The short answer: the names sound alike, but they’re two completely different things. Master Scuba Diver is the highest rating a recreational diver can earn — but it isn’t professional and doesn’t let you work. Divemaster is the first professional level in PADI — this is where working in diving begins.
If your goal is to make a living from diving, the answer is Divemaster. If your goal is to build experience and collect certifications with no plan to work — Master Scuba Diver.
Master Scuba Diver — what it actually is
Master Scuba Diver is a recognition rating, not a course. You can’t “take a Master Scuba Diver course” — you collect it piece by piece.
To get it you need:
- Advanced Open Water certification
- Rescue Diver certification
- five specialty certifications — your choice
- 50 logged dives
- minimum age 12
And you pay for the rating itself too: PADI charges a separate fee for issuing it, on top of the five specialties. You don’t receive the rating — you buy it.
What it doesn’t give you: the right to teach, lead divers or work at a dive centre. PADI says it plainly: it’s the highest non-professional level in the system.
Every path in diving starts with your first breath underwater: Discover Scuba Diving in Eilat — up to 80 minutes in the Red Sea with a PADI instructor. Prices for every course are in our Eilat diving price guide.
Divemaster — the first professional level
Divemaster is already a profession. With it you can lead guided dives, assist the instructor on courses, run refresher dives and work at dive centres worldwide. What that looks like in Israel specifically is covered in a separate section below — and the picture there is less rosy.
Prerequisites:
- minimum age 18
- Open Water, Advanced and Rescue Diver certifications
- first aid and CPR (EFR) within the last 24 months
- 40 logged dives to start
- 60 logged dives to certify
- a doctor’s medical clearance from the last 12 months
It’s also the first step toward the instructor course (OWSI). Without Divemaster there’s no professional path forward.
Side-by-side
| Master Scuba Diver | Divemaster | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Recognition rating | Professional certification |
| Can you work? | No | Yes |
| Minimum age | 12 | 18 |
| Dives required | 50 | 40 to start, 60 to certify |
| What you need first | Advanced + Rescue + 5 specialties | Advanced + Rescue + EFR |
| Leads to… | nowhere | OWSI instructor course |
Why people in Israel really go for these levels
There’s a reason that almost never makes it into course descriptions, and for many people it’s the main one.
In Israel, under the Sport Diving Authority’s rules, a 1- or 2-star diver who hasn’t dived for six months or more must do a refresher dive with an instructor. Divemasters and Master Scuba Divers are not covered by this requirement.
If you dive two or three times a year on holiday, the choice is simple: pay for a refresher every time, or reach a level once and forget about it.
Both levels solve this equally well. The difference is in time and in what you’re left with. Full numbers below.
Can you make a living as a Divemaster in Israel?
Formally — yes, it’s a professional certification recognised worldwide. In practice there isn’t much work in Israel, and it’s better to know that upfront.
Eilat has about five kilometres of coastline and a limited number of dive sites. There’s no flow of divers like in Egypt or Asia. Guided dives for certified divers happen, but not as a steady stream.
Most of the work in the gulf is introductory dives — easy conditions and steady demand all year. But in Israel those can only be run by an Assistant Instructor, not a Divemaster.
So the practical conclusion: in Israel, Divemaster is a stage, not a finish line. If you want to earn, plan the Divemaster → Assistant Instructor sequence from the start. And if what you want is the rating and the refresher exemption, go back to the previous section.
Cost and time — the numbers
Same starting point for both: a diver with Advanced Open Water. Rescue Diver is required on both routes, so it appears in both.
The Master Scuba Diver route
You need five specialties. Here’s the full list of what we teach — exactly six:
| Specialty | Price | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrox (Enriched Air) | ₪800 | 1 |
| Peak Performance Buoyancy | ₪850 | 1 |
| Night Diver | ₪1,700 | 2 |
| Wreck Diver | ₪1,700 | 2 |
| Deep Diver | ₪1,700 | 2 |
| Sidemount | ₪1,980 | 2 |
Note: there are six specialties and you need five. There’s barely any choice — you’ll end up taking almost all of them, including the ones that interest you less.
| Item | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Five of the six specialties | ₪6,750–7,930 | 8–9 days |
| Rescue Diver | ₪1,650–2,000 | 2 days |
| Total | ₪8,400–9,930 | 10–11 days |
Plus PADI’s fee for issuing the rating — paid separately and not included in the table.
