The Best Office in the World!

Deep in the Blue, submerged on One Breath!

With a Freediving Internship, you help us, and we help you.

Our very own Freedive Academy Panglao founder & owner Vincent is responsible for the internships.

“Something, a lot of people don’t know, but when you work in the tourism industry, seven days a week, from early morning to late at night and especially when you’re a big freediving centre like us, you need the help. A fantastic solution for both the centre and the customer is working with interns and internships.

Here at the Freedive Academy Panglao, we wanted to do Freediving Internships the right way! Now at any time, we have at least four interns, which resulted in great group dynamics and a beautiful family atmosphere. Our interns get a big discount on their courses, free housing and free lunches and in exchange, they work for us around the centre.”

Regardless of your motivation; money, the experience of working in a big shop or the social aspect, the internships are guaranteed a lot of fun and memorable experience!

Come to Panglao for a Freediving Internship

Freediving can be Expensive, but if You Help Us, We’ll Help You!!

There are many reasons why someone could do an internship. Maybe you want to save some money on your freediving courses or training. Perhaps you want to build up experience working in a freediving centre. Maybe you are keen for the freediving knowledge you gain while hanging out with us. You like to be part of a freediving family. Whatever it may be, an internship at the Freedive Academy Panglao might be right for you.

Because we’re based on Panglao Island, are a big freediving centre and have a small retail shop and multiple staff houses we can offer great opportunities for SSI freedive instructor courses, and short and long-term freediving internships and freediving development programs.

But of course also; Panglao is a beautiful green island covered by palm, coconut and banana trees. Driving around the island on your scooter with shorts and flip-flop’s almost immediately makes you experience the flip-flop freediver lifestyle. The island has excellent facilities and restaurants, and on day’s off there is also plenty of things to do in Panglao and Bohol. Furthermore, the groceries are cheap but very good. The fruit is spectacular! The Filipino people are the most friendly people you’ll ever meet in your life. And extending your Visa is also super easy in the Philippines – much easier than in any other Asian country!

The Freedive Academy Panglao is located at the Northside of the island about 15 minutes away via scooter from the busy Panglao tourist area Alona. Instead of tourism, we choose fantastic diving, nature and peace 😉 At about 15 minutes away from Tagbilaran City, we are based central in Panglao island, and at only 2-minute drive away from the staff houses.

The centre and location are top-notch. We expect to have the first phase of the construction finished late October or early November. No worries, it’s not causing much trouble, and we are fully operating. We are working on a new yoga and stretching area. We’re developing nicer outside hangout areas around the pool and terraces, and we hope to finish with our first luxury bungalows soon too. We’re now also extending the 10-meter pool right in front of the centre to a two-lane 25-meter pool which will perfect for pool presentations, dynamic and static training. With a 15-minute scooter drive, we also have a fantastic 50-meter pool at our convenience – we take all our Level 3 and Master students there. But of course, the strongest point of our location is the massive drop-off at about 300 meters from the resort. We have access to 50 meters with a 10-meter swim, and at about 80 meters from the shore, we have a 130-meter buoy. With year-round near-perfect diving conditions, freediving doesn’t get better than this. The water temperature ranges from 26 – 31C, and the visibility is usually around 30 meters and goes up to an easy 40 meters. Because of the easy access to depth, we don’t need a boat for diving, and with year-round excellent diving conditions, we can be very flexible and plan our course schedules wisely. With us, you will get the most out of your course and freediving internship.

Check out the Below Video to see how it is to freedive with Us.

We can Start Freediving Internships any Day of the Week!

Because we’re a true Professional SSI Freedive Instructor, Mermaid Instructor and Swim Teacher Development centre we are able to start freediving internships every day of the month. For most people doing an internship, of course, the freediving instructor course will be the end goal, but this is not necessary for all participants. We offer 3 different internships. And to quickly sum those up, they are;

1 Month Internship:

Level 1 and 2
3 weeks Master training

2 Month Internship:

Level 1, 2 and 3
6 weeks Master training

+3 Month Internship:

Level 1, 2 and 3
2 months Master training
Instructor Course

Please note; it’s not mandatory to start with a Level 1 course. We often have Level 2 and Level 3 freedivers joining us for 3-months too.

Completing your Freediving Internship with the Instructor Course!

Change Your Lifestyle, Become a Pro Freediver!

Most people who do an internship with us come for at least three months and finish their internship with the SSI Freediving Instructor course. Whether you do a freediving Zero to Hero or a Freediving Internship, we always try to have you aim for the level of ‘SSI Level 2 Freediving Instructor’. The skills requirements for the Level 2 Freediving Instructor are more challenging than the Level 1 Instructor, but we found that with the right guidance and training plans almost all our students can pass the Level 2 Instructor requirements in the three months they are with us.

Level 2 Freediving Instructor

The Level 2 Instructor can teach Try Freediving, Basic Freediving, Pool Freediving and Level 1 and 2 Freediving.

Prerequisites: The candidate must have 100 logged dives, completed the Freediving Level 3 program, and the Freediving Stress & Rescue Specialty.

