Course overview

Cross the line from dive guide to dive educator with the SSI Instructor Training Course on Koh Lanta, the launch point for Thailand's best big-fish drift diving. You rehearse teaching presentations in the sheltered Koh Haa lagoon and refine your dive leadership on the deep pinnacles of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang before being evaluated at an SSI Instructor Evaluation. The result is an Open Water Instructor rating that lets you certify divers worldwide.

What you’ll learn

• Present academic, pool and open-water teaching sessions using SSI's digital training system
• Apply SSI standards, the total teaching system and dive-centre procedures
• Demonstrate, evaluate and correct student diving skills to professional standard
• Run risk assessments and supervise students safely in open water
• Brief, conduct and debrief training dives with confidence
• Prepare fully for the independent SSI Instructor Evaluation

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Dive Guide or equivalent leadership rating from another recognised agency
• Certified diver for at least 6 months
• Logged dives to SSI professional requirements (typically 60 to start, 100 to be evaluated)
• Current first aid and CPR provider rating (e.g. SSI 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
   Teaching foundations

   Orientation to the SSI total teaching system, standards and your first academic presentations.
2. Day2
   Pool teaching workshops

   Practise demonstrating and teaching core skills in the sheltered shallows around Koh Haa.
3. Day3
   Open-water teaching

   Deliver open-water teaching presentations and skill circuits under evaluation at Koh Bida's coral walls.
4. Day4
   Standards & dive business

   Cover SSI standards, risk management and the practicalities 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 polishing ahead of the independent 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 Koh Lanta.

Frequently asked questions