Compare SCUBA Agencies

All major scuba certifying agencies are regulated by the same Recreational Scuba Training Council.  For insurance qualifications, recognized agencies are required to teach the same basic skills.  The biggest difference is how they teach the skills and in what order.

Instructors at Scuba Nashville are certified to teach for the top 3 Scuba agencies,  NAUI, PADI, SDI.
For the advanced technical students, we even offer Tech Diving  with TDI.

Are you interested in getting scuba diving certified, but are wondering about the differences and similarities between the organizations and their courses? Which one to choose? Which one is the best? Is there a “best” one? Can’t blame you if you are a little confused. Let me help you a bit to clarify the situation. Then you can get started with your new hobby and concentrate on the essential: safe fun scuba diving.
All 3 agencies are members of the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC).
All 3 teach basically the same beginner scuba diver courses.
All 3 are well known and recognized worldwide.

NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) is the oldest organization, started in the late 50’s, strong in North America and the Pacific.  NAUI’s purpose is “to enable people to enjoy underwater activities as safely as possible by providing the highest quality practical education, and to actively promote the preservation and protection of the world’s underwater environments.”

SDI (Scuba Diving International) and TDI (Technical Diving International) are sister companies. They emphasize the instruction of practical skills, and are actually the only ones using dive computers with students. SDI and TDI provide their own learning materials. SDI requires students to have a dive computer for the water training.

PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the world’s largest recreational dive association. PADI has split its education into several small courses, which makes it easy for anyone to start diving, and take one course after another, slowly increasing one’s competency and experience.

No matter which organization you end up choosing, two things are good to keep in mind:

1. You can go recreational diving with any dive center, anywhere in the world, after you have passed the basic course with whichever agency. You can also cross between the agencies on the recreational course level. So even if you started for example with PADI courses, you can continue to Advanced Open Water with NAUI or SDI, or any other organization.

2. You will learn all the important skills in order for you to dive safely, no matter under which organization’s standards you are being taught. PADI, NAUI, SDI & TDI are all members of the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC), which has set education standards that all its scuba training members must respect.

What it comes down to in the end, is what is available in the particular destination you want to do your course, and which dive center gives you the best impression. How much, and how you learn, will mainly depend on your instructor, not forgetting your own motivation and interest.