The try dive is a one day program to get you underwater straight away and show you the beauty and fun of scuba diving. Discover Scuba Diving Today!

• The island Koh Tao is an ideal place to begin your scuba adventures. Starting in the morning with a simple briefing in the basics of diving.  After a lunch break we go on the boat and start in water shallow enough to stand up so you have plenty of time to get used to the equipment.  After this we go for a shallow dive around the reef closely supervised by your dive leader. Simple. Safe. Fun!
  

 Ifyou wish to continue on to scuba diver or open water diver course after your try dive, we will deduct the try dive fee from the price of the course! Easy!

 

The Scuba Diver Course is the first diving course to give you an international divers licence to 12meters deep, although you will always need to have a dive leader with you in the water.

The Scuba Diver program is perfect for those who do not have the time to do an entire Open Water Diver Course on Koh Tao. This program consists of about half of the Open Water Diver Course.

The Scuba Diver Course comes with either free or discounted accommodation for all students.

The duration of this diving course is 2 days.  The first day consists of classroom and shallow water skills.

The second day you will go on two dives to 12 metres maximum with your diving instructor to complete your first scuba diving certification!

You can upgrade your Scuba diver licence to an Open Water Diver Certification (18 metres) at any time in the future.

 

 

The open water diving course gives you an international diving license to dive anywhere in the world to a maximum depth of 18meters with your buddy. A local dive guide is recommended but not compulsory, therefore the open water course is the first diving course that will give you the freedom to dive where and whenever you want. 

Under the guidance of a professional Diving Instructor, the Open Water Diver course helps you develop the knowledge and skills necessary to enjoy a lifetime of underwater exploration.

The course lasts for 3.5 days, but it can be completed quicker if you are on a tight time frame on request with a personal instructor.

Experience the thrill of weightlessness, gliding effortlessly through the water on your open water diver course.

 All you need to complete this diving course here on Koh Tao, is to be 10 years old or over and be able to swim!  We start very slowly with shallow water skills and only when you feel confident to move on do we go to deeper water.  The theory part of the course are made simple by the instructive videos, the diving course manual and one of our well trained scuba diving instructors, who will explain everything you read in easy to understand terms. this way you will slowly get used to the diving jargon. The Open Water diver is by far the most popular of all diving course and it is certainly very rerwarding!  Come on and take the plunge, book an Open water course and become a diver for life!

At Sairee Cottage Diving we pride ourselves on being very fun diver friendly!  When you are fun diving with us you can have long dives. Enjoy quiet dives with guides who really care about what you see under the water.  If it's searching for big schools of Barracudas at Chumphon Pinnacle or looking for small dancing shrimp at Twin Peaks, our Divemasters can show you where they are.

Our big dive boat caters for a max of 25 divers and leaves the beach and goes to different dive sites every day.  We go for two dives in the morning and two dives in the afternoon. so you can choose a time to suit you.  We try to leave earlier than most dive schools so to beat the crowds, and if a dive site looks too busy we try to avoid it that day. It does not matter what diving certification level you are, as our Divemasters will take more advanced divers in separate groups if they wish to go deeper than 18 metres.

Fun dive and accommodation packages are as follows,

• Book 6 fun-dives get one night free in basic room.
  

• Book 10 fun-dives get 2 free nights in basic room.

 

 

This diving course is all about exploration, excitement and experience. You don't have to be advanced to take it - the Advanced Open Water Course is designed so you can move straight into it after the Open Water Diver course, The Advanced Open Water Diver course helps you increase your confidence and build your scuba skills so you can become more comfortable in the water. This is a great way to get more dives under your belt while continuing to learn under the supervision of your diving instructor. The course builds on what you've learned and develops new capabilities by introducing you to new activities and new ways to have fun scuba diving.

 The advanced diving course consists of 5 specific dives each one being dive 1 of the relevant specialty rating.  The deep dive and the navigation dive are compulsory the other 3 you can choose what ever best suits your interests in diving. Your instructor will help you with this decision.

 

Sample of an advanced diver course schedule,

• Day 1  9.30 am academic session  12.30 pm 2 dive trip, peak performance buoyancy dive and navigation dive. 7.00 pm night dive
• Day 2  7.30 am 2 dive trip, deep dive and photography dive

 Congratulations your're an advanced open water diver!

