Go Pro in Roatan, Honduras
Divemaster and instructor training in a working dive shop. Real students, real guests, real boats, on the same reef you’ll be guiding once you’re certified.
627 Divemasters · 485 instructors trained · 2,336 professional certifications
Where you train decides what kind of scuba pro you become
Your first professional credential is the one that sets the habits, so the shop matters more than the certificate. Both programs run inside the live operation: four boat dives a day, students on the beach, tanks to fill, guests to brief. You’re part of that from week one. We’ve certified 627 Divemasters and put 485 instructors through the IDC here, from our record as PADI 5 Star IDC Center #18092.
Divemaster, then Instructor
The route to PADI Instructor runs through Divemaster. You can do both here at our dive center in West End, Roatan.
Talk to us before you book flights. Both programs have prerequisites and start dates, and we’ll check you’re ready.
01 Rescue and EFR
The recreational prerequisites: Rescue Diver and EFR. We run both here.
02 Divemaster Internship
Six weeks in the live operation, for Rescue certified divers. 40 dives to start.
03 Instructor Development
14+ days with Course Director William Welbourn. 60 logged dives to begin.
04 Instructor Examination
The separate PADI evaluation, held here on Roatan. 100 logged dives to attend.
A working shop, not a training simulation
Both programs run inside our daily operation in West End.
01
Four boat dives a day
The volume is the training. You work alongside the crew from the start, not shadowing it.
02
Over 80 sites in range
Walls past 40 meters, coral gardens and swim-throughs on the Mesoamerican Reef.
03
Multilingual instructor crew
Every one of them a PADI Instructor, working on our boats every day.
04
Roatan’s only TDI Tec Center
Technical and sidemount training on site with Monty Graham. See tec diving.
Divemaster vs IDC
Different prerequisites, different lengths, different career paths.
Divemaster: time and cost
Six weeks minimum, longer if you want it. $1,050 including eLearning, plus $168 PADI fees paid directly to PADI.
Divemaster: requirements
Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver, CPR and first aid within the past 24 months, minimum age 18. 40 logged dives to start, 60 to certify.
IDC: time
14+ days, plus the separate Instructor Examination. Led by Course Director William Welbourn.
IDC: requirements
PADI Divemaster or a qualifying leadership rating, certified for at least six months, physician-signed medical within 12 months. 60 logged dives to start, 100 to attend the IE.
What’s going pro like in Roatan?
Four certified dive tours a day leave from West End, plus night dives Monday to Thursday when at least four divers sign up. That’s the repetition you need, with changing sites and different guests every day. When a north swell pushes into West End between October and January we move the boats around to Flowers Bay on the south shore. Seven minutes by road, and its own lesson in how a dive operation runs.
Where to start
Your starting point depends on what you’re holding right now.
Not Rescue certified yet
Rescue Diver and EFR both run here and can go back to back before the internship.
Rescue certified, ready to work
The Divemaster internship. Six weeks, eLearning included, unlimited diving while you’re with us.
Already a Divemaster
The IDC. 14+ days with Will Welbourn, then the Instructor Examination here on Roatan.
Going pro, answered
What do I need before the Divemaster internship?
Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver, current CPR and first aid from the past 24 months, and a physician-signed medical. Forty logged dives to begin. If you’re short, we’ll get you diving to make it up.
What do I need before the IDC?
PADI Divemaster or a qualifying leadership rating, 60 logged dives, six months as a certified diver, current CPR and first aid, and a physician-signed medical. You need 100 dives to attend the Instructor Examination.
Does finishing the IDC make me an instructor?
No. Completing the IDC makes you eligible for the PADI Instructor Examination. You earn the Open Water Scuba Instructor rating after meeting all requirements and passing the IE.
Can I do both programs back to back?
Yes, and a lot of people do. Finish the internship, roll into the next IDC. Message us with your dates and we’ll line the two up.
Where is the Instructor Examination held?
Here on Roatan. No extra flights or accommodation at the end of the course.
Will there be work at the end of it?
We can’t promise a job. What we can say is that a lot of the instructors working this island trained here, and the shop is a reference people take seriously.
Diver Experiences
“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!”
Cassidy
Ready to go pro?
Send us your certification level, logged dive count and the dates you’re thinking about. We’ll confirm your prerequisites and talk through the schedule before you book travel.