Stella Maris / Ocean Encounters

Begin your lifelong adventure as a certified diver with the globally recognized SSI Open Water Diver certification.

Diving does not end when the sun goes down! Become a night diver and meet the incredible marine life that only comes out at night. Join the SSI Night Diving and Limited Visibility specialty program.

Make lost items a thing of the past with the SSI Search & Recovery specialty program. You will learn all you need to plan and conduct search and recovery dives, so you can find lost items with ease.

Take control of your dives no matter the conditions with the SSI Waves, Tides and Currents specialty. Learn all you need to go diving in currents, waves and rivers, enjoy shore diving and learn about the environmental conditions that affect dive sites.

Enjoy longer dives, explore further and cover a larger area on every dive. Become an SSI Scooter/DPV Specialty Diver. Get started today.

The SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty is the best way to improve your body position for relaxed dives, lower your air consumption and increase your bottom times. Take control of your enjoyment. Start online now!

Learn how to take underwater photos that capture your dive highlights and incredible marine life encounters with the SSI Photo & Video Specialty program. Get started online today.

Sharks are vital for healthy oceans and are truly spectacular to dive with! Join the SSI Shark Ecology program and learn how to dive safely with sharks, why their behaviors are misunderstood and more. Start online today!

The SSI Marine Ecology Specialty program is the best way to discover the exciting science of marine ecology and become an underwater naturalist. Enhance your dives in a new way. Earn the SSI Marine Ecology specialty certification now!

You will learn to identify sea turtles species, discover their history and role in marine ecosystems, and threats to their survival. Upon completion, you will earn the SSI Sea Turtle Ecology Specialty certification.

Diving with mantas and other rays is one of the best dive experiences you will have. Learn how to safely interact with rays and recognize different species with the SSI Manta & Ray Ecology Specialty program.

Learn how to identify fish with the SSI Fish Identification specialty program and enhance your dives! Discover all you need to identify common families of Caribbean, Indo-Pacific and Red Sea reef fish and earn your SSI Fish Identification specialty certification.