Become a PADI Instructor in Dauin
The PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) is where you learn to teach: how to explain dive theory clearly, run confined and open water sessions, keep students safe and help them enjoy learning. At Bongo Bongo Divers, a PADI 5 Star Career Development Center in Dauin, every IDC is led by PADI Course Director Anthony Cruz, and we have been running instructor courses since 2016.
This page covers everything you need to plan your IDC: what is included, how the course works, upcoming dates, the full costs and why so many dive professionals choose the Dumaguete area.
What the IDC includes
- Two IDC preparation days before the course starts
- The PADI Assistant Instructor and Open Water Scuba Instructor programmes
- The Emergency First Response Instructor course, including Care for Children
- All PADI and EFR course materials and eLearning
- Seven specialty instructor courses
- Lunch every day during the IDC
- Fun dives on our house reef throughout the course
- All marine park fees during your training
- Staff discount in our dive shop
- An optional dive résumé workshop
- Learn to Teach support after you qualify
- A T-shirt and a graduation party
Seven specialty instructor courses
Your IDC group picks five specialty instructor courses together with our Course Director, and the Project AWARE and Dive Against Debris instructor courses come on top. If you register all seven ratings, PADI charges for five of them (AUD 152.90 each when you train with our Course Director) and the other two are free.
Learn to Teach
Once PADI has confirmed your instructor status, our experienced instructors are happy to guide you through your first few courses. It is included in the price whenever we have space and suitable courses running, so tell us early if you would like to stay on.
Not included: PADI application and exam fees, accommodation, equipment rental and meals other than lunch during the IDC.
How the IDC works
Preparation days
Two optional days before the IDC to refresh your dive theory, skills and knowledge of PADI standards. They are the easiest way to start the course feeling ready.
The Instructor Development Course
Fourteen training days covering the PADI Assistant Instructor and Open Water Scuba Instructor programmes and the Emergency First Response Instructor course. You practise knowledge development, confined water and open water teaching presentations, with feedback from our Course Director and staff after each one.
Specialty instructor training
Seven specialty instructor courses let you teach more than the core PADI courses. They are also your first step towards the Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) rating, which you apply for once you meet PADI’s requirements, including certifying divers.
The PADI Instructor Examination
A two-day exam run independently by PADI examiners and held in Dauin straight after the IDC. It covers dive theory and PADI standards, skills and rescue demonstrations, and knowledge development, confined water and open water teaching presentations.
Learn to Teach
With your new instructor rating, you can team-teach your first students alongside our instructors whenever we have space and courses running.
Curious what a training day feels like? Read what a typical day during a PADI IDC looks like.
Upcoming IDC dates
We run up to six IDCs a year, each one timed to finish right before a PADI Instructor Examination in Dauin.
| Prep days (optional) | IDC | Instructor Examination |
|---|---|---|
| 18 – 19 Nov 2026 | 20 Nov – 3 Dec 2026 | 4 – 5 Dec 2026 |
| 25 – 26 Jan 2027 | 27 Jan – 10 Feb 2027 | 11 – 12 Feb 2027 |
| 31 Mar – 1 Apr 2027 | 2 – 16 Apr 2027 | 17 – 18 Apr 2027 |
| 22 – 23 May 2027 | 24 May – 7 Jun 2027 | 8 – 9 Jun 2027 |
| 19 – 20 Jul 2027 | 21 Jul – 4 Aug 2027 | 5 – 6 Aug 2027 |
| 12 – 13 Sep 2027 | 14 – 28 Sep 2027 | 29 – 30 Sep 2027 |
| 28 – 29 Nov 2027 | 30 Nov – 14 Dec 2027 | 15 – 16 Dec 2027 |
PADI sets the Instructor Examination dates and can change them, so please check with us before you book flights.
What the IDC costs
Your IDC has two separate parts: the training fee you pay us in Philippine pesos, and the application and exam fees you pay PADI in Australian dollars. We keep them separate so you can see exactly where your money goes.
Paid to Bongo Bongo Divers
| IDC training package | PHP 110,000 |
|---|---|
| Trainee dorm bed (optional) | PHP 15,000 per month |
| Trainee single room (optional) | PHP 20,000 per month |
| Equipment rental (optional, without dive computer, wetsuit or booties) | PHP 5,000 per month |
Rooms at the dive centre are charged by the week and subject to availability. You can also see our training facilities and accommodation.
Paid to PADI (2026 fees)
| IDC application | AUD 350.00 |
|---|---|
| Instructor Examination | AUD 1,190.00 |
| EFR Instructor application | AUD 252.00 |
| 7 specialty instructor ratings (5 at AUD 152.90, 2 free) | AUD 764.50 |
| Typical PADI total | AUD 2,556.50 |
PADI sets these fees and can change them. We confirm the fees that apply to you before you commit. Specialty ratings cost AUD 243.10 each if you apply independently instead of through our Course Director.
How payment works
A deposit secures your place, and we then assign your PADI eLearning so you can start studying before you arrive. The balance is settled before the end of your course. You can pay by PayPal (plus 4.7%), Wise (plus 1%), GCash, or bank transfer if you have a local bank account.
