PADI Rescue Diver
Age 12+
What Is PADI Rescue Diver?
Ask any instructor which course made them a better diver. Most say Rescue. Not because of the emergency scenarios, though those matter. Because it changes how you think underwater. You start watching everything: your buddy, your air, the group, the environment. Every dive after this one, you’re the most switched-on person on the boat.
How the Course Works: PADI eLearning at home first, covering rescue theory before you arrive. On-site, three days of in-water scenarios across Roatan’s reef, building from self-rescue to full group emergency management. It’s the most challenging recreational course PADI offers. It’s also the one people talk about for years. You’ll also need to have a valid Emergency First Response certification.
What Skills Will You Learn?
Surface Rescues: Tired, panicking, and unresponsive diver rescues at the surface. Three of the ten skill exercises focus here, practised until reliable.
Underwater Rescues: Bring an unresponsive diver up from depth with a controlled ascent. Practised in Half Moon Bay before the staged scenarios start.
Missing Diver Search: Run a structured search when a diver is overdue. Surface and underwater patterns with time pressure and team coordination.
Two Staged Scenarios: Two full emergencies set by your instructor. You identify the problem and run it end to end with assessed decisions throughout.
PADI Rescue Diver Course FAQ
What are the prerequisites for Rescue Diver?
PADI Advanced Open Water and current EFR Primary and Secondary Care within 24 months. Minimum age is 12. We can run EFR concurrently if yours has lapsed.
Where do the skill exercises take place?
All drills and both staged scenarios take place in the calm, protected water of Half Moon Bay. No swell, no current.
Is Rescue Diver required for Divemaster?
Yes. It’s the last recreational certification you need before the Divemaster programme starts.
What will I earn at the end of the course?
Take the challenge! The PADI Rescue Diver course will expand your knowledge and experience to another level, because you’ll learn to look beyond yourself and consider the safety and well-being of other divers. Although this course is serious in nature, it is an enjoyable way to build your confidence.
What's Rescue Diver Training Like in Roatan?
The exercises run in the protected water of Half Moon Bay at the dock in West End. Calm water, close to shore, nothing extra to fight. Your PADI Instructor sets up each scenario cold, so you don’t know what’s gone wrong until you get there. That’s the point of it.
What Comes Next?
Rescue Diver is the last step before Divemaster. If that’s the direction you’re heading, come talk to us on the deck. If you’re here for the cert itself, the specialties and morning two-tank trips are open to you from here.
Required as part of the Rescue Diver course. Learn critical skills like CPR, First Aid and more.
Six weeks on the busiest dock in West End. First PADI pro card.
Choose your underwater favorites and expand your diving knowledge and skills.
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I spent 5 weeks at Coconut Tree Divers getting both my rescue diver, dive masters and side mount. The dive centre is incredibly professional through top-of-the-line customer service and exceptional diving within a 10–20-minute boat drive. I could not have been happier!
