Advanced Zone · Specialty · 2 Evenings

The Sea After Dark.
SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver.

Name: SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver
Price: 367 EUR

Dive the same sites you know, then watch them transform completely after sunset. Cuttlefish hunt, octopus forage, and lobster emerge from the rock. The SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver course gives you the torch skills, navigation techniques, and buddy communication protocols to dive confidently in low-light conditions.

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Certified by SSI

Course Price

^€367

€265 course fee + €102 SSI eLearning

✓SSI eLearning licence: €102

✓Course fee inc. full equipment: €265

✓3 night dives over 2 evenings

✓Primary and backup dive torch

✓SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver certification

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Course Overview

A completely different world below the surface.

The SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver specialty is one of the most rewarding courses available to certified divers. The skills are practical, the dives are genuinely unlike anything you have done in daylight, and the marine life behaviour at night around Malta's rocky coastline is extraordinary.

Malta's calm, sheltered bays make night entry and exit straightforward. Sites like Cirkewwa and the Sliema seafront are established enough to be familiar from day dives, but the experience after dark is completely different. Visibility remains excellent due to the clarity of the Mediterranean, and on some evenings bioluminescent plankton is visible in the water column.

Primary and backup torch handling and communication signals
Navigation in low-visibility and low-light conditions
Buddy communication and team procedures at night
Recognising and observing nocturnal marine life including cuttlefish, octopus, moray eels, lobster, grouper and nudibranchs
Emergency procedures specific to night diving environments
Planning and executing independent night dives after certification

SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver

diveshack Malta, SSI Diamond ITC

Level Specialty

Max Depth 18m

Dives 3 night dives

Duration 2 evenings

Min Age 12

Prerequisite Open Water Diver + 12 logged dives

Certified by SSI (Scuba Schools International)

Recognises PADI Night Diver / Night and Limited Visibility Diving equivalent

What You Will Cover

Three dives. Two evenings.

All dives take place after sunset, run by your diveshack instructor from our Sliema base. The SSI eLearning is completed at your own pace before the first evening. Each dive builds progressively on the skills and confidence developed in the previous session.

Dive 01

Sheltered Introduction

Evening 1

Your first night dive takes place in a sheltered, familiar site. The focus is on torch handling, buddy communication in low light, and getting comfortable with a fundamentally different sensory experience underwater.

Primary torch operation and beam control
Standard night diving hand signals
Tank-bang and light signals for buddy communication
Entering and exiting the water at night
Buoyancy control without ambient light reference
Pre-dive torch check procedures

Dive 02

Night Navigation

Evening 2

The second dive moves to open water and introduces navigation in low-light conditions. Using compass bearings and natural landmarks visible under torchlight, you plan and execute a return navigation route with your buddy.

Compass navigation in low-light conditions
Natural navigation using torchlight
Dive planning specific to night conditions
Managing task-loading in low-visibility
Observing nocturnal marine behaviour: cuttlefish, octopus, lobster
Backup torch deployment and handover

Dive 03

Independent Night Dive

Evening 2

The third dive is led by you. Your instructor follows at distance as you and your buddy plan, brief, and execute the dive independently. This is the dive that earns your certification.

Independent pre-dive planning and briefing
Self-managed navigation and air monitoring
Emergency procedures in a night environment
Controlled ascent and surface signalling at night
Post-dive debrief and certification assessment

SSI eLearning

The SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver digital materials are completed at your own pace before Evening 1. The eLearning covers low-light physics, equipment considerations, dive planning, emergency procedures, and marine biology relevant to night diving. Access is via the SSI app on any device. The eLearning licence (€102) is included in all pricing tiers.

Pricing

Course options

All options include the €102 SSI eLearning licence, full equipment, and primary dive torch.

Night diving questions

A primary dive torch is included in all pricing tiers. We also provide a backup torch for each diver.

Yes, provided you meet the prerequisites: Open Water certification and a minimum of 12 logged dives. The first dive takes place in a sheltered, familiar site to build confidence before moving to open water on the second evening. Malta's calm, sheltered bays make night entry and exit considerably easier than many other dive locations. Your instructor remains close throughout all three dives, and group sizes are capped at four students.

Night diving around Malta's rocky coastline gives you a completely different view of the underwater world. Cuttlefish are frequently seen hunting small fish in shallow water. Octopus leave their lairs to forage after dark. Spiny lobster emerge from rocky crevices. Moray eels are more active and visible at night. Grouper and bream are often seen resting in crevices, and nudibranchs are more readily spotted when you slow down and scan carefully with a torch. Bioluminescent plankton is occasionally visible in the water column on clear, dark evenings.

Both evening sessions begin after sunset, which in Malta ranges from around 19:30 in winter to 20:45 in summer. We brief you at the site approximately 45 minutes before the first dive entry. The full evening including both dives on the second night typically runs for around three hours. Exact start times are confirmed with you when you book, based on sunset time for your chosen dates.

We use sheltered shore-entry sites around the Sliema and St Julian's coastline, which are well-suited to night diving and familiar to our instructors in all conditions. Cirkewwa is sometimes used for the more open navigation dive on the second evening. Exact site selection depends on conditions and group experience. You will receive a full dive briefing before each session.

Cancellations made more than 7 days before your course start date receive a full refund minus the SSI eLearning licence fee (€102), which is non-refundable once the digital access code has been issued. Cancellations within 7 days of the start date are non-refundable. We are happy to move your booking to another date at no charge provided you give at least 48 hours notice. Contact us by WhatsApp or email to reschedule.

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The Sea After Dark.SSI Night and Limited Visibility Diver.