We Welcome Guests of ALL Levels

From Absolute Beginner to Freedive Instructor

Escape the typical. Experience the magical.

He has been with us since early 2016! Super passionate about teaching beginners the wonders of breath-hold diving! Besides teaching freediving, Edwin is also teaching our SSI ecology and first aid courses.

“On a single breath, you enter the mystical world of underwater. Blue. Fluid. Weightless. Colourful. And vibrant. Then you start becoming aware of yourself. Of who you are.”

Edwin experienced numerous challenges in his freediving journey. He can relate and empathise with beginners, making them comfortable with the sea.

If you enter the magical world of freediving and Edwin is your first instructor. Congratulations! You will have such a fantastic adventure!

We teach freediving – as a proper education center, we focus is three things;

First and foremost, we are an Instructor Training Center with at least twice a month a Freedive Instructor Course. We also offer very flexible and in-depth Beginner to Freediving Instructor programs, and we start every calendar quarter with a very robust freediving internship.
Freedive training, coaching and long-term development training
And of course we offer ALL possible recreational freediving courses from SSI, AIDA and Molchanovs for those who would like to explore the underwater world on a single breath.

In Panglao, we offer the freediving courses of the three leading freediving certification agencies; SSI, AIDA and Molchanovs. The agencies SSI and AIDA are the most renowned, acknowledged and oldest international training agencies for recreational freediving or breath-hold diving. Molchanovs is relatively new and focuses more on pure freediving, training, skills, technique, and performance freediving.

Below you can learn more about SSI, AIDA and Molchanovs, and our freediving courses. Working with SSI, AIDA, and Molchanovs will ensure that you will have a fun, safe, and professional freediving experience.

The 3 Freediving Certification Agencies we work with;

Molchanovs Freediving

The Molchanovs Freediving Courses and Molchanovs Education System was first developed by Natalia Molchanova, the queen of freediving, the most decorated and best freediver who ever lived, and the freediving mother of so many top athletes. She developed this education system to take a beginner, step-by-step, week-by-week from absolute beginner to elite freediver.

Then in 2018, a group of the world’s best freedivers, freediving trainers and entrepreneurs, including World Champion and multiple World Record holder Alexey Molchanov, World Record holder Goran Colak, and Australian National Record holder Adam Stern, and others, took that system, added their expertise and revamped it to create something totally new.

Now the Molchanovs Education System is the fastest-growing freediving agency in the world. It’s an online community of freedivers who all took a Molchanovs Freediving Course and are now further developing their skills via the free training programs, training benchmarks and reward badges. The Molchanovs training programs contain pool, dry and depth training. They aim at pure freediving and making the freedivers stronger and better regardless of whether they are -10 meter or -80 meter freedivers.

SSI Freediving

SSI is a globally recognised scuba diving association that began training freedivers more than 15 years ago, and they are one of the global leaders in recreational freediving. Scuba Schools International’s training agency became successful in the scuba diving industry by creating quality course materials and implementing progressive educational systems and has now done the same with freediving. All SSI scuba and freediving courses provide students with digital training manuals and videos designed to be safe and fun. SSI offers four progressive freediving courses and additional freediving speciality courses.

And because of the quality of the SSI Freediving Courses, their continued support and their many high-level education programs, we’ve extended our service package. We are now a full-service SSI Freediving Instructor Training Center. Via Swim Schools International, we offer outstanding Swim Teacher programs for when you want to combine your SSI Freediving Instructor course with a Swim Teacher course. Another professional option that we now offer is the mermaid instructor course. Make the most of your stay and develop yourself as a real pro!

AIDA International

AIDA International was founded in 1992 and is the global authority for competitive freediving. This association organises the most important international freediving competitions and verifies all freediving records. AIDA’s goals include further research and development of freediving techniques and science and safe and effective recreational and competitive freedivers training. AIDA International organises freediving courses into four levels. With each AIDA Freediving Course, AIDA teaches the diver progressively more advanced skills and has specific requirements to achieve certification.

