![[Albee's Dive Log] Kenting – Deep Dive Center. Incredible Deal! Earn Your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (AOW) Certification with a Capsule Hotel Stay + Breakfast Included](/_images/eda30528a53f-1440w.webp)
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I earned my CMAS Open Water Diver (OW) certification in the summer of 2016.
I've done somewhere around eighty or ninety dives — I've long since lost count of the exact number.
Either way, my summers are entirely devoted to diving, and my winters are spent planning dive trips abroad.
But almost every boat dive destination overseas requires an Advanced Open Water Diver (AOW) certification,
which made things pretty inconvenient for international travel.
So in the summer of 2018, I made up my mind to get my AOW! (fist pump)
My CMAS Open Water cert was done in Taipei,
but for my advanced certification I wanted to go with the PADI (certification agency) system — and that's how I found the well-reviewed "Deep Dive Center."
Their course information page is extremely detailed >> http://www.deepdive.com.tw/
What sets them apart is that in addition to recreational diving courses, they also offer TDI (certification agency) technical diving and ERDI public safety diving programs...
This fee includes capsule hotel accommodation, breakfast, brand-new course materials, instructor fees, dive site transfer fees, certification application fees, and insurance.
The PADI (certification agency) Advanced course only takes two full days!
For a busy office worker, that's a much easier schedule to arrange.
So I planned a two-day trip down to Kenting to get my certification~~~
The Dive Shop:
▲ Front entrance of Deep Dive Center
Deep Dive Center
Address: No. 6, Lane 246, Longquan Road, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County
Phone: 08-8881656
Email: deepdivetw@gmail.com
Web: www.deepdive.com.tw
▲ Just a short walk down a small path brings you to Deep Dive Center
If you drive yourself, parking is super easy too!
There's an entire parking lot on the hillside behind the building!
▲ Outside there are also storage lockers and a shaded rest area
▲ There's a shoe-removal entryway right at the entrance~
There's even a dive towel drop-off bin — the traffic flow throughout the facility is very thoughtfully designed! (Such an attentive dive shop!)
The wet/dry separation layout keeps sand and dirt out at the entrance, so divers can towel off and rinse before stepping inside.
▲ The reception counter
▲ Lots of activity menus on the counter
▲ My favorite spot — the sofa lounge~
One entire wall is covered in underwater photography, along with a large, self-made movie-style poster.
The most unique touch has to be the vintage diving helmet hanging from the ceiling!!!!
(Where on earth did they find that antique~~~)
▲ The head instructor's prized technical diving gear — every single piece costs a fortune!!
▲ What a dreamy lighting setup!!!!!
▲ The retail area
Head-to-toe gear, all in one place —
Whatever you're missing or forgot to bring, you can find it here!!
Accommodation:
▲ The capsule pod room
Course enrollment includes capsule hotel accommodation and breakfast!
▲ Each person gets their own individual capsule pod for personal space~
White paired with fluorescent blue — it genuinely feels like being inside a space shuttle! So futuristic and high-tech!
▲ Fully equipped inside — TV, air conditioning, music, and lighting controls...
▲ Beyond the capsule pods, you can also upgrade to a luxurious double room
Complete with a private wet/dry-separated en suite bathroom, TV, refrigerator, sofa, and wardrobe.....
▲ Spacious rooms with high ceilings, bright windows, and a balcony~~ Absolute luxury!!
Dive Facilities:
Body wash, shampoo, and a thoughtfully placed dive computer holder are all provided.
Every little detail shows just how much this shop cares about its divers!
▲ The gear rinse station
Separate basins are provided for different types of dive equipment.
The rinse area layout and space are wonderfully generous~
▲ Just step off the van and toss your gear straight into the rinse basin~~
▲ Deep Dive Center has its own on-site air filling station!!!
It was honestly the first time I'd ever seen such a bright, spacious, and spotlessly clean filling station!
The instructor told us: he wanted to create a clean environment so that even he himself could feel at ease using it.
Multiple scuba tank / cylinder sizes are available, and there's even a dedicated machine for filling enriched air nitrox (EANx) — (the initiated will understand why that matters~~)
AOW Course:
▲ The hallway leading to the classroom, lined with certifications and certificates
▲ The classroom
All indoor sessions over these two days take place right here!!
▲ The course materials I'd been looking forward to for so long
The AOW course consists of 5 dives in total, covering the following:
1. Advanced Buoyancy Control
The instructor prepares a small scuba tank / cylinder, and dive buddies take turns passing it between each other.
As the tank changes hands, the shift in weight requires you to constantly adjust your buoyancy compensator (BCD).
Throughout the exercise, you must not touch the bottom — maintaining neutral buoyancy (trim) the entire time!
2. Underwater Navigation
The assessment covers both triangular and square navigation patterns — make sure to practice both techniques seriously!
3. Night Diving
4. (Boat Dive) Deep Diving
5. Dive Computer Dive or Other Specialty Dive
Since I already knew how to use a dive computer,
the instructor went through all the usage rules in greater detail to make sure I truly understood them.
Beyond the dive computer dive, Shark Instructor also taught me how to deploy a surface marker buoy (SMB).
An SMB is bright orange or fluorescent green so that crew members or passing vessels can easily spot it.
