Whether you're starting a career, taking a sabbatical, or just want to dive vastly more than a holiday allows — a divemaster internship is the way to do it. If you've been searching for a scuba diving internship or a PADI internship, this is it: the Divemaster internship is the first step to working in diving. Find out what sets ours apart.
PADI Divemaster Internship, Roatan
Six to twelve weeks — you choose. Unlimited diving from day one. No fixed start dates. Roatan, Honduras — on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
The reef is yours from day one
Unlimited diving is included. No cap.
All diving is included in the programme — no cap and no extra cost for more dives. The average trainee leaves with between 60 and 100 dives recorded across wall dives, wrecks, sandy channels, sea mounts, and Roatan's shallow reef gardens. Some candidates log more. The only limit is space on the boat.
If you haven't yet logged the 40 dives required to formally begin your Divemaster course, that is not a problem. We start you diving immediately on arrival to build your logbook — at no extra cost. The unlimited diving starts on arrival, not once the paperwork is done.
Many Divemaster courses teach you the syllabus and send you out qualified. A Divemaster internship does something different — it puts you in the water and on the team from day one, learning by doing. You join Coconut Tree Divers as part of the operation, not as a student with a timetable. Over a minimum of six weeks you shadow our staff, take on progressively more responsibility, and build the kind of judgment that only comes from real situations on real dives.
There are no fixed start dates. Begin any week of the year. If six weeks suits you, that works. If you want twelve weeks, that is equally fine — there is no pressure to rush through. The internship is yours to shape. One thing to be clear on before you commit: a Divemaster internship means joining us as part of the team. One or two days off a week is absolutely fine, but on the days you come in to dive, we expect you to spend the whole day at the shop with the rest of the team, helping with whatever the operation needs. It isn’t a course where you turn up for a dive and head off afterwards; that full day at the shop is where most of the learning happens.
It is worth being straightforward about one thing: an internship does not mean free. We do not offer courses in exchange for labour. Our instructors invest significant time coaching and mentoring every candidate, and that time is too valuable to give away. What you are paying for is that attention — the kind that produces confident, capable dive professionals, who have learned by actually doing the job, not simulating it.
PADI's own blog describes a Divemaster internship as the best route to becoming the best Divemaster you can be. It has been our approach since Go Pro Caribbean opened, and it is why the instructors trained here perform the way they do.
Find your pathway — certifications needed to become a PADI Divemaster
Do you hold an entry-level scuba certification?
PADI Open Water, PADI Scuba Diver, or an equivalent from any recognised agency (SSI, NAUI, BSAC, CMAS, etc.).
Be part of a tribe, but not lost in the crowd
What the internship looks like
You join the Coconut Tree Divers team from day one — not as a student with a timetable, but as part of the operation. Over a minimum of six weeks you build real experience in three areas
Assisting instructors at every level — from first-time divers through to Rescue Diver — in the classroom, confined water, and open water.
Leading certified divers at different sites in varying conditions. This is where judgment develops — and where most of your dives happen.
Focused sessions with an experienced instructor — water skills, rescue scenarios, dive theory — to professional standard.
Open Water to Divemaster
Includes AOW, Rescue and Divemaster
AOW to Divemaster
Includes Rescue and Divemaster
Rescue to Divemaster
Most direct route to professional
Divemaster + Instructor
Two pro qualifications, one trip
A typical day on the internship
No two days look exactly the same. The working rhythm of a busy dive operation does. Here's how it flows. Watching the video below will tell you more about the experience than any words could:
Divemaster Internship: a typical day
9am – 12pm
Morning
There's a pot of Honduran coffee on the deck by 8am. The hour from eight to nine is for final tweaks — who's leading what dive, who's swapping in for someone, what the wind has done overnight. Then the morning two-tank trip: tanks loaded, customers equipped, safety gear checked, boat away on time.
The morning boat is usually a mix — certified fun divers alongside Advanced Open Water students. By the time it clears the dock, the next wave of students is already arriving for classroom or confined-water sessions in the shop.
12pm – 1pm
Midday switch
Between 12pm and 12.30pm the morning boat returns. Tanks come off and reload for the 1pm trip. Gear from the morning rinses in fresh water and hangs to dry. Outgoing afternoon divers equip while incoming morning divers debrief — two crews, one dock, no slack.
