image© Mares
SSI Training CentreLearn to dive on the Great Barrier Reef and be home in Cairns tonight
Every minute of your training happens in the ocean at Moore Reef, in a sheltered training centre built into our pontoon with the reef right beside it. No pool. No classroom. No nights away.
Choose by your diving experience
Never dived? Want to get certified?Open Water DiverStarts every day · 3 days · certified for life$927Every course price includes your Moore Reef day cruise on each course day.
Your first dives are real dives. On the reef, from day 1.
Plenty of divers do their first training dives in a pool. Yours are on the Great Barrier Reef.
Study online at home, then train at Moore Reef with an SSI instructor and a small group. Your skills sessions happen in the enclosed training centre under our pontoon, and your open water dives are on the reef right beside it.
Sunlover runs SSI dive courses from Cairns with every training dive at Moore Reef on the outer Great Barrier Reef. Open Water is $927 over 3 days (normally $1,030, 10% off when you book and travel by 20 December 2026) and starts every day of the week, and you are back in Cairns every evening.
Pick your course. Book it in minutes.
From your first breath underwater to rescue-level training, all of it on the reef and all of it with SSI. Choose your dates online and you will see live availability for every departure.
Starts every dayimage© Predrag VuckovicBecome a diver
The certification that opens everything up. Study online at home, then 3 days at Moore Reef: 9 training dives in all, 5 in the sheltered water beneath the pontoon, then 4 open-water dives on the reef. Dive anywhere in the world, to 18 metres, forever.
- Start any day of the week
- Online theory, then 3 days on the reef
- 9 training dives with your instructor
- Moore Reef day cruise on all 3 days
- SSI digital card on your phone
- Ages 10+ (12 m max for ages 10–11)
- RSTC medical form before you dive
Already certifiedimage© MaresGo further
2 days, 3 dives a day: 6 dives across 5 SSI specialties, with Deep Diving and Navigation included. Come out certified to 30 metres.
Be the one who can helpimage© MaresRescue ready
2 days: 3 confined-water sessions, then 3 open-water dives. Learn to spot stress, prevent incidents and manage emergencies. The course every serious diver rates as their best.
Finish your Open Water on the reef
Started your SSI Open Water course somewhere else? Finish your open water dives with us at Moore Reef.
Contact us before you book. We will check your training record and confirm exactly what you need to complete.
Every course price includes your Moore Reef day cruise on each course day. Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 5 days before your course commences.
Compare the courses side by side
Each course builds on the one before. Start with Open Water if you have never dived, then go further when you are ready.
| Course | Best for | Time | Max depth | Ages | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Water DiverCertification | Getting certified for life | Online + 3 days Starts every day | 18 m | 10+ | $927 | Book now → |
| Advanced Open WaterCertification | Certified divers going deeper | 2 days, 6 dives | 30 m | 12+ | $783 | Book now → |
| Diver Stress & RescueCertification | Becoming the diver others rely on | 2 days | 18 m | 12+ | $814.50 | Ask for dates → |
No pool. No classroom. Every minute is on the reef.
Most dive courses start in a swimming pool. Ours start in the ocean, at a training centre built into our Moore Reef pontoon on the outer Great Barrier Reef.
A training centre in the ocean
Your skills sessions happen on the custom training platform at the Moore Reef pontoon: enclosed, sheltered from wind, 1 to 3 metres deep and shallow enough to stand up in.
Home every night
No liveaboard, no shared cabin, no nights away. Head out with us in the morning, train on the reef, and you are back in Cairns each evening.
The rest of your day is Moore Reef
Waterslide, underwater observatory, snorkelling and lunch on the pontoon. Whoever you came with gets the full reef day while you are in your course.
A certification the world recognises
SSI certifications are accepted at dive centres worldwide. Your digital card lives on your phone, ready whenever you travel.
An honest look at how learning from a day boat compares with a liveaboard course.
What a training day looks like
Every course day runs on our Moore Reef day cruise, so the timings are the same whether you are on day 1 of Open Water or day 2 of Advanced.
- 9:30amCheck inReef Fleet Terminal, Cairns.
- 10:15amDepart CairnsAbout 1.5 hours out to Moore Reef on the outer reef.
- MiddayTraining dives at Moore ReefSkills in the training centre and dives on the reef, in small groups with your instructor.
- LunchBuffet lunch on the pontoonA proper break between dives, with the reef right beside you.
- 4:00pmDepart Moore ReefCruise back to Cairns.
- 5:30pmBack in CairnsApproximately. Dinner in town, your own bed tonight.
