Top 15 PADI Courses in Thailand

1.Full-Day Beginner Scuba Course with Private Tuition, Racha Yai

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 368 reviews · from $162Our pick

Start early at Chalong Pier, meet a certified instructor such as Pomme, Tiger, Ootdy, or Nim, and board a shared boat for Koh Racha Yai. After breakfast and instruction, you’ll complete two 45 to 50-minute open-water scuba sessions with close guidance. Lunch, equipment, snacks, insurance, and select Phuket transfers are included.

“Very good experience, had a very informative instructor and all the boat crew were friendly and welcoming”

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2.La Bombona Diving Koh Tao Open Water Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 172 reviews · from $423

Learn scuba skills with La Bombona Diving in Koh Tao through classroom lessons, pool training, and four supervised ocean sessions. The school teaches in several languages, keeps groups small, and provides equipment and course materials. Instructors including George, James, Nico, Rafa, and Ponxi have received especially strong praise for calm, patient teaching.

“Had an amazing experience and an fantastic instructor!! (Julian is the best🤪). I recommend everyone who wants to dive in Koh Toa, to have your experience by this company”

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3.Padi open water diver course, become a diver in 3 days

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 113 reviews · from $586

Learn scuba skills with BB Divers on Koh Chang in three days. You’ll study theory, train in a pool or shallow bay, then complete four open-water descents around Koh Chang and Koh Rang National Park. Pierre is named in the operator’s personal reply to a highly praised course review. Equipment, meals, insurance, transfers, and your PADI manual are included.

“We picked BB Divers for our Open Water Diver certificate and we couldn't be happier. Our first day of theory and pool practice took place in Cliff cottage restaurant, which is located in an incredible environment, with cozy seating options, dRead more”

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4.Become certified diver in 3 days – PADI Open Water Diver course on Koh Tao

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 104 reviews · from $375

Learn scuba skills with PADI 5 Star IDC center Scuba Birds in Mae Haad, Koh Tao. Over three days, you’ll study, practice in shallow water, complete four open-water sessions around Nang Yuan Island, and finish with a PADI certificate and log book. Instructor Dominik Maier is one named teaching option.

“What a unique experience! My instructor was Dominik Maier who was an equally hilarious yet stern when needed teacher. I was very nervous at certain points as I have never scuba dived before, and he was able to calm both myself anRead more”

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5.PADI Discover Scuba Diving for Beginners (Non Certified Divers)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 78 reviews · from $204

Join Aussie Divers Phuket for a beginner-friendly PADI Discover Scuba session near the Racha Islands. Instructor Franck guides you through safety skills before three underwater sessions, including practice at Racha Noi. The day includes breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, equipment, and a group capped at four people.

“I too my son on a discover scuba diving - we found the instructor, Franck to be wonderful – very clear, knowledgeable, patient, and extremely entertaining with his stories! My son and I were very appreciative of his skill, professionalism, focusRead more”

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6.SSI | Padi Open Water Course in Phuket

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 66 reviews · from $505

Learn scuba skills in Chalong, then complete five open-water sessions around Racha Yai and Racha Noi. The small group, capped at eight, includes equipment, boat transfers, meals, insurance, and hotel transport. Instructors include Olivier, Pommie, OotDy, Ned, and Pomme. Confirm before booking whether your certificate will be SSI or PADI.

“I had Olivier & Pommie as my instructor! Finished the course in 3 days! Absolutely amazing people and amazing experience. The dive sites are surreal. I recommend everyone to do this course.”

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7.Ko Tao: Open Water Scuba Diving 4-Day Course

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 60 reviews · 84 hours · from $353

Train with LBD Diving Koh Tao in a pool before making four open-water descents around the island. You will learn mask and regulator skills, safety, navigation, and rescue procedures, then qualify to scuba dive to 18 meters worldwide. Instructors speak English, Spanish, and Catalan, with names such as Adrian, Juan, Az, Joe, Nico, and Armand featured on recent courses.

“ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND!!!! Our instructor, Adrian, was amazing from start to finish! He made the entire Open Water 20 certification process feel comfortable, safe, and incredibly fun!! Adrian was patient, knowledgeable, and always encouraging. He explained everything clearly, answered all our questions, and made sure we felt confident before moving on to the next skill. You can tell he genuinely cares about his students and loves what he does!Thanks to him, we not only got certified but also had an unforgettable experience!!! If you’re thinking about getting your Open Water certification - this is the instructor you want!! Couldn’t have asked for a better experience!!!!”

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8.Koh Tao: PADI Premium Open Water Diver Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 54 reviews · 3 days · from $353

Learn scuba skills with Ocean Sound Dive + Yoga in Koh Tao over three days. You will complete online theory, a pool session, and four sea sessions with English-speaking instructors such as David, Ana, Les, or Irena. Small groups, new equipment, insurance, dive computers, certification, and underwater photos and videos are included.

