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 realise, 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 center like us, you need the help. Working with interns and internships is a fantastic solution for both the center and the customer.
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 results 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 center.”
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 freedive training. Perhaps you want to build up experience working in a freediving center. Maybe you are keen on 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 center with bungalows and our very own 25-meter pool, have a small retail shop, and multiple staff houses, we can offer great opportunities for joining the different freedive instructor courses, 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-flops almost immediately makes you experience the flip-flop freediver lifestyle. The island has excellent facilities and restaurants, and on days 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. Travelling to Panglao is super easy, and just as easy is also extending your Philippine Visa – much easier than in any other Asian country!
The Freedive Academy Panglao is located on the Northside of the island, about 10 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 centrally on Panglao island and only a 4-minute walk away from the staff houses.
The dive center, pool, resort and location are top-notch. We extended our 10-meter pool into a beautiful two-lane 25-meter pool with unique static and seating areas which will be perfect for pool presentations and 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 regularly too.
We developed a fantastic outside area along with luxury bamboo bungalows perfect for freedivers. With great music playing from the speakers, the outdoor area and terras are perfect for chilling out or for, using the gym equipment or doing your stretching.
But of course, the strongest point of our location is the massive drop-off at about 300 meters from the center and 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.
Please note; this video was shot at our first location. We still dive at the same reef, but we moved about 300 meters down the road to a brand-new and fully equipped dive center with bungalows and our very own two-lane 25-meter pool.
One Freediving Internship – Different Packages!
Because we’re a true Freedive Instructor Training center, we run instructor courses every month. Combining the courses with, for example, a Mermaid Instructor and Swim Teacher courses is very easy. We can be very flexible with the internship packages. For most people doing a freediving internship, the freediving instructor course will be the end goal, but this is not necessary for all participants.
We offer three-month freediving internships developed around the three most popular global training agencies;
Let’s get introduced! We’ll schedule a video call, and we will answer all your questions and show you around the center!
There are quite a few different options and ways for you to join our freediving instructor and development programs. With many of our customers, especially those who enter the Zero to Hero programs or the Freediving Internships and those who come for training and an Instructor Course, we often schedule an FB, Whatsapp, or Skype call to talk about the different options. We understand that all the information about the various agencies, the different levels and options for the courses can be confusing. During this call, which is of course, 100% free of charge and without any further obligations, we discuss all the options. We will make a plan together, and we’ll immediately show you around the dive center in Panglao, so you have a good idea of what kind of Freedive Academy we are!
We believe this is a great way to get introduced, get your questions answered and get an inside look into daily life at the academy. Fill out the form below, we’ll send you all the needed information, and we’ll schedule a call. We look forward to talking to you soon!
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, the Molchanovs Instructor course or a combo course. If you choose to do the SSI Instructor Course, and 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. The only option for Molchanovs is the Wave 2 Instructor course.
Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor Training Course
The Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor can teach Wave 1 and 2 Courses, Lap 1 and 2 courses and guide Base Level 1 to 4 programs.
Prerequisites: The candidate must have a Wave 3 Certification or passed the Wave 3 Crossover Evaluation and have a First Aid Certificate (no older than 2 years).
Duration: 9 days
Performance & Course Completion Requirements:
Constant Weight Bi Fins (CWTB): 40mtr. (dive time 80-90s)
Free Immersion (FIM): 40mtr.
Constant No Fins (CNF): 30mtr.
Dynamic Bi Fins (DYNB): 100mtr.
Dynamic No Fins (DNF): 60mtr.
Static Breath-Hold: 4:00min.
Standby Rescue (1min. Rescue Hang): 15mtr.
BO Rescue (50mtr. tow incl. Rescue Breaths): 25mtr.
CO2 Dive: 60sec. then 20m CWT dive
* All skills need to be demonstrated with instructor level quality.
SSI Level 2 Freediving Instructor
The SSI Level 2 Freediving Instructor can teach Try Freediving, Basic Freediving, Pool Freediving and Level 1 and 2 Freediving.
Prerequisites: The candidate must have 100 logged dives, and completed the Freediving Level 3 program, have a First Aid Certificate (no older than 2 years), and must hold the speciality certification for Free Immersion and Training Technique.
Duration: 10 days
Performance & Course Completion Requirements:
Constant Weight Bi Fins (CWTB): 40mtr.
Dynamic Bi Fins (DYNB): 85mtr.
Static Breath-Hold: 4:00min.
Standby Rescue (1min. Rescue Hang): 20mtr.
