Turtle Ecology & Open Water Diver – Andaman Turtle Watch Citizen Science Course

Join Big Blue Diving Khao Lak for the annual Phang Nga Coastal Clean Up Challenge, organised as part of the Sustainable Khao Lak Network.Taking place on 5 October 2026, the event brings together local businesses, tourism operators, schools, residents and volunteers to remove marine and coastal waste from Khao Lak’s beaches ahead of the high season.The 2025 event brought together more than 400 volunteers and removed 1,752 kg of waste from Khao Lak’s coastline in just two hours. This year, Big Blue is co-hosting and helping organise the event alongside the Sustainable Khao Lak Network, and participation is open to anyone who wants to get involved.Collected waste will be sorted for recycling and repurposing wherever possible, with appropriate disposal for materials that cannot be recovered. The event provides a practical way for the local community and tourism industry to work together to keep Khao Lak’s coastline clean and reduce waste entering the marine environment.What to bringWater refill stations and snacks will be provided, along with gloves and collection bags.Please bring:Your own refillable water bottleHat and sun protectionSunscreenReusable gloves where possible — please avoid disposable plastic glovesReusable collection bags, such as rice bags, where availableEvent DetailsDate: 5 October 2026Location: Khao Lak, Phang Nga, ThailandOrganisers: Sustainable Khao Lak Network, with Big Blue Diving Khao Lak and Andaman Turtle WatchParticipation: Free and open to volunteersFocus: Coastal clean-up, waste collection, sorting, recycling and community environmental actionPrevious impact: 400+ volunteers | 1,752 kg of waste removed in 2025This is a community environmental action event rather than a tourism activity, giving participants a practical opportunity to contribute to the coastline they live, work and dive around.Big Blue is proud to help organise the event as part of its ongoing environmental commitment through Living Blue, working alongside local organisations and the wider Khao Lak community.Meeting time and location: coming soon.

As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge whilst learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.

As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge whilst learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.

If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program! With this program, you can try a variety of specialties before committing to full specialty programs. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures. During the Advanced Open Water Diver Program, you will try out 5 different specialties. You will complete one open water training dive per specialty after a comprehensive briefing with your SSI Instructor. With this trial program in specialty diving, you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full specialty programs any time in the future and credit your Advanced Open Water Diver training towards them.

It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI Scuba Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time. This scuba refresher course allows you to review and practice scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional. This is a great course to take just before a dive holiday, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life. If you are a non-certified Open Water Diver student, a Scuba Skills Update is ideal for practicing your dive skills before your open water training dives. With no fixed course duration, you can take your time and focus on the skills you need help with.

Spend seven days learning to dive while exploring sea turtle ecology, conservation and citizen science with Big Blue Diving Khao Lak and Andaman Turtle Watch (ATW).This programme combines the SSI Open Water Diver certification with SSI Turtle Ecology, bringing together classroom and practical education with confined-water and open-water dive training.This isn’t generic turtle ecology taught from a textbook. The SSI Turtle Ecology programme provides the foundation, while Andaman Turtle Watch brings real local sightings, identified turtles and long-term photo-ID data into the learning. Developed in Khao Lak through Big Blue’s Living Blue initiative, the programme uses real examples from the same Andaman Sea in which participants learn to dive.Participants learn about sea turtle biology and ecology, species identification, conservation approaches, responsible wildlife observation and photo-identification. They work with real ATW sightings and learn how individual turtles can be recognised from unique markings - much like human fingerprints. They also explore how recreational divers can do more than simply see marine life: careful observations can be recorded as useful scientific data and contribute to long-term research and conservation.During turtle encounters, participants practise responsible observation without touching, feeding, chasing or disturbing wildlife.The programme concludes by bringing the diving, ecology and research components together, with a focus on how recreational divers can become more informed and responsible ocean users and contribute to marine conservation through citizen science.Programme ScheduleDay 1: Sea Turtle Ecology with ATWDay 2: Turtle Photo-ID & Conservation Field VisitDay 3: Open Water Diver – Training Day 1Day 4: Open Water Diver – Training Day 2Day 5: Open Water Diver – Training Day 3Day 6: Citizen Science Dive DayDay 7: Data Analysis, Research Wrap-Up & CertificationDates: 20th - 26th October 2026Duration: 7 daysLocation: Khao Lak, Similan and Surin Island National Parks, Andaman Sea, ThailandEnvironment: Classroom, field-based education, confined water and open-water divingDiving: 1 confined-water session, 4 Open Water training dives and 2 citizen-science divesResearch focus: Sea turtle observations and photo-identification through ATWCertifications: SSI Open Water Diver + SSI Turtle EcologyLanguages: English, Thai and JapanesePrerequisites: No previous scuba certification required. Participants must be aged 10 or over, comfortable in the water with basic swimming ability (200 m at their own pace), and meet SSI medical and training requirements.Open Water students are not permitted to carry underwater cameras during dives in Thailand’s national parks. ATW’s professional researcher collects the photographs required for photo-identification while participants contribute through observation and scientific recording.The programme includes required diving equipment, training activities, National Park fees, transport to the pier and scheduled field visits, lunch and learning resources. Accommodation is not included.Turtle sightings are not guaranteed. This is an educational and citizen-science and research-focused diving programme rather than a wildlife tourism product, focused on developing competent, responsible divers and showing how recreational divers can contribute meaningful observations to long-term sea turtle research.

