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Unforgettable aquatic adventures for kids – Go underwater and discover the wonder of Snorkel, Scuba, Mermaid, and Freediving Explorer programs
The SSI Classified Diving program has been created to enable persons with disabilities who might not be able to earn full certifications the ability to dive and get certified with different safety parameters. Learn to work with disabled divers.
Crossing over to PADI is necessary if you already have a diver certification prior to diving with or starting a course with Ocean Tribe, but it is from a diver training organisation other than PADI. PADI recognises a majority of certifications from other organisations and gives you credit for them prior to starting a course. To find out what course you can enrol on with your certification from another diver training organisation then check out the different organisations below.
National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current NAUI Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| Scuba Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Advanced Scuba Diver | Advanced Open Water | Rescue Diver |
| Master Scuba Diver | Rescue Diver | Divemaster |
| Divemaster | Divemaster | IDC |
| Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
Scuba Schools International (SSI) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current SSI Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| Open Water Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Advanced Open WaterDiver | Advanced Open Water | Rescue Diver |
| Search and Rescue Techniques | Rescue Diver | Divemaster* |
| Master Diver | Rescue Diver | Divemaster* |
| Dive Con | Divemaster | IDC |
| Instructor/ Dive Con Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
*After assessment of Rescue Diver Skills
British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current BSAC Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| Ocean Diver/ Club Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Sport Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Sport Diver with 20+ dives | Advanced Open Water Diver | Rescue Diver |
| Dive Leader | Rescue Diver | Divemaster |
| Advanced Diver | Rescue Diver | Divemaster or Assistant Instructor |
| Club Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
| Open Water Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
| Advanced Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current CMAS Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| 1 Star Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| 2 Star Diver (with verification of night and navigation dive) | Rescue Diver | Divemaster |
| 3 Star Diver | Rescue Diver | Divemaster or IDC |
| 1 Star Instructor | Divemaster | Divemaster |
| 2 Star Instructor | Instructor | PADI Instructor Orientation Course |
Sub Aqua Association (SAA) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current SAA Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| Club Diver | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Club Diver (20+ Dives and experience in deep and navigation diving) | Advanced Open Water Diver | Rescue Diver |
| Dive Leader with 20+ dives | Advanced Open Water Diver | Rescue Diver |
| Dive Leader (with Diver Rescue) | Rescue Diver | Divemaster |
| Dive Supervisor (with Diver Rescue) | Divemaster | Assistant Instructor |
| Assistant and Club Instructor (with Diver Rescue) | Divemaster | IDC |
| Regional Instructor | Instructor | PADI Instructor Orientation Course |
Scuba Diving International (SDI) Certifications Crossing Over to PADI
Current SDI Certification | PADI Equivalent Certification | PADI Course to enrol on |
| Open Water | Open Water Diver | Advanced Open Water |
| Advanced Diver | Advanced Open Water | Rescue Diver |
| Rescue Diver | Rescue Diver | Divemaster |
| Divemaster | Divemaster | IDC |
| Instructor | Instructor | IDC |
Buccaneer Diving’s resident marine biologist Sander Den Haring has posted via the Project AWARE websitethat there is to be a new artificial reef in Mombasa Marine Park as the MV Fish Eagle a multi-purpose vessel has come to the end of its topside life and rather than being sold for scrap, is being utilised further and sunk to form a hopefully great artificial reef and wreck diving site.
The MPV Fish Eagle has been working along the coast of East Africa for over 45 years. The 53m long vessel will first be cleaned out to make it safer for wreck divers and environmentally friendly and will then be sunk. The exact position of sinking has yet to be determined but the date for sinking has been provisionally set for the weekend of 26-27 October 2013. Once more details are available from Sander I will post them up on here but this is tremendously exciting news for Kenyan diving and we look forward to adding another great dive site to the already existing ones in East Africa. Find out more about Kenya wreck diving in this article about the MV Dania and a cool video of her sinking in 2003.
We understand that you might have arrangements that might not permit you to remain in one place for an extended period of time and as such we try to be as flexible as we can with the scuba diving internships.
If for any reason you want to schedule a gap in your scuba diving internship such as to return home for Christmas or go travelling around on your GAP year and then come back to complete the training, then it is surely possible to arrange this with us.
We do like to have as much notice as possible so that we can arrange it and certain events like the PADI IDC Instructor Development Course are only run at periodical times so you would need to check when you are scheduled to be taking this and plan accordingly.
You should also bear in mind that you will also need to log a certain amount of dives to qualify for certain ratings. These include:
We can plan your internship with you to ensure that you meet these requirements. To be honest most interns leave with way more dives than the bare minimum required so this is not normally an issue. The dive center location on Kilifi creek and the fact that we can dive our house reef straight from shore means that you should find getting lots of diving in an easy task.
