SSI Navigation
You surface near the boat, current running the wrong way, and you're not entirely sure which direction you actually came from.
Most divers never really learn to navigate in Open Water, there simply isn't time. SSI Navigation fixes that with two real skills: reading a dive site itself, and running a compass heading with confidence.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
“Just Follow Your Buddy” Isn't Really a Navigation Plan
It is what most divers do anyway, certified or not, because compass skills rarely get more than a passing mention in Open Water. That is fine until your buddy is not there, or until you want to take a side trip off the main route and find your own way back.
SSI Navigation teaches natural navigation (reading rock formations, slope, bottom composition) alongside real compass technique, until orientation stops being a guess. Two open water training dives apply both in real conditions. $249 per diver (group) or $349 (private). Bundle with Perfect Buoyancy for $395. Prerequisites: Open Water Diver, minimum age 10.
Most Divers Never Really Learn to Navigate in Open Water. That Is Not a Failure. It Is Just Unfinished.
Open Water introduces a compass, but there usually is not time to build real comfort with it. If you find yourself relying entirely on your buddy or your guide to know which way is back, you are not behind. You simply have not had focused practice yet.
This is exactly what continuing education is for. Not to prove you are advanced. To replace guesswork with a skill you can actually rely on.
Navigation Is for the Diver Who Wants to Stop Wondering Where They Are
This is usually the right next step if any of these sound familiar.
You rely entirely on your buddy to find the way back
If your dive buddy is your only navigation plan, Navigation gives you a real skill of your own to fall back on.
You want to explore a side trip and find your way back
Natural and compass navigation together let you wander a dive site confidently instead of staying glued to the anchor line.
You are planning a liveaboard or guided trip
Many liveaboards and structured trips expect basic navigation competence. This course builds it before you go.
You want one less thing to worry about underwater
Not knowing where you are adds quiet background stress to every dive. Removing that stress makes every dive more enjoyable.
Choose Your Next Step After Open Water
You worry about where you are
Best for orientation, compass use, natural navigation, and reducing the “where are we?” stress.
You want diving to feel easier overall
Best for comfort, trim, weighting, breathing, and reducing task load on every dive.
You are headed out on charter boats
Best for boat entries, exits, currents, and the logistics specific to diving from a boat.
Before and After
Most divers can describe exactly what changes after this course. Here is what that looks like in practice.
| Before | After |
| Relying entirely on your buddy to navigate | Confident with your own compass and natural references |
| Anxious about losing the entry point | Comfortable returning to your start point on your own |
| Avoiding side trips away from the group | Able to explore confidently and find your way back |
| Constantly checking with the guide | Independent orientation throughout the dive |
What You’ll Train
Two open water training dives, scheduled around you.
Before getting in the water, practice natural and reciprocal compass navigation on land so the technique is familiar before you add the complexity of being underwater.
Travel away from your entry point using natural references, then practice a reciprocal compass heading with your buddy. Combine both methods to navigate a side trip and return.
Apply multiple course headings and more complex patterns, building toward the kind of independent navigation you will use on every future dive.
Your SSI Navigation certification is a lifetime credential, recognized worldwide, and one of the most immediately useful specialties for everyday diving.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $249 per diver (group) · $349 per diver (private) |
| Bundle pricing | $395 when combined with Perfect Buoyancy (group) · $449 (private) |
| Format | Two open water training dives · online academics via MySSI app |
| Location | Lake Travis or Spring Lake |
| Prerequisites | Open Water Diver (any agency) · minimum age 10 · may enroll as Referral Diver |
| Certification awarded | SSI Navigation · lifetime certification, recognized worldwide |
Ready to stop guessing?
SSI Navigation: $249 · Austin, TX
Two open water training dives. Bundle with Perfect Buoyancy for $395. Call (512) 451-3425.
Signup now!!Navigation Sits in the Control / Comfort Pathway
Navigation is one of the most commonly paired Control / Comfort specialties, since orientation removes a major source of underwater stress and pairs naturally with buoyancy work.
Control / Comfort
Buoyancy, navigation, boat procedures, night and limited visibility, and other confidence-building skills.
Explore & Enrichment
Marine ecology, fish and coral identification, and other ways to understand what you are seeing underwater.
Optimize
Nitrox, computers, equipment, and other tools that make diving more efficient once your basics are dialed in.
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
The best divers don’t chase certifications. They build capabilities. Navigation is a perfect example: it is not a card to collect, it is the confidence of always knowing how to get back, on every dive for the rest of your diving life.
Tom’s instructors train navigation at real Austin-area sites, Lake Travis and Spring Lake, so the skills transfer directly to the conditions you will actually dive in. Tom’s has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982. We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Over 18,000 certified divers and over 400 five-star Google reviews.
Trained at Lake Travis and Spring Lake
Practice navigation in real conditions, not just a pool, so the skill is ready the first time you need it on a trip.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
Four decades of teaching navigation to divers who needed to actually rely on it, not just pass a test.
Pair With Perfect Buoyancy for $395
Navigation and Perfect Buoyancy together remove two of the biggest stressors for newer divers, at a bundled price.
One of Austin’s Largest Instructor Teams
Flexible scheduling for your two open water training dives, built around your availability.
We follow DAN dive safety protocols.
Tom’s follows Divers Alert Network (DAN) safety standards and recommends DAN dive accident insurance for every certified diver. Safety is not a checkbox on our website. It is the foundation of how Tom’s has operated since 1982.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for the course itself; Tom’s provides what you need for training. If you plan to dive regularly afterward, owning a compass you are familiar with is a worthwhile investment.
Compasses can be affected by large metal structures (like wrecks) or strong magnetic anomalies, but work reliably in typical open water and reef conditions, which is what this course focuses on.
Yes. Navigation and Perfect Buoyancy are a strong first continuing education bundle for $395, since one builds orientation and the other builds control.
Each has strengths. Natural navigation works well in good visibility with clear landmarks; a compass works regardless of visibility. The course teaches both so you can use whichever fits the dive.
Yes. All students complete an SSI Medical Statement before any in-water activity. Most people do not require a physician’s signature.