Spend seven days developing your diving skills while exploring sea turtle ecology, conservation and citizen science with Big Blue Diving Khao Lak and Andaman Turtle Watch (ATW).This programme combines the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver certification with SSI Turtle Ecology, bringing together classroom and practical education, field visits and eight open-water dives.This isn’t generic turtle ecology taught from a textbook. The SSI Turtle Ecology programme provides the foundation, while Andaman Turtle Watch brings real local sightings, identified turtles and long-term photo-ID data into the learning. Developed in Khao Lak through Big Blue’s Living Blue initiative, the programme uses real examples from the same Andaman Sea in which participants learn to dive.Participants develop buoyancy, navigation, control and underwater awareness before applying these skills to sea turtle observation and citizen science. They learn about sea turtle biology and ecology, species identification, conservation approaches, responsible wildlife observation and photo-identification. Working with real ATW sightings, participants learn how individual turtles can be recognised from unique markings - much like human fingerprints - and how recreational divers can turn careful observations and useful photographs into scientific data.During the dedicated citizen-science dives, participants practise responsible turtle observation and learn how to collect useful photo-ID images and sighting information without touching, feeding, chasing or disturbing wildlife. The programme concludes with data analysis and a research wrap-up, showing how individual sightings contribute to long-term monitoring and conservation research.Programme ScheduleDay 1: Sea Turtle Ecology with ATW Day 2: Turtle Photo-ID & Conservation Field Visit Day 3: Buoyancy & Navigation Day 4: Deep & Specialty Diving Day 5: Advanced Diver Development Day 6: Citizen Science Dive Day Day 7: Data Analysis, Research Wrap-Up & CertificationDates: 20th - 26th October 2026 Duration: 7 days Location: Khao Lak, Similan and Surin Island National Parks, Andaman Sea, Thailand Environment: Classroom, field-based education and open-water diving Diving: 8 open-water dives, including 2 dedicated citizen-science dives Research focus: Sea turtle observations, photo-identification and citizen-science data through ATW Certifications: SSI Advanced Open Water Diver + SSI Turtle Ecology Languages: English, Thai and JapanesePrerequisites: Participants must be aged 12 or over, hold an SSI Open Water Diver certification or equivalent qualification from a recognised training agency, be comfortable in the water with basic swimming ability, and meet SSI medical and training requirements.Unlike the Open Water programme, Advanced participants can begin collecting their own turtle photo-ID images. The course teaches participants what makes an image useful for identification, what sighting information to record and how to document encounters responsibly for citizen science.The programme includes required diving equipment, training activities, National Park fees, transport to the pier and scheduled field visits, lunch and learning resources. Accommodation is not included.Turtle sightings are not guaranteed. This is an educational, citizen-science and research-focused diving programme rather than a wildlife tourism product, focused on developing more capable, responsible divers and giving recreational divers the skills to contribute useful observations and photo-ID data to long-term sea turtle research.

This globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver. Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.

Join Big Blue Diving on a 5-day, 4-night liveaboard exploring the Andaman Sea, combining high-quality recreational diving with sea turtle ecology, conservation education and citizen science through Andaman Turtle Watch (ATW).The trip follows Big Blue’s normal high-quality liveaboard programme, with 14 dives across the expedition. Dive sites are selected to provide excellent diving while also maximising opportunities for turtle observations and data collection.Each morning after breakfast, participants take part in a sea turtle ecology session or practical workshop. Topics include an introduction to Andaman Turtle Watch, sea turtle ecology, species identification, photo-identification techniques, the application of turtle research and how divers can contribute useful observations and citizen-science data. Sessions also cover responsible diving and ethical wildlife observation.During dives, participants learn how to observe turtles responsibly without touching, feeding or disturbing them. When turtles are encountered, participants can contribute observations and photographs for photo-identification and long-term monitoring. Turtle encounters and submitted photographs are reviewed and analysed on board, giving participants an insight into how individual turtles are identified, how sightings are documented and how repeated observations can contribute to long-term research.The trip concludes with a research and conservation wrap-up, reviewing the turtle observations and data collected during the expedition and discussing what these observations can tell us about sea turtles in the Andaman Sea.Duration: 5 days / 4 nightsLocation: Similan and Surin Island National Parks, Andaman Sea, ThailandPier location: Tablamu, Phang NgaEnvironment: Open-water recreational diving from a liveaboardDiving: 14 dives, with dive sites selected to balance high-quality diving with opportunities for turtle observation and data collectionEducation: Daily sea turtle ecology sessions and practical citizen-science workshopsResearch focus: Sea turtle observations, species identification and photo-identification through Andaman Turtle WatchCertification: SSI Turtle Ecology certification is available on board for participants who wish to complete the programmeDive ratio: Maximum 4 participants per instructor/guideLanguages: English, Thai and JapaneseThe programme is suitable for certified recreational divers. Participants must be at least Open Water certified to participate in diving activities within Thailand’s national parks. Under Thai National Park regulations, divers must be Advanced Open Water certified or have more than 40 logged dives to legally carry an underwater camera within national parks for data collection.Full diving equipment is available to rent. Nitrox is available on board, and underwater cameras are available to rent on board.The liveaboard package includes diving, tanks and weights, airport/hotel transfers, four meals per day, drinking water, soft drinks, coffee and snacks. Single-occupancy options are available. National Park fees are not included.No turtle sightings are guaranteed. Wildlife encounters are natural and unpredictable. This is not a wildlife tourism product; it is a citizen-science and research-focused trip. Turtle encounters provide opportunities for responsible observation and data collection, while the programme prioritises high-quality diving, education, ethical wildlife encounters and contributing to long-term sea turtle research.

SSI Advanced Open Water DiverTake your diving to the next level with the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver course. Designed for certified Open Water Divers, this program helps you gain confidence, experience, and new skills through a series of exciting adventure dives.You’ll complete four different specialty dives, including Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation, plus two additional dives you can choose based on your interests—such as Nitrox, Perfect Buoyancy, Wreck, or Night Diving. All training is conducted in open water with an SSI professional, focusing on real-world skills you can use immediately.By the end of the course, you’ll be certified to dive to 30 metres, with improved buoyancy, better navigation skills, and greater awareness underwater—opening the door to more advanced dive sites and experiences worldwide.Prerequisites: SSI Open Water Diver (or equivalent)Minimum age: 12 yearsCertification: SSI Advanced Open Water DiverPerfect for divers who want more adventure, more confidence, and more dive opportunities ????????

As a Nitrox diver, you can increase your bottom times and safety margins, plus shorten your surface intervals - so you can spend more time diving and less time waiting! In this program, you will learn new skills and increase your diving knowledge whilst learning how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Upon completion, you will earn an SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification.