PADI Diving Courses on Koh Tao, Thailand

Full Range of PADI Diving Courses in Thailand

Located at Black Turtle Dive dive centre, IDC Koh Tao offer the same PADI Diving Course training programs to the highest PADI standards.

IDC Koh Tao and Black Turtle Dive have combined their professional expertise established over the last 20 years and provide customers with outstanding customer service and leading-edge diver training courses.

Koh Tao Diving Courses

If you want to learn to scuba dive at any level, Koh Tao is the perfect diver training location due to its diverse marine environment and varied underwater topography.

Prior to the recent global pandemic, Koh Tao certified more scuba divers than in any other location throughout the world, year on year and for good reason.

Even with limited or restricted international travel, Koh Tao is still popular with international and local visitors who arrive to take advantage of our tropical island paradise.

Choosing a Diver Training Agency

When choosing a training agency, it is important to note that various scuba diving training agencies offer a similar course structure with some differences in skills, standards and pricing.

When choosing a diving course and who to take your course with, the most important part of that decision is choosing the right dive centre.

The staff and level of expertise of the diver training team, is what will provide you with a memorable experience and turn you into a more confident and competent scuba diver.

Our team offer customers a combined professional training experience within the dive industry of over 50 years and in recognition of this, have received multiple PADI awards over the last 20 years.

Choosing a PADI Diving Course

With over 50 years as the leading training agency brand throughout the world, PADI offer an extensive course selection for all levels of scuba diving courses.

PADI Diving Courses are performance based, not time based and are designed to introduce students to knowledge, learning and skills progressively, which means students can learn at their own pace.

Performance based learning is a very important part of the learning process, helping you to develop an understanding of theory and mastery of the skills required to ensure you become a more confident and competent scuba diver.

Best PADI Diving Courses in Thailand

The focus of the IDC Koh Tao team as an integral part of Black Turtle Dive dive centre, is to create competent scuba divers and life-long Ocean Advocates through our extensive diver training and development programs.

For many, learning how to scuba dive is not only about receiving a certification, it is a life changing experience and the quality and value offered in our training courses, will ensure you become a passionate Ocean ambassador for life.

PADI Discover Scuba Diving

For entry level non-divers, customers can choose Discover Scuba Diving (DSD), which provides an excellent way for customers to experience the underwater environment in a single day.

Discover Scuba Diving is a scuba diving experience with no certification upon completion, however, it gives you an opportunity to explore the marine diversity to a maximum depth of 12 metres under the direct supervision of an experienced PADI Diving Instructor.

Our DSD experience is for non-divers who may not have the time for a full diving course due to a shorter travel itinerary or for people who want to see if they like scuba diving.

PADI Open Water Course Koh Tao

Our PADI Open Water course is the entry level course for non-divers and upon completion provides you with a certificate to dive anywhere in the world up to a maximum depth of 18 metres.

The course is made up of Knowledge Development (theory), Confined Water and 4 Open Water training dives at a selection of dive sites around Koh Tao.

The PADI Open Water course offers an e-learning option so you can complete the Knowledge Development online before your arrival, saving you study time and you can have more fun in the water once you arrive.

We offer the PADI Open Water course over 3 or 4 days depending on your itinerary and if you have completed any modules before your arrival.

PADI Advanced Open Water Course

PADI Advanced Open Water course is comprised of 5 adventure dives, two of which are compulsory dives; Deep and Underwater Navigator adventure dives.

The three remaining dives are called ‘elective dives’, which means you can choose the type of dives you want to take yourself.

We do make recommendations based upon our local expertise and what may be best to assist with your training so you gain the maximum benefit and value.

Popular elective dives include Night diving, Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB), Wreck diving at our local wreck HTMS Sattakut, AWARE Fish ID and Underwater Naturalist.

PADI Advanced Open Water course increases your level of knowledge and training and there is a small amount of theory that needs completing prior to each dive.

Upon completion you will have a dive log with 9 dives (includes 4 Open Water course dives) and 5 adventure dives in 5 different areas of specialty and a maximum depth limit of 30 metres.

PADI Rescue Diver course

Our PADI Rescue Diver course is often referred to by our students as the most demanding, yet exciting scuba diver course.

PADI Rescue course is delivered over 2-3 days and requires completion of theory, demonstration of self-rescue skills, mastery of rescue skills in Open Water, Open Water scenarios and an Emergency Assistance Plan for a dive site (EAP).

We can deliver the Rescue course either with or without the EFR course, however, for certification students need to hold a valid EFR certificate (or equivalent) which is also a requirement to enrol on the PADI Divemaster course.

PADI Pro Level Diving Courses

Our extensive choice of PADI pro level courses, are designed to meet the needs of the most enthusiastic scuba diver and for people who want to pursue a career in scuba diving as a PADI Divemaster or a PADI Dive Instructor.

We have been training professional level scuba divers for 20 years and provide our candidates with a flexible training program to suit their own travel schedule or personal circumstances.

Based on our extensive industry experience, we provide a choice of diver training programs to cater to the needs of every aspiring professional diver and we can adapt our programs further, to meet individual needs.

PADI Divemaster Course Koh Tao

Our PADI Divemaster course is the most popular pro level diving course in the world and is our entry level course for candidates who want to pursue a career in scuba diving as a dive guide, or for GAP year students as a personal development program.

We offer the PADI Divemaster course as a standalone course for certified Rescue divers with valid EFR certification who have gained appropriate diving experience through their existing logged dives and previous courses.

Our most popular Divemaster training programs are our Divemaster Internships, which include additional workshops in buoyancy and our extended Reef Ecology & Conservation Program (RECP) offering participation in marine conservation activities.

