PADI or SSI? That is the question, here we provide some answers to assist.

At Seafari dive centre we believe in offering our customers’ choice, we are in a unique position in Pattaya. We are able to offer courses from the two largest SCUBA certifiers in the world, both with a pedigree spanning over 40 years! SSI and PADI are the only certifiers to globally meet the ISO standards and the European Underwater Federation standards in tuition for beginners, professionals and in the use of Nitrox/ EANx. In addition to this impressive listing they both are active members in the RSTC the governing body for SCUBA diver training in Europe and the WRSTC the governing body for SCUBA diver training Worldwide.

Is it not strange that the 1st EVER PADI 5 star Instructor Development Dive Centre in Pattaya/ Thailand chooses to offer SSI as well as PADI to their customers?

Thank you for recognising us as the innovators of SCUBA diving in Pattaya. As you correctly state we are used to being the market leaders therefore it is completely in this dive centre’s nature to now be the 1st in Pattaya to offer SSI as well as PADI to our customers. To be honest the industry in Pattaya has been a little slow in reacting to the climate change and needs of our customers. Our customers are mainly European, Australian and Asian so it was only correct we readdress the balance and follow market trends. We are delighted to join the other 50 SSI dive centres in Thailand, 71 in Indonesia, 33 in The Philippines and 101 in Australia. Of course if our European customers wish to continue their training with SSI when they return home, they can join any of the 209 SSI dive centres in Germany, 44 in Austria, 39 in The Netherlands or 137 in Italy to give you a small sample of the spread in Asia, Australia and Europe.

All the above is great but what does it mean for the potential customer/ diver, i.e YOU!?

We can offer educated choice to all customers, we promote a full range of beginner and further education courses which no other dive centre in Pattaya can do for recreational diving. We therefore have the knowledge to give you an unbiased opinion of what would be best for you.

What are the differences between a PADI and SSI course for me?

SSI enables their instructors to teach a course which suits the environment and conditions at the time of the course. We cannot control nature and SSI recognises that sometimes the conditions are not suitable for skill ‘x’ and ‘y’ on dive 2 therefore why not perform them later on in the course when conditions permit. PADI dictates the course structure and the instructor cannot reorganise the course to best suit the student or environmental conditions on that particular day. It comes down to SSI offering a flexible learning system and sanctioning dive instructor empowerment, something that cannot be offered when following the PADI system.

What about the course materials, how do they differ?

Each certifier has similar materials: DVD, manual and dive tables are used to assist the instructor in tuition. The SSI DVD is much shorter in length (1 hour and 55 minutes) as it concentrates on the essentials to keep a diver safe in a much more direct factual manner. The PADI DVD (around 3 hours long) uses a particular style of American comedy to aid tuition, it also includes a lot of marketing material for future PADI courses. SSI does not force students to buy their manuals, as it has been shown that many students rarely read their manuals after the course is completed, SSI maintain an ecological programme which does not wish to use precious natural resources unless absolutely necessary. Also, if for example a family of four are taking a PADI course each individual member has to own a PADI manual which of course equates to duplication of material. A family taking the SSI course would simply borrow 4 (library) manuals and return them after the course with an option to buy maybe one manual for reference if they so wish.

I want to study the academics before I arrive in Thailand/ Seafari Dive Centre?

No problem both SSI and PADI offer online tuition, with one difference, PADI charge you 130 USD/ 89 EUR or 3700 THB for their online training whilst SSI offer this service for FREE. You can also utilise this service with SSI after the course, if you did the academics at the dive centre and want access to a manual without wasting precious natural resources by having a printed copy.

Will the qualification/ ID cards look the same?

Both cards will have your name, photo, instructor’s name, and dive centre on them. Additionally the SSI card will show which year you started diving and the number of dives you had at the time of certification. Reason being SSI acknowledge the importance of ‘dive experience- practical application’ whilst PADI focuses solely on how many courses you have taken. Also the SSI cards are printed locally; therefore if you live in Thailand you normally have your card within a week/ 2 weeks if you are having it delivered outside Thailand, whilst with PADI the delivery time can be considerably longer.

Will my qualification with PADI/ SSI be recognised by all dive centres in every country?

The simple answer is YES! There is a common misconception amongst beginners that the certifier they qualify with will only be recognised by dive centres ‘x’ which administer those courses. This is NOT TRUE the standard beginners course is the ‘Open Water’ course which qualifies you to dive to 18 metres/ 60 feet globally- regardless of which certifier issued it……………think of it like an ‘international divers’ licence rather than PADI this or SSI that.

There are many certifiers around the world. For example SSI, CMAS, SEI, SDI, NAUI, PADI, NASE, PSAI, BSAC, the list goes on, how many do you recognise, probably not many, why should you really, this is the beginning of your diving adventure, we do not expect you to know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of the SCUBA industry.

Each course is recognised; just because you did CMAS or NAUI Open Water does not mean you cannot do the PADI or SSI Advanced course, you need to choose what is suitable for you as an individual.

Finally is there a price difference between SSI and PADI courses?

Yes there is, as SSI does not require you to purchase manuals and offers a more practical approach to teaching we are able to pass on these savings to each student on every course.

I hope the above information aids you to make the correct decision, we are the professionals and at Seafari we simply wish to give our customers unbiased advice. We are the 1st dive centre in Pattaya which has instructors qualified to teach PADI and SSI.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you still have unanswered questions or require additional information, we will be happy to help.

Thank you.

The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.

Leo Tolstoy, 1897