1pm – day's end
Afternoon & day close
At 2.30pm the 1pm boat is back for another fast turnaround. By 4pm the last boat is in. Gear gets stowed, the deck fills up, and the day winds down with a cold drink, fresh coconut, and whoever's around — staff, students, customers, all mixed together.
This is what "a tribe, but not lost in the crowd" actually means at deck level — and it's where most of the friendships you'll keep from this internship get made.
Located centrally on the white sand, palm-fringed beach of Half Moon Bay, West End, Roatan
Roatan sits on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef — the second-largest coral reef system in the world. Water temperatures stay above 26°C year-round. Visibility regularly exceeds 25 metres. The dive sites around West End range from shallow coral gardens to 40-metre wall dives, sea mounts, and wrecks — all within a short boat ride of the shop. You will encounter something new on almost every dive.
West End is a small, walkable community. The dive shop, restaurants, cafes, and everything you need are within a few minutes on foot. From the day you arrive until you finish the internship, you are in the right place. Go Pro Caribbean's own accommodation — a purpose-built house with a private pool — is a short walk away, with rooms from $5 per night.
The Divemaster is the first professional PADI certification — and the direct prerequisite for the Instructor Development Course. Many candidates who complete the internship here go on to their IDC with Will Welbourn. As a PADI Platinum Course Director who has certified more than 500 instructors since 2008, Will can talk you through the full pathway from day one of your internship. Go Pro Caribbean is deliberately small. During your internship you will work with multiple different instructors who make up the team at Coconut Tree Divers, led by Will.
If becoming a PADI instructor is your goal, where you do your Divemaster internship matters. The foundation you build here sets the standard for everything that follows.
PADI’s Pros Blog, in Six Secrets Behind Dive Center Hiring, quotes Will Welbourn, PADI Course Director at Coconut Tree Divers in Roatan, on where to train: “The PADI Divemaster course is where you get to learn the dive sites of a location. I always suggest that someone do their divemaster course and IDC at the same place. We are always going to hire people who know the local dive sites well before we hire someone who doesn’t.”
A short walk from the shop, Go Pro Caribbean's 13-bedroom house sits on a shared acre of property with Roatan Oasis and has its own private swimming pool. Choose from seven ensuite rooms with a shared kitchen at $10 a night — $5 a night for your whole stay if you continue to the IDC — and IDC candidates can also take one of three two-bedroom apartments with a private kitchen, at $10 a night per room.
Are you ready to Join our Tribe?
Common questions about the internship
Six of the questions we hear most often from candidates considering a Divemaster internship in Roatan with Go Pro Caribbean.
How many dives will I do during the Divemaster internship?
The average trainee logs between 60 and 100 dives. All diving is included in the programme — there is no cap and no extra cost for logging more dives.
How long does the PADI Divemaster internship take?
The internship typically takes six to eight weeks. There are no fixed start dates — you can begin any week of the year. If you want twelve weeks, that is equally fine.
Do I need 40 logged dives before I can start?
No. If you have not yet logged the 40 dives required to formally begin your Divemaster course, we start you diving immediately on arrival to build your logbook — at no extra cost.
What is a Divemaster internship and how is it different from a standard Divemaster course?
A Divemaster internship means learning on the job as part of the dive centre team, rather than following a structured timetable. You gain real experience assisting instructors and guiding certified divers across many different situations over a minimum of six weeks. This builds the judgment and confidence that a shorter structured course cannot replicate.
Is accommodation included in the Divemaster internship price?
Accommodation is not included in the course price. Go Pro Caribbean's own house in West End, Roatan, is a four to seven minute walk from the dive centre, with rooms at $10 a night on a Divemaster booking, or $5 a night for your whole stay if you continue to the IDC.
Can the Divemaster internship lead to becoming a PADI instructor?
Yes. The Divemaster is the first professional PADI certification and the direct prerequisite for the Instructor Development Course. Many Go Pro Caribbean Divemaster candidates continue with their IDC under Will Welbourn, PADI Platinum Course Director, who has certified more than 500 instructors since 2008.
Certification pathway
Ready to join the tribe?
All internship packages include unlimited diving.
Accommodation in West End from $5 per night.
Open Water to Divemaster
Includes AOW, Rescue and Divemaster
AOW to Divemaster
Includes Rescue and Divemaster
Rescue to Divemaster
Most direct route to professional
Divemaster + Instructor
Two pro qualifications, one trip