The advanced open water diving course comes with free or discounted accommodation for all students.

 

The "Respond Right" training program is a series of structured, flexible and comprehensive First Aid courses. Most of them are not specifically diving-related and are therefore useful also for non-divers.

The Basic course fulfills the requirements for the PADI Rescue Diver course as well as the SSI Stress & Rescue course. This one-day course is focused on practical skills. and study from the manual. You will practice until you feel confident. The Advanced course includes all the theory and skills from the basic level, but goes beyond this and includes e.g. snake bites, marine life i

njuries and Oxygen Administration. This course can be accomplished in a day if you have completed all the compulsory study guides previously. Often we will do this course in a leisurely 2 days.

Respond Right courses may be fully accredited as Nationally Recognised Training within the Australian Qualifications Framework in Australia. Our courses here in Thailand follow exactly the same standards and teaching outlines as in Australia.

Like all First Aid courses it is valid for two years, after which you need to refresh your skills again.

 

The Rescue Diver Course builds on what you've already learned as a scuba diver up to now.

This diving course teaches you how to prevent problems, and how to manage problems if they occur. Most scuba divers find this course both demanding and rewarding at the same time. At the end, many course participants say it's the best course they've ever taken.

The rescue diver course last 2-3 days and includes theory sessions and in-water training with scenarios that include other divers to make your training seem as realistic as possible.

This diving course is also a pre-requisite for Dive Master training with PADI or SSI.

First Aid and CPR certification is needed for certification as a Rescue diver, we usually run the "Respond Right" course prior to the Rescue course.

PADI or SSI Divemaster courses offer dive leadership level training!. The Divemaster course in Koh Tao is fun, challenging and satisfying. This diving course takes you beyond simple recreational diving and towards a professional diver status.  The Divemaster course is the first professional level and you need to have a rescue diver certification to start with.

As a Dive Master you can:

• Work on dive boats, at resorts and retail stores, and take people diving.

• Lead dive trips and tours - Assist Instructors in the pool and open water.
• Conduct the Resort Dive/Discover scuba course.
• Conduct Scuba tune ups
• Teach Snorkeling skills.
• Teach selected First Aid and CPR programs.
• Meet and befriend divers and like minded people from all walks of  life.
• Take part in an Instructor Training Course to become a scuba instructor.
  

 

You will study the business of diving, diving equipment, the underwater  environment, the science of diving and also risk managment. You'll also practice rescue techniques, fine-tune your scuba diving skills and learn the basics of teaching to dive.  Of course there is lots of fun diving included too and lots of experience taking people diving with experienced dive masters.

At Sairee Cottage Diving we pride ourselves on conducting a unique dive master training program that includes, Deep diver and Nitrox specialties for free (you just pay for the card approx 1000 THB) Then you can dive deeper and dive for longer!

The BSAC basic boat handling course is another option to add to your divemaster progrmme. It is a 2 day course which gives Dive master students a chance to get hands on experience with rhibs and solid hull power boats generally used in the diving industry. This course is normally valued at 10,000thb but we offer it to all our divemaster students for 5000thb, this course is level 1 in becoming a fully licensed diver coxswain sanctioned by C.D.A, PADI, S.S.I and B.S.A.C.

For the PADI dive master candidate we conduct the discover scuba diving internship, this gives you the ability to take non certified divers on a try-diving program. This will greatly improve your chances of employment and earning potential as well as being a lot of fun and a great experience introducing people to the underwater world.

Course materials for PADI and SSI divemaster courses are 6000THB and include everything you need for the theory sections of the course.

At the end of your course you will have to join PADI or SSI as a professional member.  This fee is paid to the agency and is approx 3000THB for the year.

You can train as a PADI or SSI divemaster as your instructors are dual rated with many years of teaching experience.  We teach only the latest updated versions of the courses therefore SSI students have the option of training as Dive guide before becoming dive masters. 

The dive guide course will qualify you to take certified divers on trips but does not contain any advanced theory of diving, perfect for the first step into dive leadership.  After Dive guide SSI students become Dive masters after completing a Science of Diving course.

