Become a PADI Scuba Instructor atBuddy dive academy
Are you ready to start living your dream and pursue a career in the dive industry? Enroll in the Instructor Development Course at Divers Paradise Bonaire, the ultimate destination for aspiring dive professionals.
Buddy Dive Resort is renowned as a premier dive destination in the Caribbean, having hosted Instructor Development Courses since 2010. As a leading PADI professional dive training facility, Buddy Dive Academy offers the ideal environment to launch your career. We maintain exceptionally high standards in all levels of scuba education, ensuring your success as a PADI Professional Instructor.
We take pride in being a PADI Career Development Center (CDC). With extensive experience from our Course Director and a track record of training over 300 Open Water Scuba Instructors and over 700 IDC Staff and Specialty Instructors, we offer the best choice for your professional training. As a PADI CDC, Your Buddies™ assists you in finding a job on Bonaire and/or the surrounding islands.
The Dive Academy:
The Dive Academy is led by Platinum Course Director Lars Bosman and a dedicated team of IDC Staff Instructors. Lars has been a Course Director since 2019 and has been conducting instructor training at Buddy Dive ever since. He is also a strong supporter of the Reef Renewal project on Bonaire, and you’ll see this commitment reflected in the IDC, with a focus on environmental care, excellent buoyancy, and trim. In addition to being a recreational diver, Lars is a PADI trimix instructor trainer, cave diver, and rebreather instructor, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to your professional training.
Vision and Team:
Our vision for the IDC is rooted in the belief that only the best instructors can train competent divers. Recognizing the perilous state of the underwater world, we emphasize the importance of supporting it. During the IDC, we equip you with the tools to train entry-level divers with good buoyancy and trim.
The Buddy IDC goes beyond the minimal requirements set by PADI. This allows us to focus on control techniques that enhance student diver safety and improve your efficiency in teaching. We provide more hands-on training sessions and practical workshops, preparing you better for your career as a PADI instructor. In the IDC we focus on preparing you to teach, not to just pass the IE. With this skill and knowledge set, your IE becomes a formality. As part of your IDC preparation, you will also complete an additional eLearning course on risk management and risk mitigation through the Human Diver program.
Lars BosmanIDC DATES 2025/26
Everything you need at one location
At Buddy Dive Resort, you’ll find everything you need to become the best Open Water Scuba Instructor. The Instructor Development Course, taking place at one of the world’s best dive operations, is just one of the benefits. We offer a professional dive operation, well-equipped classrooms, swimming pools, and the crystal-clear ocean with typical Bonairean pool-like conditions – all just steps away. With all these resources at hand, you can entirely focus on becoming the best instructor possible.
Choosing the all-inclusive IDC package means you won’t have to leave the resort for meals and accommodation. Everything is conveniently provided for you. And if you want to blow some bubbles with your new friends after a day at the IDC, simply strap on a tank and enjoy our beautiful house reef.
Hear from Our Graduates
PADI Instructor Development Course at the best Diving Resort of Bonaire
Become a PADI professional in the Caribbean while diving at the best Diving Resort in Bonaire. Buddy Dive Academy provides you with top-notch professional dive training and education. We have included the most effective tools in our PADI IDC package to exponentially increase your professionalism and employability in the dive industry. Our package includes:
- Free PADI Emergency O2 provider course
- Free week of hands-on teaching PADI Courses with our experienced PADI Instructional Staff
- Free online counseling and tutoring with our Course Director to assist you with the 5 theory segments two weeks prior to your arrival
- Free equipment rental
- Free job placement assistance, helping you find the job of your dreams in Bonaire, other islands in the Caribbean, or anywhere else in the world.
Your Buddies’ choice: The all-Inclusive IDC
When you choose the all-inclusive IDC package at Buddy Dive Resort, you’ll have everything you need to become a professional and well-educated scuba instructor. Your Buddies will take care of all the details, including shared accommodation, meals, materials, the course itself (including the EFR instructor and Emergency O2 provider courses), instructor applications, and the Instructor examination.