Take boat diving as an example: the boat captain can track divers' general direction by following the bubbles they release on the surface.
However, there are situations where a diver may stray from the group, or a boat captain isn't tracking the bubbles — leaving the diver's position unknown. When that diver surfaces, rough seas or large waves can block the line of sight, making it impossible for the boat to locate them. Or a passing vessel may simply not notice the diver surfacing and collide with them. These are real accidents that happen.
<文取自 花潛客 >
▲ Shark Instructor — full of humor and endlessly expressive
▲ A multi-purpose dive slate you can take underwater
You can observe how colors shift and change at different depths underwater.
▲ Head Instructor — Instructor Yang
Instructor Yang taught us a very approachable compass navigation technique, along with multiple distance estimation methods~
▲ For Albee — someone who can still get lost even with Google Maps
Navigation was ultimately the one skill that tripped me up~~
But I had two full days to work through it properly! (fist pump)
Those two days and one night of PADI (certification agency) AOW training were incredibly rewarding!
Having completed all the required assessments~~ finally~~ FINALLY~~~
I Passed!!!
Even though I passed~
There are still so many skills and knowledge areas that require constant practice and updating!
Diving demands a mindset of continuous learning.
Underwater, it's not about how many certifications you hold or which prestigious dive sites you've visited.
It's about how much your experience grows with every single dive, and how much you understand about diving beyond what's written in the textbook.
Every dive is practice — preparing for the day I find myself somewhere extraordinary, swimming toward Hammerhead Sharks, manta rays, and Whale Sharks with calm confidence.
Not disturbing anyone around me (no silt-kicking, fin-hitting, reef-touching, or dragging on the bottom), and at a world-class dive site, being someone who has truly earned the right to witness it.
The above is my experience earning the AOW certification at Deep Dive Center in Kenting~
I hope it helps you if you're currently searching for the right dive shop!
Further reading:
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a BlueTrend dive trip different from an unknown, no-name dive group?
Choosing us means full peace-of-mind protection and a smooth experience from start to finish. Every trip we run holds to three things.
First, full legal protection and a professional dive leader: we strictly follow Taiwan's travel regulations and provide complete travel-agency liability insurance, travel insurance, trip-inconvenience insurance and dive insurance. Every group is accompanied by a certified, foreign-language dive leader who joins you on both the dives and the land itinerary, liaising seamlessly with local dive shops and operators on your behalf to keep things running smoothly — the person our travellers trust most.
Second, fully licensed with secure payments: every payment goes into a licensed travel agency's account, with multiple safe payment channels (bank transfer, credit card and more) and a legal collect-and-remit receipt, so every transaction is open, transparent and protected, avoiding the fraud and dispute risks of transferring money privately to an individual.
Third, hand-picked quality we vet in person: every trip, dive site and partner shop is scouted on the ground by our own team, from the guides' professionalism and safety standards to the food, lodging, environment and service details on land, all vetted by us so you don't get caught out.
I want to sign up for a dive trip. Are there certification-level or logged-dive requirements?
Each dive site is different, so the entry bar varies. 'Bali Tulamben', for instance, is relatively beginner-friendly. 'Malapascua in the Philippines' is also beginner-friendly, but since thresher sharks tend to cruise between 20 and 30 metres, we recommend AOW certification with 20+ logged dives to enjoy this trip comfortably. For 'the Maldives' or 'Palau', we suggest AOW with 50+ logged dives for a more relaxed experience. If you're not sure whether your experience fits the trip you want, message us and our dive editors will assess it and help you find the trip you'll feel safest on.
Can I join if I'm signing up alone? How are rooms arranged?
Plenty of our travellers sign up solo! For rooms and beds, we prioritise pairing you with a same-gender traveller, and if you'd rather have your own space you can pay the difference to upgrade to a single room. For the diving, our professional leader will pair you with a suitable buddy, and with the happy vibe on our trips you'll quickly make a great group of dive friends. Many people sign up alone, make new friends, and end up organising the next trip together!
Does the trip fee include dive insurance, gear rental, taxes and instructor tips?
It depends on the trip, the destination's regulations and the local operators. Every BlueTrend dive trip has a detailed web page with a clear 'included / not included' list, transparent and with no hidden charges. All payments are collected by a licensed travel agency, with a standard-form contract for your protection.
I'm a new diver / haven't dived in a long time — will I fall behind the group?
Before you complete your booking, our team assesses a suitable trip based on your certification level and experience. Before departure, we strongly recommend taking time to refresh in Taiwan with an instructor, or a fun dive to get your feel back. On the trip itself, our professional dive leader groups and pairs everyone by experience, keeps a close eye underwater on travellers who need extra care, and steps in to help right away.
Will the photos and videos taken during the trip be shared with us?
During the dives, 'safety' is always the leader's top priority, so whenever it's suitable and safe the leader will capture great shots and record the best moments. During or after the trip, we compile a cloud album for all travellers to download, so you go home loaded with memories!
Besides your scheduled trips, can you arrange a private group charter or independent travel for me and my friends?
Absolutely! Besides group trips, we also arrange private group charters and independent travel. We can communicate, enquire and coordinate services with local operators based on your needs, saving you time and effort and taking the language barrier off your plate, to tailor the smoothest, most reassuring dive trip just for you. Contact our LINE support and our editors will arrange it for you!
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