Before starting the PADI Rescue Diver course, you'll need to meet the following requirements:
12 years or older
Adventure Diver with Navigation Dive or equivalent
CPR & First Aid training completed within 24 months
Fit to dive and complete a medical questionnaire
Not yet certified in EFR? Don’t worry. Most students complete their Emergency First Response training together with the Rescue Diver course.
Sign up for Dive Komodo’s EFR course here
Learn to recognize stress in yourself and others, and prevent small problems from becoming emergencies.
Practice assisting tired or panicked divers while maintaining safety and control at the surface.
Master effective search patterns and procedures used to locate missing divers underwater and at the surface.
Learn how to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies from shorelines, boats and dive platforms.
Recognize common diving injuries and provide the appropriate first response until further help arrives.
Practice delivering rescue breaths while safely supporting an unconscious diver in the water.
Safely assist injured or unconscious divers out of the water in a variety of rescue situations.
Put everything together through realistic rescue simulations that test your awareness, teamwork and problem-solving skills.
To enroll in the PADI Rescue Diver Course, you must:
✓ Be at least 12 years old
✓ Hold a PADI Adventure Diver certification (with Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive completed) or equivalent certification from another recognized training agency
✓ Have completed Emergency First Response (EFR) Primary and Secondary Care training, or equivalent first aid and CPR training, within the last 24 months
✓ Be medically fit to dive
Komodo offers one of the most dynamic diving environments in the world. Strong currents, drift dives, diverse marine life, and varying dive conditions provide an excellent environment to develop real-world rescue skills.
Training here means learning in conditions that build awareness, confidence, and adaptability—qualities that every Rescue Diver should possess.
You'll train alongside experienced instructors who dive Komodo's waters daily and understand how to apply rescue principles in practical situations.
One of the biggest misconceptions about rescue diving is that it's all about responding to emergencies. In reality, the course focuses heavily on prevention.
You'll learn how to identify signs of stress, fatigue, anxiety, and discomfort in yourself and other divers. Often, these subtle warning signs appear long before a situation becomes an emergency. By recognizing them early, you can take action before a small issue turns into a larger problem.
This proactive mindset is what separates Rescue Divers from less experienced divers. Instead of simply reacting to situations, they learn to anticipate them.
Every diver eventually encounters unexpected situations. Strong currents, equipment issues, separation from a buddy, or helping a tired diver are all possibilities that can arise during a dive trip.
The Rescue Diver course gives you the knowledge and practical experience to manage these situations calmly and effectively. Through a combination of rescue exercises and realistic scenarios, you'll develop confidence in your ability to assess problems, make decisions, and take appropriate action.
Many students find that their overall diving confidence improves significantly after completing the course. Skills that once seemed intimidating become manageable because they have practiced them in a controlled training environment.
Great dive buddies do more than stay close underwater. They pay attention to each other, communicate effectively, and look out for one another throughout the entire dive.
Rescue Diver training helps you develop stronger situational awareness and teaches you to recognize when another diver may need assistance. You'll learn how to respond to tired divers, support distressed divers at the surface, and provide assistance while keeping yourself safe.
These skills not only make you a better dive buddy but also contribute to safer and more enjoyable diving experiences for everyone around you.
Although the course is designed for divers, many of the skills you develop have value beyond the underwater world.
Problem-solving under pressure, effective communication, teamwork, leadership, and emergency response are useful in everyday life as well as on dive trips. Combined with Emergency First Response (EFR) training, the Rescue Diver course provides practical skills that can help you respond confidently in a wide range of situations.
