About Us

Our Story

Our diving center Thalassa Diving Academy PADI 5* IDC was founded in 1999 in Chalkida with a lot of love and respect for the underwater world and of course for our students.

Our goal is to provide quality education throughout the year, with our primary goal to pass the knowledge, in a safe and fun environment for all levels of divers. The training of scuba diving, free diving and mermaid courses combined with our professional courses are some of our services that make us unique! With 40 years of experience, and with goof knowledge of the underwater morphology of Evia, we know exactly where to take you to have a good time.

In our diving center we use top quality equipment, which we disinfect daily and maintain it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

We have a 220 m2 retail store with a large parking area and a wide variety of products from leading brands such as Scubapro, Cressi, Aqualung, Seac Sub, Salvimar, Omer, Pathos, OMS, Suunto and Garmin.

At our site there is a pool just for our students for the confined water dives and 3 rib boats ready to take you to the best dive spot!

Having trained over 4000 students, we maintain a zero-accident rate.

Certifications Thalassa Diving Academy

Our team operates with an official license 01 issued
by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Shipping

Meet The Team

George Monastiroglou

The founder of Thalassa Diving Academy. He has logged more hours underwater than on land! He speaks Greek but has the unique talent of communicating with everyone, no matter what language they speak. In 2021 he was awarded as a PADI Elite Instructor 200. He truly loves what he does, which is why he is one of a kind. With over 40 years of experience, he is certified as:

• PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
• PADI Freediver Instructor Trainer
• PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainer
• Disabled Divers International Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer
• Lifeguard instructor
• Professional diver
• Speedboat operator

Alexandros Monastiroglou

He started diving at the age of 6. It was expected that he would follow in his father's footsteps and as soon as he turned 18 he started preparing to become a professional diver. After a few years of employment he decided that training was what fulfilled him and so he became certified as a:

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Professional diver
• Lifeguard
• Speedboat operator

Vasilis Dukas

Former fighter pilot, with a military career. He studied physics and enjoys sports and science. Since he was young he likes every kind of Diving - Free, Scuba And Sky and train at every opportunity. He speaks Greek, fluent English and some French. He is certified as:

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Tec Deep Diver
• Speedboat operator

John Lazarou

He has been diving professionally since 2009, after training in the navy as his main profession is as a submarine mine destroyer in the special forces. He speaks Greek, fluent English and some Spanish and Italian. He is patient and always polite. He likes to pass on his knowledge and his goal is to get as many people as possible to love diving. That's why he decided to go professional in training from 2021 and has been certified as a :

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI specialty instructor
• Emergency First response Instructor
• Speedboat operator

Antonis Tzanis

Our best Divemaster! He loves to be underwater doing scuba and freediving. He is very good with kids because they remind him of his own. He is patient and supportive and will look out for you whether you are an experienced diver or taking your first breath. He speaks Greek and English. He is certified as:

• PADI Divemaster
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Speedboat operator

George Vandoros

In Greece when you hear about technical diving it is the first name that comes to mind. With years of experience and countless dives under his belt, George is the partner we trust to conduct technical schools. He has taken part in several explorations and diving projects. He is certified as a :

• Tec Rec Instructor Trainer
• PADI IDC Staff Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Tec Deep Instructor Trainer
• Tec Trimix Instructor Trainer
• Nitrox/Trimix Gas Blender Instructor Trainer
• Tec Sidemount Instructor Trainer
• Tec Rescue Instructor
• Advanced Wreck Instructor
• Tec Rec Cave Instructor
• Tec Cave CCR Instructor
• Tec 40-60-10 CCR Instructor

Raymond (Ρéι) Arce

Ray is our go-to guy for professional scuba diving schools. He is from Los Angeles, California, but has been living and working in Greece for the last 23 years as a dive instructor and BOEING partner. He is a former US Marine and a graduate of the US Navy SCUBA and Avionics Schools. The change from military diver to recreational diver was easy for him and to date he has obtained the following certifications:

• PADI Course Director
• PADI Specialty Instructor Trainer (20 Specialties)
• Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer
• Nitrox/Trimix Gas Blender Instructor Trainer
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) Adult/Pediatric First Aid, AED, BLS, Oxygen Provider Instructor Trainer
• DAN Diving Safety Officer

George Monastiroglou

The founder of Thalassa Diving Academy. He has logged more hours underwater than on land! He speaks Greek but has the unique talent of communicating with everyone, no matter what language they speak. In 2021 he was awarded as a PADI Elite Instructor 200. He truly loves what he does, which is why he is one of a kind. With over 40 years of experience, he is certified as:

• PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
• PADI Freediver Instructor Trainer
• PADI Mermaid Instructor Trainer
• Disabled Divers International Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer
• Lifeguard instructor
• Professional diver
• Speedboat operator

Alexandros Monastiroglou

He started diving at the age of 6. It was expected that he would follow in his father's footsteps and as soon as he turned 18 he started preparing to become a professional diver. After a few years of employment he decided that training was what fulfilled him and so he became certified as a:

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Professional diver
• Lifeguard
• Speedboat operator

Vasilis Dukas

Former fighter pilot, with a military career. He studied physics and enjoys sports and science. Since he was young he likes every kind of Diving - Free, Scuba And Sky and train at every opportunity. He speaks Greek, fluent English and some French. He is certified as:

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Tec Deep Diver
• Speedboat operator

John Lazarou

He has been diving professionally since 2009, after training in the navy as his main profession is as a submarine mine destroyer in the special forces. He speaks Greek, fluent English and some Spanish and Italian. He is patient and always polite. He likes to pass on his knowledge and his goal is to get as many people as possible to love diving. That's why he decided to go professional in training from 2021 and has been certified as a :

• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
• PADI specialty instructor
• Emergency First response Instructor
• Speedboat operator

Antonis Tzanis

Our best Divemaster! He loves to be underwater doing scuba and freediving. He is very good with kids because they remind him of his own. He is patient and supportive and will look out for you whether you are an experienced diver or taking your first breath. He speaks Greek and English. He is certified as:

• PADI Divemaster
• PADI Freediver Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Speedboat operator

George Vandoros

In Greece when you hear about technical diving it is the first name that comes to mind. With years of experience and countless dives under his belt, George is the partner we trust to conduct technical schools. He has taken part in several explorations and diving projects. He is certified as a :

• Tec Rec Instructor Trainer
• PADI IDC Staff Instructor
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• Emergency First Response Instructor
• Tec Deep Instructor Trainer
• Tec Trimix Instructor Trainer
• Nitrox/Trimix Gas Blender Instructor Trainer
• Tec Sidemount Instructor Trainer
• Tec Rescue Instructor
• Advanced Wreck Instructor
• Tec Rec Cave Instructor
• Tec Cave CCR Instructor
• Tec 40-60-10 CCR Instructor

Raymond (Ρéι) Arce

Ray is our go-to guy for professional scuba diving schools. He is from Los Angeles, California, but has been living and working in Greece for the last 23 years as a dive instructor and BOEING partner. He is a former US Marine and a graduate of the US Navy SCUBA and Avionics Schools. The change from military diver to recreational diver was easy for him and to date he has obtained the following certifications:

• PADI Course Director
• PADI Specialty Instructor Trainer (20 Specialties)
• Emergency First Response Instructor Trainer
• Nitrox/Trimix Gas Blender Instructor Trainer
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) Adult/Pediatric First Aid, AED, BLS, Oxygen Provider Instructor Trainer
• DAN Diving Safety Officer