Course overview

Sharpen your safety skills with the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue certification, taught at Khao Lak on the doorstep of the Similan Islands. Through stress-recognition and hands-on rescue scenarios on the calm local reefs, you learn to prevent and manage diving emergencies, preparing you for the Andaman's current-swept national-park sites and the SSI professional pathway.

What you’ll learn

• Identify and manage diver stress before it becomes an emergency
• Perform self-rescue and assist a struggling diver
• Handle surface and underwater panic situations
• Locate, surface and tow an unresponsive diver
• Deliver in-water rescue breaths and plan an exit
• Coordinate an emergency-response scenario

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (junior) / 15 for full certification
• SSI Advanced Adventurer or equivalent, with around 10–20 logged dives
• Current React Right (or equivalent) first-aid and CPR rating
• 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
   Stress & self-rescue

   Study stress recognition and accident prevention, then practise self-rescue skills in confined water near Khao Lak.
2. Day2
   Rescue scenarios

   Run rescue exercises and unresponsive-diver recovery on the local reef, finishing with full scenarios and certification.

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 Similan Islands.

Frequently asked questions