SSI Wreck Diving Course
A reef grows over centuries. A wreck arrives all at once.
Wreck Diving teaches you to plan, navigate, and safely explore a category of dive site that reef diving alone cannot offer: structure, history, and marine life that moved in after the wreck became part of the ocean. No special skills required beyond solid basics, just the right preparation.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
Most Dive Sites Were Never Built to Be Dived. Wrecks Were Built for Something Else Entirely.
A reef grows over centuries. A wreck arrives all at once. The transition from ship to dive site happens fast by geological standards, but the result is something unique: a man-made structure reclaimed by the ocean, full of context, history, and life that moved in after. No two wrecks are the same, and no other diving puts you in the same relationship with place and time.
The SSI Wreck Diving course teaches you to plan, navigate, and safely explore wreck sites. One classroom and pool session, then a half-day at the lake for two open water training dives. $249 per diver (group) or $349 (private). Prerequisites: Open Water certification (any agency), minimum age 15.
Wreck Diving Does Not Require New Skills. It Requires Respect for a New Environment.
If you have ever looked at a wreck on a dive map and felt a flicker of hesitation along with the curiosity, that is the right instinct, not a reason to stay away. A wreck adds structure, current, reduced visibility pockets, and navigation challenges that an open reef simply does not have. None of that means you are not ready. It means the environment deserves specific preparation, which is exactly what this course gives you.
This is not about proving you are an advanced diver. It is about being properly prepared for an environment that rewards preparation more than any other kind of recreational diving.
Wreck Diving Is for the Diver Who Wants More Than a Reef
This is usually the right next step if any of these sound familiar.
Your dive travel list includes wreck sites
Truk Lagoon, the SS Thistlegorm, the wrecks of Bonaire or Cozumel. This certification is what gets you on those dives with confidence instead of hoping for the best.
You want a different kind of dive
Coral reefs are extraordinary. Wrecks are different: structure, history, and the marine life that colonizes a wreck creates an experience reef diving alone cannot replicate.
You want context, not just sightseeing
Every wreck has a story. Researching a ship before the dive and recognizing its features underwater transforms the experience into something closer to archaeology.
You want the most photogenic environment there is
Structure, artificial reef growth, resident marine life, and ambient light filtering into holds create shots unavailable anywhere else.
Choose Your Next Access-Lane Step
You want structure, history, and a new kind of site
Best for divers drawn to man-made structures and the marine life and history that comes with them.
You want to go further down, not into something
Best for divers whose goal is extending depth range and managing the physiological factors that come with it.
You want methodical, pattern-based diving
Best for divers who enjoy the problem-solving of locating and recovering objects using search patterns.
What You’ll Train
Five academic sections cover site research, wreck-specific equipment, locating wrecks, dive planning and exploration, and the skills for advanced wreck diving. Here is how the in-person sessions run at Tom’s.
Five sections at your own pace: site selection and research; wreck-specific equipment including safety lines, reels, and lights; locating wrecks and getting there; planning and executing a wreck dive including navigation, hazards, and artifact law; and the skills for advanced wreck diving in overhead environments.
Your instructor walks through wreck-specific equipment with your actual gear: light configuration and backup placement, slate and compass setup, safety line handling, and streamlining your kit to avoid snag hazards. The pool session covers controlled descent technique, buoyancy on a wreck, and navigation skills that transfer directly to the lake dives.
Two dives at Lake Travis or Spring Lake. Dive 1 is a general wreck orientation: descending on the wreck, understanding its layout, identifying hazards, and navigating to and from the ascent point. Dive 2 applies tethered line reels and safety lines to explore a portion of the wreck site.
By the end you can plan and execute a wreck dive as a certified buddy team. Your SSI Wreck Diving certification is a lifetime credential, recognized worldwide, with Advanced Wreck Diving available as the next upgrade.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $249 per diver (group) · $349 per diver (private) |
| Format | Private class · scheduled around you · online academics via MySSI app |
| Session 1 | Classroom & pool · weeknight 6:30 to 10:30 pm · 5909 Burnet Rd, Austin TX 78757 |
| Session 2 | Half-day lake dives · weekend 8:00 am to 2:00 pm · Lake Travis or Spring Lake |
| Open water dives | 2 dives required for Wreck Diving certification |
| Prerequisites | Open Water certification (any agency) · completed Medical Statement · minimum age 15 |
| Required equipment | Dive slate & compass · primary, backup & tank lights · logbook · personal dive equipment |
| Certification awarded | SSI Wreck Diving · lifetime certification, recognized worldwide |
| Advanced upgrade | Upgrade to SSI Advanced Wreck Diving: dry land reel and line session plus 2 dives with limited daylight-zone penetration (max depth 100 ft / linear distance 130 ft) |
Gear You’ll Need for This Course
Tom’s provides tanks and half-price rental gear for pool and lake sessions. You will need to bring the following:
What Wreck Diving Actually Is and Is Not
"Wreck diving means going inside the wreck."
