Course overview

Build the confidence to prevent and manage diving emergencies with the PADI Rescue Diver course on Maafushi, in the Maldives' South Malé Atoll. Practising self-rescue and diver-assist scenarios on the calm island house reef and nearby atoll sites in warm 27-30°C water, you learn to anticipate problems and respond effectively. Widely described as the most rewarding PADI course, it is the final step before professional-level training.

What you’ll learn

• Recognise and manage diver stress before it becomes an emergency
• Perform self-rescue and tired-diver tows
• Search for and rescue a missing or unresponsive diver
• Surface and underwater rescue techniques and equipment problems
• Manage in-water and surface diver emergencies as a team
• Administer first response while bringing a diver to safety

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior Rescue Diver) or 15 for Rescue Diver
• PADI Adventure Diver or Advanced Open Water (or qualifying equivalent)
• Current 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 & EFR

   Complete rescue knowledge development and refresh CPR and first-aid skills.
2. Day2
   Rescue exercises

   Practise self-rescue, tired-diver tows and panicked-diver handling on the calm house reef.
3. Day3
   Missing & unresponsive diver

   Run search patterns and surface an unresponsive diver, then bring them to the boat.
4. Day4
   Scenario assessment

   Put it together in two emergency-management scenarios on atoll sites such as Maafushi Corner.

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 Maafushi.

Frequently asked questions