Course overview

Become a more confident, capable diver with the PADI Rescue Diver course at Kovalam, learning to prevent and manage dive emergencies in the warm Arabian Sea. Across scenario-based open-water exercises on the Kovalam reef you practise self-rescue, assisting tired or panicked divers and managing a missing-diver situation. It is widely regarded as the most rewarding PADI course and the gateway to professional training.

What you’ll learn

• Recognise and prevent dive problems before they escalate
• Perform self-rescue and tired-diver tows
• Assist a panicked diver at the surface and underwater
• Run search patterns and surface a missing diver
• Manage a diver in distress and administer in-water rescue breaths
• Coordinate an emergency response and accident-management plan

Prerequisites

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

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 and emergency planning

   Complete the knowledge reviews and build an emergency-action plan for diving off Kovalam.
2. Day2
   Rescue-skill exercises

   Practise the ten core rescue skills, from self-rescue to surfacing an unresponsive diver, in the calm Arabian Sea.
3. Day3
   Scenario assessments

   Run two realistic missing-diver and unresponsive-diver scenarios on the Kovalam reef and certify.

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 Kovalam.

Frequently asked questions