Our gap year internship includes all courses from beginner up to PADI Divemaster.

You'll also receive all required diving manuals, your own full set of scuba equipment to keep, unlimited diving during the internship and student materials (for example dive planning tables) plus all application fees.

PADI diving courses that you'll take in the Gap Year scuba diving internship are:

• PADI Open Water Diver

• PADI Advanced Open Water

• Emergency First Responder

• PADI Rescue Diver

• PADI Divemaster

All courses are taught in small groups only (max 4 stundents per instructor) - this guarantees that you get the attention you need, and become a good diver!

Taking your gap year dive internship with DJL Diving you are entitled to unlimited dives (during the duration of your scuba internship).
In between courses you'll undertake 'fun dives' (no skills or training), enjoying yourself and building up dive experience. Expect to finish as a PADI Divemaster with well over 100 logged dives.

On this page we'll take a look at each diving course - explain exactly what's involved and what each PADI course qualifies you to do.
Here we go!


Step One; PADI Open Water Diver

Over four days we complete training covering diving theory, shallow water training and finally four Open Water Dives. At the end of the Open Water Course you are qualified to dive to a maximum depth of 18 metres.

We start with some scuba diving theory. You'll learn how a set of scuba diving equipment works, how water pressure affects our body as we decend down into the ocean, plus gain an understanding of the potential problems faced by divers and how to avoid them.

You'll also discover how to plan your dives, to remain within safe time & depth limits. You'll complete some simple quizes to verify your understanding.

Training continues with a shallow water skills session, familiarising you with scuba equipment in a controlled environment. You practice many skills such as mask and regulator clearing, learn how to control your buoyancy using breathing control, plus master some underwater problem solving skills.

We then complete four open water dives getting right down to 18 metres. You'll get to enjoy the coral reefs around Koh Tao, checking out Ko Tao island's amazing marine life. Reef fish, moray eels, stingrays, turtles and even reef sharks - Koh Tao has it all. An underwater videographer will accompany the last two dives of your course - in the evening we'll enjoy watching the footage (accompanied by a few cold beers)!


Step Two; PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

The PADI Advanced Open Water Course builds on your dive experiences, introducing new areas of diving.

We take 2 - 3 days, getting you involved in some of the more exciting and challenging areas of diving. By the end of the PADI Advanced Course, you'll be qualified to dive to 30 metres, plus undertake night dives and be much more controlled in the water.

The PADI Advanced Course has 5 dives. The Deep Dive & underwater Navigation Dives are mandatory. For the remaining 3 dives you have a choice - you can discuss this with your instructor.

In the Deep Dive, we'll dive right down to 30 metres. We'll do this at the Chumphon Pinnacles where you'll get to enjoy Koh Tao's big fish species - barracuda, giant grouper & grey reef sharks. We'll conduct a 'narcosis test' and examine some pressure related objects.

During the Underwater Navigation Dive we'll explain the principles we use to find our way around the dive sites. This includes compass work and using a timing device, combined with natural navigation such as depth, bottom composition, contour, rock formations, corals and sunlight. You'll complete some simple exercises such as measuring distances and navigating a square pattern, then armed with a map of the dive site you'll lead us around the reef and hopefully back to the boat in a timely fashion.

Sound easy?

For the remaining three dives you have many options to choose from. Here are the most popular dives;

Peak performance buoyancy: In this dive we aim to get you moving through the water more efficiently, resulting in a reduced air consumption (so longer dives). We'll concentrate on how much weight you're wearing and where you are positioning them, how you are controlling your breathing and ensuring your equipment is streamlined. We'll play lots of games underwater to make you focus on your buoyancy control. Choosing this dive can make a big improvement to your diving.

Night Dive: Something completely different and not to be missed! Armed with an underwater flashlight you'll plunge down into the darkness to explore the reef by night. We'll probably make this dive at White Rock - we get giant barracuda coming in for night time hunting action. The barracudas follow in your shadow, darting out to snap up small rabbit fish! Also expect to see corals filter feeding, lots more crabs plus increased stingray activity.


Multi level & Computer Dive: Deep diving is fun as it extends the limits of your exploration, but bottom time becomes limited if you follow a single level dive profile. If we move to a more sophisticated planning technique, using a multi level plan (and back this up by wearing a dive computer) we can vastly increase our available bottom time. This also allows us an opportunity to make another great deep dive.

Search and Recovery: Find out how to execute underwater search patterns such as a U - search or expanding square. When you locate an object, what if it is too heavy or bulky to safely lift it using your BCD? We'll show you how to utilize a lifting device such as a lift bag, to safely recover the object.

Underwater Photography: Have a go at capturing some underwater snaps using a digital camera with underwater housing. First we'll teach you a few simple rules to improve you chances of getting the perfect shot. We'll make the dive then later download the images to a computer and use Photoshop to touch up your photos. We'll burn the photos onto CD so you have a nice souvenir to take home.