For those  SSI Dive masters wishing to go further into dive leadership we also offer the SSI Dive Control Specialist course.  This will be approximately 2 more weeks in addition to the Dive master course.  Dive Cons' are the equivalent to PADI assistant instructors and have teaching experience.

The Dive master courses takes about 4-6 weeks to complete, we do offer schedules for people with less time, it is flexible.

We love teaching Divemasters here at Sairee Cottage in Koh Tao, and we take pride in trianing people to high standards so they become fine dive leaders.  It's fun and it could change your life!  It certainly changed ours!

 

 

Specialty dive training introduces certified divers to a whole new world of diving opportunities. Our specialty courses include one night in a basic room.

Specialties	duration	Dives
Deep	2 days	4 dives	7000 THB
Nitrox	1 day	2 dives	6000 THB
Night	2 days	3 dives	5500 THB
Perfect Buoyancy	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Navigation	2 days	4 dives	5500 THB
Stress and Rescue	3 days	2 dives	8800 THB
Search and recovery	2 days	4 dives	5500 THB
CPR and First Aid Training	1/2 day	n/a	3500 THB
Naturalist	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Boat	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Equipment	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Photography	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Computer/Multi-level	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
Waves, Tides and Currents	1 day	2 dives	5500 THB
DPV Wreck Diving	1 day 1 day	2 dives 2 days	7000 THB 5500THB

Speciality courses help you get more out of diving by introducing you to new types of adventures. Its a great opportunity to work with your instructor to build your scuba diving skills and gain more confidence. Here's your chance to focus on what interests you and get a taste of what you like, strengthening your underwater skills and letting you enjoy scuba diving more than ever.  You need 5 Specialties to become Master Scuba Diver. Please contact us and we can arrange a package for you.

For those who wish to become dive leaders but do not want to study the science of diving, the dive guide course is perfect for you.  Once completed, SSI dive guides are qualified to lead certified divers around the worlds dive sites.  The course takes your skills from rescue diver level and sharpens them the leadership level.  Candidates will practice skill demonstration, study and practice dive leading techniques, perform watermanship tests and assist instructors in real teaching situations.

The course does not include the science of diving such as physics, physiology and decompression theory so more time is spent learning the more practical side to dive leadership such as boat management and diver supervision.

Once certified as Dive Leader, the Divemaster rating is one more step away with the science of diving specialty.

This course takes around 3 weeks to complete depending on the amount of dives you have, you must have 50 logged dives to be certified.

 

 

 

 

BSAC Ocean Diver

BSAC Ocean Diver course is the entry-level course for the BSAC Diver training programme. To enrol in the course students must be 12 years or older and have successfully completed the dive medical form. (12 - 17 year olds need written permission from parents or guardians) 

Ocean Diver Course overview

The Ocean Diver course consists of the following elements

• 7 Theory lessons and assessment.
• 5 Sheltered water lessons and swimming assessment
• 5 Open water dives/lessons.

The Ocean diver is usually conducted over 4 days

Theory Lessons

The 7 theory lessons take you through all the basics you need to become a confident diver. The areas covered are as follows:

• Introduction to the Ocean Diver course
• Diving, diving equipment and signals
• The body and the effects of diving
• Planning to go diving
• Going diving
• What happens if?
• Enjoying your diving

 

Theory assessment

On completion of these theory lessons each student will complete a short Theory assessment. This assessment consists of 30 questions.

Swimming assessment

All students will need to complete a 200 metre swimming test. There is no time limit for this test as the test is merely designed to see if the student can complete the specified distance.

The basic diving skills are conducted either in a swimming pool or in sheltered water area with similar conditions to a pool. Usually, all five lessons are conducted together as one lesson, or grouped into two sessions.

