Course overview

Step up to teaching scuba with the SSI Open Water Instructor programme in Zanzibar, qualifying you to train and certify divers across the SSI system. You build and rehearse teaching presentations in the calm shallows off Stone Town, then deliver them on the reefs and walls of Mnemba Atoll and Tumbatu, where dependable July-to-February conditions support consistent, repeatable training.

What you’ll learn

• Plan and deliver SSI academic, confined-water and open-water teaching presentations
• Apply the SSI training system, standards and digital learning platform
• Demonstrate and evaluate student skills to SSI instructor standard
• Manage diver risk and run training to professional safety standards
• Brief and guide student divers across Zanzibar's reef and wall sites
• Prepare for the SSI Instructor Training Course evaluations and exams

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Dive Guide / Divemaster or equivalent leadership rating from a recognised agency
• Certified diver for at least 6 months
• Logged dives meeting SSI professional requirements (typically 75+ for the ITC)
• Current first-aid and CPR / oxygen-provider training
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician within the last 12 months

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 training system and your first academic teaching presentations.
2. Day2
   Confined-water workshops

   Demonstrate and teach skills in the calm shallows off Stone Town.
3. Day3
   Open-water teaching

   Deliver open-water teaching presentations on Mnemba and Tumbatu reefs under evaluation.
4. Day4
   Standards & risk management

   Cover SSI standards, dive operations and professional risk management.
5. Day5
   Theory & assessment

   Sit dive-theory exams and complete skill and rescue assessments to ITC standard.
6. Day6
   Final evaluations

   Final teaching evaluations and exams to complete the Open Water Instructor rating.

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 Zanzibar.

Frequently asked questions