Course overview

Move from guiding dives to teaching them with the PADI Instructor Development Course, run from Khao Lak near the Similan Islands. You will rehearse classroom, confined-water and open-water teaching presentations on the calm local reefs off Khao Lak, then sit the independent Instructor Examination. You finish ready to certify your own divers across one of Thailand's best-known dive regions.

What you’ll learn

• Deliver knowledge-development, confined-water and open-water teaching presentations
• Apply the PADI system of education, standards and dive theory
• Demonstrate, evaluate and correct core scuba skills to instructor standard
• Manage diver risk and run training to dive-centre standards
• Brief, supervise and debrief student divers with confidence
• Prepare fully for the independent PADI Instructor Examination

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• PADI Divemaster or a qualifying leadership rating from another recognised agency
• Certified diver for at least 6 months
• 60 logged dives to begin and 100 to sit the Instructor Examination
• Emergency First Response Instructor rating (can be completed alongside)
• 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
   Teaching foundations

   Orientation to the PADI system of education and your first classroom knowledge-development presentations.
2. Day2
   Confined-water workshops

   Practise demonstrating and teaching core skills in calm shallow water near Khao Lak.
3. Day3
   Open-water teaching

   Deliver open-water teaching presentations and skill circuits on the local reefs under evaluation.
4. Day4
   Standards & risk management

   Work through dive standards, risk management, marketing and the business of diving.
5. Day5
   Theory & rescue assessment

   Sit dive-theory exams and complete the rescue assessment to IDC standard.
6. Day6
   IE preparation

   Mock exams, presentation polishing and a full briefing for the independent Instructor Examination.

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 Similan Islands.

Frequently asked questions