SSI Try Scuba — Discover Diving
Most people go their whole life never knowing what it feels like to breathe underwater.
One warm pool session is enough to find out. Try Scuba gives you the gear, the coaching, and the first unforgettable breath beneath the surface, without asking you to commit to a full certification first.
Availability: In Stock
The First Breath Is the One You Remember.
Try Scuba is a single pool session at Tom’s Dive & Swim in Austin: about two hours, no experience required, no commitment. One of our certified SSI instructors introduces you to the gear, teaches you to breathe underwater, and stays beside you in our 91°F heated pool at 5909 Burnet Rd the entire time.
Most people are surprised by how natural it feels. No open water. No homework. Minimum age 10. If you love it, $50 applies toward Open Water certification ($619). Tom’s has introduced over 18,000 Austin divers to the water since 1982.
Course at a Glance
| Price | $99 per person |
| Duration | Approximately 2 hours (classroom + pool) |
| Location | Indoor heated pool · 5909 Burnet Rd, Austin TX 78757 |
| Pool temperature | 91°F, warm and comfortable year-round |
| Minimum age | 10 years old |
| Prerequisites | None. No experience or swimming ability required. |
| Equipment | All provided. Just bring a swimsuit and towel. |
| Certification | None. This is an introductory experience, not a certification course. |
| Credit toward Open Water | $50 of your Try Scuba fee applies toward the Open Water Diver course if you enroll |
Ready to take the plunge?
Try Scuba: $99 · Austin, TX
One pool session. No experience needed. Book online or call (512) 451-3425.
Book Try Scuba →Who Is Try Scuba Perfect For?
Try Scuba attracts all kinds of people: first-timers, nervous beginners, and travelers planning a dive trip. If any of these sound like you, you’re in the right place.
The Curious First-Timer
You’ve always wondered what it would feel like to breathe underwater. Try Scuba is exactly the right first step: no pressure, no commitment, just curiosity.
The Nervous Beginner
Not sure if you’ll be comfortable underwater? Try Scuba lets you find out in the safest possible environment: our warm, shallow pool with an instructor beside you.
The Traveler
Planning a trip to Cozumel, Belize, or the Caribbean? Try Scuba first to see if you want to get certified before your vacation, or as a way to experience diving on the trip itself.
Couples & Families
A great shared experience for couples or families with kids 10 and older. Many families use Try Scuba as a first step before enrolling together in Open Water certification.
DAN Safety Standards
Tom’s follows Divers Alert Network (DAN) safety standards and recommends DAN dive accident insurance for every certified diver. Safety is not a checkbox on our website. It is the foundation of how Tom’s has operated since 1982.
What to Expect
Here’s exactly what happens during your Try Scuba session at Tom’s Dive & Swim in Austin.
Come to Tom’s Dive & Swim at 5909 Burnet Rd. Your certified SSI instructor will greet you, answer any questions, and walk you through what to expect. Wear comfortable clothes you can change out of.
A relaxed overview of how scuba equipment works, how to breathe underwater, and what to expect in the pool. No test, no homework. Just a friendly briefing so you feel completely prepared before you get in the water.
Your instructor fits you with a wetsuit, BCD, regulator, mask, fins, and weights (all provided). We’ll make sure everything fits properly before you get in the water.
You enter our 91°F heated pool with your instructor beside you at all times. You’ll practice breathing from a regulator, clearing your mask, and moving underwater. Most people are amazed at how natural it feels within minutes.
After your pool session your instructor will debrief with you, answer any questions, and tell you about the Open Water Diver course if you want to continue. Your $50 credit applies immediately toward enrollment.
What’s Included
Everything you need is provided. Just bring yourself, a swimsuit, and a towel.
Common Misconceptions About Try Scuba
“I need to be a strong swimmer.”
Basic water comfort is all you need. Your instructor is beside you in the shallow end the entire time.
“It’s only for young, fit people.”
Scuba is one of the most accessible water sports. Buoyancy does the work. Age and fitness level are not barriers.
“It will be cold and uncomfortable.”
Our pool is 91°F year-round. You’ll be in a wetsuit and most people don’t want to get out.
