Speciality Dives

Dive Deeper with Hightide Barbados

Being one of the premier dive centers in Barbados, it is important that we stay current and offer as many courses and certifications as we possibly can, covering all aspects of diving. That being said, we are able to offer you a wide range of speciality dives design to safely take you to the next level.

Barbados and Hightide is the perfect all year round destination for technical dive training. Learn new skills and test out your equipment before you move on to your more advanced adventures.

Below you will find a list of the speciality dives that we offer, followed by more detailed information on what you can expect on one of our courses.

Should you have any questions, please get in touch.

Bubblemaker $ 75

Discover Scuba Diving – Half Day Resort Course $ 110

Emergency First Response (EFR) Course – including manual (1 Day) $ 150

Digital Underwater Photography Specialty (1 Days, 2 Dives) $ 225

SCUBA Tune Up/Refresher (Theory & Pool) $ 25

Night Specialty (3 Nights, 3 Dives) $ 490

Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty (1 Days, 2 Dives)  TBC

Deep Specialty (2 Days, 4 Dives) $ 389

Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty (1 Day, 2 Dives) $ 225

Underwater Navigation Specialty (2 Days, 3 Dives) $ 340

Underwater Naturalist Specialty (1 Day, 2 Dives) $ 225

Wreck Specialty (2 Days, 4 Dives) $ 389

Bubblemaker

Bubblemaker is as fun as it sounds. Children who are at least 8 years old can use scuba gear to breathe underwater and swim around in shallow water blowing bubbles. Kids must be comfortable in the water, but no prior experience is necessary. Parental approval is required.

Bubblemakers get a chance to experience scuba diving under the direct care and supervision of a PADI Pro. They will take their first breaths underwater in water shallower than 2 metres/6 feet and Learn about and use scuba diving equipment made for children – not adults.

Emergency First Response (EFR) Course

Emergency First Response training focuses on building confidence in lay rescuers and increasing their willingness to respond when faced with a medical emergency. Course participants learn simple to follow steps for emergency care and practice applying skills in a nonstressful learning environment. All courses are supported by self-study manuals, videos and quick reference cards to enhance learning and allow you start learning right away.

EFR courses meet the CPR and first aid training requirements for the PADI Rescue Diver course and all professional-level ratings. Most PADI Instructors are also Emergency First Response Instructors.

SCUBA Tune Up/Refresher (Theory & Pool)

Haven’t been diving lately? Need a quick refresher before jumping back into the deep? This is the course for you

Night Dive Speciality

Although you’ve been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. If you’ve wondered what happens underwater after the sun goes down, sign up for our PADI Night Diver Specialty course.

Scuba diving at night teaches you to focus on what you can see in your light’s beam, on controlling your buoyancy by feel, on staying with your buddy and on paying attention to details you may overlook during the day. You’ll practice: Light handling and communication techniques. Entering, exiting and navigating in the dark. Identifying how plants and animals differ or change behavior at night.

Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty Dives

The Enriched Air Diver course is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba course. Why? Because scuba diving with enriched air nitrox gives you more no decompression time, especially on repetitive scuba dives. If staying down longer and getting back in the water sooner sounds appealing, then don’t hesitate to become an enriched air diver.

Deep Dive Specialty

To scuba dive with confidence at depths down to 40 metres/130 feet, you should take the PADI Deep Diver Specialty course. Your training starts by reviewing reasons for deep diving and how important it is to know your personal limits. During four deep dives with your instructor, you’ll go over:

Specialized deep diving equipment and deep dive planning. Buddy contact procedures and buoyancy control. Managing your gas supply, dealing with gas narcosis and safety considerations.

Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty

Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You can achieve this, too. The PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course improves the buoyancy skills you learned as a new diver and elevates them to the next level. You’ll learn how to: Determine the exact weight you need, so you’re not too light or too heavy. Trim your weight system and scuba gear so you’re perfectly balanced in the water. Streamline to save energy, use air more efficiently and move more smoothly through the water. Hover effortlessly in any position – vertical or horizontal.

Underwater Navigator Specialty

Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater.

You’ll learn the tools of the trade: Methods to estimate distance underwater. Compass navigation while making at least five turns. Marking or relocating a submerged object or position from the surface. Underwater map making.

Underwater Naturalist Specialty

Take the PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course and you’ll see new things. When know more about symbioses, underwater ecology, and aquatic plant and animal habitats, you notice behaviors and see creatures you may have previously missed.

Through class discussions and on two scuba dives, you’ll learn: Key differences between the terrestrial and aquatic worlds. Major aquatic life groupings, interactions and information that dispels myths. Responsible interactions with aquatic life.

Wreck Diver Specialty

Whether purpose-sunk as an artificial reef for scuba divers, or lost as the result of an accident, wrecks are fascinating windows to the past. Each wreck dive offers a chance for discovery, potentially unlocking a mystery or spying something others have missed.

Your training starts by reviewing guidelines for researching and respecting wrecks. You will learn: Safety considerations for navigating and exploring wrecks. Surveying and mapping a wreck. Using penetration lines and reels to guide exploration. Techniques to avoid kicking up silt or disturbing the wreck and its inhabitants.

Digital Underwater Photography Specialty

Underwater photography is one of the most popular diving specialties. The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer course gets you going quickly, whether you use a point-and-shoot camera or a sophisticated dSLR like the pros.

In this course you will learn: How to choose the right underwater camera system for you. The PADI SEA (Shoot, Examine, Adjust) method for getting great shots quickly. Principles for good composition of underwater images. Practical techniques to take great photos with your digital camera.