Advanced Open Water Diver… PADI, SSI, CAMS, NAUI… Are you interested in getting a scuba certification, but wondering about the acronyms of all the dive associations, the differences and similarities between the organizations and their courses? . Which to choose? Which is the best? Is there a “better” one? I can’t blame you if you are. Let me help you a little to clarify the situation. Then you can start your new hobby and concentrate on the essentials: diving.
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the largest recreational diving association in the world. PADI has broken down their education into several small courses, making it easy for anyone to start diving and take course after course, slowly increasing proficiency and experience. PADI courses are held especially in popular beach vacation destinations, as almost all courses can be completed in less than a week, leaving time for other vacation activities or just enjoying the sun and sand.
SSI stands for Scuba Schools International, and is the second largest recreational diving organization in the world. Compared to PADI, SSI courses may be priced slightly lower and the course content and structure are more flexible. The duration of the courses, however, is the same. The possible price difference is due to the learning material. With the SSI course, the material can be borrowed from the dive center and you do not have to buy it yourself, unlike PADI. In terms of flexibility, with SSI, for example, different parts of the course can be taken in a non-standard order, and the instructor has a better chance of influencing the course content, according to the needs and interests of the students. .
CMAS is an abbreviation for Confédération Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques, also known as the World Underwater Federation. CMAS represents underwater activities in underwater sports and science, as well as recreational diving and snorkeling. CMAS courses, structured from 1 Star
to 4 stars(****), were originally developed for the needs of those who have diving as a regular hobby. Therefore, the courses have longer theoretical parts in the classroom and many dive clubs teach according to CMAS standards.
To mention a couple more organizations that one may come across, there are SDI, TDI, NAUI and BSAC. SDI (Scuba Diving International) and TDI (Technical Diving International) are sister companies. They emphasize practical skills instruction and, in fact, are the only ones that use dive computers with students. SDI and TDI provide their own learning materials. NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) is a renowned organization, founded in the late 1950s, strong in North America and the Pacific. BSAC (British Sub-Aqua Club) is the UK’s leading diving club and the national governing body for diving. BSAC also operates internationally in Japan, Korea and Thailand, where new divers can be certified to BSAC’s own standards.
No matter which organization you end up choosing, it’s good to keep two things in mind:
1. You can practice fun diving with any dive center, anywhere in the world, after you have passed the basic course of any organization. You can also cross between organizations at the recreational course level. So even if you started with, for example, CMAS courses, you can continue with Advanced Open Water with PADI or any other organization.
2. You will learn all the important things to be able to dive safely, regardless of the standards of the organization in which you are being taught. PADI, SSI and SDI & TDI are members of the Recreational Diver Training Council (RSTC), which has established educational standards that all its members must adhere to.
In the end, it all comes down to what is available in the particular destination where you want to take your course and which dive center makes the best impression on you. How much and how you learn will depend mainly on your instructor and the dive center with which you take your course, without forgetting your own motivation and interest. As you know, those two can already take you far in anything!