If you wish to schedule a break in your training for example to travel around the mainland Africa during your Gap year or going and doing other projects in-between then this is absolutely possible. The system can be adapted for you and our scuba diving internship coordinators will work with you to ensure hat you complete your training a a leisurely pace and have an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
The Ocean Tribe has a wide range of contacts to help you find a diving job once you graduate from the PADI Divemaster internship or PADI instructor internship as a scuba diving professional. Throughout network of staff diving contacts and former interns we have dive connections in a number of countries around the world and have sent interns in the past to work in such places as Tanzania, Thailand, Cyprus. Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Cambodia, USA, Mexico, Galápagos Islands, UK, Spain, Greece, Jordan, Bahrain,the UAE, Sri Lanka and other exciting places.
Following graduation from your dive internship program we offer a number of workshops to interns to help them find a job in scuba diving. These include a CV (resume) writing workshop, a job searching and email contact workshop, a website building and social media interaction workshop to help you market yourself as a PADI pro and we can also train you in further education courses such as PADI specialty instructor training courses and Disabled Divers International instructor courses to further what qualifications you can offer a dive business.
We appreciate that enrolling on a dive internship is a big investment so obviously you would like to see a return on your investment, so we really put effort into making sure that you are prepared to find a dive job and to to give you as many contacts and connections as possible to do so.
For those of you who are on a GAP year then here is a chance to earn back the money that you have spent on the internship and see more of the world as you work your way in scuba diving, while for those of you making a career change then all skills you can ring to the table such as marketing, management, and languages can assist you in finding jobs in the scuba diving industry and living the dream.
Just to give you an idea of the types of diving job that are available out there. You can work as a diving instructor or Divemaster at a shore dive center or on a liveaboard dive vessel where you stay on the boat and travel to further dive sites. You can work with scuba equipment manufacturers or as a freelance diving instructor in certain areas giving you a carte Blanche to travel. Dive centres also need administration staff and watersports directors and boat captains as well as equipment technicians. We can help you to train in many of these area and make yourself as employable to a dive business as possible.
The question of how old do you have to be to do a diving internship is one we get asked a lot. There are very few dive internship age restrictions. The only ones that really matter are the PADI regulation that you must be at least 18 years old to start the PADI Divemaster course. However it is quite possible to begin all of the non-professional programs before you are 18 and if you sign up for a Divemaster internship or Instructor internship then you can complete all of the non-professional segments before your 18th birthday which should provide some reassurance for those of you who are taking a GAP year but are not yet 18.
There are no other age restrictions on the internships, such as a maximum age. Indeed you do not have to be a young whippersnapper to enjoy scuba diving. I know of a number of instructors who are still working into their 60s and a few weeks ago taught a lady in her mid 70s to scuba dive. As long as you are certified by a doctor as medically fit to dive then there is no reason why you cannot dive and take part in our internships and become a PADI pro.
We have a wide range of age demographics of interns from young guys on their gap years to older people enjoying career breaks or making a career change for the tropical diving job in the sun. You will make loads of friends here from around the world and have the opportunity to work in awesome locations after you qualify. Ready to sign up? Check out our fantastic range of scuba diving internship packages.
One of the most frequent questions that we get about the diving internship is “what is the dive internship accommodation like?”. After all you are going to be spending a long time with us with the different dive internships lasting from 2 weeks all the way up to seven months and longer if you decide to stay and teach for a while with Buccaneer Diving or do PADI Instructor continuing education courses.
Ok in a short answer to the question, the dive internship accommodation is provided at Distant Relatives Eco Lodge in Kilifi which is a charming Eco-friendly backpacker resort where you will be amongst friends and have a place to relax and study during your time away from the dive centre.
Distant Relatives is located right on Kilifi Creek and reached from the dive centre by a boat across the creek, unless you want to take the longer way around via the road. You can swim in the emerald waters of the creek or in the resort’s swimming pool. Other common facilities at Distant Relatives include a communal kitchen for cooking your own meals if you would like, reading room, and large communal area with sofas and a bar where you can relax with other divers and travellers after a day underwater.
We recognise that interns are on different budgets and might want different privacy levels and we can cater for all types on our dive internship accommodation packages. Distant Relatives offers four different types of accommodation.
For those of you who are adventurous or want their own space but are on a tight budget then Distant Relatives has its own safari tented camp area with large tents equipped with two single beds, lamps, carpets, bedside tables and mosquito nets. This gives you the real feeling of Africa and being closer to nature.
