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diveshack / Courses / Try Scuba
Intro Experience

Try Scuba Malta

Breathe underwater for the first time. No experience needed. No certification required. diveshack's Try Scuba experience takes you into the water the same day, under full supervision in a calm, confined water environment.

Book Your Experience What to Expect
Certified by SSI
Experience Price
Contact Us
Price on application. Contact us to book your session.
✓Full equipment provided
✓1 academic orientation session
✓1 confined water dive with instructor
✓Full supervision throughout
✓SSI Try Scuba recognition card
Book Your Experience

Questions? WhatsApp us first

8+
Min Age
5m
Max Depth
Confined
Water Type
None
Cert Needed
Same Day
Available
Malta
Location
About the Experience

Your first breath underwater

SSI Try Scuba is a supervised introductory experience designed for people who have never dived before. There is no prior training required and no certification needed. You arrive, receive a short briefing, get fitted into your equipment, and get in the water with your instructor on the same day.

The session takes place entirely in confined water, which means a pool or calm pool-equivalent environment at a maximum depth of 5 metres. Your instructor stays with you at all times. The goal is simple: experience what it actually feels like to breathe underwater, to feel neutral buoyancy, and to move in a way that is not possible on the surface. Everything is done at your pace, under direct supervision.

  • Breathe underwater for the first time using scuba equipment
  • Feel weightlessness and neutral buoyancy in the water
  • Learn and practice basic hand signals used by divers
  • Use a mask, regulator, BCD, and cylinder under guidance
  • Receive your SSI Try Scuba recognition card on completion
Recognition Card

SSI Try Scuba

On completion you receive an SSI Try Scuba recognition card. This is not a diving certification. It confirms you completed the introductory experience and can be used as a starting point if you decide to continue into a full certification programme.

Issued by SSI (Scuba Schools International)
Type Recognition card, not a certification
Prerequisite Fit to swim, no prior training needed
Min age 8 years (under 16 requires parental consent)
Max depth 5m confined water only
Open water Not included, confined water only
Marine Life

What You Might See

A sample of the species you might actually see at this course's depth. Click any card to read the full species guide.

On the Day

What happens during your Try Scuba session

The session runs in four stages. From briefing to recognition card, the whole experience is designed to be relaxed, clearly explained, and fully supervised at every step.

  1. 01
    Academic orientation A short briefing covering how scuba equipment works, basic skills you will use in the water, the hand signals you and your instructor will use to communicate, and the safety procedures for the session. No prior reading required.
  2. 02
    Equipment fitting Your instructor fits you with a wetsuit, BCD, regulator, cylinder, and mask. They will walk you through each piece of equipment and check your setup before you enter the water.
  3. 03
    Confined water session You enter the water with your instructor and breathe underwater for the first time. The session covers buoyancy basics, how to clear your mask, equalising pressure as you descend, and guided exploration of the confined water environment. Maximum depth: 5m. Your instructor is alongside you at all times.
  4. 04
    Recognition card After the session, your SSI Try Scuba recognition card is issued. If you want to continue into a full certification, your instructor can discuss the next steps with you before you leave.
The Experience

What you will feel underwater

The sensations of a first dive are difficult to describe until you have had them. These are the things most first-timers remember.

Breathing

Your first breath underwater

  • Breathing through a regulator for the first time
  • The sound and feeling of exhaling underwater
  • Understanding that the equipment supplies air continuously
  • Relaxing into a natural breathing rhythm below the surface
Buoyancy

Weightlessness in the water

  • The feeling of neutral buoyancy, neither sinking nor floating
  • Moving in three dimensions without effort
  • Hovering in place using breath control
  • Understanding how your BCD adjusts your position
Communication

Underwater hand signals

  • OK signal, ascend, descend, stop
  • Communicating with your instructor without words
  • The quiet of the underwater environment
  • Following your instructor's guidance in real time
Equipment

Using scuba gear for the first time

  • Regulator in the mouth and mask on the face
  • BCD inflation and deflation as a buoyancy tool
  • Cylinder weight and how it feels in the water
  • Basic mask clearing if water enters during the session
Is This Right for You?

Who should do Try Scuba

Try Scuba is an ideal starting point for a wide range of people, not just committed divers.

First-time divers

You want to try scuba before committing to a full certification course. Try Scuba gives you a real taste of diving with no obligation to continue.

Families with children

Children from age 8 can participate. Try Scuba is a structured and fully supervised way to introduce younger family members to the underwater world.

Non-diving partners

Your partner dives and you want to join them underwater. Try Scuba gives you a supervised underwater experience on the same holiday.

