Course overview

Earn your first professional credential with the SSI Dive Guide rating on Koh Lanta, the base for Thailand's best big-fish drift diving. Over roughly four weeks you build leadership stamina, guiding certified divers and supporting instructors at sites from the coral walls of Koh Bida to the deep, current-swept pinnacles of Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. You finish qualified to lead certified divers and assist on courses anywhere SSI is recognised.

What you’ll learn

• Guide and supervise certified divers safely at varied Andaman sites
• Assist an SSI Instructor with students in confined and open water
• Demonstrate core scuba skills to a professional, repeatable standard
• Plan dives and brief divers on entries, navigation, hazards and conditions
• Manage dive logistics, stress and emergencies as a dive leader
• Build the experience to progress toward SSI instructor training

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Advanced Adventurer (or equivalent certification from another agency)
• SSI Diver Stress & Rescue certification
• Current first aid and CPR provider rating (e.g. SSI React Right)
• Specialty certifications and logged dives to SSI Dive Guide standards (typically 40+)
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Not included? Sort the rest of your trip

Flights and accommodation aren’t part of the course price, here’s how to book them around your dates.

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
   Theory & water skills

   Work through the Dive Guide digital training and begin watermanship and skill practice in the pool.
2. Day2
   Demonstration standard

   Bring your core skills to demonstration quality and run stress-and-rescue scenarios in confined water.
3. Day3
   Mapping & guiding

   Map a local site such as Koh Bida and practise guiding certified divers along its coral walls.
4. Day4
   Course assisting

   Support an instructor with real students in confined and open water over several training days.
5. Day5
   Deep & current experience

   Gain leadership experience at deeper, current-swept sites like Hin Daeng and Hin Muang.
6. Day6
   Assessment & certification

   Finish the evaluations and process your SSI Dive Guide rating.

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 Koh Lanta.

Frequently asked questions