Over the five Dive skills lessons the student will be expected to complete the following skills,

• A variety of different entries and exit methods
• The correct fit and use of basic equipment
• Effective buddy check of the scuba equipment
• Surface swimming and correct fining techniques
• Buoyancy check
• Buoyancy skills
• Breathing from the diving regulator
• Breathing from a free flowing regulator
• Regulator clearing and retrieval
• Breathing from a regulator with no mask
• Clearing and removing the mask underwater
• Swimming without the mask
• Weight belt jettison
• Ascending and descending procedures
• Low and out of air skills and procedures
• Removing your scuba and weights on the surface
• Recovering/assisting your buddy to the surface by a rescue lift
• Towing your buddy to the shore or boat
• Snorkel dives

Open water Dives

On completion of the sheltered water lessons the student will again repeat these skills on the 5 open water dives.
The open water dives are aimed at allowing the student to gain diving experience in a realistic diving environment and in varying dive conditions, depth experience and diving as an effective member of a buddy team.
During the open water dives, the dive time will be split into two periods. The first section of the dive will be repeating the skills previously learned in the sheltered water lessons but at gradually increasing depths, the aim of this is to build the students confidence at deeper depths. Then the second half of the dive will be spent exploring the underwater world and all the amazing sights it has to offer. On the final dive of the course the students will be responsible for planning and executing the dive, while under direct supervision of their instructor, so their ability to work as a buddy group can be assessed.

BSAC Sports Diver

The BSAC Sports Diver course is the perfect way for certified divers to advance their diving skills and experience, accessing new and exciting diving activities.

To enroll onto a BSAC Sports Diver course you need to be qualified as a BSAC Ocean Diver [or equivalent].

BSAC Sports Diver training introduces advanced diving techniques and procedures, allowing you to dive deeper for longer, getting your first taste of both decompression diving and nitrox.

Usually scheduled over 4-5 days, training will include theory, sheltered water lessons and 5 open water dives.

 

Theory Lessons

BSAC Sports Diver theory lessons focus on diver rescue, advanced equipment and techniques such as shot lines and using delayed smbs, plus planning for deeper diving.

We'll look at gas planning and partial pressures and learn how to plan decompression dives which allow us to extend our bottom time at depth.

 

Sheltered Water Lessons

The focus of sheltered water training during the BSAC Sports Diver course is on rescue techniques, further developing the skills introduced during the BSAC Ocean Diver course.

We'll look at emergency procedures for self-rescue, and providing surface assistance to a buddy.

 

Open Water Lessons

Over 5 open water dives you'll log at least 150 minutes underwater and experience a range of different diving conditions.

During the dives we'll practice rescue skills such as revision of the buoyant diver lift and recovering the victim to shore to administer CPR.

We'll also look at using a safety marker buoy [SMB] during a dive and practice compass navigation. You'll be responsible for planning and leading a dive, plus review all the basic diving skills.

One of the dives will be planned and executed as a simulated decompression dive, putting what you learned during your theory lessons into practice.

Plus you'll assume you first leadership responsibility, acting as an assistant dive marshal.  This will involve maintaining a dive log to record and track safe buddy pairing and dive profile monitoring.

At the end of the course you have the option to take 3 more depth experience dives, allowing you to get certified to dive to a maximum depth of 35 metres.

By doing the sports diver course, students will learn additional skills and increase their understanding and awareness when: diving a variety of sites in varying conditions, considering additional equipment needed to support the variety of dives being undertaken, extending personal rescue skills including resuscitation and the ability to take a more active role in surface support cover. Perhaps the most important element in extending personal diving skills and future depth range is SELF RISK ASSESSMENT, knowing personal limitations. The course takes three to four days which comprises of , five theory lessons, one sheltered water lesson and five open water dives experiencing five different diving conditions with an in depth introduction to decompression diving.

BSAC Dive Leader

Dive Leader is the first professional level in the BSAC diver education system.

The course is designed to develop BSAC Sports Divers [or equivalent] to be able to take on real leadership responsibility for planning and executing diving activities, and acquire expert level diving knowledge, skill and techniques.

In total, the BSAC Dive Leader course duration take approximately two weeks, featuring theory, dry practical sessions, open water lessons and building up diving experience.
The course can be completed faster depending on previous diving experience crediting towards qualifying dives. [Contact BSAC Thailand or the BSAC Dive Centre where you plan to take the course to clarify your requirements].

 

Theory Lessons

Diving theory steps up a gear in the BSAC Diveleader course, giving you the fundamental knowledge you need to act as a professional or expert level diver.

Lessons will include oxygen administration and advanced dive planning such as considering weather, tide tables, charts and local knowledge.