“Everything was great. David was a fantastic instructor and the dives were very fun!”

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9.3-Day PADI Open Water Diver Course, Koh Samui

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 48 reviews · from $681

Learn the skills for your PADI Open Water certification with Discovery Dive Centre on Koh Samui. Complete the theory by app before pool practice, then make four boat sessions over two days. Instructor Yuan from Germany is noted for his patient, professional teaching. Pickup, lunch, transport, and equipment support are included.

“Had a very good experience, and I would say everyone with other dive leaders was too. New/ fast boats, fluent English and other languages, good lunch and well organised from pick up to drop off.”

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10.Koh Tao: PADI Try Diving Experience

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · from $77Best value

Spend one day learning basic scuba skills with a certified instructor in Koh Tao. Practice in shallow water, then visit a coral reef aboard a comfortable boat. Instructors such as Ella, Anton, Less, Les, and Georgia are known for calm, personal guidance. Equipment, insurance, snacks, and water are included.

“Das Schnuppertauchen mit PADI war ein 10/10 Erlebnis. Der komplette Tag war gut organisiert und jeder vom Ganzen Team hat sich super um einen gekümmert. Ich war alleine an dem Tag und es wurde geschaut, dass ich nirgends alleine warten musste. Von Beginn an wurde ein sehr professioneller und herzlicher Eindruck vermittelt. Ella war meine Tauchlehrerin und sie hat ihren Job so gut gemacht. Sie ist komplett auf meine Bedürfnisse und Sorgen eingegangen und hat sich sehr viel Zeit genommen mich ans tauchen zu gewöhnen. Unter Wasser war sie die kompletten 2 Tauchgänge an meiner Seite und hat mich unterstützt, kontrolliert und mir das Gefühl von Sicherheit und Spaß vermittelt.…”

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11.Freediving in Phuket – SSI – AIDA – Molchanovs – PADI

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · from $328

Spend two days learning freediving with SSS Phuket. Day one covers breathing, safety, static and dynamic skills at The SIS Kata. Day two brings two or three sea sessions near Racha Yai Island, with equipment, hotel and boat transfers, breakfast, lunch, and a choice of PADI, SSI, AIDA, or Molchanovs certification.

“Really improved my freediving in some of the most beautiful water ever. Ruddy was an excellent teacher”

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12.From Phuket: 3-Day SSI/PADI Open Water Diver Certification

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · 3 days · from $530

Learn scuba skills with a dedicated Thai, English, or French instructor during a three-day SSI or PADI course from Phuket. You begin at a Chalong pool, then head to Racha Yai and Racha Noi for five sea sessions, meals, equipment, transfers, and certification. Olivier and Ootdy are among the instructors praised for patient, safety-minded teaching.

“We could not wish for a better instructor. Olivier is excellent teacher. He was able to explain to us everything in such a simple and interesting way. He was always helpful, patient, supportive and we felt absolutely safe during diving with him. The whole course was a lot of fun and he made this experience unforgettable (and made lovely videos for us)! Also the whole crew on the boat was amazing, and I absolutely recommend this!!”

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13.Koh Chang: 3-Day PADI Open Water Scuba Dive Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · 3 days · from $498

Train for your PADI Open Water certification with BB Divers in a small group of up to three people. You will study online, review theory, practice in a pool, then complete open-water training from a boat near Koh Chang. English, French, Thai, Dutch, German, and Chinese instruction is available.

“I had such a great time doing my open water diving PADI course, with the very reknowned BB divers. The teaching was thorough, but still very fun, thanks to my instructor Charles, who made my experience very enjoyable. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested!”

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14.Ko Tao: 3-Day Open Water Scuba Diving Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · from $341

Spend three days at Escape Divers in Mae Haad learning scuba skills, completing classroom work and an exam, then practicing in the Gulf of Thailand. Training materials arrive before you do. Equipment, insurance, lunch on two days, and certification are included. Ask if Cody is available for patient, personal instruction.

“die Planung und Durchführung hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Ich kann mich über nichts beschweren. und mein Tauchlehrer Cody war ausserdem sehr sympathisch und geduldig und hat mir viel beigebracht. Ich hatte sehr viel Spaß.”

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15.Koh Samui: 3-Day PADI Open Water Diver Course

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 7 hours · from $672

Complete PADI e-Learning before arrival, then train in a pool and make four ocean sessions around Koh Tao and Sail Rock. The Dive Academy limits groups to four people, supplies equipment, insurance, transport, drinks, and a Thai-style lunch. Certification allows you to scuba dive worldwide to 18 meters.

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