Start scuba diving and you'll change the way you see the world forever. Explore a peaceful underwater world filled with vibrant marine life and breathtaking seascapes. Scuba diving is an incredible lifelong adventure, and anyone aged 10 years and above can learn to dive, making this safe and exciting activity perfect for the whole family.
Learning to scuba dive is easier than you might think. The internationally recognised SSI Open Water Diver programme is the ideal way to begin your diving journey, providing you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to explore the underwater world safely and independently.
You are about to embark on one of the greatest adventures of your life! Becoming a diver is the first step of a journey that will forever change the way you experience the world. You will explore the wonders of a weightless underwater world, interact with incredible marine life and discover ecosystems hidden beneath the surface. We recommend you start with certification training right away by shooting for Open Water Diver, your entry ticket to dive the world’s best dive sites.
Try scuba diving and begin the adventure of a lifetime.
The SSI Try Scuba program is the best way to try scuba diving for the first time. You will be in confined water and well looked after by your instructor, so you can enjoy those first unforgettable breaths underwater and experience the magic of scuba diving.
Facts and Training Standards
At the end of this short course, you will have earned your SSI Try Scuba recognition card and undoubtedly want to go diving again. Endless scuba diving adventures are waiting for you and this course is where it all begins. Start today!
| Minimum Age | 8 |
| Certification Prerequisites |
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| Amount of Academic Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | Not applicable |
| Maximum Training Depth | Not applicable |
Using online learning, confined and open water dives, the SSI Scuba Diver program is a perfect foundation to become a confident and safe diver. You will learn all you need to scuba dive in open water up to 12 meters deep with an SSI Professional.
Facts and Training Standards
In this program, you will complete almost half of the Open Water Diver course training and can upgrade your certification easily. You just need to complete the remaining academic and confined water sessions, plus two open water training dives.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 3 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 2 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 12m / 40ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-16 |
This globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver.
Facts and Training Standards
Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 4 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 18m / 60ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 16-32 |
It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI Scuba Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time.
Facts and Training Standards
This scuba refresher course allows you to review and practice scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional.
This is a great course to take just before a dive holiday, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life.
If you are a non-certified Open Water Diver student, a Scuba Skills Update is ideal for practicing your dive skills before your open water training dives.
With no fixed course duration, you can take your time and focus on the skills you need help with.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 5m / 15ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 2-3 |
Continue your adventures and get the skills and experience you need to dive the world’s best dive sites, with SSI advanced training programs. Whatever your passion is, we have an SSI Specialty for your needs, because you can choose from over 20 individual programs.
When you complete a certain number specialties, you’ll also automatically earn the SSI Specialty Diver, SSI Advanced Specialty Diver and SSI Master Diver ratings. These ratings display your competency and build a solid base for more adventures to come.
The SSI Try Scuba program is the best way to try scuba diving for the first time.
If you can’t decide which Specialty programs are the best choice for you, take SSI’s Advanced Open Water Diver program! SSI´s Advanced was created so that you can try out 5 Specialty Programs before you commit to completing one or more full programs.
Facts and Training Standards
It’s a great way to experience what advanced training is all about with the option to receive credit towards the full Specialty certification any time after. Save with our popular Divemaster Specialty bundle.
This enticing bundle is a great way to get certified to dive deeper, enjoy longer dives, go night diving and more – ensuring you are on the right track to qualify for the coveted SSI Divemaster rating and got the necessary qualifications to fully explore the world’s most iconic dive sites.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
The ocean is home to countless spectacular dive sites, but many of the most extraordinary locations can only be reached by boat. If you're ready to discover these incredible underwater destinations, the SSI Boat Diving programme is the perfect next step.
Facts and Training Standards
Learn how to dive safely and confidently from a variety of boats while gaining the knowledge and skills needed for boat diving. As a certified Boat Diver, you'll have access to offshore dive sites where schools of pelagic fish and impressive marine megafauna can often be found—places rarely accessible from the shore.
Whether you're planning a day of boat diving or dreaming of a liveaboard adventure anywhere in the world, this programme will prepare you for the experience. You'll learn the essential techniques and procedures for diving safely and comfortably from different types of vessels, from small private boats to fully equipped liveaboards, opening the door to unforgettable diving adventures.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 2 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
The SSI Diver Stress & Rescue Specialty programme equips you with the essential knowledge and practical skills to protect both yourself and other divers. You will learn how to recognise stress, prevent diving accidents, and apply effective rescue techniques while providing appropriate emergency care.
