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive is one of the most useful dives in the Advanced Open Water course. The reason Peak Performance Buoyancy is offered at AMBA is that we believe that buoyancy is key to building a good diver. Good buoyancy with good judgement and safety considerations makes a “perfect diver”. When buoyancy is good, the diver inherently uses less air on dives, dives smoother and is better in currents, which is essential in any live aboard diving.

D. Drift Adventure Dive
If you are keen on diving on liveaboards, is whether it is in the Similan Islands, Indonesia, Komodo, or the Maldives, knowing the techniques to dive in current is essential. If you’re eager to see big sharks, diving in the current is the only way to go. Sharks like staying in medium to strong current split points and opening their mouths, cleaning it and having fun. You might also see some sharks hunting weak fishes during a dive like this.

E. Night Adventure Dive
Night diving gives divers another level of confidence. It is also an entirely different experience which helps the student divers learn navigation in an entirely different manner. The Night Adventure dive will be done in an area which is protected from current, so the student divers can be more relaxed. On the night dive you have the possibility of seeing up to 20 nurse sharks, some mantas, and even turtles.

At AMBA, all of our fun dives are done on Nitrox if you’re an Enriched Air certified diver. You do not have to pay extra to get Nitrox. Doing the Nitrox Course is definitely a step-up to any recreational diver. A lot of our dives are to 30m, in channels and pinnacles, so having 25 minutes NDL at 30m when using 32% Nitrox instead of the usual 16 minutes on air is crucial. Your dives are a lot more fun and relaxing when using Nitrox instead of normal air.

During the course tour, AMBA travels to two atolls of the Maldives. Our diving Dhoni will take the divers to beautiful dive sites like; Miyaru Kandu (Shark Channel) where you cross the most beautiful channel in Vaavu Atoll and see 40+ Grey Reef Sharks, White Tips and a few Eagle Rays, Mantas, schools of Barracudas and Jackfish and a couple of turtles on a single dive! Or a sunset/night dive with numerous Nurse Sharks near Alimatha & Dhiggiri. Or a Deep Dive at Kandooma Thila where you have a chance of seeing magnificent soft corals and even 7-8 Eagle Rays flying by. The dive site for specific adventure dives is subject to weather conditions, safety and feasibility.

You will also be living on a lovely boat, with all the facilities and features you need right at your fingertips. There’s morning coffee before your first dive. A wonderful big breakfast right after the first dive. Lunch with different cuisines from all over the world (including vegetarian options upon request) after the second dive. A sweet snack in the evening after the third dive, followed a world-class dinner after sunset.

Doing the PADI Enriched Air Diver course at AMBA is a no-brainer for most people! The course is similar priced to Koh Tao, a lot cheaper than local islands in the Maldives and substantially cheaper than resorts in the Maldives.

• PADI Enriched Air Diver E-Learning
• AMBA-Special logbook
• 2 training dives of the PADI Enriched Air course.
• Daily 2–3 dives for the rest of the tour.
• Free rental of ALL scuba equipment during the course
• PADI Advanced Open Water Diver License card

Requirements for participation
• Be an Open Water Diver or consequently enrolled in PADI Open Diver Course
• 12 years old

Structure of the course
• Knowledge Development
• E-learning and self-study before coming on board on AMBA.
• Knowledge review and additional help with theory by Instructor online or once on board

In Water Training
• Open Water Training: 2 Enriched Air Training Dives

I. E-Learning Self Study
Once the course is confirmed, the student will receive an eLearning registration code for PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course as an email. The student can progress through the eLearning at their own pace with the only deadline being that the eLearning must be done before coming on board on AMBA. Since the Instructors introduce themselves beforehand by WhatsApp the Student can contact the instructor at any time before to ask questions if needed.

II. Knowledge Review and additional help from Instructor
Our instructors will have direct contact and communication with the students, ensuring they are progressing through the course as described above, the students can request for online classes for explanations needed for the theory making sure they are thorough with the theory. Once on board, the instructor will also conduct Knowledge Reviews and extra classes if needed.

