Go Pro at Lalaguna Villas
Make diving your career in Puerto Galera. Start as a Divemaster, go on to become an Instructor, and train every step of the way with one team in one of the richest marine environments on Earth.
Your Path Into Professional Diving
Professional diving has two main ratings, both awarded by PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. As a Divemaster you lead certified divers and assist instructors with their students. As an Instructor you teach and certify divers yourself. Most people take them in that order, and at Lalaguna Villas you can do both in one place, with the same team, at a PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Centre.
Who It Is For
Divers who want to make it their job
You have logged dives, love being underwater and want to start leading them.
Career changers and gap years
You are planning a season in the tropics, or a whole new career.
Divemasters ready to teach
You are already a Divemaster, trained with us or anywhere else, and ready to become an Instructor.
Filipino and international candidates
Training is available in English and Tagalog.
The Pathway, Step by Step
Where you join depends on what you already hold. This is the whole route, from your first professional course to a teaching career.
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Rescue Diver and Emergency First Response
To begin Divemaster training, PADI asks for the Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certifications, plus first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training from the last 24 months, which is what the Emergency First Response (EFR) course covers. Not there yet? We teach all three here.
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Divemaster
Your first professional rating. You learn to guide certified divers, assist instructors with their students and help run the boats and the dive shop, inside a busy working dive centre.
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Instructor Development Course (IDC)
Workshops, classroom sessions, and pool and open water teaching practice, led by our PADI Course Director. The IDC covers the Assistant Instructor (AI) and Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) programmes. You join as a certified Divemaster with at least 100 logged dives.
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Instructor Examination (IE)
PADI's own examiners assess your knowledge and your teaching over two days, straight after the IDC. Pass the Instructor Examination and you are a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, qualified to teach and certify divers.
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Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT)
Add specialty instructor ratings so you can teach a wider range of courses, which makes you more attractive to the dive centres hiring. Our Platinum IDC package includes it.
Choose Your Route
Two routes, one training team. Pick the one that matches where you are now.
Route 1
Divemaster
For certified Rescue Divers ready to lead dives and learn how a dive centre really works.
- Four-week packages from ~US$1,550
- Accommodation at our Divemaster Lodge
- Instructor course preparation included
Route 2
Instructor (IDC)
For Divemasters ready to teach: the Instructor Development Course (IDC) and PADI's Instructor Examination (IE), with our PADI Course Director, Jamie Morton.
- 16-night packages from USD 1,990
- Small groups and personal coaching
- Course dates for 2026 and 2027
Why Train at LLV Divers
LLV is not just a place to take a course. It is a place where candidates live, train, dive, and develop in a real working dive centre environment while enjoying the comfort of a premium resort setting.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Tell us which certifications you hold and how many dives you have logged, and we will suggest the right route and dates for you.