Course overview

Become a more capable, confident diver with the PADI Rescue Diver course on Thailand's Phi Phi Islands, certifying you to prevent and manage dive emergencies. Working in the sheltered bays of the Phi Phi marine park, you rehearse self-rescue, tired-diver tows and unresponsive-diver scenarios in warm, calm water before applying them on open-water reefs. Many divers call it the most rewarding course they ever take.

What you’ll learn

• Recognise and prevent dive problems before they escalate
• Perform self-rescue and manage your own air and stress
• Assist and tow tired or panicked divers at the surface
• Search for and surface a missing or unresponsive diver
• Provide in-water rescue breaths and manage an emergency exit
• Plan and coordinate an emergency response as a team

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 12 (Junior Rescue Diver) or 15 for Rescue Diver
• PADI Adventure Diver or Advanced Open Water (with Underwater Navigation), or qualifying certification from another agency
• Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care within the last 24 months (can be combined)
• 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 & first aid

   Complete knowledge development and confirm or complete your EFR / CPR training.
2. Day2
   Rescue skills

   Practise self-rescue, tows and assists in the calm shallows near the islands.
3. Day3
   Scenarios

   Run missing- and unresponsive-diver scenarios on Phi Phi's open-water reefs.
4. Day4
   Assessment & certification

   Demonstrate full rescue scenarios and complete the exam to 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 Phi Phi.

Frequently asked questions