The PADI Rescue Diver Course teaches you how to rescue people in distress in the water. But that’s not the main benefit of the course.
What it really teaches you is to be safer:

  • More alert to potential problems.
  • More careful when preparing your equipment.
  • Confident in your own skills.

The PADI Rescue Diver Course teaches you how to rescue people in distress in the water.
But that’s not the main benefit of the course.

What it really teaches you is to be safer:

  • More alert to potential problems.
  • More careful when preparing your equipment.
  • Confident in your own skills.
rescue excercise in pool

Rescue Diver skills

Rescue Diver is challenging – but fun!

The Rescue Diver Course is physically demanding. Most people describe it as the most challenging course they have done, but it’s also very rewarding and lots of fun.

Learning to do search patterns

What do you learn on the Rescue Diver course?

We start off by learning the skills in the pool.  Beginning with baby-steps, we make sure that you can do all the basics, and then we start combining skills.  You will find that you quickly move through the skills and gain confidence.  You will master:

  • simple self-rescue
  • towing a tired diver on the surface
  • dealing with a panicked diver on the surface
  • reaches and throws from the shore
  • assisting a panicked diver underwater
  • bringing an unconscious person to the surface from the bottom
  • giving rescue breaths to a non-breathing diver
  • removing their equipment while giving rescue breaths
  • getting them out on to the side/shore
  • administering oxygen
  • giving first aid for aquatic injuries

Once we’ve learned these skills, we go down to the beach to learn search patterns and beach exits.

We will practice the skills you learned in the pool, but now we have waves, surge, poor visibility, current and underwater obstacles to deal with.  It’s exhausting, but we spend as much time falling about laughing as we do falling over.

The final day of the course is spent out on a longtail in Khao Na Yak.  You will do a couple of scenarios on the boat, where you show that you can put all the skills together.

The course has a manual or e-learning, and there is both a knowledge review and an exam at the end.

The Rescue Diver Course is a 3 day course.

Who is this course for?

The simple answer is anyone who has Advanced Open Water* and is comfortable in the water.

But realistically who might use these skills?

  • Divemasters or Dive Guides (Rescue Diver is a pre-requisite for starting the Divemaster Course)
  • Anyone diving with a less experienced buddy
  • People who want to take their dive education further
  • Divers who find that they are one of the more experienced in their group, who are ready to step up

If you come into any of these groups, then this course may be your next one.

* You may also do this course if you are an Adventure Diver and have completed the navigation adventure dive.

If you have not completed a CPR /first aid course within the last 2 years then you will need to complete the EFR course prior to starting.

PADI Rescue Diver course
11,700 THB
local dives
Includes all required equipment
Certification fee included
Rescue Diver manual included
E-learning theory options
3 day course