Some questions we get frequently:

Why don’t you list any prices on your website?

Well, we do now for some courses, but in all honesty, we aren’t thrilled about it. This is simply because booking your course or vacation can be confusing and possibly more expensive.

We are a big freediving center, and our staff wants to help you make your booking as easy and as convenient as possible – and this can also involve a package and package price too.

A package can be a discount for multiple people, a course including accommodation, a pick up at the airport or ferry terminal, or additional workshops to specialise yourself in a specific discipline. So whether you want to do a single course by yourself, or are interested in a vacation, contact us, and we’ll have an answer for you within hours.

You can teach AIDA, but you advise SSI and Molchanovs?

Yes, that is correct. Even though we love AIDA, we rarely teach the recreational levels of AIDA anymore – we do teach the AIDA Instructor Courses regularly. We recommend the Molchanovs system – or SSI for pure freediving based on skills and technique. With Molchanovs, beginner students are already learning CWTB (diving with bifins), FIM (pulling yourself up and down via a dive line), CNF (no fins diving) and CWTM (diving with monofin). The other agencies only talk about the disciplines CWTB and a little bit about FIM.

The performance requirements of Molchanovs are also higher than both other agencies.

SSI is more accessible than both other agencies. Their skills requirements are slightly easier, and they integrate things like the environment into their course, and you will learn about waves, tides and currents, which isn’t discussed during the Molchanovs freediving courses.

There are big differences for freediving instructors between the three agencies. The professional levels of AIDA and Molchanovs have more similarities since you can be an independent instructor (teach everywhere). With SSI, you must be affiliated with a dive center to teach freediving. Here you can find more information on the differences between AIDA and Molchanovs Instructors.

Another big difference between AIDA and SSI is the study material. The AIDA courses are somewhat outdated and are taught via a PowerPoint presentation, whereas the SSI courses start at home via a mobile app and digital home study. And it’s simple; the more you do at home, the more time you have for the cool stuff – the in-water training – the real reason you are taking a freediving course.

For more information about the different levels, please check the page with the Freediving Courses Equivalent Chart.

Molchanovs, SSI, AIDA, CMAS, PADI, Raid WSF, does it really matter?

No, not really. For the beginner or recreational freediver, it doesn’t really matter which freediving agency they start with. In the end, the only thing that really matters is, getting a qualified and skilled instructor and that you have fun!

There are big differences in the study materials, quality, professionalism, structure and knowledge, but there are good and bad instructors with all of the freediving agencies.

If you want to make a living as a Freediving Instructor and start your own dive center, the SSI Freediving Instructor Course could be the right option. SSI has the most extensive dealer network and provides excellent support. As a full-time or part-time instructor with more travel and flexibility, the Molchanovs Instructor Course or AIDA Instructor course might be the way to go. If you want to become a Freediving Instructor, please get in touch with us with your questions. Our support staff are experienced freedivers themselves and get back to you usually within hours.

This is how it is to take a Freediving Course with us in Panglao!

Please note; this video was shot at our first location. We still dive at the same reef but moved about 300 meters down the road to a brand-new and fully equipped dive center with bungalows and our two-lane 25-meter pool.

Beginner and Recreational Freediving Courses

Exploring a New World in One Breath!

Introduction to Freediving

Do you want to get a taste of what it is like to dive on a single breath?! Great, the Freedive Academy Introduction Day, the SSI Basic Freediving course or the AIDA 1 is a great way to start in the big blue. The Basic Freediving course is a one-day introduction course and is a lot of fun! During this day, you will have a pool session in the morning, and in the afternoon, we’ll take you diving into the ocean. In the classroom, we’ll discuss topics like breathing and breath-hold techniques, safety procedures, and equalisation techniques, and we’ll work on your skills. In the afternoon session, you can dive with us along our fantastic house reef – one of the most beautiful coral walls of the island, or you can train on the line as the freedivers usually do.

