Following on from last week's post about PADI Dive Courses on liveaboards I should also mention that there are a few liveaboards teaching SSI (Scuba Schools International) courses on liveaboards too.
Fewer people will have heard of SSI than PADI and while PADI is still the most popular dive certification agency to train with SSI they seem to be on the way up. They have been popular in Phi Phi and Koh Tao for a while and we are getting more requests now in Phuket and in Khao Lak for SSI training.
One reason for this will be price. SSI courses are basically the same as PADI courses in terms of standards (you can cross over from one to the other) but the SSI courses have cheaper materials and cheaper certification costs. So for example, liveaboards with SSI instructors can offer the Advanced PADI or the Advanced SSI course to their divers with the SSI course being 1,000 baht cheaper than the PADI course. Which one would you choose?
We know of three boats that can currently offer SSI courses on board. They are MV Giamani, MV Saimai and MV Hallelujah. Giamani and Saimai can teach courses in English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. It is essential to book these courses in advance as there are far fewer available SSI instructors than PADI instructors.
