Discover Scuba Diving on Koh Tao

Discover Scuba Diving & Explore The Underwater World on Koh Tao

Located at Black Turtle Dive dive centre, IDC Koh Tao is recognised throughout Asia Pacific as a leading diver training centre for non-divers, beginners and professional level candidates.

Our entry level Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) 1-day experience is an excellent way for you to explore the diverse marine environment surrounding Koh Tao, with one of our experienced PADI Diving Instructors.

Are you visiting Koh Tao and curious about scuba but don’t have the time or money to commit to a full PADI Open Water diver course?

The Discover Scuba Diving Experience is a great opportunity for you to try scuba diving in a single-day experience under the direct supervision of an experienced PADI Instructor. Your day begins in the morning with the PADI Discover Scuba Diving eLearning at our dive centre, moves into an extended session in our swimming pool, and finishes with two supervised open water ocean dives in the afternoon.

PADI Discover Scuba Diving eLearning

The PADI Discover Scuba Diving eLearning is a modern, interactive digital learning module that you complete on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. You can start it with us at the dive centre in the morning, or complete it in advance from home if you have already booked online.

The eLearning takes you through the fundamentals of scuba diving — including the effects of pressure underwater, how to equalise your air spaces, correct breathing techniques, and the essential safety concepts every new diver needs to understand. It also covers the PADI Diver Medical Questionnaire and Liability Release, both of which are completed digitally as part of the eLearning process.

Once completed, your instructor will review the key theory points with you at the dive centre and answer any questions before we head to the swimming pool.

Swimming Pool Training Session

The swimming pool is the ideal environment for your first breaths underwater. Calm, clear, and predictable, with no waves, currents, or reduced visibility, the pool lets you focus fully on your instructor and the skills you are learning.

Your instructor will assist you in setting up and fitting your scuba equipment before gradually introducing you to the water. You will begin in shallow water where you can stand comfortably with your head above the surface, breathing through the regulator to become familiar with the feeling of breathing underwater. Once ready, you will kneel under the water and start learning the core scuba skills.

Skills you will practise in the pool include:

• Breathing comfortably underwater
• Regulator clearing and regulator recovery
• Mask clearing
• Ear equalisation techniques
• Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) inflation and deflation at the surface
• Underwater hand signals and communication with your instructor

The extended morning session in the pool means there is no rush. You practise each skill at your own pace, ask any questions you have, and only move on when you feel completely ready.

Your Two Open Water Ocean Dives

After a lunch break, we head to the boat and travel to one of the shallow, sheltered reefs at one of Koh Tao’s many shallow bays for the highlight of the day: your two open water ocean dives.

Both ocean dives are conducted to a maximum depth of 12 metres / 40 feet, and both are under the direct supervision of your PADI Dive Instructor. Your first ocean dive gives you the chance to apply everything you practised in the pool in a real diving environment — breathing through the regulator, controlling your buoyancy, and swimming above the sand close to the reef.

Between dives you return to the boat for a surface interval, giving you time to debrief, rest, warm up, enjoy onboard refreshments, and share your experience before your instructor briefs you on your second dive.

Most divers find their second dive far more enjoyable than the first. With the initial nerves behind you, your breathing settles, your buoyancy improves, and you spend more of the dive looking around and taking in the reef. Average dive time is 30 to 40 minutes per dive depending on your air consumption.

Explore Koh Tao’s Beautiful Shallow Marine Life

The shallow reefs and sheltered bays around Koh Tao are one of the reasons the island has become one of the most popular first-dive destinations in the world. The water is warm, clear, and full of life, and the abundance of colourful marine life at these shallow depths means you do not need to go deep to see the very best of it.

During your two dives you will typically see butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish, wrasses, groupers, moray eels, and clownfish nestled among their host anemones. Divers regularly encounter blue-spotted ribbontail rays resting on the sand, and if you are lucky, one of Koh Tao’s green or hawksbill sea turtles may join you for part of the dive.

Because everything is happening in the shallows, the reef is well-lit, the colours are vivid, and the visibility is at its best — the perfect environment for a first-time diver to fall in love with the underwater world.

BE WARNED! It Is Addictive

Most people who try scuba diving with us cannot stop and want more. Once you have felt what it is like to breathe underwater and explore a coral reef with your own eyes, it is very hard to go back to watching it from a screen or a snorkel. Do not say we did not warn you.

Discover Scuba Diving Experience Schedule

Single-day experience from 09:00 to approximately 17:00.

The Discover Scuba Diving Experience includes:

• PADI Discover Scuba Diving eLearning
• Full swimming pool training session with a PADI Dive Instructor
• Two open water ocean dives to a maximum depth of 12 metres / 40 feet
• PADI Instructor fees
• Dive insurance
• All scuba equipment rental
• Free use of a dive computer
• Guaranteed small group — maximum 2 students per PADI Dive Instructor
• Option to credit your Discover Scuba Diving experience toward the PADI Open Water Diver course (within 12 months)