The most popular choice for GAP year interns and the more sociable interns, there are two eight-person dorms at Distant Relatives set inside beautiful thatched makuti roofs. The beds are very spacious and super comfortable and the openness of the dorms provides an extremely airy and relaxing environment.
For those of you who are looking for a little more privacy, for a small amount more you can have a single room equipped with an en-suite shower and a large double bed with the option to add a third bed if you are travelling with children.
If you are a group of friends or a family who would like to share a room then there is the option to have the family room which is equipped with one large double bed and a set of bunk beds. The family rooms have their own shower and toilet enclosed in a charming private courtyard.
All rooms and beds are equipped with mosquito nets and provide a relaxing place for you to chill when you are not diving. Distant Relatives’ location by the sea really makes this a dream setting.
Check out the photos below to get a better idea
So you have decided to take a GAP year between school and university, after university or a career break. The dive internships offered by Dive Pro Africa give you a structured program to make sure that you actually get something constructive out of your GAP year, which can improve your CV when you look to gain employment later. Potential employers and university admissions tutors cannot fail to notice you when you can put down some of the experience and qualifications that you can acquire during your GAP year diving experience in Kenya.
These are just some of the skills that you can acquire but other skill keywords that you can pick up by involvement in our programs could include organisation, using initiative, conducting research, teaching students, communication, motivation, self-discipline, responsibility, leadership, team work, languages, independent learning and conservation project work. All of these skills are looked upon favourably by employers.
Choosing your GAP year scuba diving internship in Kenya involves thinking about what you would like to get out of the program as obviously the different programs offer the chance to learn different skills. Contact us to discuss your different options which could include becoming a diving instructor or Divemaster, or perhaps working in marine conservation projects and learning to manage wildlife on a real African conservancy area. If you have a specific program that you would like to do then we can tailor it for you. Really we want you to get the most out of your GAP year experience as possible and acquire skills that will be useful to you further down the line.
Ocean Tribe and Buccaneer Diving boast years of experience running PADI professional and marine conservation courses, course packages and internships. We would like to bring to your attention a few things that you should look for when signing up and paying for cheap scuba diving internship packages as there is a large selection of them out there and not all of them are what they seem at first glance. At Ocean Tribe we want to make sure you are aware of ALL the costs of a scuba diving internship and not getting halfway through a program to find that you have extra payments to make for manuals, fees or diving experience for example. This is why we use internship calculators up-front and make sure you understand what is included and what you should account for in your own personal spending money.
These are just some of the questions that you should be asking when signing up for a scuba diving internship or package as you want to ensure that you know as much as possible before parting with a lot of money for these programs. Ocean Tribe can answer yes to all the questions above and provide a further list of frequently asked questions about our scuba diving internships. All dive internships and adventure packages have an internship pricing calculator on the page to allow you to custom design your internship and make clear exactly what you will get. Check out our range of diving internships in Kenya that we offer including marine conservation, underwater photography, PADI Divemaster and PADI diving instructor internships.
Dive Pro Africa is proud to announce that our PADI Course Director Mark Slingo was featured in the most recent edition of the PADI Members Quarterly the Undersea Journal. In the article Mark talks about the benefits of scuba diving for handicapped divers. Scuba diving has recently been thrust to the forefront of rehabilitation programs for people with disabilities as it takes away many of the restrictions that people encounter on land such as being confined to a wheelchair.
Much of Mark’s work in scuba diving over the past few years has been devoted to assisting more people with handicaps to try scuba diving and become certified, as well as training fellow dive professionals to work with scuba divers with handicaps. Mark is actually a wheelchair user himself after an accident in 2005 left him confined to a wheelchair. He had just left university and been certified as a PADI Instructor, however did not let the wheelchair stop him and continued to teach PADI courses and take more instructor-level certifications until he attained the rank of PADI Course Director, the highest rating of dive professional that you can hold in PADI. He contends that actually in the water he is better than many of his able bodied peers and loves to pass the gift of scuba diving on to other in similar conditions. Read more about learning to work with scuba divers with disabilities below by clicking on the article thumbnails.
PADI has recently made a video of why you might want to become a scuba diving instructor or PADI Divemaster. It shows a PADI diving instructor talking about why teaching scuba diving in a tropical location is a dream job for her. Why not give yourself the opportunity on GAP years or as a full career change? Buccaneer Diving offer full PADI Dive Instructor Internships and PADI Divemaster Internships to get you that qualification to have the dream job on a tropical island. For those of you who just have time to do the go-pro courses then we offer PADI Divemaster, PADI IDC and instructor continuing education courses such as specialty instructor and IDC Staff instructor. Live the dream! Go Pro…..
Ocean Tribe Dive Team
I will be back soon
