Course overview

The SSI Open Water Diver course certifies you to dive to 18 metres with a buddy and is recognised worldwide. Trincomalee's calm, warm east-coast water is ideal for learning, with confined-water skills off Nilaveli and four training dives on the gentle reefs of Pigeon Island Marine Park, where turtles, reef fish and corals make your first dives memorable.

What you’ll learn

• Set up, check and maintain scuba equipment
• Perform all essential safety and emergency skills
• Achieve neutral buoyancy and efficient finning
• Plan dives using a computer or tables
• Equalise, clear your mask and share air with a buddy
• Dive independently with a buddy to 18 metres

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 10 (junior) / 15 for full certification
• Able to swim and float/tread water comfortably
• Reasonable physical health (medical questionnaire applies)
• No prior certification required

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
   Theory & confined water

   Work through the digital academics and first confined-water skills in the calm shallows off Nilaveli.
2. Day2
   Confined water & first dives

   Finish confined-water training and make your first open-water dives on the Pigeon Island reefs.
3. Day3
   Open water & certification

   Complete the remaining open-water dives to 18 metres and certify as an SSI Open Water Diver.

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 Trincomalee.

Frequently asked questions