Intro
Try Scuba
A first, guided experience underwater. Perfect if you want to try scuba before committing to a full certification course.
Price
£75
Extras: Pool only
COURSES
Beginner Scuba Diving Courses in London
Start from zero, learn the basics step by step, and build calm, confident diving skills with a safety-first approach.
No experience neededSmall groupsUK · Lanzarote · Poland
Certification
SSI Open Water Diver
Become a certified Open Water Diver with SSI. This globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver. Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.
Price
£550
Next step
Advanced Open Water Diver
If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program! You will try Deep Diving and Navigation plus a variety of 3 more specialty areas of choice before committing to full specialty training. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures. During the Advanced Open Water Diver Program, you will experience 5 different specialties by completing one open water training dive per specialty after a comprehensive briefing with your SSI Instructor. By taking this program you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full Specialty trainings any time in the future and credit your Advanced Open Water Diver training towards them.
Price
£395
Refresh
Scuba Skills Update
Continue your dive adventure with a Scuba Skills Update It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI Scuba Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time. This scuba refresher course allows you to review and practice scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional. This is a great course to take just before a dive holiday, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life. If you are a non-certified Open Water Diver student, a Scuba Skills Update is ideal for practicing your dive skills before your open water training dives. With no fixed course duration, you can take your time and focus on the skills you need help with.
Price
£95
Freediving basics
Basic Freediver
Become a Basic Freediver - Learn how to freedive today! The SSI Basic Freediver course is your first step into the peaceful, exhilarating world of freediving. During this entry-level program, you will learn how to freedive safely with a buddy in a pool/confined water up to a depth of five meters. Online training is combined with in-water practice sessions to give you all the skills and knowledge you need to be a confident freediver. Upon completing this program, you will earn your SSI Basic Freediver certification.
Price
Ask for price
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions before you start
The things people actually ask before booking. If yours is not here, just ask.
Do I need any experience to start?
No. The SSI Open Water Diver course has no certification prerequisites — you start from zero, with your first breaths underwater in the pool. Everything you need, you learn on the course.
How old do you have to be? Can children learn to dive? Is there an upper limit?
From 10, and there is no upper limit — people in their sixties do Try Scuba too. Divers under 15 are certified as Junior Open Water Divers and dive with a dive professional or a certified adult. Ten- and eleven-year-olds are limited to 12 metres; the full Open Water limit is 18 metres. For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian signs the training forms.
Are there any health requirements?
Before any SSI training you fill in the Diver Medical Statement and Questionnaire. For most people that is the end of it. If an answer points to something that can affect diving — asthma, heart conditions, epilepsy, recent surgery, pregnancy — you need a doctor's approval before starting. Worth checking before you book rather than on the day.
How long does the Open Water Diver course take?
SSI puts the programme at 16 to 32 hours in total: six theory sessions, six pool sessions and four open water dives, with at least 80 minutes of bottom time across those dives. In practice the length depends on you — the in-water part takes at least three days, and the theory runs online alongside live sessions with the instructor.
How much does a course cost?
Try Scuba is £75, the SSI Open Water Diver course £550, Advanced Open Water Diver £395 and a Scuba Skills Update £95. Every course price includes the SSI online learning materials and the certification. Equipment is included on Try Scuba and Open Water Diver. Site entry fees are charged separately.
Do I need my own equipment?
No. On Try Scuba and on the Open Water Diver course the equipment is provided — you need nothing of your own. On the courses after that you can dive your own kit, and if you do not have it yet, rental is available.
Where do the courses take place?
Pool sessions run at a pool in London, or in the heated indoor training pool at Stoney Cove. Open water dives take place at the inland sites London divers use — Wraysbury, Stoney Cove and Vobster Quay. Warm water training and dive trips also run in Lanzarote.
I am certified with PADI or another agency — can I train here?
Yes. Certifications from all diving federations are accepted, so you carry on from the level you already hold rather than starting again. Say what card you have and roughly how many dives you have logged, and you will get a straight answer on which course you can join next.
Is an SSI certification recognised worldwide? How does it compare with PADI?
Yes. SSI Open Water Diver is certified to the international standard ISO 24801-2, and SSI — like PADI — is a member of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council. The two entry-level certifications sit at the same level and dive centres worldwide accept either.
What can I do once I am certified?
You can dive with an equally or more qualified buddy, down to 18 metres, in conditions similar to your training. From there most people either add specialties — Perfect Buoyancy, Enriched Air Nitrox, Deep, Navigation, Dry Suit — or take Advanced Open Water Diver, which samples five specialties across five dives.