Have you ever wondered what it feels like to breathe underwater?
The SSI Basic Diver program is the perfect introduction to scuba diving. Designed for complete beginners, it allows you to experience the incredible underwater world without committing to a full certification course.
In just one afternoon, you’ll learn the fundamentals of scuba diving before heading out to explore Koh Tao’s beautiful coral reefs on two ocean dives. During your first dive, you’ll learn a handful of essential scuba skills before continuing on a short guided dive. After a relaxing surface interval on the boat, you’ll head back underwater for a second dive, where you can simply enjoy the experience and discover why so many people fall in love with scuba diving.
Throughout the day, you’ll remain under the direct supervision of a professional SSI Instructor, making this a safe, relaxed and unforgettable introduction to the underwater world.
Whether you’re short on time, unsure if scuba diving is for you, or simply want to tick it off your bucket list, the SSI Basic Diver program is the perfect place to start.
Why Choose the SSI Basic Diver Program?
Scuba diving can seem like a big step if you’ve never done it before.
The Basic Diver program removes that pressure.
Rather than spending three days completing a certification course, you’ll experience the excitement of breathing underwater and exploring the ocean in just one afternoon. Your instructor will introduce everything gradually, teaching you the basics before guiding you through two unforgettable dives on Koh Tao’s beautiful coral reefs.
There’s no pressure to perform and no previous experience required.
Just bring your sense of adventure, we’ll take care of the rest.
Program at a Glance
Duration: Half Day
Minimum Age: 10 years
Maximum Depth: 12 metres
Certification: SSI Basic Diver Recognition
Prerequisites:
- Comfortable in the water
- Medically fit to scuba dive
Includes:
- Professional SSI Instructor
- Short academic session
- Full scuba equipment
- Two ocean dives
- Boat trip
- SSI Basic Diver recognition
Itinerary at a Glance
11:00 – Meet Your Instructor
Arrive at Funky Turtle Divers, complete your paperwork, meet your instructor and get fitted with your scuba equipment.
11:15 – Academic Session & Dive Briefing
Learn the basics of scuba diving, including how your equipment works, breathing techniques, underwater communication, equalising your ears and the essential safety procedures you’ll use throughout the day.
12:00 – Board the Boat
Pack your equipment and head to the pier before departing for one of Koh Tao’s beautiful beginner-friendly dive sites.
Dive 1 – Skills & Your First Underwater Adventure
Begin in shallow water where you’ll take your first breaths underwater and learn a small number of essential scuba skills. Once you’re comfortable, you’ll continue into a short guided dive and experience the incredible feeling of exploring beneath the surface for the very first time.
Surface Interval
Relax on the boat, enjoy refreshments and chat with your instructor while preparing for your second dive.
Dive 2 – Explore the Reef
Your second dive is all about enjoying the underwater world. Descend to a maximum depth of 12 metres as you explore colourful coral reefs, swim amongst tropical fish and discover why Koh Tao is famous for scuba diving.
Return to Shore
Head back to the dive centre to log your dives, celebrate your achievement and discover how today’s experience can become the first step towards your Open Water certification.
Why Learn with Funky Turtle Divers?
Your very first scuba diving experience is one you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
At Funky Turtle Divers, we believe it should be relaxed, enjoyable and confidence-building from the moment you arrive.
That’s why we focus on:
- Small instructor-to-student ratios
- Patient, experienced SSI Instructors
- A relaxed, supportive learning environment
- High-quality scuba equipment, professionally serviced and maintained
- Carefully selected beginner-friendly dive sites
- Plenty of time to ask questions and build confidence
Whether you’re excited, slightly nervous or somewhere in between, we’ll guide you every step of the way.
Why Try Scuba Diving in Koh Tao?
Koh Tao has earned a worldwide reputation as one of the best places on Earth to learn scuba diving.
The island’s warm tropical waters, excellent visibility and shallow coral reefs create ideal conditions for first-time divers. Instead of simply learning skills, you’ll be surrounded by colourful coral gardens and an incredible variety of marine life.
Depending on the dive site and the season, you may encounter butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish, pufferfish, moray eels, stingrays, schools of barracuda and, if you’re lucky, turtles or even whale sharks.
There’s no better place to discover the underwater world.
Your Learning Experience
The SSI Basic Diver program has been designed specifically for people who have never scuba dived before.
You’ll begin with a short academic session where your instructor explains the fundamentals of scuba diving in a relaxed and easy-to-understand way. There are no lengthy classroom sessions or exams – just the knowledge you need to enjoy your first dives safely and confidently.
Once aboard the boat, you’ll travel to one of Koh Tao’s sheltered dive sites, where your instructor will guide you through every stage of the experience.
Nothing is rushed.
You’ll learn each skill at your own pace before continuing into your first dive, allowing your confidence to build naturally throughout the day.
What You’ll Learn
Before exploring the reef, you’ll learn the essential skills every new diver needs.
These include:
- How scuba equipment works
- How to breathe comfortably underwater
- Equalising your ears
- Underwater communication using hand signals
- Recovering and clearing your regulator
- Clearing water from your mask
- Basic buoyancy control
- Safe ascents and descents
- Respecting marine life and coral reefs
These simple skills provide the foundation for safe, enjoyable diving and prepare you for your first underwater adventure.
Your First Ocean Dive
There’s a moment every diver remembers forever.
The moment they take their very first breath underwater.
Your first dive begins in shallow, calm water where you’ll practise a few basic scuba skills with your instructor. Once you’re comfortable, you’ll leave the training area behind and continue on a short guided dive across the reef.
As you descend beneath the surface, the noise of the world disappears.
You’ll hear only your breathing while colourful fish swim around you and sunlight dances across the coral below.
For many people, this is the moment they fall in love with scuba diving.
Your Second Dive
After relaxing during your surface interval, it’s time for the highlight of the day.
With the basics now feeling much more natural, your second dive allows you to simply enjoy being underwater.
You’ll explore the reef to a maximum depth of 12 metres, searching for tropical fish, colourful corals and the incredible marine life that makes Koh Tao one of the world’s most famous diving destinations.
By now, you’ll feel far more relaxed and confident, allowing you to fully appreciate the unique feeling of weightlessness that makes scuba diving unlike anything else.
Is the SSI Basic Diver Program Right for Me?
The Basic Diver program is perfect if you:
- Have never scuba dived before
- Want to try scuba diving before committing to a full course
- Only have half a day available
- Feel slightly nervous and would prefer a gentle introduction
- Want an unforgettable holiday experience
If you’re already certain that you want to become a certified diver, we recommend enrolling directly onto the SSI Open Water Diver Course, where you’ll complete more in-depth training and earn a certification recognised worldwide.
Continue Your Diving Journey
Many of our Basic Diver guests finish the day wishing they could do it all again.
The good news is – you can.
If you decide you’d like to become a certified diver, everything you’ve completed during your SSI Basic Diver program can be credited towards your SSI Open Water Diver Course, provided you continue your training within six months.
That means today’s skills and both of your ocean dives count towards your certification, allowing you to continue your training rather than starting again from the beginning.
The Open Water Course expands on everything you’ve learned today, teaching you more advanced diving skills, dive planning, buoyancy control and underwater safety before certifying you to dive anywhere in the world to a maximum depth of 18 metres with a buddy.
For many people, the Basic Diver program isn’t just a great day out, it’s the beginning of a lifelong passion for exploring the underwater world.
