SSI COURSES | TRY SCUBA TO INSTRUCTOR
Learn to Dive
With Ecstasea
As one of South Africa's most established dive centres, Ecstasea offers a complete pathway for divers — from your very first breath underwater right through to a career as a dive professional.
Try Scuba
Open Water Diver
Adv. Open Water
Speciality Courses
Dive Professional
Instructor Training
STEP 01 - FREE
Try Scuba - Your First Taste of the Underwater World
Not sure if scuba diving is for you? Try Scuba is the easiest way to find out. In a safe, supervised setting, you'll get a genuine feel for what it's like to breathe underwater — no certification required.
SSI Try Scuba (pool): spend one to two hours in a heated pool getting a taste of the experience, completely free of charge.
If you decide to continue on to your Open Water Diver course within three months, the time and skills from your Try Scuba Diving session count towards your certification. You can even get a head start by registering for our free online theory course before your first session.
STEP 02
Open Water Diver - Your First Certification
The SSI Open Water Diver course is where your diving journey officially begins, and it's the qualification you'll need before booking any dive holiday. Learn to scuba dive with South Africa's oldest dive school, either at one of our local inland training venues or on a coastal qualification trip to destinations like Sodwana Bay or Ponta Malongane in Mozambique.
Coastal qualification packages include guided reef dives with a choice of accommodation, and typically exclude personal items, entrance fees and transport to the dive site. Contact us for current pricing and our next available course dates, or register for your free online theory today at SSI's official website and select Ecstasea as your preferred dive centre.
Your course fee includes:
Use of BCD, regulator and cylinder during pool sessions
Heated pool training sessions (during the winter months)
Air fills
SSI registration and certification
Digital course materials
DAN student membership
All instruction and dive leader fees
STEP 03
Advanced Open Water Diver - Build Your Confidence and Skill
SSI's Advanced Open Water Diver rating stands alone in the industry, combining more diving knowledge and hands-on experience than any comparable qualification. To earn it, you'll complete four speciality courses and log a total of 24 dives, choosing from the speciality options below.
This is where diving really starts to open up — and where many divers discover the speciality that becomes their favourite.
STEP 04
Speciality Courses - Choose Your Own Path
Every speciality course at Ecstasea is built on SSI's Diver Diamond methodology, which focuses on the knowledge, skills, equipment and experience needed to become a genuinely proficient diver. Unlike ratings that are simply bought, SSI speciality ratings combine training with real experience, so they mean something once you've earned them.
Certified divers can sign up for a speciality at any time, and current Open Water students can add specialities on to their qualifying dives — getting a head start toward higher ratings like Speciality Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Master Diver, Dive Control Specialist or Open Water Instructor.
Available speciality programmes
STEP 05
Dive Professional Pathway -
Divemaster, Dive Control Specialist & Beyond
Thinking about turning your passion for diving into a career? Ecstasea has been training dive professionals for decades, and our Dive Professional pathway follows the SSI system:
Dive Guide
The starting point for anyone who wants to get more involved without yet committing to becoming an instructor. Dive Guides lead and guide certified divers, and can go on to teach Snorkelling after completing the Snorkel Instructor programme.
Divemaster
Complete your Dive Guide rating plus the Science of Diving speciality — covering physics, physiology, decompression theory, the aquatic environment and diving equipment — and you'll earn your SSI Divemaster rating. Divemasters assist instructors with pool and open water training under direct supervision, gaining invaluable experience for a future diving career.
Dive Control Specialist
Enrol directly, or enter the programme as a Divemaster from any approved training agency. As a DCS you can teach Scuba Skills Updates, Snorkelling and Try Scuba sessions (pool only) under indirect instructor supervision — a flexible option for divers who love to teach without becoming a full instructor.
Training Specialist
DCS-qualified divers can become Training Specialists and co-teach select SSI speciality programmes — including Boat Diving, Digital Underwater Photography, Navigation and Perfect Buoyancy — alongside a qualified instructor.
Dive Guide
The starting point for anyone who wants to get more involved without yet committing to becoming an instructor. Dive Guides lead and guide certified divers, and can go on to teach Snorkelling after completing the Snorkel Instructor programme.
Divemaster
Complete your Dive Guide rating plus the Science of Diving speciality — covering physics, physiology, decompression theory, the aquatic environment and diving equipment — and you'll earn your SSI Divemaster rating. Divemasters assist instructors with pool and open water training under direct supervision, gaining invaluable experience for a future diving career.
Dive Control Specialist
Enrol directly, or enter the programme as a Divemaster from any approved training agency. As a DCS you can teach Scuba Skills Updates, Snorkelling and Try Scuba sessions (pool only) under indirect instructor supervision — a flexible option for divers who love to teach without becoming a full instructor.
Training Specialist
DCS-qualified divers can become Training Specialists and co-teach select SSI speciality programmes — including Boat Diving, Digital Underwater Photography, Navigation and Perfect Buoyancy — alongside a qualified instructor.
STEP 06
Instructor Training Course - Become an SSI Open Water Instructor
Since 1970, SSI has led the industry in professional dive education, and the Instructor Training Course (ITC) is the most important step in any dive professional's career. After completing your Divemaster rating, you'll enrol in the ITC to build your teaching skills, retail business knowledge and professional presentation ability, before sitting your Instructor Evaluation to become a certified SSI Open Water Instructor — qualified to teach and certify Open Water Divers, Advanced Adventurers and more.
From there, your instructor career can keep growing:
Specialty Instructor
Qualify by attending Speciality Instructor seminars or co-teaching speciality programmes with a qualified instructor.
Advanced Open Water Instructor
Earn four Specialty Instructor ratings and issue 15 speciality certifications to automatically upgrade, and qualify to teach the Snorkel Instructor programme.
Divemaster Instructor
Available once you reach Advanced Open Water Instructor level, qualifying you to issue Science of Diving, Dive Guide and Divemaster certifications.
Not Sure Which Course Is Right for You?
Contact Ecstasea today and we'll help you plan the right path, whether that's your first Try Scuba session or your Instructor Evaluation.
Send us a Message
PHONE
011 425 5426
ADDRESS
7 Marcus Ave, Morehill, Benoni, 1501, Gauteng
ecstasea@mweb.co.za
OPENING HOURS
By appointment only
Start Online
Prefer to get going straight away? Register for your free SSI theory course today at www.divessi.com and select Ecstasea as your preferred dive centre — then give us a call to book your practical sessions.