— RESCUE
Rescue.
The course almost everyone arrives nervous about, and leaves talking about as their favourite.
“Rescue is one of my favourite, and most fun, courses to teach.
It carries some of the most valuable and applicable skills you'll learn as a recreational diver — building on what you already have, while teaching you to see diving in a much broader way. The content is serious, but the training doesn't have to be.”
— Dan Lipton
Got your AOW, ready for the course every diver remembers? You're in the right place.
Rescue is the step up from fun diving. It's for divers who've been at AOW level for a while, who want to progress their awareness, knowledge, and skills as a scuba diver — not just dive deeper. It suits anyone planning to dive seriously over the coming years, divers preparing for Divemaster, and parents diving with children who want the confidence to handle whatever comes up.
— THE COURSE —
The PADI Rescue Diver certification: demanding, but very rewarding. It has three parts:
Knowledge development
- Five eLearning sections covering self-rescue, stress recognition, emergency management, and the response framework
- Final exam closes the theory portion
- Heavier theory load than Open Water or Advanced — most divers find the reading genuinely interesting rather than a chore
Self-rescue review and rescue exercises
- Review of self-rescue skills from your Open Water course
- Ten rescue exercises covering tired and panicked divers, missing-diver searches, unresponsive divers at the surface and underwater, exits, and in-water resuscitation
- Practised until each exercise becomes a reflex rather than a sequence to remember
Open water rescue scenarios
- Two full scenarios that bring everything together
- Realistic, instructor-led, and unpredictable — the scenarios are designed to test response under genuine pressure, not memorisation
Certification qualifies you to assist in dive emergencies, handle unresponsive divers, and act as a more capable buddy on every dive afterwards. There is no depth-progression element — the course is about competence, not depth.
— HOW WE RUN IT —
Rescue is a serious course. Our job is to make it a course you actually want to take, not one you survive.
Theory Workshops
In-person sessions to work through the heavier theory load alongside the eLearning. Rescue carries more reading than any prior course, and it becomes easier with someone to think it through with.Low instructor ratios
1:1 or 2:1 are ideal — bring a friend and the role-play scenarios genuinely work better. Up to 4:1 by arrangement.Realistic scenarios
Designed around realism, not minimum-to-pass. You're solving problems we've actually seen, in conditions you might actually dive in.Bonus dive
One extra dive, yours to use however you want — revisit a skill from the course, or just close the trip with a non-instructional dive.Nitrox certification
Included as standard, unless you already hold it. Opens up longer, safer dives for the rest of your diving life. why we include it →Debrief dinner
Rescue days have plenty to debrief — the dinner conversation is part of where the lessons settle.The N35.9 kit
N35.9 cap and water bottle, plus a discount on our dive journal.
If you're a bit nervous about Rescue, you're in good company — most divers are when they sign up. By the end of day one you'll have wondered why you waited. By the end of the course, you'll be a different diver.
— PRACTICALITIES —
Certifications earned
- PADI Rescue Diver
- EFR Primary & Secondary Care (if completed alongside; equivalent qualification accepted with price adjustment)
- PADI Enriched Air Nitrox (unless already held)
Duration (approx.)
- 4 days (Rescue Diver only)
- 4½–5 days (Rescue + EFR completed alongside)
- Add half a day if Nitrox theory is new to you
Ratio
- 1:1, 2:1, or up to 4:1
- 2:1 recommended — Rescue scenarios benefit from a partner to role-play with
Minimum age
- 12 years (Junior Rescue Diver for ages 12–14; full Rescue from 15)
Prerequisites
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or equivalent from another agency)
- A completed medical questionnaire
- Current EFR Primary & Secondary Care, or accepted equivalent (see below)
Course durations are flexible to personal schedules — we'll plan around yours.
Travel to the course destination is not included. Flights, accommodation, and arrival transfers aren't included — we're happy to advise on any of it.
If you haven't dived in a year or more, we recommend a check dive before the course — a single dive to reset buoyancy and trim, so the course itself runs at full value. We'll always make it count toward your diving, not just a formality. Small additional charge; always optional.
— EQUIPMENT & LOGISTICS —
Provided
- All scuba equipment and tank fills
- Pocket mask, oxygen unit, and rescue-specific equipment
- Full dive-day logistics — site transfers, boat arrangements, and between-site transport
- eLearning access and certification fees
To bring
- Swimwear, a towel, and any personal gear (mask, fins, computer) if you have it
- We cover everything else
On EFR — and what counts
The PADI Rescue Diver course requires current Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care training (CPR + first aid) within the past 24 months. We offer Rescue at two prices: with EFR completed alongside, or without if you already hold equivalent training.
If you don't yet have EFR or an equivalent qualification, completing it with us before Rescue starts is the natural option — it's roughly half a day of training, fits easily into the trip, and the techniques are fresh going into the rescue scenarios.
If you already hold equivalent training from another organisation — for example Red Cross, St John Ambulance, professional EMT certification, or workplace first aid — and it's current within 24 months, that may be accepted in lieu of EFR, with the corresponding price adjustment.
Both CPR (primary care) and first aid (secondary care) must be covered, and the training must include in-person practical assessment. Online-only courses don't meet the standard.
We'll verify on enquiry.