Please note; the one-day introduction course really is an introduction to freediving. If you want to develop your skills further, have the time and financial means and like to be challenged, we highly recommend starting with the proper SSI Level 1, Molchanovs Wave 1 or AIDA 2 course. Then after this course, you can proceed with the intermediate level, the SSI Level 2, Molchanovs Wave 2 or AIDA 3. After, for example, the SSI Basic Freediving course, you still need to complete the SSI Level 1 Course to progress to the next level.

On this page, you will find an overview of the different freediving agencies and different levels and how they match each other.

Price per person: $175

Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discount may apply.

The above price includes taxes, snorkelling fee, rental of freediving gear, use of the facility, study materials and certification fees.

Prerequisites

Be ten years of age or older (with parent or guardian consent).

Be able to swim 25 meters without any swim or buoyancy aids.

Great Combo's

Because the SSI Basic Freediving Course is an introduction to freediving, you want to continue with your SSI Level 1, Molchanovs 1 or AIDA 2. When you do the course directly after the Basic Freediving Course, you’ll get a nice discount on the second-course price since we’ll make this course day part of your first real beginner freediving course.

The 4 Levels of Recreational Freediving

Longer Breathholds and Diving Deeper and Farther with Each Course!

The Beginner Freediver Course

Have a taste of freediving and find out what it’s really all about. The Molchanovs Wave 1, the SSI Level 1 Freediving course or the AIDA 2 Freediving course takes 2,5 days, wherein you will acquire the proper skills to freedive to depths up to 20 metres.

The Molchanovs Wave 1, SSI Level 1 and the AIDA 2 Freediving Course are the first real beginner freediving courses, and only from this course can you progress to Level 2. After the one-day Basic Freediving Course, you still need to complete Level 1 to progress to Level 2.

In this beginner freediving Course, we will introduce you to the purest form of diving. With the help of our experienced and very knowledgeable instructors, your freediving experience will surely be unforgettable. Here you will learn more about the freediving safety procedures and pressure-related issues. We’ll discuss the breathing and breath-hold techniques used by freedivers. We’ll teach you different relaxation techniques, and we’ll teach you all of this via open water sessions, pool sessions and classroom time. We will provide you with a certificate upon completion of the course. For sure, a new and fantastic experience!

Price per person: $325

Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discount may apply.

The above price includes taxes, snorkelling fee, freediving gear rental, facility use, study materials and certification fees.

Prerequisites

Minimum 12 years old (with parent or guardian consent) and able to swim.

Be able to swim 200 meters without any swim or buoyancy aids.

Great Combo's

If you have the time, combine your level 1 course with a level 2 course! The Level 1 and 2 Combo is by far our most popular package and is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, excitement and deep diving!

With a level 2 course, you will get advanced equalisation techniques, and do you learn more techniques to stay down longer and how to be more efficient underwater. This combo can be done in 6 or 7 days – depending on the freediving agency, but if you have an additional day for a day rest in-between courses, that would be better. If you don’t have 6 or 7 days in Panglao, that’s too bad. Then be sure to sign up for a level 2 course later because you will miss some freediving essentials. In the meantime, you can combine your level 1 course with, for example, an SSI Monofin or Nofins speciality and take your freediving experience to a whole new level.

Intermediate or Advanced Freediving Course

With the skills and knowledge you acquired in the Level 1 beginner course, it is time to level up and go for the Molchanovs Wave 2, the SSI Level 2 or the AIDA 3 freediving course. We want to welcome you to the intermediate or advanced freediving course. This course has three course days (sometimes we do it in 4 too). During the course, you will develop your skills to go deeper and hold your breath even longer. The maximum depth for the dives during the course is 30 metres,

Our instructors are very friendly, kind and more than skilled to take you to these depths. They will take good care of you and encourage you during the dives. You will learn new skills and be introduced to a higher knowledge of safety procedures and techniques such as freefalling – for many, the most fun part of freediving and why they love what we’re doing! You’ll be trained in advanced equalisation techniques. You will be familiar with the risks of increasing and decreasing pressure, and more importantly, you will know how to deal with these risks. After finishing the course and reaching the performance requirements, you will be given a certificate. This course is challenging but a lot of fun and also very rewarding!