We provide a full range of PADI Divemaster Internships depending on your current level of training that can be from a non-diver to a fully certified PADI Divemaster.

You can find out more about our Divemaster Internships on either our IDC Koh Tao Divemaster Internship page, Prices and Packages or on our Black Turtle Dive Divemaster Internship web page.

PADI Diving Instructor Course (IDC Program)

Our PADI IDC covers much more than the PADI requirements and you can expect to be a confident and competent Dive Instructor upon successful completion of the course.

Our IDC candidates arrive from around the world and we can deliver the IDC course in multiple languages to suit the needs of our students.

Many of our Divemaster candidates choose to continue their education and personal development and learn how to teach scuba diving by completing our IDC.

We also offer flexible PADI Diving Instructor Internships that can be completed over 1 year depending on your current level of training.

Whatever PADI Dive Instructor course you choose with us, you can be sure that the level of training you receive, will ensure your teaching skills are first class.

PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT)

Learning how to teach scuba diving and then teach new areas of specialty is an ongoing part of the learning process and PADI offer continued education courses in a variety of specialty areas.

Possibly the most in demand Scuba Diving Instructor within the dive industry is an MSDT Instructor or PADI Specialty Diving Instructor.

Our MSDT program continues the great work achieved through your IDC and extends your knowledge of diving theory, specialty course curriculum and how to teach specialty courses to student divers.

Our MSDT course teaches you how to teach up to 5 PADI Specialty courses, with the most popular being Deep, Wreck and Nitrox specialty courses.

We also offer our candidates an extended MSDT Internship that allows you to work alongside our experienced Instructors to gain your first 25 certifications as a PADI Diving Instructor.

PADI Staff Instructor Course Koh Tao

Many of our own staff are PADI Staff Instructors, Master Instructors or PADI Course Directors as we believe expertise and experience comes through the learning process.

As a PADI Staff Instructor you will learn much more about the Instructor Development process and work with our senior training and development team to be able to assist on our IDC programs.

Our PADI Staff Instructor course is a natural and progressive step for our MSDT Instructors and we offer a bespoke Staff course according to the needs of our candidates.

We have been in the business of training professional level divers for 20 years and many of our previous staff work at locations around the world, managing Dive Operations, Dive Centres and also working for PADI.

PADI Specialty Courses Koh Tao

As a recreational level diver there is a wide choice of PADI specialty courses you can take to increase your understanding of theory and improve your in-water skills.

Many of the Adventure dives taken on an Advanced Open Water course can count as a credit towards a specialty course, such as Deep, Wreck or Night Diving.

If you are an enthusiastic and passionate scuba diver, continuing with your scuba diving education is a natural and progressive step and PADI specialty courses offer you an exciting way to explore the marine environment much more.

Our PADI Sidemount and Self Reliant courses are incredibly popular with divers who want to learn how to dive with more than one tank, dive alone or as an entry level awareness course into technical diving.

PADI Specialty Courses for Recreational Divers

If you have no plans to make a career out of scuba diving, but want to learn more, you can pursue the highest level of certification in recreational level scuba by successfully completing 5 PADI specialty courses and becoming a Master Scuba Diver (MSD).

Often mistaken for the PADI Divemaster certification, a Master Scuba Diver (MSD) is the highest certification you can achieve at a recreational level, before taking the Divemaster course.

To achieve the Master Scuba Diver accreditation, recreational divers need to successfully complete 5 PADI Specialty courses, be at least a PADI Rescue diver and have logged a minimum of 50 dives.

Scuba Diving Internship & Lifestyle Packages

For many of our students, our all-inclusive Scuba Diving Internships provide the most value and maximum benefit to their personal development.

Our extended lifestyle packages include all the courses required to achieve a particular rating, all the Crew Packs, all the PADI fees and over a period of time, you will learn alongside our award-winning team.

Diving Lifestyle Packages & Starting a New Career

With experience gained over the last 20 years, we know what works best for our candidates and we offer Scuba Diving Internship packages that are designed by experienced divers, for aspiring and enthusiastic divers.

IDC Koh Tao offer non-divers comprehensive and all-inclusive diving packages and we offer experienced divers the same opportunity, with a way to develop their skills further and become better divers.

Many of our candidates want a lifestyle change and the opportunity to start a new career in an exotic location and diver training on Koh Tao provides you with this.

If you are a recreational diver who is diving as a hobby or a person who wants to change their lifestyle and start a new career, we are available to discuss your aspirations and personal goals.

A Wide Choice of PADI Diving Courses in Thailand

Thailand has long been known as one of the most popular destinations in the world to take a PADI diving course and Koh Tao is the best location to learn how to dive.

Koh Tao is located approximately 70 kilometres off the mainland in the Gulf of Thailand and is protected from much of the adverse monsoon weather experienced by other areas in Thailand.

Diver training continues all year round in the warm tropical sea surrounding Koh Tao and average water temperatures are between 26-29 degrees centigrade.

Marine Conservation Courses Koh Tao

Koh Tao itself is surrounded by over 8 kilometres of living Coral Reef and is an excellent location for our team to educate students on Marine Ecosystems through our Marine Conservation Internship.

The dive sites surrounding Koh Tao offer shallow, sandy bays, deep outer lying granite rock formations, wreck and Artificial dive sites at depths ranging from 5 metres to 40 metres and beyond.

Koh Tao also offers a wide choice of activities when not diving, amazing food and drink, stunning viewpoints, idyllic beaches and a local community that welcomes international visitors.

Now is a perfect time to sign up for a PADI Diving course or an extended lifestyle package at the most popular diver training location in the world.