Tec Diving Courses in Cabo San Lucas
Technical divers are considered to be some of the last great pioneers on earth. They continue to push the limits of diving and expand our knowledge of the depths. Technical Diving, or tec diving, takes you beyond the limits of recreational diving and allows you to experience dives and explore sites that many will never see. It opens up a new pathway for experienced divers to challenge themselves and take on new adventures. Team Ninja’s technical instructors, combined with an amazing deepwater environment in Cabo San Lucas, makes for one of the best places for tec diver training.
At Dive Ninjas, we are in the business of creating top-notch ninja divers. We are not your run-of-the-mill dive shop offering cheap courses and poor quality. Dive Ninja Expeditions is one of the only technical training schools actively teaching tec courses in Cabo San Lucas and one of only a few in the entire Baja California Peninsula. But our team is much more than that. Team Ninja brings to the table an unrivaled breadth of experience and knowledge – from deep wreck exploration to cave diving and so much more. Our tec diving courses are meticulous, challenging, and taught the right way. There aren’t any macho men, or hairy chested ego maniacs comparing who’s gone deeper or who can carry more tanks. Our instructors are patient and passionate about what they do. We belong to small group of forward thinking technical instructors who believe that a solid training program combined with hardwork and dedication allows for students of any background or gender to achieve their goals.
Below you’ll find our list of tec diving courses that we offer at our PADI 5 Star Dive Center in downtown Cabo San Lucas. Give us a shout if you’d like to speak with one of our instructors or have any questions and we can start planning your next technical diving course in beautiful Los Cabos.
Click below to jump to a course:
Why would I want to be a tec diver?
Imagine visiting a dive site only a few have ever seen before. Exploring new areas or having the ability to spend longer underwater water. Many spectacular, untouched wrecks lie at depths well below 40 metres/130 feet. Deep reefs have creatures you don’t find in the shallows. Some enjoy the challenge and focus tec diving requires. Still others love being involved with cutting edge technologies and being on the forefront of diving. These reasons make tec diving rewarding.
However, it must be said that you can be an accomplished, avid top-notch diver your entire life without ever making a tec dive. Tec diving does require significantly more effort, discipline and equipment, which means it’s not for everyone. It also carries a greater risk of injury and harm. If you can not accept this risk, then technical diving is not for you.
Why Tec Diving in Cabo?
The bay of Cabo San Lucas is locally known as the canyon, and for good reason! Just minutes from the marina we have gorgeous deep walls extending down to 300+ meters (1000 ft) below the oceans surface making it a paradise for technical divers and tec courses. Combine that with deep offshore seamounts, unexplored canyon walls and gorgeous prehistoric rocky pinnacles and you have a playground for tec divers looking to satisfy the urge to explore.
Discover Tec
Interested in technical (tec) diving but not sure you’d like to jump into a course? This experience is ideal for those who are curious about tec diving and would like to give it a try in confined water. We will kit you out in full tec diving gear and take you for a test dive. Your Tec Instructor will provide a thorough briefing as well as an introduction to the equipment and gear before getting in the water. Then your instructor will introduce a few basic skills, such as primary to secondary regulator switch, gas shutdown procedures, and safety drills, followed by some time to play with the system. If you enjoy it and wish to continue this can be credited to your Tec 40 Course.
Duration: 4 Hours
Cost: $120 USD
Prerequisites: 18+ years old, Minimum of 10 logged dives, Open Water Diver certification
Discover Sidemount
Interested in Sidemount but not sure you’d like to take the leap yet? This workshop is ideal for those who are curious about the sidemount configuration and would like to take it for a test run. Sidemount diving consists of two completely independent tanks, valves and regulators streamlined along your body. The configuration creates many benefits over the traditional back mount system and is ideal for those interested in moving so overhead environments such as cavern, wreck, and cave diving later. This program includes a thorough briefing on the configuration from your instructor, fitting the equipment, a basic skill circuit and safety drills, followed by some time to play with the system. If you enjoy it and wish to continue this can be credited to your Tec or Recreational Sidemount Course.