The Divemaster route
| Item | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Rescue Diver | ₪1,650–2,000 | 2 days |
| Divemaster course | ₪7,500 | 7 days |
| Total | ₪9,150–9,500 | 9 days |
The English-language Divemaster course includes the PADI materials kit — it’s already in the price.
What the numbers say
On money the two routes are close: ₪8,400–9,930 for Master Scuba Diver versus ₪9,150–9,500 for Divemaster. Pick the cheapest specialties and Master Scuba Diver comes out slightly cheaper. Add Sidemount or Deep and Divemaster is already cheaper — and PADI’s rating fee tips it further in Divemaster’s favour.
On time, Divemaster always wins: 9 days versus 10–11. And it’s not just two days fewer. Divemaster’s nine days run back to back, in one block. Master Scuba Diver’s 10–11 days are five separate courses, each with its own schedule and group. Lining them up back to back is nearly impossible; for most people it stretches across seasons.
What you’re left with. In one case, a rating you can’t use anywhere except for the refresher exemption. In the other, a certification that leads to Assistant Instructor and to earning.
Practice. Divemaster doesn’t happen in a vacuum: the internship runs alongside real courses the instructor is teaching at the same time. You work with real students, not drills in an empty pool. Five specialties give you no experience like that at all.
What Divemaster gives you personally, even if you don’t plan to work
This is probably the most underrated argument. Divemaster doesn’t teach another kind of fun — it teaches professional skills, and they stay with you whether you go to work or not.
You stop watching only yourself. A Divemaster learns to keep the group in view: who’s breathing how, who has how much air left, who’s getting tired, who’s about to ascend too early. It’s a different mode of attention, and it doesn’t come by itself from dive count.
You learn to plan a dive, not just join one. Choosing a site for the day’s conditions, current, entry and exit, the briefing, and a backup plan if something goes wrong. Until now someone else did that for you.
You start defusing problems before they become problems. Rescue teaches you to respond to an incident. Divemaster teaches you not to get there — to see that someone’s stressed, that gear is set up wrong, that a buddy pair has drifted apart. Two different things, and the second is worth more.
Now picture an ordinary scene: you’re diving with your partner, your kid, friends who dive once a year. The difference between a Divemaster and just an experienced diver shows right away. One enjoys the dive himself; the other makes sure everyone enjoys it — and everyone comes out of the water relaxed.
And separately, about you. Over the course your own safety goes up several times over: buoyancy control, air consumption, awareness underwater, decision speed. Five specialties give you five narrow skills. Divemaster changes how you dive, full stop.
Why ours takes 7 days, not three weeks
At most dive centres in Israel, the Divemaster course takes three weeks to a month. With us — 7 days.
That’s not a cut-down programme. Every PADI requirement is met in full. The difference is organisation: small groups, a continuous schedule and working directly with a PADI Course Director with 20 years of experience, with no waiting for your turn between sessions.
For anyone coming to Eilat specifically for the course, that difference is three weeks of accommodation and living costs.
FAQ
Is Master Scuba Diver higher than Divemaster?
No. They’re two different paths. Master Scuba Diver is the peak of recreational diving; Divemaster is the start of professional diving.
If it’s not a course, is the Master Scuba Diver rating free?
No. PADI charges a separate fee for issuing it, on top of the five specialties.
Can I do both?
Yes, they don’t conflict. Some divers pick up Master Scuba Diver along the way and then go on to Divemaster.
How much is the Divemaster course in Eilat?
The English-language course costs ₪7,500 with us, PADI materials kit included. You’ll also need Rescue Diver and current first aid if you don’t have them yet.
It needs 60 dives — what if I don’t have them?
You can start with 40 and log the rest during the course. In Eilat that’s easy.
I dive once a year on holiday. Which makes more sense for me?
Both levels remove the refresher requirement equally. On money they’re close. But Divemaster is done in 9 days straight, gives you real practice with students and opens a path forward. And even if you’ll definitely never work — Divemaster gives you skills that change your dives and the dives of everyone diving with you. Five specialties don’t.
Which specialties are most useful for a Divemaster?
Nitrox, Deep, Navigation and Sidemount. They also count toward Master Scuba Diver if you want both ratings.
What’s next
Ready to start? Divemaster course in Eilat. Still deciding? Message WhatsApp 053-431-3418 and we’ll go through it together.
