Skills & Training
Underwater navigation course: compass, natural navigation and finding the boat again
An underwater navigation course teaches you to find your way under water and back to the boat: using a compass, reading natural features, estimating distance and swimming simple patterns. SSI Navigation is open from age 10 with Open Water Diver, has 2 open water sessions and suggests 5–10 hours. With us it usually takes 1–2 days on our daily boat.
By 71 Guardians · Published 08 Nov 2026
Who can take a navigation course?
| SSI Navigation | SDI Underwater Navigation | PADI Underwater Navigator | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certification needed | Open Water Diver | We confirm the current entry standard with you | |
| Minimum age | 10 | We confirm it with you | |
| Training | 5 academic and 2 open water sessions, to 30 m, 5–10 hours | Compass and natural navigation | |
SSI's 30 m open-water ceiling is reduced to 18 m for ages 12–14 and 12 m for ages 10–11. Your existing certification limits still apply.
What do you learn on a navigation course?
SSI lists using a compass and natural navigation techniques, estimating distance, leaving and returning to a set point, and basic navigation patterns. PADI describes its Underwater Navigator course as fine-tuning your observation skills and teaching you to use your compass more accurately. You practise:
- taking a compass bearing and swimming a straight line
- reciprocal headings, to come back the way you went
- squares and other simple patterns
- measuring distance by kick cycles or time
- natural navigation: the reef edge, sand channels, the slope of the bottom and the light
Why is navigation worth learning?
A diver who can navigate ends the dive near the boat, not on a long swim at the surface. It lowers stress, saves air and makes you a better buddy. Navigation is also part of the next steps: PADI's Rescue Diver course asks for the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive, and SSI accepts Navigation certification or verified experience of at least five navigation dives for Divemaster, with instructor verification of skill mastery. See becoming a Divemaster.
How does the course run with us?
Usually 1–2 days on our daily boat, with hotel pickup at 08:00 and back around 16:30, and a maximum of 4 students per instructor. The reefs around Hurghada, with their clear sand channels and coral heads, are good places to practise natural navigation: see our Hurghada dive-site directory.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum age for SSI Navigation?
10, with Open Water Diver certification.
How long does a navigation course take?
SSI suggests 5–10 hours. With us it usually takes 1–2 days.
Do I need my own compass?
No, ask us when you book and we provide one for the course.
Does the navigation course count towards Rescue Diver?
For PADI, the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive is part of the Rescue Diver prerequisites; Advanced Open Water also meets them.
Questions before you dive with us?
Message our team on WhatsApp — we're divers in Hurghada and happy to help.
Chat with us on WhatsAppSources
- Navigation — SSI (Scuba Schools International)
- Underwater Navigator course — PADI
- Rescue Diver course — PADI
- Navigation: junior and depth limits — SSI
- Divemaster: specialty or experience prerequisites — SSI