Intro to Cave.
Past the daylight zone, on a permanent line, in a strict team. The real overhead environment with hard limits.
What this
course is.
This is the course that separates cavern divers from cave divers. You leave the natural light zone behind, follow a permanent guideline, dive on the mainline with strict no-jump rules, and learn what it actually means to be deep inside an overhead with no direct surface. Heavy on planning, gas discipline and team protocol. Strict on prerequisites. There is no shortcut here.
Honest about
the cohort.
- Certified PSAI Cavern divers wanting to step into the full overhead environment with controlled limitations.
- Divers planning the Full Cave course who want to spread the training across two trips.
- Cave-trained divers from other agencies wanting a Cueva del Agua-specific orientation.
Drilled until
it's boring.
Skills are not a list to tick — they are habits to build. We drill them on land, drill them in the shallows, then take them into the dive.
Linear penetration
Mainline only. No jumps. No circuits. Discipline before depth.
Lost-line drills
What you do when the line is gone. Slowly. Methodically. Without panic.
Lost-buddy drills
Search, call, ascend protocol. Decided before the dive, executed in it.
Strict gas thirds
Out, back, reserve. The reserve is not for fun — it is for the wrong day.
Markers & arrows
Personal markers, directional arrows, non-directional. Read them. Use them right.
Cave navigation
Reading the cave. Mental map vs. the line. Following the team.
Failure protocols
Gas loss, light failure, freeflow, cut line. Drilled until they are boring.
Trim & finning in silt
Helicopter, modified frog, reverse. The cave never gets to see your fins kick down.
The shape
of the week.
Before
you book.
- PSAI Cavern Diver or equivalent
- Twinset or PSAI Sidemount qualification
- 75 logged dives
- Compulsory assessment dive with the instructor before the course
- Minimum age 18
In the
course price.
- Cave access at Cueva del Agua
- Six in-water training and skills sessions
- Course manual
- Reels and primary lines
- Personal sign-off — no certification by attendance
Plan
for these.
- Certification fee
- Gas (cost)
- Personal cave kit (configured to your standard)
- Insurance
Where this
takes you next.
Tech and cave are a ladder, not a catalogue. Here are the next rungs from this course.
Full Cave Diver
The autonomous cave team. Complex navigation, jumps, traverses, circuits.
View course → Build the deco sideAdv Nitrox + Deco · Combined
If you do not yet have the tech base under your cave training.
View course → Sister courseCavern Diver
If somebody you dive with is not yet certified, send them here first.
View course →Make contact.
Send a short message with your goals and certification history. We reply within twenty-four hours and answer every question before you commit.