Step Three; Emergency First Responder

To operate as a PADI Divemaster, you first need to have an up to date CPR / First Aid qualification

EFR is a one day course, giving you the required qualification. You watch a video during the morning, then undertake a practical session in the afternoon learning the steps you take in dealing with an accident. This includes assessing the scene, alerting EMS, checking for breathing, circulation, serious bleeding, spinal injuries and shock then progressing onto secondary care. This is followed by a written exam.


Step 4; PADI Rescue Diver

Up till now your training has focused on making you a better diver. Now it's time to think about everyone else!

The rescue course occupies the following three days - academics each morning and water work in the afternoons. On the first day of rescue we look at surface problems, tired and panicked divers, rescues where you can remain on the boat and others where you need to enter the water. We also take our first look at coping with an unconscious diver at the surface, and inventory all the objects on the boat which might be useful in an emergency.

On day two we move into underwater problems - sorting out divers who are overexerted, have bad buoyancy or are out of air. We practice solving these problems during the 'disaster dive' where we'll simulate situations for you to deal with. We then start to look at how to manage an emergency, run search patterns and surface an unconscious diver, plus make an egress to the boat.

Day three starts with a review of the skills you've learned, then progresses into final scenarios. You will be in charge of the boat, your instructor and other DJL Diving staff will simulate problems which you will have to manage. Expect the worst - swimmers getting hit by drifting jellyfish, missing divers, unconscious victims and more. . .

Step 5; PADI Divemaster

The first professional level in diving is a big step up. By the end of this course you will be qualified to lead certified divers, assist instructors with student diver training, organize diving logistics (such as arranging equipment, diver flow and delivering briefings) plus conduct refresher courses for divers that have had an extended period without diving.

At DJL you will become part of our team. You will get a real insight into how the shop runs and as time passes will adopt more and more responsibility, becoming a critical member of our diving staff. Taking a training internship to become a dive professional is a serious commitment - at the end of the course we are signing say that you are capable of looking after other divers. As such you should enter this program understanding the level of commitment needed to succeed.

This doesn't mean that we don't have fun! On the contrary, I and many other dive pros remember our Divemaster Trainee (DMT) days as some of the best we've had! It's a fantastic moment when you make the transition from being just another diver, to someone that customers are looking to as an example and turning to for advice and guidance.

We cover a wide range of detailed diving theory such as physics, physiology, dive equipment, environmental considerations, industry and agency standards which we have to operate within and decompression theory.

This is accompanied with a comprehensive program of water work.

You'll take part in several skills circuits, getting your demonstrations up to instructor standard. You'll also map a dive site, undertake an underwater equipment exchange with another diver whilst buddy breathing, make an emergency assistance plan for Koh Tao and complete a number of stamina exercises. You don't need to be an Olympic swimmer, but you do need to comfortable in the water.

You'll practice underwater navigation and get to know the dive sites around Koh Tao Thailand- by the end of the course you'll be leading our customers on guided dives, briefing them, controlling them in the water and showing then all the great marine life around the sites.


The biggest section of the internship is to assist our instructors with student divers in training. You'll help out on Open Water courses, advanced courses and even rescues. You'll witness all sorts of student diver difficulties which will prepare you for life after graduation - if you can deal with these you can deal with anything!

The way we structure the course is that you'll be assigned to one instructor as your mentor. They'll make sure you are getting everything you need and are progressing smoothly. We'll mix up the theory and water work so that your internship is balanced. If you have areas which need improvement, we can put in extra work as you progress.

When assisting on courses you'll get to work with all our instructors, along with students from all over the world.

One of the best things about being a dive professional is the rich variety of people that you come into contact with! Both our instructors and students come from all over the world - we routinely deal with English, German, French, Belgium, Australian, American, South American, Japansese, Belgium, Irish, Isreali, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Thai, Swedish, Norwegian. . . . a diverse range of people.

Evening time all the staff and customers, head down to the Dry Bar to watch the days diving video, and savor a few cold beers and enjoy the fantastic Sairee Beach sunsets!

After You've qualified as a PADI Divemaster... Once you've qualified as a PADI Divemaster, you have the opportunity to work with DJL Diving, building up your dive experience by leading dives, assisting with boat logistics and helping take care of our customers.

If you intend work in the diving industry, this first working experience is invaluable. We'll assist you in finding paid employment within the scuba diving industry - writing a great CV, giving you a reference plus hooking up with our contacts throughout Thailand & Asia's dive industry.




At this stage you can get involved in the 'internship add-ons' - building skills and experience in other areas of scuba diving.

The options are:

Expedition Diver Add On; Deep Diving & Wreck Hunting Diving Adventures (2 months extra)

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor; Get qualified to teach diving to PADI Divemaster level

Boat Handling; Learn to drive power boats safely (2 weeks)

Underwater Videographer Internship; Learn to shoot and edit underwater movies, selling them to Open Water students.