III. Open Water Training
The PADI Enriched Air Diver Course consists of 2 training dives. Although the training dives are optional and can be replaced with dive simulations, we believe that having the students dives on Enriched Air and experience it is way better than perfuming simulations. The students will also learn how to analyze their scuba tanks and label for the specific blend during the course. They will also learn how to setup their computer for Enriched Air and calculate the Maximum Operating Depth (MOD) and Partial Pressures during the course.

When you’re on a boat and away from hospitals, having the knowledge and skills to be a first responder is crucial. Whether it is a cut from a knife, or a diving incident, being able to respond quickly and provide adequate care can save a life or reduce the impact of an injury. At AMBA, we will be able to give realistic scenarios of situations which can arise. This will help the students to understand how to react and when to react.

• PADI Emergency First Response e-learning
• AMBA-Special logbook
• Daily 2–3 dives for the rest of the tour.
• PADI Emergency First Response Card

Requirements for participation
• Desire to help others

Structure of the course
• Knowledge Development
• e-learning and self-study before coming on board on AMBA Liveaboard
• Knowledge review and additional help with theory by Instructor online or once on board
• In Water Training

I. E-Learning Self Study
Once the course is confirmed, the student will receive eLearning for PADI Emergency First Response course as an email. The student can progress through the eLearning at their own pace, with the only deadline being that the eLearning must be done before coming on board on AMBA Liveaboard

II. Knowledge Review and additional help from Instructor
Our instructors will have direct contact and communication with the students, ensuring they are progressing through the course. The students can request for online classes for explanations needed for the theory, making sure they are thorough with the theory. Once on board, the instructor will also conduct Knowledge Reviews and extra classes if needed.

Learn eight crucial skills to assist others during a crisis. Practice bandaging and splinting, gain practical experience performing CPR on a customized manikin, and use your newly acquired abilities in a role-playing exercise.

Being a diver yourself, knowing self-rescue skills and also how to rescue someone else is absolutely crucial. AMBA is a diving liveaboard, so we believe that it is possibly the best place to do your Rescue Course. We will teach you adjustments on how to act, dependent on the weather, current and other conditions.

• PADI Rescue Diver e-learning
• AMBA-Special logbook
• Daily 2–3 dives for rest of the tour.
• PADI Emergency First Response Card

Requirements for participation
• 12 years old
• PADI (Junior) Adventure Diver – must have completed Navigation Adventure Dive
• EFR Primary and Secondary training within the past 24 months

Structure of the course
• Knowledge Development
• e-learning and self-study before coming on board on AMBA Liveaboard
• Knowledge review, knowledge development and additional help with theory by Instructor online and in person once on board
• In Water Training

a. Confined Water Sessions
b. Open Water Sessions

I. E-Learning Self Study
Once the course is confirmed, the student will receive e-Learning for PADI Rescue Diver course as an email. The student can progress through the e-Learning at their own pace, with the only deadline being that the e-Learning must be done before coming on board on AMBA.

II. Knowledge Review and additional help from Instructor
Our instructors will have direct contact and communication with the students, ensuring they are progressing through the course. The students can request for online classes for explanations needed for the theory, making sure they are thorough with the theory. Once on board, the instructor will also conduct Knowledge Reviews and extra classes if needed.

During the Knowledge Development sessions, the students will make an Emergency Action plan for a specific dive site.

II. In Water Training

a. Confined Water
All the self-rescue skills will be conducted in confined water in a shallow lagoon. This will help the students to attain mastery in each skill. The Rescue Exercises 1-10 will also be conducted in confined water as a measure of practice.

b. In Open Water
The students will perform Rescue Exercise 1-10 (except 9) in Open Water. The students will also perform the Rescue Scenario 1 and 2 in Open Water.