OPEN WATER DIVER
Becoming an SSI Open Water Diver is the best way to start your scuba adventure!
We make sure you are truly comfortable with the skills and equipment you will use. Getting started is easy! Sign up for an Open Water course or get your feet wet with the SSI Scuba Diver program. SSI Training is also designed so you can learn the academics at your own pace when it is convenient for you. We will support you by colored manuals, DVDs and free Online Training offers to make sure you have enough training options.
For your pool and open water training your instructor will fit you to your scuba equipment so you will become comfortable in your “second skin.” You will get enough practice time to adapt yourself to the underwater environment before you start with your open water training dives. Once you have completed your initial training you will be a certified SSI Diver. SSI certification is recognized world wide so your diving experiences will be limitless.
What's involved?
The SSI and PADI Open Water courses are divided into modules and consist of five academic sessions - video and lecture, shallow water sessions - amidst the beauty of the islands' sheltered beaches, and then four open water dives in the ocean.
What do I need to start?
Be at least 10 years old and be able to swim.
Koh Tao Divers provides all equipment, boat trips, etc., for the duration of the course. We can lend you the SSI Manual for all SSI Courses but the PADI Manuals must be bought for an additional 500 Baht if you choose to do a PADI Course.
How long will it take?
Typically the course takes between three to four full days, but rest assured, we will not rush you through the programme. Because the course is performance based, you will have plenty of time to practise your new skills prior to certification.
Typical Diary of the Open Water Diver Course
Orientation Day 6pm: We start the OW Diver Course every day at 6pm when we get you to meet with your instructor & the other guys on the course talk about what we'll do for the next couple of days. Then we're going to stick a video on & make you sit through it for just over an hour answering as many questions as you can in your Open Water manuals.
Day 1- 9am-11.30am: Theory Modules 1,2-3 - Instructor will talk about what you learnt so far on the video, why you need to know it, & when you will do it. We have a few quizzes to do at the end of each module.
1pm- 5.30pm: We'll go out from the beach next to our shop to do the shallow water confined. We'll start in a depth you can stand up in & then work to a maximum depth of no more than 3 meters by the end of the afternoon.
Day 2- Same as yesterday!
Day 3- 7am-12pm: Out on the boat this time to one of Koh Tao's best dive sites to dive to as deep as 18 meters at a 30 meter divesite which means we'll have to stay focused on being in mid water. We'll see big schools of barracuda, trevally, groupers, batfish & if your lucky you might even get to see a few sharks!
1pm-1.30pm: Open Water Final Exam.
Get 75% in this multiple choice exam & then you'll then be certified as an Open Water Diver which will entitle you to dive at all the wonderful places world wide you could ever imagine down to a maximum depth of 18 meters!
Short on time? Get your scuba diving certification started while on vacation and finish up when you get home!
Scuba Diver is the perfect course for those who do not have time to complete an entire Open Water Diver Program. The content of this program represents about half of a complete scuba diving certification program (SSI Open Water). You can then complete the second half and become a certified diver at another time, anywhere that is convenient for you. This program truly allows you to get out there and experience diving to the fullest. You will be trained in the proper skills, knowledge, equipment and experience required to feel safe and confident during your open water dives, as well as have an SSI Instructor as your escort to guide you on your adventures. Certified Scuba Divers are entitled to go diving under the direct supervision of a Dive Leader up to a maximum depth of 40 feet/12 metres.
Price:
BASIC PACKAGE: 9,800 THB incl. borrowed book while the course, equipment, boat dives, certification
GOLD PACKAGE: 11.500 THB incl. own book, equipment, boat dives, certification
PLATINUM PACKAGE: 12.000 THB Incl. book, equipment, computer rent, boat dives, certification, t-shirt