Curious beginners

You have always wanted to know what it feels like to breathe underwater but have never taken the step. This is the lowest-barrier way to find out.

Holiday visitors

You have one day and want to do something different. Malta's confined water facilities and warm Mediterranean water make this a practical same-day experience.

Future divers

You already plan to do a full Open Water Diver certification and want a supervised introduction before the course starts.

Next Steps

Continue into a full certification

Try Scuba issues a recognition card, not a certification. If you want to dive independently, you will need to continue into one of the following programmes. Your confined water session from Try Scuba can be credited toward both.

Next Step

Basic Diver

The natural next step after Try Scuba. The Basic Diver programme adds open water dives to the skills you have already practised in confined water. Skills evaluated during Try Scuba are recognised and built upon rather than repeated from scratch.

View Basic Diver
Full Certification

Open Water Diver

The full recreational diving certification, qualifying you to dive independently to 18m with a certified buddy. If you progress from Try Scuba into the Open Water Diver programme, diveshack will credit your confined water session and build on what you have already done.

View Open Water Diver

Talk to your instructor after your Try Scuba session. They will advise on the best route forward based on how you got on in the water.

Why diveshack

Why do Try Scuba with diveshack

Facility

SSI Diamond Training Centre

  • Highest SSI facility rating available in Malta
  • Professional equipment maintained to training centre standards
  • Dedicated briefing area and equipment prep space
Instructors

Experienced first-timer team

  • Hundreds of first-time diver briefings between the instructor team
  • Comfortable pace, no rushing, session is done when you are ready
  • Small groups with individual attention from your instructor
Equipment

Full kit provided

  • Wetsuit, BCD, regulator, cylinder, mask, fins provided
  • Nothing to bring except a swimsuit
  • Equipment fitted and checked by your instructor before entry
Location

Warm Mediterranean water

  • Calm, warm water suitable for first-time divers year-round
  • Based in Sliema, easy to reach from anywhere on the island
  • Easy upgrade to full Open Water Diver on the same trip
SSI

SSI Try Scuba

Confined water experience. Recognition card only. Not a scuba certification. No open water diving.

Cert typeRecognition card, not a scuba certification
Depth limit5m confined water (pool) only
Min. Age8 years
PrerequisitesNone. Able to swim.
Card issuedSSI recognition card via app. One session only, not transferable.
ValidOne session. Not a lifetime certification.
Next stepSSI Basic Diver or SSI Open Water Diver: progress to full open water certification.
FAQ

Common questions

You need to be comfortable in water. You do not need to be a strong swimmer. The session takes place in confined water at a maximum of 5 metres, and your instructor is alongside you throughout. If you have any concerns about your comfort in the water, mention this when you book and we will talk you through what to expect.
SSI Try Scuba accepts participants from age 8. Children under 16 must have parental consent before the session begins. Younger participants follow the same briefing and in-water process as adults, with the instructor adapting the pace to suit the individual.
No. Try Scuba issues a recognition card, not a certification. It confirms you completed the introductory experience. If you want a certification that allows you to dive independently, you would need to continue into the Basic Diver or Open Water Diver programme. Your confined water session from Try Scuba can be credited toward either of those programmes.
Try Scuba is conducted in confined water only, which means a pool or equivalent calm environment. You will not dive in the open sea during this experience. Open water dives begin with the Basic Diver or Open Water Diver programme. If you want to dive in the sea during your visit to Malta, talk to your instructor about continuing your training.
Yes. Your confined water skills from Try Scuba can be credited toward the Basic Diver or Open Water Diver programme. You do not need to repeat the confined water work you have already completed. Talk to your instructor after the session and they will explain the options and what would be involved in continuing from where you left off.
Continue Your Journey

Where to go next

After Try Scuba, these are the programmes most participants move into.

SSI Basic Diver course Malta
Next Step

Basic Diver

Build on your Try Scuba session with open water dives. The Basic Diver programme is the natural continuation for Try Scuba graduates.

View Course
SSI Open Water Diver course Malta
Full Certification

Open Water Diver

The full recreational certification. Qualify to dive independently to 18m. Your Try Scuba confined water session can be credited toward this course.

View Course
SSI Stress and Rescue Diver course Malta
Specialty Course

Stress and Rescue Diver

For certified divers looking to advance their skills. The Stress and Rescue Diver course trains you to manage emergencies and assist other divers.

View Course

Book or enquire

Ready to dive?

Fill in the form and we will get back to you with availability, pricing confirmation, and everything you need to know before arrival.

Usually within a few hours. We confirm your dates, answer questions, and send full joining instructions.

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+356 9999 3483  ·  WhatsApp

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