Course overview

Learn to anticipate, prevent and manage diving emergencies with the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue course in Hikkaduwa. Through calm reef and shallow-water training on Sri Lanka's south coast, you practise recognising diver stress, performing rescues and running accident-management scenarios. You finish certified as an SSI Stress & Rescue diver, a required step toward professional ratings.

What you’ll learn

• Identify and manage diver stress before it escalates
• Assist tired and panicked divers at the surface
• Locate and rescue an unresponsive diver underwater
• Surface a diver and deliver in-water rescue breaths
• Execute an emergency action plan and search pattern
• Provide emergency oxygen and accident management

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior) or 15 for full certification
• SSI Advanced Adventurer or equivalent
• Current React Right (or equivalent CPR and first-aid) training
• 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
   Theory & stress recognition

   Digital academics, the Stress & Rescue exam and self-rescue review.
2. Day2
   Rescue skills

   Practise rescue and tow techniques in confined water and on Hikkaduwa's calm house reef.
3. Day3
   Scenario assessments

   Complete full rescue scenarios, including searches and unresponsive-diver handling on local sites.

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 Hikkaduwa.

Frequently asked questions