BO Rescue (50mtr. tow incl. Rescue Breaths): 20mtr.
5x 20mtr. (1min. surface interval)
400mtr. Swim: In less than 10min.
800mtr. Swim with Equipment: In less than 15min.
* All skills need to be demonstrated with instructor level quality.
The SSI Level 2 & Molchanovs Wave 2 Instructor Combo
It doesn't matter if you do a Zero to Hero, a freediving internship or an instructor course with training; with the SSI Level 2 Freedive Instructor & Molchanovs Instructor Course combo, you get the best of two worlds!
SSI has the biggest dealer network globally and offers fantastic support to instructors and dive centers. The SSI courses, both the recreational and professional level courses, are very well built, structured and teach you so much more than just freediving or how to teach freediving. At the same time, Molchanovs is pure freediving, focusing on technique and skills while you can work anywhere and independently without being affiliated to a center. It is not strange that this combo package is so popular!
Do note; this is not a 2-in-1 course - you won't get 2 certifications with one course! The SSI and Molchanovs Instructor courses have different objectives, and therefore it is impossible to certify you twice for one course.
We will start with the SSI Instructor Course and develop you into the dive professional you were meant to be - no other instructor course develops dive professionals like the SSI Instructor Course. With SSI, you will learn how to teach freediving and what it means to be a dive professional. After the SSI Instructor course, we take 2 days off and start with the Molchanovs Instructor cross-over. Because we already add things like skills video review to the SSI course and add the in-water performance requirements of Molchanovs to the SSI course, we can add more value to the courses, run both course more efficient and thus can do the cross over in a shorter time frame and thus cheaper. This is one fantastic and compact package for both certificates! Truly the best of both worlds.
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 many 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!
Contact us now for more information about our internship programs.
Fill in the form today. Just check the possibilities. Usually, you’ll have an answer within hours.
Doing More than ‘just’ a Freediving Internships
Preparing Yourself as Future Shop Owner
You now know about our Freediving Center in the Philippines. You know about the 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 Bohol. But you will get so much more with one of our freediving internships.
Some of the Many Reasons you Could Join Us in Panglao!
The Social Side of an Internship
Swim and Freediving Instructor Combo
Learning how to build a Successful Business
Freediving Courses are expensive!
The Mermaid Combo
The Teaching Experience
Important Updates to the Freediving Internship Program!
The country has re-opened its borders to international tourists, Panglao is bouncing back, and the academy is buzzing – we’re celebrating it big!
We also implemented similar updates to our beginner to freediving instructor programs, and we are sure you’ll love them too!
When you join a 3-month internship and start with a Level 1 or 2 freediving course, you will get a 35% discount on the entire internship program, and the same applies to any additional courses you might take as the first aid and emergency first responder course or the freediving speciality instructor courses like for example monofin freediving, nofins or variable weight. You get a 35% discount on all courses and programs!
If you travel with your partner, you both get the internship package discount. For every course or speciality your partner joins, they will receive the same discount as you.
We are looking to upgrade our intern accommodation. The Freedive Academy is a fully equipped dive center with the best possible and latest equipment. We have been using the staff accommodation for seven years already. The accommodation slowly became outdated and didn’t match the academy anymore. Now we are looking into renting two larger apartments around the corner from the shop – one man and one female apartment. They’re bigger, have a much nicer bathroom and fully equipped kitchen, but with shared bedrooms. Besides shared bedrooms, we’ll also ask our interns to pay for the utilities. When the air-conditioning is turned off during the day, the water, gas and internet will be around $30 – $40 per intern.
In Panglao, we offer customer discount on all our freediving gear. When you confirm your freediving internship with us – which will be finalised via payment of the 20% down payment, you will lock in your retail discount. Your discount can be as much as 20% on selected items like freediving wetsuits, freediving fins, masks, snorkels, and many other items. If you want to buy new gear, please contact us since not everything we sell is listed online.
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!
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 in 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 in mid-March.
These are the exact dates of the 3-month freediving internships;
January 1 to March 31, 2022
April 1 to June 30, 2022
July 1 to September 30, 2022
October 1 to December 31, 2022
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.
Please note that if your preferred dates do not fit the dates listed here – or have been fully booked already, please be sure to contact us for the Zero to Hero programs. The beginner to instructor freediving programs are packaged really well and, for sure, very interesting and competitive. Plus, our Zero to Hero (and other long-term) students are just as much part of the Freedive Academy family as our interns.
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