Become a PADI Instructor
in Komodo — 17 Days

The PADI Instructor Development Course at Dragon Dive Komodo is structured across 17 days of integrated training, leading directly into the two-day Instructor Examination conducted by an independent PADI Examiner. The program is delivered on site by our two resident Course Directors and dedicated IDC staff.

Days 1–2 — IDC orientation and Diver Safety Reset. Standards review, learning theory, the PADI System of teaching, and recalibration of core diving skills to the demonstration-quality level required of an instructor. Watermanship benchmarking against the four PADI tests is completed in this phase.

Days 3–5 — Knowledge Development presentations and classroom instruction. Candidates plan and deliver classroom and confined-water teaching presentations covering core skill circuits. Course Directors debrief each presentation with structured feedback against the PADI Instructor Development grading slates.

Days 6–9 — Confined-water and skill demonstration teaching. Real teaching presentations in shallow water on the 24 PADI core skills, then progression into Discover Scuba Diving teaching scenarios. Candidates also rehearse the swim, snorkel and tired-diver-tow watermanship assessments.

Days 10–12 — Open-water teaching presentations. Full open-water Open Water Diver scenarios on real Komodo dive sites, including briefing, descent, in-water skill teaching, ascent control and structured debrief. Candidates also conduct Rescue Diver scenarios and emergency assistance plan reviews.

Days 13–14 — EFR Instructor (EFRI) course. Two full days of Emergency First Response Instructor training, integrating Primary Care, Secondary Care and CPR & AED teaching — a prerequisite for the Instructor Examination.

Days 15–17 — IE preparation and mock IE. Final dive theory exams across the five PADI subjects, full mock Instructor Examination conducted under IE timing, individual coaching sessions on weak areas, and administrative preparation for the PADI Examiner. Successful candidates are then formally referred to the Instructor Examination.

Throughout the 17 days, candidates also receive structured coaching on dive business basics, Divemaster supervision, dive shop logistics, and the PADI continuing education ladder — the foundations of being a hireable PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.

To enroll in a PADI IDC at Dragon Dive Komodo, you must meet the following PADI standards. Where you do not, we can build a pathway to get you there before the program start — typically via our PADI Divemaster Course in Komodo.

• Certification: current PADI Divemaster (or qualifying equivalent from another recognized agency) before the IDC starts.
• Diver experience: a minimum of 60 logged dives is required to enroll in the IDC, and 100 logged dives are required for PADI to certify you as an Open Water Scuba Instructor at the end of the IE.
• Minimum age: 18 years old on the day the IDC begins.
• Emergency First Response: a current EFR Primary Care and Secondary Care certification within the past 24 months. If yours has expired, an EFR refresher is integrated into the program before the EFRI segment.
• Medical clearance: a signed PADI Medical Statement. Candidates with any "yes" answers must obtain a physician's approval to dive before the course begins.
• Time as a certified diver: PADI requires you to have been a certified diver for at least six months before the start of the IDC.
• Equipment: candidates use their own mask, fins, snorkel and dive computer. Basic rental gear (BCD, regulator, wetsuit, tank and weights) is included. We recommend reviewing your own equipment for demonstration-quality dives at least 4 weeks before arrival.
• Theory readiness: candidates should refresh PADI dive theory before arrival. The IDC dive theory exam covers physics, physiology, equipment, decompression theory and the recreational dive planner, plus the dive environment.

If you arrive without a recent Rescue or Divemaster certification, our Zero to Hero pathway integrates the missing levels before the IDC starts, so you finish your stay as a PADI Instructor without leaving Komodo.

The location where you complete your IDC shapes the kind of dive instructor you become. Komodo National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Marine Park spanning more than 1,700 km² of protected reef, deep channels, walls and seamounts inside the Coral Triangle — a uniquely demanding training environment.

Real-world conditions. Komodo is known for strong tidal currents, drift dives on coral reefs and pinnacles, descents along sheer walls, and exposure to large pelagics. Candidates who finish their IDC here have briefed and supervised dives in conditions most newly-certified instructors only encounter years into their career. Once you have led a Discover Scuba Diving program at Sebayur or briefed a Rescue scenario at Batu Bolong, calmer destinations stop feeling intimidating.

Two resident Course Directors and a multilingual IDC staff. Unlike larger-volume IDC centers where access to the Course Director is rationed, candidates at Dragon Dive Komodo work directly with both Elise Laffourcade and William Baillet every single day of the 17-day program, backed by three multilingual IDC staff instructors. That density of senior eyes on every presentation is what drives the quality of feedback and the pass rate at the IE.

How Komodo compares with other IDC destinations. Bali and the Gili Islands offer reliably calm conditions and very high training volume, which is suitable for fast-turnover IDC factories but limits the depth of mentorship and the exposure to current and drift teaching scenarios. Koh Tao remains price-competitive but cannot match Komodo's marine diversity or the breadth of conditions encountered during open-water teaching. The Maldives offers comparable marine life but with significantly higher costs and limited day-to-day classroom infrastructure. Komodo concentrates a UNESCO-grade environment, a PADI Platinum-recognized training program, and the only PADI 5★ IDC Dive Resort in Labuan Bajo into one base.

Continuity with the Divemaster pathway. Many of our candidates arrive at the IDC after completing their PADI Divemaster Course at the same center — same Course Directors, same dive sites, same standards. The calendar is aligned so that Divemaster candidates can roll directly into the next available IDC without leaving Komodo — same Course Directors, same dive sites, same standards. The exact dates depend on your DMT completion timing; see our full pricing page for combined-pathway quotes, or message us for a personalized calendar.

Career outcomes. Komodo-trained instructors typically have a stronger profile when applying to dive centers worldwide — both because of the PADI Platinum lineage on their CV and because they can credibly speak to real-world current diving in interviews. Several of our graduates have been hired by Dragon Dive Komodo itself; others now teach across Indonesia, Honduras, the Caribbean and Europe.