Price per person: $480

Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discount may apply.

The above price includes taxes, snorkelling fee, freediving gear rental, facility use, study materials and certification fees.

Prerequisites

Be 18 years of age or older (15 years with a parent or guardian consent); be able to swim; have completed the Molchanovs Wave 1, The SSI Level 1 freediving course, AIDA 2 or a freediving course or an equal level, plus you need to have logged at least 6 Freediving sessions.

Great Combo's

The level 2 course is where freediving becomes more serious. You’ll be searching for depth, and longer dives times with more and more advanced techniques. The recommended combo can be determined by the depth that you’re diving. If you are already doing dives around 30 meters, the next logical step would be joining the level 3 course. But since you need extra training sessions between these levels, you must be in Panglao for the level 2 and 3 combo for at least a few weeks. We recommend for the Level 1, 2 and 3 combo to be in Panglao for a minimum of one month.

If you have fewer weeks in Panglao, the perfect combo for the level 2 are coaching sessions, so you have an instructor doing your safety and setup, and you can further develop your freediving skills.

Also, if you don’t have time for a level 3 combo, take up the SSI freediving speciality ‘Training Tables’. You’ll be prepared for dry and pool training when you’re back home. Another exciting combo could be the Diver Stress and Rescue course or the React Right course, which we can both teach in Panglao too.

The Master Freediving Course

Hold your breath! Yes, you now really have to, and this time for a much, much more extended period of time. This is the master level of freediving, and be prepared to dive deep. In about five days, the Molchanovs Wave 3, SSI Level 3 Freediving Course or the AIDA 4 freediving course will take you to a depth of a maximum of 40 metres.

This level is considered to be beyond recreational freediving. Our instructors are knowledgeable and patient and will ensure that all training dives are done in the safest manner possible. At this level, you will learn the knowledge, techniques, and safety procedures needed for (extreme) deep freediving, such as exhale diving and mouth fill equalising. You will be introduced to full-body stretching, lung stretching, cross-training, and diet. We’ll teach you how to coach your buddy and how to develop your training plans. After successfully finishing the course, you will be awarded a certificate. We promise you will have an excellent high-quality freediving experience with us in beautiful Panglao. This course will give you the knowledge and skills to take you to any depth you set your mind to!

Price per person: $650

Be sure to contact us. Group or Package Discount may apply.

The above price includes taxes, snorkelling fee, freediving gear rental, facility use, study materials and certification fees.

Prerequisites

Be 18 years of age or older; be able to swim at least 400m non-stop without fins or buoyancy device; have completed the level 2 course with Molchanovs, SSI or AIDA or a freediving course of an equal level, plus you must have logged a minimum of 30 freediving sessions.

Great Combo's

You are now a master freediver, and you know how to dive deep! A good combo would be to combine your course with the Diver Stress and Rescue course or the React Right course.

Furthermore, some private coaching about training plans for in Panglao – and for at-home might be wise too. You are now diving to depths that are not achievable for everyone, and a deep diver needs to be a smart diver. It would help if you started focusing on things like relaxation, flexibility, repetitive dives, and depth adoption. Our Elite coaches, who are all deep divers themselves, can guide and coach you in this.

The Molchanovs Wave 4 Competitor Course

Learn how to Dive to Depths of -50 and -60 meters!

Competition Freediver

The Molchanovs Wave 4 Competition Freediving Course is serious freediving. In about eight days, you will dive to depths of at least -50 meters. You will have to do a minimum of a 5-minute breath-hold, do -35 meter NoFins in the ocean, and 75-meter NoFins in the pool.

