Scuba diving courses in Koh Samui are easy to find, with countless operators based on all the main beach resorts on the island. Whether you’re looking to get your first PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certificate, take a one-day sampler course to discover the outstanding underwater sceneries around Samui, train to be a Divemaster or learn advanced rescue techniques, you will find dive courses suitable to your skill level. Owing to the popularity of scuba diving in Samui, dive instructors are from many different nationalities so you may be able to find a course taught in your native language.
Like in the rest of Thailand, PADI is the most common diving certification agency at hand in Samui, yet a few dive centres also provide certifications from other agencies such as CMAS, SSI, and NAUI. A PADI certificate allows you to dive anywhere all around the world, on dive sites that suit your level. See below a summary of the different PADI levels of certification available in Samui.
PADI Discover Scuba Diving
- Available for anyone aged 10 and older
- Spend one hour learning the basic rules and instructions
- First underwater breathing experience in a swimming pool
- First real dive to a maximum depth of 12 metres
PADI Scuba Diver
- This course is open to anyone aged 10 years and older (Junior Scuba Diver course available for children 10-14 years old)
- The course takes two days and includes two dives in a maximum depth of 12 metres
- You get an internationally recognized PADI certificate that you can use to get the next level
PADI Open Water Diver
- This course is open to anyone aged 10 years and older (Junior Open Water Diver course is available for children 10-15 years old)
- The course takes three to four days and includes four dives to a maximum depth of 18 metres
- You get an internationally recognized PADI certificate that allows you to dive independently together with another certified diver to a maximum depth of 18 metres
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
- This course is open to PADI Open Water holders aged 12 years and older.
- The course takes two days and includes five dives to a maximum depth of 30 metres.
- You’ll have to choose 5 types of dives among these specialities (the first two are mandatory): Deep, Under Water Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Multi Level & Computer, Drift, AWARE Fish Identification, Wreck, Boat, Search & Recovery, Photographer, Naturalist, and more.
The PADi courses described above belong to the leisure scuba diving category. They allow you to join day dives and live-aboard trips supervised by professional divers all around the world. If you are really interested in diving, you also can become a professional diver in Koh Samui. The courses required to do so include Emergency First Response, PADI Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, Instructor & Career Development Courses.