We'll then move into rescue management, covering advanced procedures such as overall emergency management, helicopter operations and incident reporting.

Plus we'll consider the role of dive management, co-ordinating the response and legal aspects.

 

Open Water Lessons

In open water, new skills will include demonstrating mastery of mid-water delayed SMB deployment, plus dive leading demonstration and practice.

You'll learn to recover a shot line using a lift bag and concentrate on rescue management  and diving rescue skills such as self-rescue and assisting a buddy.

Much of the focus of the open water sessions will be on overall dive management - understanding and fulfilling the roles of a dive marshal and dive manager for familiar dive sites. You'll be taking on real responsibility.

Combined you'll log at least 20 dives since qualifying as a BSAC Sports Diver, to total an in-water time of at least 600 minutes in a range of different conditions. This will include developing significant experience acting as a dive leader.

 

Once qualified as a BSAC Diveleader, you can take additional supervised depth experience dives through which you can get certified to a maximum depth of 50 metres.

The dive leader course goal is to allow you to plan and lead a range of dives including those requiring detailed dive. Air and decompression requirements planning, initially limited to
35m, but can subsequently be extended to a maximum of 50m, will gain the skill and level of knowledge to progressively extend his/her skills to take part in a wide range of adventurous dives, will learn rescue management skills, is also competent to marshal dives to locations well known to the school or using experienced skippers knowledge in conditions not considered challenging. Can conduct dives with divers of any grade to expand their experience beyond that previously encountered by those divers under supervision of the dive marshal and is also required to assist with student experience building dives.
The course consists of twelve classroom lessons a theory assessment seven open water lessons two dry practical lessons. The time recommended for the dive leader course is 6-8 weeks and should have logged not less than 60 dives.

The aim of the BSAC Seamanship Package is to give student with little or no skills & experience the theoretical and practical ability to operate a small powerboat safely. The course focuses on general seamanship and boat handling, plus using boats for diving applications.After 6 days instruction you will qualify with an internationally recognized powerboat handling  certificate sanctioned by the Combined Diving Agencies, plus the option to apply for additional licenses with other certifying seamanship bodies.

The Seamanship package consists of:

• PART 1:   BSAC Boat Handling Course
  
• PART 2:   Chart work and Position Fixing Course
• PART 3:   5 hours logged Boat Handling
  
• PART 4:   BSAC Diver Coxswain Assessment (Driving Test)

The course is open to anyone - both divers and non divers and includes all BSAC student course notes, a Seamanship manual, instruction, and qualification.  The boat used for this course is a 6 metre Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RIB), which is fitted with a115 hp 4 stroke outboard. The boat meets all international safety requirement and is fitted with a full specification of safety equipment. We are now working in-conjunction with good-time adventures to give students the experience of there 8mt twin engine solid hull boat

BSAC Seamanship Outline, Costs and Sample Course structure

Boat Handler Course - 20,000 THB including guidebook

• 6 x 60 min theory lessons
• 2 x 120 min practical lessons
• Approx 5 hours boat handling time

 Chart Work and Navigation Course - 10,000THB

• 4 x 60 min theory lessons
• 1 x 60 min practical lesson

 Assessment (equivalent to driving test) - 10,000 THB including certification

• Voyage planning - 60 min
• Boat handling - 120 min
• Theory assessment - 30 min

 On passing the assessment the candidate will receive an international power boat license  to allow them captain a power boat up to 12 meters in length with unlimited engine horse power and to safely and sensibly manage a dive team on the same vessel.

Sample Combined Course and Assessment Structure

Day 1	AM- Chap 1,2 and 3 theory: using small boats, working with ropes, engines and trailers
	PM- Boat familiarization, introduction to boat handling skills
Day 2	AM- Chap 4, 5 and 7 theory: safety at sea, emergencies at sea, using charter  boats
	PM- General boat handling
Day 3	AM- Chart work and navigation theory: charts, tides, weather, basic navigation with compass
	PM- General boat handling
Day 4	AM- Chart work and navigation theory:  voyage planning and navigation data plans, GPS
	PM- General boat handling
Day 5	AM- Spare for revision or problem area's or general boat handling
	PM- Practice boat handling skills
Day 6	AM- Voyage planning and theory assessment
	PM- Boat handling assessment

 A longer, flexible schedule for people with more time or living on Koh Tao is easy to arrange.