This course is full-on freediving and only suited for very experienced freedivers.

Prerequisites

Be 18 years of age or older; be able to swim at least 400m non-stop without fins or buoyancy device; have completed the Molchanovs Wave 3, the SSI Level 3 Freediving Course or AIDA 4 or a freediving course of an equal level.

Great Combo's

The Molchanovs Wave 4 program is the highest level of non-professional freediving. The only real possible combo is combining it with a training package like our Freediving Training Program.

We teach our freediving courses in the following languages. The Molchanovs Wave 3, SSI Level 3 and AIDA 4 courses are only available in English, French and Dutch.

If you want a quick reply, please use the short form on this page.

For more detailed information about Courses, Accommodation, Prices, etc. Please follow the below links.

For more detailed information, please fill in this form.

Explore Breath-hold Diving and Surprise Yourself!

It’s incredible what the human body is capable of. It’s pretty common for guests to come here, and in the first classroom session, we get them to hold their breath for 3 or 3:30 minutes. We have people diving down to 20 meters in the first session. Join us for any recreational level, and you’ll be surprised by your capabilities!

Just fill in the form, and our support team, who are all freedivers too, will get back to you usually within hours – if they’re not diving 😉

Certified Speciality Courses & Workshops

You will get to learn the Ins and Outs of an Amazing Sport!

Join the AIDA Competitions as a Competitor or Safety Diver!

You love freediving, and you want to become more involved in the competitive side of freediving. Then AIDA can help you with this! AIDA developed two short speciality courses where you learn more about the competitive side of freediving.

These speciality courses will give you more knowledge and skills of the freediving’s competitive depth disciplines Constant Weight Monofin and Bifins, Constant Weight No Fins, and Free Immersion. In the pool, we have the disciplines, including Dynamic Monofin, Dynamic Bifins, Dynamic No Fins and Static Apnea.

With the course AIDA Competition Freediver, you will learn the start and surface protocols, the important regulations for the athlete and what they can and cannot do during the competition. You will also experience what it feels like to be in a competitive environment. Our instructors are competitive freedivers themselves, and they will teach you various ways to prepare for competitions and push yourself at the competitions and freediving championships.

The AIDA course ‘Safety Diver’ is very interesting for those not immediately interested in competing themselves but might want to help out at the competitions. We will teach you the competition procedures and calculate dive times, and we’ll simulate a competition experience so you know how to be a safety diver.

Depending on the participant’s skill level, we can also turn the course into a Deep Safety workshop.

Specialise in Safety – You Can’t Lose With This!

A must-have for all freedivers, whether you are a freedive instructor candidate or a basic freediver – mandatory to have for all Level 3 freedivers and instructors.

It’s always a good idea to get your Emergency First Responder certificate. Learn the “How-To” of First Aid, CPR, AED and Oxygen administration in emergencies and emergency assessment. After this course, you’ll be able to accurately assess and evaluate any emergency situation.

In one of our most rewarding courses, you will increase not only your diving safety and comfort significantly but also that of the people you dive with.

The course covers the following:

Primary Assessment
First Aid & CPR Skills
Primary Stabilization Techniques

Oxygen Administration in Diving Emergencies
Automated External Defibrillation Basics

And for those who are already React Right or EFR and O2 provider certified, we also offer Instructor courses.

Another great course is the 3-day Diver Stress & Rescue course, designed explicitly for freedivers. This course originated from the React Right course and the popular Scuba Diver Stress & Rescue course. In this course, you will learn many different First Aid skills immediately applicable to divers and real-world emergency scenarios for freedivers. The Diver Stress & Rescue course is a fun, educational and rewarding way to become a better freediver!

Freediving Specialities and Workshops

Taking your Freediving to the Next Level!

There are workshops and speciality programs available for each level of freediving.