Not a Divemaster yet? Our Divemaster + IDC package costs PHP 160,000 and saves PHP 10,000 compared with booking both courses separately.
Before you start
The IDC is for PADI Divemasters, or divers with an equivalent leadership rating from another training organisation, who are ready to learn to teach.
- PADI Divemaster or an equivalent leadership rating
- Certified as a diver for at least six months
- At least 60 logged dives to start the IDC, and 100 by the Instructor Examination
- Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (or equivalent) training within the past 24 months
- A medical statement signed by a physician within the past 12 months
- At least 18 years old
How to prepare
Once your place is confirmed, we send your PADI eLearning and our own study materials. The more you finish before you arrive, the more you will get out of the course:
- Complete as much of your PADI IDC eLearning as you can
- Brush up on dive theory with the PADI workbook and our study materials
- If you can, get in the water and practise your Divemaster skill circuit
Don’t worry: plenty of review and practice time is built into the course.
Why train in Dauin and Dumaguete?
A university town, a marine-science tradition and a dive community that stays.
A town built around learning
Dumaguete, about 16 km up the coast from Dauin, has been a place of learning for more than a century. Silliman University was founded here by American missionaries in 1901 and is known as the first American university in Asia. St. Paul University (1904), Negros Oriental State University (1907) and Foundation University (1949) followed. Dumaguete is still known as a university town and as the “City of Gentle People”.
Where reef conservation took root
That tradition runs straight into the sea. Silliman marine scientists, led by the late National Scientist Angel Alcala, worked with local fishing communities to create marine reserves at Sumilon Island in 1974 and at Apo Island, which is part of Dauin, in 1982. Apo became a model for community-managed marine protected areas, and the Philippines now has more than 1,900 of them. For decades, professors, researchers, students and conservation organisations have come and gone here, and it shows: people in this area know their reefs and care about them.
And then there is the diving
Dauin’s black-sand slopes are famous for macro life such as frogfish, mimic octopus and flamboyant cuttlefish, while Apo Island’s protected coral reefs are a short boat ride away. Easy shore entries and varied sites make it a great place to learn to teach.
Where dive professionals put down roots
We see it every year: dedicated instructors who come to Dauin tend to stay. Tiny islands can bring on island fever, but the Dumaguete area has everything you need for a long-term life: an airport with daily flights to Manila and Cebu, ferries to Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Mindanao, four major hospitals, good schools for families, mountains and waterfalls inland and islands offshore. Many of the instructors we know have lived and taught here for 15 or 20 years and still love it.
That creates a different kind of dive community: experienced, settled and generous with what they know. It is no coincidence that Dauin and Dumaguete have become one of the Philippines’ leading destinations for dive education, and it is the community you join when you train with us.
Recompression treatment in town
Specialist treatment for divers is now available in Dauin itself. The Hyperbaric Chamber Center, a Department of Tourism facility run by TIEZA in Poblacion District 1, about a kilometre from our dive center next to the Dauin cemetery, treats decompression illness and other diving injuries. Local divers had asked for a chamber for years. For you, it means faster help if something ever goes wrong, and first-hand knowledge for the emergency plans you will write and the rescue skills you will teach.
Sources: Dumaguete, Silliman University, Silliman University on Angel Alcala and Apo Island, Dauin, Inquirer on the Dauin hyperbaric chamber.
Your Course Director
Every IDC at Bongo Bongo Divers is led by PADI Course Director Anthony Cruz, who also manages our dive center. He is supported by our PADI Master Instructors and IDC Staff Instructors, and you can message him directly on WhatsApp with any question about the course.
Bongo Bongo Divers is a PADI 5 Star Career Development Center and received PADI Asia Pacific’s Platinum Professional Development Excellence Award in 2026. See our PADI listing or PADI’s 2026 Platinum list.
Good to know
Is the Instructor Examination included?
The exam is run by PADI, not by us, so its fee (AUD 1,190 in 2026) is paid to PADI. We prepare you for it, and it takes place in Dauin straight after the IDC.
How long should I plan to stay?
From the first prep day to the end of the exam takes about two and a half weeks, for example 18 November to 5 December 2026. Arrive a few days early to settle in, and plan extra time if you would like to stay for Learn to Teach.
How do I get to Dauin?
Fly into Dumaguete, which has daily flights from Manila and Cebu. Dauin is about 16 km south of the city; ask us about getting here from the airport.
Is there a hyperbaric chamber nearby?
Yes. Dauin’s Hyperbaric Chamber Center, a Department of Tourism facility, is in Poblacion District 1, about a kilometre from our dive center.
Which languages do you teach in?
Our team speaks English, French, German, Danish, Filipino and Spanish. Ask us which languages are available for the dates you have in mind.
Can I join with a leadership rating from another agency?
Yes. Divers with an equivalent leadership rating from another training organisation can join the IDC. Tell us which rating you hold and we will check what you need.
Do you guarantee a pass or a job?
No. The Instructor Examination is run independently by PADI and we don’t promise jobs. We prepare you as well as we can and give you honest feedback along the way.
Ready to plan your IDC?
Tell us about your diving and when you would like to start. We will check your certifications, suggest dates and confirm the price with you. It is an enquiry, not a booking.
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