Facts and Training Standards
Through a combination of confined water and open water training sessions, you will develop the confidence and ability to respond effectively in emergency and rescue situations. Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Diver Stress & Rescue Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 12 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 3 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 3 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
Dry suit diving opens the door to a world of new diving opportunities, from exploring remote Arctic destinations to discovering vibrant cold-water dive sites teeming with marine life.
Facts and Training Standards
A dry suit also keeps you warm and comfortable during multi-dive days, allowing you to spend more time enjoying your dives instead of getting in and out of a cold wetsuit between dives.
The SSI Dry Suit Diving Specialty programme is the ideal way to become a confident dry suit diver. You will learn the knowledge and practical techniques needed to dive safely and comfortably while using a dry suit. The programme covers the use of specialised equipment, including dry suits and buoyancy compensators (BCDs), the advantages of dry suit diving, and the procedures for handling dry suit-specific emergency situations.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Dry Suit Diving Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
As an Enriched Air Nitrox diver, you can extend your no-decompression limits, increase your safety margins, and reduce your surface intervals—allowing you to spend more time diving and less time waiting between dives.
Facts and Training Standards
In this SSI Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty programme, you will expand your diving knowledge and develop new skills while learning how to plan and safely conduct dives using enriched air mixtures containing up to 40% oxygen. Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 40% certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 4 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 3-6 |
Choosing and purchasing your diving equipment is one of the most important investments you will make as a diver, but making the right choices can sometimes be challenging.
Facts and Training Standards
We want to help you select the right diving equipment configuration for your needs and understand how to properly care for it. With the right knowledge, you can maximise your investment and enjoy safe, comfortable, and reliable dives for many years to come.
The SSI Equipment Techniques Specialty programme is the ideal way to learn how to select, maintain, and store your diving equipment. Working with an experienced and qualified SSI professional, you will gain in-depth knowledge of the components of your complete diving system and develop a comprehensive understanding of your equipment.
You will also practise basic preventive maintenance techniques to help ensure maximum performance, reliability, and longevity from your complete diving system. Start your SSI Equipment Techniques Specialty programme today!
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 4 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 3-6 |
Night diving requires different skills and techniques compared to daytime diving. The SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility Specialty programme is the ideal way to learn about night diving and develop the skills required to become a safe and confident night diver.
Facts and Training Standards
Throughout this programme, you will gain the knowledge and practical skills needed to dive safely and comfortably at night or in limited visibility conditions. Through a combination of digital learning and open water training dives, you will learn how to enter and exit the water safely, use specialised equipment, and communicate effectively with your buddy during night dives or in reduced visibility environments.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility Specialty certification and be ready to explore the underwater world after dark with confidence.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
In this Specialty programme, you will develop the advanced skills and knowledge needed to navigate underwater safely and confidently.
Facts and Training Standards
You will learn how to use a compass and natural navigation techniques, estimate distances, plan and execute routes to and from specific locations, and create basic underwater navigation patterns. You will also learn how to combine different navigation techniques to enhance your overall diving experience.
These skills will improve your underwater observation abilities, increase your diving safety, and help you make the most of every dive.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Navigation Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
In this exciting Specialty programme, you will learn all the skills required to conduct search and recovery dives safely and confidently.
Facts and Training Standards
You will learn how to use search patterns, specialised dive plans, and equipment such as lifting bags, lines, and reels to perform effective underwater searches and recoveries.
By developing search techniques, communication skills, and practising team-based search scenarios, you will become a confident Search & Recovery Diver in no time.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Search & Recovery Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 12 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 4 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
Diving in currents opens the door to a world of new dive sites that often host some of the most spectacular marine life encounters.
Facts and Training Standards
Shore diving offers the simplicity of entering the water directly from the beach and exploring your favourite dive sites with ease. However, waves, tides, and currents can influence your dives and affect your safety if you do not know how to manage them properly.
The SSI Waves, Tides & Currents Specialty programme will improve your diving skills and expand your understanding of dynamic aquatic environments, allowing you to enjoy dives in a variety of conditions safely and confidently.
You will gain a deeper understanding of open water environments and learn about the natural factors that influence different dive sites. You will also practise shore diving, current diving, and river diving techniques to develop the skills required to earn your SSI Waves, Tides & Currents Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
The SSI Deep Diving Specialty programme will teach you everything you need to know to safely dive to depths between 18 and 40 metres, through a combination of theory sessions and open water training dives.
Facts and Training Standards
You will learn how to plan and safely complete your deep diving adventures, while using dive computers and gas consumption calculations to make the most of your deep dives.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Deep Diving Specialty certification and be prepared to explore incredible deep dive sites wherever your diving journey takes you.