Basic Speciality Programs:

Coral Identification
Fish Identification
Marine Ecology
Night & Limited Visibility
Photo & Video
Sea Turle Ecology

Pool & Level 1:

Free Immersion
Monofin
No Fins Freediving
Scooter / DPV Diving
Training Tables
Wreck Diving

Level 2 & Level 3:

Variable Weight

Workshops:

Mouthfill Equalisation
Trainingplans
Seasonal Programs
Custom Programs

We teach all freediving specialities in English and some in the German, French, Chinese and Philippine languages. We teach the Speciality Instructor courses only in English and Dutch.

If you want a quick reply, please use the short form on this page.

For more detailed information about Courses, Accommodation, Prices, etc. Please follow the below links.

For more detailed information, please fill in this form.

Become a Specialist and Be the Best You Can Be!

Taking on single or multiple freediving specialities is a great way and fun to enhance your knowledge about freediving and our oceans. The freediving speciality courses range from 1-day specialities and workshops to 3-day courses with training plans for when the course is finished.

Whether it is an ecology course, training for depth, enjoyment or technique, freediving speciality courses are a fun and educational way to become a better freediver!

Fill in the form today, just check our availability. Usually, you’ll have an answer within hours.

Change Your Lifestyle! Become a Pro Freediver!

Are You Ready for the Flip Flop Lifestyle on a Tropical Island like Panglao?!

Instructor Course

Calling all freedivers who dream of becoming professional freediving instructors. Do it! Change your lifestyle! Move to a tropical island with white sandy beaches and coconut trees – live the dream!

Each month we teach at least one or two instructor courses. If you have any questions about the Molchanovs Instructor Courses, the SSI Freedive Instructor Course or the AIDA Instructor course, please don’t hesitate to message us.

Do you want to do something life-changing and incredible?! Join us in Panglao for 3 to 6 months for an adventure of a lifetime. Our long-term development programs like the Freediving Zero to Hero or the Freediving Internships will turn you into the deep diver you were meant to be!

Whether you are a beginner or Master Freediver, our development program will help you become a skilled professional – teacher and freediver.

The purpose of the freedive instructor course is to incorporate everything you have learned from all freediving courses together with your teaching skills. After the course, you will have increased your freediving knowledge and can teach various freediving courses. You’ll be prepared and ready to teach and train students with our freediving internships and development programs.

Prerequisites

Suppose you are not doing an internship or freediving Zero-to-Hero program with us but want to start the instructor course immediately. In that case, you must be a minimum Level 2 freediver (SSI Level 2, AIDA 3 or Molchanovs Wave 2 freediver) and have a valid First Aid and CPR Certificate not older than two years.

Please note that starting your instructor course with SSI Level 3, Molchanovs Wave 3 or AIDA 4 will give you access to the higher instructor levels and offers greater flexibility as an instructor since you can teach Level 2 courses too.

Combo Program

The most well-known program is the Zero to Hero freediving program, which is a complete 3 – 6-month program on its own or via an internship where you take all levels, and train with students and instructors.

Additionally, the instructor course is often combined with weeks of training or the Master Program.

Please contact us via the link below for all possible combinations.

The Freedive Academy Panglao 2023 Instructor Course Schedule

We run SSI, AIDA and Molchanovs instructor courses every month now!

You must schedule your trip to Panglao wisely. The start of your Zero to Hero freediving program should be scheduled around your instructor course, just like we do with the freediving internships. If you do ‘only’ an instructor course with us, arriving in Panglao the day before your course starts is possible, but it makes the instructor course very challenging.

Please feel free to contact us anytime with any scheduling questions you may have.

Since the Philippines opened up for international tourists, things have really picked up. Not only have we booked quite a few instructor courses in Panglao but have we decided to continue with the online courses and cross overs - they are a lot of fun!

If the below dates are not in line with your schedule, please don't hesitate to contact us. We expect that we'll be running at least two instructor courses - online and offline - each month and are more than happy to schedule one according to your schedule!

Aug. 25 - 27, 2023

SSI Swim Teacher Level 1