Course completion requirements: Swim 400 meters in less than 10 minutes, 800 meters with equipment in 15 minutes, 85 meter Dynamic with bi-fins (DYN), 50 meter Dynamic No Fins (DNF), 4 minute static breath hold, 40 meter Constant Weight (CWT) with bi-fins, 5×20 meters with 1 minute rest in-between, blackout rescue hang at 20 meters and a blackout rescue from 20 meters with a 50 meter tow while giving rescue breaths.

We teach the Freediving Instructor Courses in English – Dutch is possible too. If you prefer another language, please contact us – we regularly work with translators.

Change your Lifestyle! Move to a Tropical Island!

At our Freedive Academy in Panglao, we offer lots of possibilities to become a pro freediver. We offer quite a few different instructor courses, and we can offer them all with a package, like with or without training. Join us in Panglao for a 3-month internship, and we’ll take you from absolute beginner to freediving instructor. With us, you can start your program at any time!

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

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Doing More than ‘just’ a Freediving Internships

Preparing Yourself as Future Shop Owner

You now know about our Freediving Centre in the Philippines. You know about the SSI Freedive Instructor Courses that we run here in Panglao, and that we run them every other month, and you might even have read about all the things you can do in Panglao. But you will get so much more with one of our freediving internships.

Some of the Many Reason you Could Join Us in Panglao!

The Social Side of an Internship

Freedivers tend to stick together. It’s simple; what a 10-meter diver struggles with, is what an 80-meter diver struggled with a long time ago. We know what you are going through, plus we all know what it takes to become better at freediving. You need to be healthy, fit, well-rested, and it’s nice to share your experience with like-minded people. We have a fire-pit for evening hangouts. Divers are going out for dinner together. Movie nights, game nights with apnea charades and freedivemonopoly, our interns and masters are always having a good time together!

Swim and Freediving Instructor Combo

A first in the industry! We are very proud to be the first and only freediving centre in the world to offer all SSI Swim Teacher Courses. Whether you want to teach kids, baby swimming, adult or competitive swimming – getting a swim teacher certificate is a great way to increase earnings, and gain more business opportunities. When you do your freediving internship with us, you can get up to 35% discount on all Swim Teacher Programs.

Learning how to build a Successful Business

Teaching freediving is fantastic, but if you open your own centre, it’s not just teaching that you need to do. Running a business isn’t always easy. Joining a centre like us for a freediving internship will give you a good idea of what it takes to run a big centre. We’ll teach you everything you need to know from business development, online marketing, local marketing, how to get organised with local hotels, resorts, travel agencies, what to consider with retail sales, and so much more. We’re not holding back! You will get a real taste of how it is to run a freediving centre.

Freediving Courses are expensive!

Yes, freediving can be an expensive ‘hobby’… But with an internship, you can save quite a bit. We give our interns up to 35% discount on the courses, plus you’ll get free lunch seven days a week and free basic accommodation. That’s a big saving on your expenses, and all we ask in return is that you help us out around the centre four afternoons or evenings. This is a great deal for us, and for you!

The Mermaid Combo

Boys want to become a pilot or football player when they grow up and girls either a princess or mermaid. And nowadays it’s so easy to have them live their dream. The amount of requests we get for mermaid courses and photoshoots is incredible. And with the popularity of Instagram and other photo-sharing sites, the mermaid experiences will only become bigger and bigger. As a Freedive Academy Panglao Intern, you will also enjoy discounts up to 35% on your Mermaid Instructor development programs.

The Teaching Experience

Because we’re a big centre, we can offer you plenty of opportunities to gain experience. It’s fantastic to start teaching immediately after your instructor course. During your internship, you will sit-in in courses, so you get a good idea of how to teach and how the different instructors are teaching. Then directly after your instructor course, we can have you teach at least a few courses on your own. We’ll go over the course structure, make sure your presentations are up-to-date, and then after your sessions; we’ll discuss how it went. Good to know, you will get your first instructor pay -check since you’ll get teaching commission for these courses.

When can you start your Freediving Internship?

Pretty much any day you want but…

As of March 2019, we raised the number of interns we accept. This resulted in a more robust internship program, more activities, better freediving and a beautiful close group of ocean-loving water enthusiasts!

Having that said; this also resulted in some practical problems like for example the free housing that we offer. Our interns still get free basic housing but now with set dates for their room availability. We can only provide housing for the internship programs per quarter. For example; your free accommodation can be available from January 1st till March 31st.

In this example, you are more than welcome to start the internship mid-December and finish late April. But before or after your freediving internship you need to organise your own accommodation. Of course, we’ll assist you with finding accommodation too, but you need to arrange and pay for it yourself. Also very important to know that in this example, your instructor course would start somewhere mid-March.

These are the exact dates of the 3-month freediving internships;

January 1 to March 31, 2020

Fully Booked, No More Seats Available

April 1 to June 30, 2020

Last Two Seats Available

July 1 to September 20, 2020

October 1 to December 31, 2020

Again, you are more than welcome to come earlier or leave after the above dates, but you need to arrange accommodation yourself when you’re in Panglao outside of these time frames.