tdi iNTRO TO CAVE DIVING COURSE in Playa del Carmen

TDI INTRO TO CAVE DIVING COURSE IN PLAYA DEL CARMEN

- 4 Days Minimum- $285/day  - Price based on 2 divers. If single diver, please add $35

This is your first incursion past the cavern zone. The TDI Intro to Cave Course teaches you the skills to safely dive in caves, in backmount twinset or sidemount configuration, respecting the conservative 1/6th rule of gas management, and following only the main cave line.

This course won't prepare you for complex navigation — that's what Full Cave Diver is for, and this course is the prerequisite. What it will do is prepare you for the real hazards of cave diving: lost visibility, a lost guideline, team separation, loss of breathing gas, and more.

Expect theory sessions, land drills, open water sessions, and a minimum of 4-6 dives.

 

 

 

What follows the Intro to Cave Course?

Once you've completed this course, you can take your time gaining experience before moving on, or go straight into Full Cave.

What you can expect to learn:

The TDI Intro to Cave Diver Course takes an in-depth look at all of the following and more:

  • Policy for cave diving
  • Gas management procedures and management to include dissimilar volumes
  • Psychological considerations of cave diving
  • Equipment considerations including:
    • Cylinder options
    • Regulator options
    • Buoyancy compensator/harness options
    • Proper weighting
    • Reel options
    • Equipment configurations
  • Communication (light and hand signals)
  • Swimming techniques
    • Body posture/trim
    • Buoyancy control
    • Line following
    • Propulsion (finning) techniques
  • Physiology
    • Breathing techniques
    • Stress management
  • Cave environment
  • Cave conservation
  • Problem solving
    • Emergency procedures
    • Equipment failure
    • Silting conditions
  • Accident analysis
  • Cave diving etiquette
  • Review of dive tables and decompression theory

Some of the required skills you will have to demonstrate include:

  • Properly deploy a guideline
  • Properly use line markers
  • Properly follow a guideline with eyes open and closed (simulating loss of visibility)
  • Air share with a buddy with eyes open, following a guideline
  • Air share with a buddy with lights off and eyes closed, using touch contact while following the guideline
  • Remove and replace mask while in contact with the guideline
  • Demonstrate conservation, awareness, and back referencing techniques
  • Demonstrate light/hand signals and touch contact
  • Demonstrate anti-silting techniques
  • Simulate a primary light failure and use back up light to exit
  • Demonstrate buoyancy control, proper trim, and propulsion techniques

COURSE PREREQUISITES

These requirements must be met prior to commencement of training

Minimum age 18
Minimum of 100 logged dives (log book must be provided)
Provide proof of TDI Cavern Diver certification or equivalent

Cave Diving Course Combinations:

Cavern Diver + Intro To Cave 

Intro to Cave  + Full Cave 

Cavern + Intro to Cave + Full Cave Diver 

Add sidemount training  (extra 3 days)

Exact course duration depends on your pace and experience — I'll confirm timing with you directly once we talk

Prices Include:

  • Transportation to and from the cenote(s) departing from downtown Playa del Carmen.
  • Tanks (double tanks or sidemount tanks)
  • Weights if needed

Not Included:

  • Manual
  • Technical Diving Equipment. Can be rented for a fee, but students should have their own equipment for this level of diving.
  • Cenote entry Fees (Mx$300-500/Day)
  • Certification Fees
  • Lunch
  • Personal Diving Equipment - see list of required equipment.

 

TDI Intro to Cave Diving Training

What’s in it for you?

Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may engage in single guideline cave diving activities without direct supervision provided the graduates adhere to the following requirements:

  • The diving activities approximate those of training
  • Planned dives do not exceed diver’s current certification level
  • Penetration is limited to the “rule of thirds,” OR 1/6th if using doubles to a maximum depth of 40 metres/130 feet.
  • Proper cave diving equipment must be used
  • Maintain a continuous guideline
  • Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are qualified to progress on to the next level of overhead environment training: the TDI Full Cave Diver course!
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