Frequently asked questions.

You'll need to swim 200 metres — any stroke, no time limit — and float for ten minutes. If that sounds manageable but unglamorous, you're exactly average, and average is fine. If it sounds daunting, tell me early and we'll build water-comfort time into the course design.

Everyone completes a standard RSTC medical questionnaire before we start. Most people clear it without issue. If something flags — asthma history, medication, a previous surgery, an old injury — a doctor signs off first. It's handled quietly during the planning stage, not at the boat.

In many cases, yes. The key factors are how well controlled it is and whether it's triggered by exercise, cold air, or emotional stress — not saltwater immersion. A doctor familiar with dive medicine will review your history and make the call. We handle this during planning, not on the day.

Very possibly yes — plenty of committed divers are hopeless sailors. Site selection matters (shore entries exist for a reason), timing matters, and the irony is that underwater is the one place the seasickness stops. We plan around it; you're not the first.

Ten, for a Junior Open Water certification — with shallower depth limits and me never more than an arm's length away. Younger children can do pool-based Bubble Maker programmes if a trip has a mix of ages. Kids are often the best students in the family. Less to unlearn.

No. Fitness matters more than age. Some of the best divers I've taught have been in their sixties and seventies — patient, calm, and genuinely interested in the marine life rather than racing through skills. A medical clearance is required, but that's true for everyone.

We don't publish fixed prices because every course is planned individually — the cost depends on the destination, group size, course level, and duration. Your quote will have three clear parts: a per-diver day rate (covering instruction, meals, logistics, and transfers), a per-student course and certification fee (covering tanks, equipment, and PADI processing), and a boat charter quoted separately per trip. We'll walk through every line before you commit to anything.

Because the instructor's entire attention is on you, and the course is designed around your pace rather than a group schedule. In a resort you're sharing that cost across six to eight students — which is why the per-head price is lower, but the per-minute attention is dramatically less. Private instruction also typically includes more dives, longer surface intervals, in-person theory sessions, and a level of flexibility that group courses can't offer. You're paying for a fundamentally different experience, not a markup on the same one.

Private instruction, in-person theory sessions, at least one dive beyond the PADI minimum, meals and refreshments throughout the dive day, site transfers, all on-the-ground logistics, and a debrief dinner on multi-day courses. Nothing is held back as an upsell.

A deposit confirms your booking. The course fee portion covers materials and certification processing — that isn't refundable once submitted to PADI. The day-rate portion is clearer: cancel with a month's notice or more for a full refund, or receive a credit note toward an alternative date inside that window. Specific terms are in your booking confirmation.

The course fee portion of the deposit covers materials and certification processing — that isn't refundable once submitted. The day-rate component is straightforward: cancel with a month's notice or more and you'll receive a full refund. Inside that window, we'll issue a credit note toward an alternative date. Specific terms are in your booking confirmation.

Travel days are charged at a reduced rate. They cover my logistics — getting to the destination, setting up equipment, and on the return side, editing the photography and video from your dives. Prep days (theory, gear fitting) are complimentary. Your quote names every day type separately so you can see exactly what you're paying for.

No — PADI certifications are valid for life. But comfort and muscle memory fade. If it's been years since your last dive, we start with an unhurried refresher day and see where you actually are, not where the card says. Most people are back within a day, surprised how much their body remembered.

Open Water (our Foundation course) teaches you to dive — the skills, the theory, the safety procedures. You're certified to dive to 18 metres with a buddy. Advanced Open Water (our Explorer course) builds range: deeper dives, navigation, buoyancy refinement, and exposure to specialty areas like night diving or underwater photography. Think of Open Water as learning to drive, and Advanced as learning to drive well.

Yes — courses are built around your calendar, not the other way round. Theory at home, pool work on one trip, open water on the next. The design flexes; the standard doesn't. This is one of the real advantages of private instruction — no fixed class schedule to work around.

Foundation (PADI Open Water), Explorer (PADI Advanced Open Water), Rescue (PADI Rescue Diver), and seven private specialties including Deep, Wreck, Nitrox, Night, Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, and Underwater Photography. Already certified and just want to dive? Private guiding is available separately from any course.

PADI is the most widely recognised certification agency in the world — your card is accepted at dive operations everywhere. Other agencies (SSI, SDI) teach to similar standards, and the differences between them are more about business model than training quality. I teach through PADI because the global recognition, the eLearning platform, and the instructor support are the strongest in the industry. What matters most isn't the agency — it's the instructor.

Three things. First, every course is private — one instructor, one client or small group, no strangers. Second, the course is designed around you — your pace, your interests, your schedule, your destination. Third, the standard is higher: more dives than the agency minimum, in-person theory alongside the eLearning, Nitrox theory included, and a welcome pack of personal dive equipment you keep. The goal isn't the certification — it's to make you the best diver you can be from the start.

Me — Dan Lipton. PADI IDC Staff Instructor, 3,500+ dives, 500+ certifications issued across ten years of teaching, primarily in Southeast Asia. Every course is taught by me personally; I don't subcontract instruction.

Yes. I'm available to join charters on request or rendezvous at yacht locations. If you're a charter broker or captain, the Yachts page has the detail you need, or enquire directly.