BOOK NOW AND RECEIVE 5 FREE NIGHTS IN OUR AIRCON DORM ROOM!

BSAC DEEP SDC

Deep Diving

These days, many recreational divers regularly dive to depths of 30 metres and deeper. Most diving agencies recommend that the maximum depth for recreational diving is between 40 -50 meters. Different agencies and divers may even specify what they consider to be a deep dive. In truth, a "deep dive" should be considered as a dive deeper than the individual has previously experienced. There are also different opinions on what is considered a no decompression dive and what is a decompression dive? The simple answer to this is that ALL dives involve some level of decompression on the ascent phase and therefore, technically speaking all dives can be considered as decompression dives.

This course is therefore aimed at recreational divers who wish to dive to a maximum depth of 40 metres and who can also conduct planned staged decompression stop dives safely.

What are the attractions of deep diving? Most divers would agree that the attractions of deep diving is, to discover dive sites that are rarely visited by other divers, to explore new undiscovered dive sites, to visit more intact wrecks (which are usually in good condition due to the depth of water they lie in) and to extend ones depth experience and training.

Course aims:

The aim of this course, is to instruct divers in the correct techniques and procedures involved in conducting deep dives. The course will give the diver both theoretical and practical experience in planning and executing deep dives safely and with competence. Some agencies deep diving syllabuses requires that all divers need to return to the same decent line in order to gain access to their emergency spare air. In this course the diver is trained to carry enough air with them for the entire dive including any stops or emergencies, incase they cannot return to the ascent line and enabling them to complete the dive safely.

The course is open to BSAC Sports Divers or equivalent that have already logged a minimum of 20 dives and have reach a maximum depth of 30 metres.

Course Duration:

The course duration is 3 - days

Theory lessons:

The first lesson starts with a look at the definition of  ‘what is a deep dive' and what is decompression? In the first lesson we also look at some Physics and Physiology that relates to deep diving. Lesson 2 covers the different types of equipment needed for deep diving and how to use it. As mentioned in the introduction, divers are expected to carry all of their air requirements. This means the use of a single back cylinder together with a second side mount cylinder. With this in mind, this lesson also looks at the different equipment configurations. The third lesson covers Oxygen and it use for treating divers who may be suffering from deep diving relates injuries. Deep diving requires comprehensive dive planning so lessons 4 and 5 address these two topics. In lesson 4 we will look at air calculation, personal gas consumption rate, back up breathing supply and dive profiling. Lesson 5 covers dive planning in general. In this lesson we look at site location and calculating the actual depths expected at the time of the dive, planning to dive when the best conditions are present (currents and slack tide etc) and we also look at the best weather conditions for the dive.

Practical Dry Lessons:

Before you start your open water dives,the instructor will run you through some dry surface skills so that once    under water you will have had a dry practice of these skills beforehand. These lessons will also familiarize you with equipment that you may or may not have used before. This lesson will show you how to construct a Shotline, running out and retrieving a distance line (both of these skills will involve rope work and tying knots). There will also be an equipment configuration section, where you will learn how to set up your equipment to suit you. The last part of the theory lessons will address Dive Planning. You will be shown how to plan the dive, calculate the gas needed for your dive and general logistics of the dive. The planning sections will then be repeated before each dive.

Open Water Dives

This section starts with a shallow water skill session. The aim is to familiarize you with the new equipment configuration and run you through some fundamental skills needed to use this equipment competently. You will start by running a distance line, which you will have already mastered on dry land. Other skills will include, Gas switching from your main cylinder to your slide cylinders and vice ser versa, emergency gas sharing, where you will learn to breath from your buddy's Alternate Source (AS) and deploying a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy.

This lesson is then followed by a series of 4 - dives; all at varying depths. The first 3 - dives will be planned as simulated decompression dives. On each of these dives, you will repeat most of the skills form the shallow water lesson plus a few new skills. Again each of these dives will be fully planned with regards to maintain dive profiles emergency profile and gas calculations etc.

On dive four, you will plan and execute a dive that will require a mandatory decompression stop(s). The maximum depth of this dive will 40 metres.