Duration: 4 Hours
Cost: $120 USD
Prerequisites: 18+ years old, Minimum of 10 logged dives, Open Water Diver certification
Sidemount Diver
Sidemount diving has its roots based deep in cave and wreck exploration because it allows divers to have a reduced, more streamlined, profile. But in recent years it has begun to find its way into recreational diving for a variety of reasons. The specialized configuration allows for redundant breathing systems, additional gas, more freedom to move, less stress on the lower back, better customization, better streamlining, and the list goes on and on. This course will teach you about the origins and evolution of sidemount diving as well as training you how to set up and dive in sidemount utilizing both single and double tank configurations. The course covers skill circuits, safety drills, customization options, trim & buoyancy, and much more.
Duration: 2-3 Days
Cost: $600 USD including rental equipment
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 15 years old
- Hold an Open Water Diver certification
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Private Course: $300
Tec Sidemount Diver
This course is designed to introduce the sidemount configuration for technical diving, along with the proper use of decompression cylinders set up for diving in sidemount. The course contains simulated decompression procedures making it suitable for Tec Divers wishing to cross over from back mount to sidemount as well as non-tec divers looking to be trained both in proper use of sidemount, and practice of some basic decompression procedures. Note that Tec Sidemount may be combined with PADI Tec 40, 45 or 50, please contact us for more information.
Duration: 3-4 Days
Cost: $600 USD including rental equipment
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold an Advanced Open Water Diver certification
- Have a minimum of 30 logged dives
- It is also recommended that you also have a EANx/Nitrox certification.
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Private Course: $300
Tec 40
The PADI Tec 40 course is where you begin the transition from recreational scuba diving to technical diving. It’s a great place to start because it’s the first subdivision of the full PADI Tec Diver course and bridges the gap between no stop diving and technical decompression diving. It lays the foundation for all the other tec diving courses beyond. You will learn tec theory and philosophies as well as gaining experience while beginning to build the knowledge and skills you need to continue your tec diver training. Upon certification you will qualify to make limited decompression dives to 40 metres/130 feet.
Duration: 3 Days
Cost: $600 USD
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold an advanced diver certification
- Hold an enriched air / Nitrox diver certification
- Either be certified as a Deep Diver specialist or have logged at least 10 dives to 30 meters or deeper
- Have logged at least 30 dives, at least 10 of which were done using EANx deeper than 18 meters
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $300
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Tec 45
The PADI Tec 45 course is the second part of the full PADI Tec Deep Diver program. You’ll extend your depth limit to 45 metres/145 feet and learn to plan and execute repetitive decompression dives using a single stage/decompression cylinder. It puts you in a full tec diving rig, which can be either backmount or sidemount. You’ll learn to make accelerated decompression dives using EANx/Nitrox or pure oxygen. Skills learned during Tec 40 will be further refined, and basic technical diver rescue techniques are covered. This is a course where you’ll rise to the challenge and make the commitment to become a technical diver.
Duration: 3 Days
Cost: $600 USD
Prerequisites:
- Be a Tec 40 diver or equivalent certification
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a Rescue Diver certification
- Have a minimum of 50 logged dives, with at least 12 dives on enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 metres/60 feet and 10 dives deeper than 30 metres/100 feet
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $300
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Tec 50
The third part of the full PADI Tec Deep Diver program is Tec 50. As a Tec 50 diver, you show that you’ve developed competency as a tec diver and have the skills and experience to dive to a maximum of 50 metres/165 feet. The skills you’ve learned during Tec 40 & 45 will be refined even further and you will be introduced to accelerated decompression, switching between 2 high oxygen breathing gases during your ascent to shorten the required decompression time. This increases your range of diving considerably. It’s not easy to reach this level and earning your Tec 50 certification opens the door to deeper diving expeditions.