“It’s dangerous for beginners.”
Shallow pool, certified instructor at your side, zero open water. One of the safest intro experiences available.
We build divers we would trust with our own families.
That is not a tagline. It is the standard every Tom’s instructor brings to the water. Since 1982, we have believed that confidence comes from preparation, not luck. That real capability is not something a card represents. It is something you feel the moment buoyancy becomes automatic, navigation feels natural, and you are calm in conditions that would have rattled you six months ago.
We get there by coaching before we criticize, by treating every student as an individual with a specific goal, and by building a team of 30 or more active instructors who are genuinely invested in where you go next. Over 400 five-star Google reviews and more than 18,000 certified divers later, what people tell us they remember is not the card. It is the moment diving clicked.
Open longer than any other Austin dive shop still in business
Tom’s opened in 1982. The other Austin dive shops that are still open today came later. That kind of staying power is not an accident. It comes from building a reputation one diver at a time, over four decades, in the same city, with the same commitment to doing it right. When you train at Tom’s, you are training at the shop Austin’s diving community has trusted the longest.
We coach before we criticize
When something does not click the first time, that is information, not a problem. Our instructors treat every hesitation and every mistake as a signal about what to work on next, not a reason to judge. That approach, calm and honest and focused on what you can do, is what builds the kind of confidence that holds up outside the pool.
Instructors who are divers first
With 30 or more active SSI-certified instructors, we have the depth to match you with the right person for your goals and your schedule. But what matters more than the number is who they are: working divers, active in the water, who teach because the sport means something to them. That shows up in how they engage with every student.
91°F heated pool, on-site
Our indoor pool stays at 91°F year-round. That is warm enough that thermal comfort is never a distraction from learning. You can focus on the skill in front of you instead of managing cold water. For pool-based training, that temperature difference is real.
Frequently Asked Questions
Basic water comfort is helpful but formal swimming ability is not required. Try Scuba takes place entirely in the shallow end of our heated pool with your instructor beside you the whole time.
Yes. Try Scuba is conducted in a controlled pool environment under direct supervision of a certified SSI instructor. No open water, no currents, no depths beyond the shallow end of our pool. It is one of the safest introductory water experiences available.
Most people do not. Certain conditions (heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, pregnancy) may require a physician’s sign-off. Call us ahead of your session if you have concerns and we’ll advise accordingly.
Minimum age is 10 years old. There is no maximum age. We regularly work with students in their 50s, 60s, and beyond.
Just yourself, a swimsuit, and a towel. All scuba equipment is provided.
Yes, and most people do. Your $50 credit applies directly toward the SSI Open Water Diver course ($619). Your instructor will walk you through the next steps at the end of your session.
What People Say
From our over 400 five-star Google reviews.
“I did Try Scuba and then Open Water here. Both amazing. Everyone at the shop is so helpful for beginners. Highly recommend.”
Shannon R., Try Scuba & Open Water
“An absolutely amazing facility and environment to begin your dive journey! They support you, listen to you, and make you feel completely at ease from the moment you walk in.”
Apple Ghost: Austin, TX
“Had the best time learning how to scuba dive from this shop. Instructors were very caring and patient. The program is first class.”
Cathy Cox: Austin, TX
“This is an amazing place to get scuba certified. All of the staff are super friendly and I had an overall amazing experience.”
Brayden: Austin, TX
Ready to take the plunge?
Try Scuba: $99 · Austin, TX
One pool session. No experience needed. Book online or call (512) 451-3425.
Book Try Scuba →Try Scuba Is Step One
Try Scuba is the no-commitment way to find out if diving is for you. If it clicks, the next step is Open Water certification, and $50 from today applies directly toward that course. From there, six continuing education pathways open up.
Try Scuba
One pool session, no certification required. $50 credit toward Open Water if you decide to continue.
Open Water Certification
The full SSI certification. Pool training, open water dives, recognized everywhere. $619 ($50 credit applied).
Continuing Education
After Open Water: six CE pathway lanes covering buoyancy, navigation, nitrox, rescue, wreck diving, and more.
What Comes Next?
Try Scuba is just the beginning. Here’s where most divers go from here, and where you could be in a year.