Course overview

Step up to teaching scuba with the SSI Open Water Instructor program on Gili Trawangan, training in warm 27-29°C water on the island's gentle reefs and turtle-rich sites like Turtle Heaven. SSI's flexible, digital-first instructor pathway lets you build teaching presentations, skill demonstrations and risk-management ability before your Instructor Evaluation, finishing ready to certify your own students worldwide.

What you’ll learn

• Teach SSI academic, confined-water and open-water training sessions
• Demonstrate scuba skills to SSI demonstration-quality standard
• Apply the SSI Total Teaching System and digital learning tools
• Evaluate and correct student divers safely on Gili reef sites
• Run dive-theory and rescue assessments to instructor level
• Prepare for the SSI Instructor Evaluation (IE)

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Divemaster or a qualifying leadership rating from another recognised agency
• Certified diver for at least 6 months
• Logged dives to SSI instructor-entry standard (typically 100 by the IE)
• Current first-aid / CPR provider rating (e.g. React Right)
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   ITC orientation & teaching system

   Introduction to the SSI Total Teaching System and your first academic teaching presentations.
2. Day2
   Confined-water workshops

   Refine demonstration-quality skills and teaching technique in the calm Gili shallows.
3. Day3
   Open-water teaching

   Deliver open-water teaching sessions and skill circuits near Turtle Heaven under evaluation.
4. Day4
   Standards & dive business

   Cover SSI standards, risk management and the business of running a dive operation.
5. Day5
   Theory & rescue assessment

   Sit dive-theory exams and complete the rescue assessment to instructor standard.
6. Day6
   IE preparation

   Mock evaluations and presentation polishing ahead of the SSI Instructor Evaluation.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Gili Trawangan.

Frequently asked questions