Duration: 4 Days
Cost: $700 USD
Prerequisites:
- Be a Tec 45 diver or equivalent certification
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a minimum of 100 logged dives, with at least 20 dives on enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 metres/60 feet and 15 dives deeper than 30 metres/100 feet
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $300
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Tec Deep Diver
The PADI/DSAT Tec Deep Diver course consists of all 3 levels (Tec 40, Tec 45, & Tec 50). You will begin with the transition from recreational scuba diving to technical diving and then continue to expand your skillet and knowledge taking you all the way through accelerated decompression diving utilizing 2 high oxygen decompression gases. Upon certification you will qualify to make full decompression dives to 50 metres/160 feet utilizing up to 2 decompression gases of EANx/Nitrox or pure oxygen.
Duration: 8-10 Days
Cost: $1700 USD
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold a Rescue Diver certification
- Hold an enriched air / Nitrox diver certification
- Either be certified as a Deep Diver specialist or have logged at least 10 dives to 30 meters or deeper
- Have a minimum of 100 logged dives, with at least 20 dives on enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 metres/60 feet and 15 dives deeper than 30 metres/100 feet
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $300
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Tec Trimix 65
The Tec Trimix 65 course introduces you to using trimix down to a maximum depth of 65 metres/210 feet. If you’re into technical diving then you know that to extend your depth range you need to use trimix – a blend of helium, oxygen and nitrogen. The Tec Trimix 65 course introduces you to using normoxic trimix gases containing 18% or more oxygen as well as EANx and pure oxygen for accelerated decompression. There are great advantages to using trimix, but you need to know how to do it right. Earning the Tec Trimix 65 certification makes deeper exploration a reality.
Duration: 4 Days
Cost: $800 USD + helium & decompression gases
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold a Tec 50, Tec Deep, or equivalent certification
- Have a minimum of 100 logged dives
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $300
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Tec Full Trimix
Ready to explore the outer frontier of technical diving? The Tec Trimix Diver course takes experienced tec divers and turns them into extreme divers who go deeper and visit pristine sites where few others will ever go. During the course, you’ll make dives as deep as 90 metres/300 feet, use multigas trimix computers, & handle up to 4 stage/deco cylinders – but once you have earned this tough certification, there are few limits. You will learn to use hypoxic and normoxic trimix gas blends – which the full operating potential of these gases is not yet fully understood and continues to be explored to this day. This is the second level of PADI / DSATs Trimix training and qualifies you to use hypoxic gases containing less than 18% oxygen. After completion of the training PADI Tec Trimix will be able to dive without limits of depth. Your future will be dictated only by diving experience.
Duration: 4 Days
Cost: $800 USD + helium & decompression gases
Prerequisites:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Hold a Tec Trimix 65 or equivalent certification
- Have a minimum of 150 logged dives
- Have a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
Upgrades & Add-ons:
- Sidemount Diver Course: $500
- Private Course: $500
- Guided Tec Fun Dive: $120 + deco gas
Additional Training
Technical diving is not a quickly tick all the boxes and get a certification card type of training. You need to be able to comfortably complete ALL performance requirements of the course in a calm and easy manner – as well as showing competence and that you will be able technical dive safely. Although tec diving is quite safe it carries more inherent risks and less room for human error than recreational diving. So because of this all of our technical diving courses are performance based. If you have not met the performance requirements of the course, or your instructor does not believe you are prepared to dive safely & competently outside of the course then additional / remedial training may be required to complete your certification. Your instructor will talk with you directly about your progress throughout the course. We are not in the business of just taking your money and certifying you like other dive shops might be. Instead we want you to be fully prepared and ready to dive safely as you push the limits of diving. Remember, we don’t just create divers, we build dive ninjas.
If extra training sessions are required beyond the scheduled course in order to meet the performance requirements, they will be priced as follows:
Additional Classroom day: $100.
Additional diving day (Tec): $200.
Additional diving day (Trimix): $250 + student and instructor gases.
