You have your Open Water card and five adventure dives to choose, but most course listings point to the same two islands. The reef shape decides what those dives teach.
Our answer: outside Bali and Lombok, the Indonesian options worth comparing are North Sulawesi, the Togean Islands, Raja Ampat and Komodo. Choose between them by terrain and current.
We teach the SSI Advanced Adventurer at Reconnect's dive center on Buka Buka Island, in the Togean Islands.
TL;DR
- Choose the destination by the adventure dives you want to log, not by flight time from Bali.
- In SSI, "Advanced Open Water Diver" is not a course you book but the rating you earn after 4 specialties and 24 logged dives.
- In the Togean Islands, we price the course separately from the stay and run training dives at reef sites around Buka Buka, reached by short boat rides.
What does the SSI Advanced Adventurer actually involve?
The SSI Advanced Adventurer is the bookable five-dive course that follows Open Water. Each adventure dive gives you a guided first taste of one specialty, and you choose the mix with your instructor. You study the theory through SSI's digital learning.
Common adventure dive choices include:
- Deep
- Navigation
- Night and Limited Visibility
- Perfect Buoyancy
- Boat
- Fish Identification
Why does the destination change what your adventure dives teach?
An adventure dive only teaches the skill the site forces you to use. On a sandy slope, you hold depth by watching the bottom. On a wall, the bottom may sit beyond 40 meters, so your gauge and buoyancy do the work.
Navigation works the opposite way. A continuous reef acts like a handrail in a dark hallway. Keep it on one shoulder and you cannot get lost, which builds confidence but not compass skills.
A pinnacle or a sand flat takes the handrail away.
- For Deep and Perfect Buoyancy: pick a destination with walls.
- For Navigation: pick one with pinnacles or open sand.
- For Night: any calm reef works.
Which Indonesian destinations outside Bali and Lombok suit the course?
| Destination | Terrain | Adventure dives it suits | Honest tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Sulawesi (Bunaken, Lembeh) | Bunaken walls; Lembeh black-sand muck slopes | Deep, Perfect Buoyancy, Fish ID | Lembeh's muck diving is slow and focused on small subjects. It does little for Navigation. |
| Togean Islands | Walls, pinnacles, coral gardens; visibility averages about 30 meters | Deep, Navigation, Perfect Buoyancy | Remote. Plan a full travel day from the airport. |
| Raja Ampat | Reefs and current points | Fish ID, Boat, Perfect Buoyancy | A long trip via Sorong, often sold as a liveaboard trip. |
| Komodo | Channels and pinnacles with current | Boat, Fish ID | Strong currents at many sites are demanding at low dive counts. |
How we would rank them for a first Advanced course:
- Best fit: North Sulawesi or the Togean Islands. Their walls make Deep and Buoyancy meaningful.
- Alternative: Raja Ampat, if you are already travelling that far east.
- Think twice: Komodo straight after Open Water. It works better as the trip where you use your new skills.
How does the Advanced Adventurer run in the Togean Islands?
Step 1: Get there
There are two reliable routes into the Togeans:
- Via Luwuk (the main gateway): fly to Luwuk, usually via Makassar. Take a private car to the port of Ampana, which takes about 5 hours and costs IDR 1,000,000 per car. We arrange the car, then our free shuttle boat leaves Ampana at 17:00.
- Via Gorontalo: take the overnight ferry to Wakai, in the northern Togeans.
Step 2: The adventure dives
- Price: IDR 6,000,000 over 2-3 days.
- Sites: The Wall (15-40m+), Pinnacles (20-35m) and Coral Gardens (8-15m). Course dives stay within the 30m (100 ft) limit in SSI's Advanced Adventurer standards [training.divessi.com].
- Group size: small groups only, with a maximum of 4 divers per guide.
- Languages: English, French or Indonesian.
- Schedule: boat dives usually leave around 08:00 and 10:30. We confirm times each evening based on weather and tides.
Step 3: The rest of the day
The full-board rate starts at EUR 60 per night for two. It covers three meals, house-reef snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding.
Some of our villas have air conditioning, which few Togean resorts offer. The Beachfront Villa with AC starts at EUR 110.
Reconnect is also a gateway to Togean Islands National Park. The park is reached on a paid Togean Day Trip excursion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I start the Advanced Adventurer right after my Open Water?
Yes. SSI lets you continue as soon as you are certified.
Should I bring my own gear?
Rental equipment is available. Bringing your own takes 5% off your diving, and a personal dive computer is worth owning by this stage.
Is the rainy season a bad time for the course?
We dive year-round. The rainy season brings short showers and rougher boat crossings, but the sites stay diveable.
What insurance do I need?
Travel insurance is mandatory for stays at Reconnect. We also recommend DAN dive insurance.
My partner doesn't dive. What will they do?
Many of our guests never dive. Guided snorkel trips go to Tanjung Pasir and Tanjung Gurita, from IDR 600,000 per boat of up to 4 people.
About Reconnect
Reconnect is a private island eco-resort. Blue Oceans certified, 93% solar-powered, and rated 4.9 on TripAdvisor. Book your Advanced Adventurer at https://reconnect.id.