Included in every certification course
- Your Moore Reef day cruise on every course day
- Buffet lunch on the pontoon each day
- All the dive equipment you need
- An SSI instructor, with no more than 4 students each
- Your SSI digital certification card when you pass
Not included: a dive medical examination, if you need one. Everyone completes the RSTC Diver Medical questionnaire before getting in the water. If you answer yes to anything, a doctor needs to sign it off before you arrive, at your own cost.
Travelling with someone who is not diving? They can join you on the same boat on a standard Moore Reef day cruise.
Study at home, then dive with us
Do the theory before you arrive and your days in Cairns are spent in the water.
Download the free SSI app
Your theory lives in the app, and so does your certification card once you pass. Create a free account with the email you book with.
Do the theory at home
6 sections of digital learning with videos and quizzes: 8 to 12 hours at your own pace, on the couch or on the plane.
Train at Moore Reef
Skills in the sheltered training centre, then your open water training dives on the reef beside it, with an SSI instructor the whole way.
Get certified
Final exam, water fitness evaluation, and your SSI digital card lands on your phone, usually the same day.
Get the free SSI app now
Register with our SSI Training Centre and you can start your theory today, before you even arrive in Cairns.
Register with SSI →
iPhone & iPad
AndroidWhy we teach SSI
SSI and PADI are both recognised worldwide, and the card you walk away with is the same either way: certified to 18 metres. What differs is how the course is taught.
Skip it, come back to it
SSI lets you leave a skill and return to it when you feel ready. If mask clearing takes you 3 goes, you move on and come back, rather than being stuck on it while the group waits. When you are new and a bit nervous, that matters more than it sounds.
4 students to 1 instructor
Small groups are how we run every course, and they are why there is time to do that. You are not one of 12 people waiting for a turn.
The agencies work together
Anything below Master level is interchangeable. Do your Open Water with us and your Advanced somewhere else, or arrive with a PADI card and keep going with SSI. Nothing you have already earned is wasted.
This is your classroom
The training area is built into the pontoon, 47 km offshore, with coral walls and reef life a short swim away.
image© Predrag Vuckovic
image© Predrag VuckovicTrusted on the reef for over 3 decades
On the reef since
Taking guests to the outer Great Barrier Reef from Cairns for over 3 decades.
Training Centre
Certifications recognised at dive centres around the world.
Ecotourism Australia
Inducted into the Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame.
Ecotourism Australia
Our reef operations hold Ecotourism Certification.
Questions everyone asks
Quick answers on ages, medicals and timing. There is more detail on each course page.
What's the minimum age?
It depends on the programme. Introductory (non-certified) dives are 12 and up, which is the minimum Queensland's code of practice sets for non-certified diving. The SSI Open Water Diver course starts at 10: divers aged 10 and 11 are limited to 12 m and train in a smaller group: no more than 2 children aged 10 or 11 with one instructor, and no more than 4 people in the group. The Advanced Open Water and Diver Stress and Rescue courses are 12 and up. Anyone certified under 15 receives a Junior Diver certification and dives with a dive professional or a certified adult until they turn 15, when it upgrades automatically. Divers under 18 need a parent or guardian to sign a consent form and to be present.
Do I need a medical?
Every diver completes the RSTC Diver Medical questionnaire before getting in the water. All “no” answers and you're cleared to dive. Any “yes” needs a doctor's signature first — we send the form at booking so you can sort it at home.
Do I need to be able to swim?
Yes. Every certification course includes a water fitness evaluation: a 200 m swim, or 300 m with mask, snorkel and fins, with no time limit, plus 10 minutes floating or treading water.
How long before my flight home?
Allow at least 24 hours between your last dive and any flight. Don't book a course right up against your departure.
I certified with PADI years ago — can I do your courses?
Yes. PADI, SDI and NAUI certifications are recognised for our continuing education courses and refreshers.
Can I cancel or reschedule my course?
Yes. Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 5 days before your course commences.
When do courses start?
Open Water starts every day of the week, and Advanced Open Water is bookable now too. Pick your dates on the course pages and you will see live availability for every departure. Diver Stress & Rescue runs on request — use the form on that page and our reservations team will come back to you with dates.
Ready when you are. Questions first? Ask us.
Pick your dates and book online in a couple of minutes. Not sure yet? Leave your details and we will answer your questions first, with no pressure either way.
Call our reservations team 1800 810 512 (free call in Australia) +61 7 4050 1333 (international)Ask us a question
Tell us which course you are interested in and we will come back to you.
No payment, no obligation.
Before you book, have a read
Straight answers to the questions we get asked most about learning to dive.
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