PADI Courses in Thailand: Our 8 Best

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

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

Travel from Phuket to Koh Racha Yai for two guided open-water scuba sessions with a certified instructor. Pomme, Tiger, Ootdy, Nim, and other guides are praised for calm coaching, clear briefings, and help with nerves. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, equipment, insurance, and selected hotel transfers are included.

“First time scuba diving and our diving instructors were very knowledgeable and super welcoming. It was an amazing experience and we will definitely be coming back for more.”

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2.La Bombona Diving Koh Tao Open Water Course

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

Learn scuba skills at La Bombona Diving in Koh Tao through classroom work, a supervised pool session, and four ocean sessions. The multilingual team may include instructors such as George, Nico, James, or Koldo. Classes are limited to four people, and all equipment and course materials are supplied.

“We completed our RAID openwater and advanced certification with James and Armand from LBD this week. We had an absolutely fantastic time, so much so that we ended up staying to complete another five dives. James is incredibly experiRead more”

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

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

Train with BB Divers in a small group on Koh Chang. You’ll cover PADI theory, practice in a pool or shallow bay, then complete four open-water sessions around Koh Chang and Koh Rang National Park. The $586.74 price includes equipment, meals, insurance, hotel transfers on the west coast, an online manual, and certification to 18 meters.

“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, then practice around Nang Yuan Island. Over three days, you complete classroom work, shallow-water training, four open-water sessions, a final exam, and certification. Instructor Dominik Maier is named in one experience, and groups are limited to 10.

“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 experience at the Racha Islands. After a 2-hour boat ride, instructor Franck guides you through basic skills and three underwater sessions to a maximum of 12 meters. Equipment, meals, drinks, and snacks are included.

“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

Spend three days learning scuba skills with SSS Phuket. Train in Chalong, then complete five open-water sessions around Racha Yai and Racha Noi. Equipment, boat transfers, meals, insurance, and local hotel pickup are included. Instructors such as Olivier, Pommie, OotDy, Oodi, and Ned are available depending on the group.

“I recently completed my Open Water Diving course with SSS Phuket, and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. From start to finish, the team was professional, friendly, and incredibly supportive. Everything was well-organized, making the eRead more”

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7.3-Day PADI Open Water Diver Course, Koh Samui

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

Complete PADI e-learning before arriving, then train in a pool on day one and make four boat-based underwater sessions over the next two days. Samui Discovery Divers limits the group to four, provides hotel pickup at selected hotels, and uses multilingual instructors, including Yuan from Germany on some courses. A health questionnaire is required.

“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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8.Freediving in Phuket – SSI – AIDA – Molchanovs – PADI

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

Spend two days learning freediving with SSS Phuket and instructor Ruddy. Day one covers breathing, safety, static and dynamic work at The SIS Kata. Day two brings two or three underwater sessions near Racha Yai Island, with equipment, hotel transfers, breakfast, and lunch included. Choose 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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