Buceador de Rescate + EFR

The PADI Rescue Diver course combined with Emergency First Response training at Big Fish is conducted over four days and includes five dives. The minimum age is 16 years and candidates need to already hold an Advanced Open Water certification. The fee of €450 covers the full course, including EFR certification, the five dives, equipment, van transfers, and study materials in English, German, Spanish, or Polish.

The EFR component covers CPR and first aid on land before moving onto in-water rescue scenarios. The four-day structure alternates surface sessions with sea dives around Los Cristianos, using the centre's site rotation to set up realistic open water problem scenarios rather than in a pool. Five dives over four days with active rescue work make this a more physically and mentally demanding stretch than the AOWD course.

At Big Fish, small group sizes allow candidates to receive detailed feedback on rescue techniques after each scenario, rather than spending sessions waiting for their turn. The instructors teaching the Rescue courses—Greg, whose previous military experience informs his approach to safety and procedures, and other team members—bring distinct styles of rigour to the training. Methodical candidates with skill progression find the four-day format works well here.

Rescue Diver is a prerequisite for PADI Divemaster, so candidates at Big Fish with the professional pathway in mind often go straight from this course into the two-month Divemaster programme. The practical, scenario-based structure of these four days makes it the course that most changes how divers perceive what is happening around them underwater: awareness of other divers is permanently altered after working through the rescue scenarios.