Do You Need Advanced Open Water to Dive Komodo?

By Salah Teman · 5 August 2026

The short answer: Advanced Open Water, or an equivalent such as CMAS 2-Star, is the level we ask for. But Open Water divers are not turned away, and it is worth understanding why the distinction matters more in Komodo than in most places.

Why Komodo raises the bar

Komodo’s best sites are current sites. Batu Bolong, Castle Rock, Crystal Rock and The Shotgun all depend on moving water, and that water does not negotiate. The certification level is really a proxy for two things: comfort being moved by something stronger than you are, and buoyancy control good enough that you are not fighting your own position while you do it.

If you hold Advanced Open Water

You may dive to 30 metres, in line with your certification. Divers with a deep specialty can go further, but only with the agreement of both the guide and the Cruise Director — that is not a formality, it depends on the site and the day.

If you hold Open Water only

You are welcome aboard, with two conditions. Your maximum depth is 18 metres, which is a legal and insurance limit rather than a house rule. And you will be supervised throughout. In practice this is less restrictive than it sounds: a great deal of Komodo’s best diving, including the manta channel at Karang Makassar, sits well within 18 metres.

Logged dives matter more than the card

We recommend around 30 logged dives in open water. A diver with an Advanced card and eight dives is usually less ready for Komodo than an Open Water diver with sixty. Recent experience counts too — if it has been three years, say so when you book rather than on day one.

Everyone does a check dive

Day one includes a check dive for every guest regardless of certification, usually somewhere sheltered like Sebayur Kecil. It is not a test to pass. It lets the dive team see your buoyancy and weighting, and it decides how quickly the week builds toward the harder sites. Briefings are mandatory before every dive.

What to do if you are unsure

Tell us your certification level, your total logged dives and when you last dived. We would rather plan the week around your actual experience than discover the gap in a current.

About the boat

The KLM Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. See our full FAQ for booking and onboard detail.

Salah Teman

Salah writes for Teman Liveaboard, the owner-operator of the KLM Teman. The Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi, handbuilt in Sulawesi and launched in 2017, carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a permanent crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. The team behind her has more than 20 years sailing the Indonesian archipelago. The boat works Komodo National Park from June to September out of Labuan Bajo, Raja Ampat from November to April out of Sorong, and runs Banda Sea and Ring of Fire crossings between the two seasons. The dive site guides on this blog are written from the operator's own logs and itineraries, with conditions, seasons and equipment guidance checked against the dive team who work these sites every week. Where a detail depends on the day — depth on a given tide, or where a current will take you — we say so rather than guess, because that is a briefing the Cruise Director gives on the boat, not something a web page can promise.

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