No. SSI Wreck Diving covers exterior dives only. Wreck penetration requires the Advanced Wreck Diving upgrade for limited daylight-zone penetration, and full technical penetration requires extended range programs beyond that.
"This is dangerous compared to normal diving."
Exterior wreck diving is no more dangerous than other recreational diving when divers are properly trained. The specific hazards (sharp metal, entanglement risk, navigation) are all manageable with the knowledge this course provides.
"My compass will work the same as on a reef."
No. Steel and iron in a wreck interferes with compass readings. Wreck navigation relies on natural references, structural landmarks, and safety lines, which is one of the key skills this course teaches directly.
"I am too new a diver for this."
You only need Open Water certification, but buoyancy control matters more on a wreck than on an open reef. If you are newly certified, taking Perfect Buoyancy first will make your wreck diving considerably safer and more enjoyable.
Ready to dive into history?
SSI Wreck Diving: $249 · Austin, TX
Private class scheduled around you. Ask about upgrading to Advanced Wreck Diving. Call (512) 451-3425 to schedule.
Signup now!!Wreck Diving Sits in the Access Pathway
Access is for divers ready to reach new environments and greater depth or challenge. Wreck Diving is one of the most popular entry points into this lane, because it adds an entirely new category of dive site without requiring a different style of diving.
Optimize
Nitrox, computers, equipment, and other tools that make diving more efficient and extend your bottom time.
Access
Wreck diving, deep diving, decompression diving, sidemount, and other ways to reach new environments and depth.
Precision / XR
Extended range, technical wreck, and overhead environments for divers ready for a different category of training.
We Build Divers We Would Trust With Our Own Families.
The best divers don’t chase certifications. They build capabilities. Wreck diving rewards exactly that kind of preparation: you get more from a wreck when you know what you are looking at, how to navigate it, and how to manage the specific equipment the environment requires. Tom’s Dive & Swim has been Austin’s only SSI Dive Center since 1982, and our 30 or more active SSI-certified instructors bring real wreck diving experience to every course.
We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Over 18,000 certified divers have trained with Tom’s. Over 400 five-star Google reviews and counting.
Instructors Who Actually Dive Wrecks
Wreck-specific instruction is only as good as the instructor's real experience in the environment. Tom’s instructors bring genuine wreck diving background to every session, not just the academic curriculum.
Open Longer Than Any Other Austin Dive Shop Still in Business
We were teaching scuba in Austin before any of the other Austin dive shops opened. Four decades of experience across every kind of diving, including wrecks.
Lake Travis Training, Worldwide Application
Train on intentionally placed wreck structures at Lake Travis or Spring Lake, then take the certification to the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, Great Lakes, or major international sites.
One of Austin’s Largest Instructor Teams
More than 30 active SSI-certified instructors means flexible private scheduling built around your availability, not the other way around.
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
SSI Wreck Diving covers exterior diving: site research, equipment, navigation, and exploration of the outside of the structure. Advanced Wreck Diving adds limited penetration within the daylight zone, including guideline and reel techniques and a dry land skill session. The two can be taken sequentially, or Advanced can be taken later as a standalone with existing Wreck Diving certification.
Yes, with one important caveat: buoyancy control matters more on a wreck than on an open reef. Poor buoyancy near a wreck means contacting sharp metal, stirring up silt, or damaging the structure. If you are newly certified, completing Perfect Buoyancy first will make your wreck diving considerably safer and more enjoyable.
Wreck diving requires a primary light and at least one backup. Wrecks have shadowed areas and structural overhangs where ambient light drops significantly. If you do not own lights, Tom’s carries dive lights in the shop and can help you select an appropriate primary and backup before your course starts.
No. Artifact collection is illegal at most wreck sites without a permit, and against the law in almost every country worldwide. This applies to training dives as well as recreational dives. The rule is observe only.
Yes. Lake Travis has intentionally sunk vessels and structures used for wreck training. Once you are certified, wreck destinations open up worldwide: the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, the Great Lakes, and major international sites like Truk Lagoon and the SS Thistlegorm all become accessible.
Wreck Diving is a private course at Tom’s. There is no fixed calendar date to register for. Contact us to book and we will match you with an available instructor and schedule the two sessions around your availability. Call (512) 451-3425 or stop by the shop.
Yes. All students complete an SSI Medical Statement before any in-water activity. Most people do not require a physician’s signature. Call (512) 451-3425 if you have questions about a specific condition.