Course overview

Build the confidence to prevent and manage dive emergencies with the PADI Rescue Diver course in Fiji's Pacific Harbour and Beqa Lagoon. Over scenarios run on warm 24-30C soft-coral sites, you practise self-rescue, assisting tired and panicked divers, and managing a missing-diver situation. Widely described as the most rewarding PADI course, it is also the gateway to the Divemaster path.

What you’ll learn

• Recognise and manage diver stress before it becomes an emergency
• Perform self-rescue and assist a tired or panicked diver at the surface
• Respond to an unresponsive diver and bring them to the boat
• Conduct in-water rescue breathing and exit a casualty
• Run a missing-diver search and a simulated dive accident
• Plan and use emergency oxygen and a dive-emergency action plan

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior Rescue Diver) or 15 for Rescue Diver
• PADI Adventure Diver or Advanced Open Water (with Underwater Navigation)
• Emergency First Response primary and secondary care within 24 months
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician where required

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Theory & rescue skills

   Complete knowledge review then practise tired-diver tows, panicked-diver response and self-rescue in calm water.
2. Day2
   Scenarios & assessment

   Run full missing-diver and unresponsive-diver scenarios on a Pacific Harbour reef and complete the final assessment.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Fiji.

Frequently asked questions