This SSI Specialty programme is also a prerequisite for certain advanced training courses, making it the logical next step in your diving education.
| Minimum Age | 15 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 3 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 40m / 130ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 10-15 |
Many of the ocean’s most fascinating dive sites are wrecks. These impressive structures attract remarkable concentrations of marine life and offer you the opportunity to explore living history beneath the surface.
Facts and Training Standards
There is nothing quite like wreck diving, and the SSI Wreck Diving Specialty programme provides you with the knowledge and skills needed to become a safe and confident wreck diver.
Through a combination of theory sessions and in-water training, you will learn how to safely conduct non-penetration wreck dives around wrecks and artificial reefs at depths of up to 30 metres. You will also have the opportunity to practise your wreck diving skills during open water training dives.
This programme will ensure that you can enjoy wreck diving with confidence and make the most of every dive.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Wreck Diving Specialty certification. Continue your underwater adventures and become a wreck diver.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-105 |
The SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty programme is the ideal way to improve your buoyancy skills and get the most out of every dive.
Facts and Training Standards
Buoyancy control is one of the fundamental skills in scuba diving, but every diver will tell you that mastering it takes time and practice.
The SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty programme will teach you advanced buoyancy skills and techniques, helping you achieve better control, improve your efficiency, and enjoy more relaxed and rewarding diving experiences.
During this exciting programme, you will also learn new skills that help protect the environment and can be applied in every diving situation. Upon successful completion, you will earn your SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty certification.
With improved buoyancy skills, you will soon be able to hover effortlessly, move more efficiently underwater, and capture the underwater photographs you have always dreamed of.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 4 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
Underwater photography and videography present unique challenges, but the SSI Photo & Video Specialty programme will teach you how to capture your underwater adventures with confidence and creativity.
Facts and Training Standards
This programme provides the in-depth knowledge you need to dive safely with an underwater camera, as well as how to properly use, maintain, and care for your photographic equipment.
You will develop the skills and techniques required to capture high-quality underwater photos and videos safely and efficiently, while improving your diving skills when using an underwater camera system.
Learn how to create stunning underwater images and videos to share with family and friends, and earn your SSI Photo & Video Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 2 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 5-10 |
Enrol in the SSI Diving Science Specialty programme and gain a comprehensive understanding of the underwater world and its effects on the human body.
Facts and Training Standards
This Specialty programme is a required component for many SSI Professional Programmes, as well as certain Extended Range programmes, making it an essential step for expanding your diving knowledge and progressing in your diving education.
Available online, you can complete the SSI Diving Science Specialty programme from home and prepare yourself for the next steps towards a professional diving career.
Upon successful completion, you will be one step closer to achieving the prestigious SSI Divemaster rating and will earn your SSI Diving Science Specialty certification.
| Minimum Age | 10 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 5 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 30m / 100ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 8-12 |
The SSI Decompression Diving Specialty programme will teach you how to safely go beyond traditional no-decompression limits.
Facts and Training Standards
You will learn how to plan and conduct dives to a maximum depth of 40 metres with limited decompression using a complete recreational diving system and a single decompression cylinder.
You will learn and practise how to effectively use advanced dive computer features, including gas switching, gas integration, reserve time, and time-to-surface calculations. These computer functions will become second nature, allowing you to safely conduct limited decompression dives without spending hours on complex dive planning.
Upon successful completion of the programme, you will earn your SSI Decompression Diving Specialty certification and be prepared to explore incredible deep dive sites and larger wrecks without being restricted by traditional no-decompression limits.
Your opportunities to expand your diving adventures have just become even greater.
| Minimum Age | 16 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 4 |
| Number of Pool/Confined Water Sessions | 1 |
| Number of Open Water Dives | 3 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 40m / 130ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 15-20 |
SSI React Right is SSI’s emergency first response programme, providing you with the training and knowledge required to act as a first responder during a medical emergency.
Facts and Training Standards
This flexible programme allows you to choose the topics you want to learn, including primary assessment techniques, first aid, CPR, and initial stabilisation procedures.
You can also learn how to administer emergency oxygen in diving-related incidents and gain an understanding of the fundamentals of using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Through a combination of theory sessions and practical training scenarios, this programme will provide you with the skills and confidence needed to respond effectively in emergency situations. Upon successful completion, you will be prepared to act as an emergency first responder, provide first aid and CPR, administer emergency oxygen, and offer AED support during a medical emergency.
| Minimum Age | 12 |
| Amount of Academic Sessions | 6 |
| Maximum Training Depth | 0m / 0ft |
| Suggested duration (h) | 8-12 |
