Living, Employment and Working as an Instructor in Central America and/or the Caribbean

As a dive Instructor in the Caribbean or Central America, you’ll never find a job that has so much variety, one day you’ll be introducing a group of international backpackers to the delights of the underwater world, with the PADI Open Water diver course, and guide beginner students through one of the most unique multi sensory experiences they can ever engage in, trust us when we say that these are one kind of customers that will never forget you for the work you do.

At other times in your daily duties you’ll be conducting professional dive courses, with the PADI Divemaster program, and taking ex-bankers, computer engineers, mechanics, lawyers, doctors and factory workers under your wing and guiding them into the ranks of a dive professional and sharing your own experiences of tropical dive resort management. When it comes to lunch time rather than hiding from the rain indoors or rushing to find something suitable to eat in the little time you have, you’ll find that in the Caribbean, a PADI Scuba Instructor on lunch times, can be spent for hours in one of the many island cafes, catching up with colleagues on their morning aquatic encounters whilst afternoons may involve hammock time or teaching dive academics in the classroom to aspiring divers.

In the evening the local night spot is 'Coco Locos' where a good beer or rum & coke can be drank for $1 as the sun sets slowly into the sea in spectacular Caribbean style and then as darkness sets in so does many of the islands night party venues. Coco Locos, The Bundu Café, Bar in the Bush and Tranquila have been known to host some of the best parties in this part of the Caribbean, with warm friendly smiles and great cocktails flowing. As far as the quality of life on Utila, and from Mexico to South America, and as a scuba dive professional goes, a testimony to the great way of is that most people that visit for just a few days often end up staying for weeks, months if not years than they had originally intended.

There are a lot of European and North American ex-pats living on Utila and as such there is a great flair of international cuisine and bars and restaurants. Of course if it’s a quiet night in that you feel you deserve then there’s no better place to relax in the evenings than Utila. Most apartments and homes have out-door balconies where you can gaze at the stars or look out to an ocean view, including modern amenities to ensure you have the creature comforts that maybe you are accustomed to. On days off from work you can hike the island, take a bike to the off road tracks and end at desert beaches, swim in freshwater caves, kayak through mangrove canals, sail in 3 person ‘Hobie Cats’ or charter a sailboat to the nearby islands of Roatan, Cayos Cochinos or Glovers Reef, Belize. Maybe you just want to relax ‘Crusoe style’ and visit the beautiful uninhabited island of ‘watercaye’ and enjoy a BBQ or simply dive, you decide!

When you compare the 'return on investment' when you become a dive instructor to many other industries you'll see that it doesn't take long before you make back your investment. Obviously this will vary depending on the dive operation you work for, some operations pay 100% commission, others a base salary + commission, others a salary, and living costs very in the Caribbean and Latin America. With 11 dive centers on Utila and many more on Roatan, and from Mexico to Columbia, it doesn't take long before a vacancy arises and we will do our best to help you with resume preparation, placements and a reference. Whilst we can't guarantee employment at Utila Dive Centre all of our current Instructors on OW to Rescue training have been hired from our recent IDC's and the fact that we are currently the busiest facility on Utila, by word of mouth recommendation, speaks volumes for our IDC candidates and training programs.

As an active dive Instructor in a reputable facility don’t be surprised if you actually find that you are able to save 2-3 times more a month than you actually spend. That’s why when most scuba diving Instructors do decide that the time has come to move on then they have usually saved enough to head off to the next exotic location, the only problem is where next? Hawaii, Galapagos, Thailand or Australia, well that’s one question we’ll let you answer.

Accommodations on Utila We'll include your first 2 week’s accommodation in our hotel, the Mango Inn, when you book your package with us but if you’re staying on Utila for a while it would be better for you to rent an apartment. Most of our Divemasters/Instructors share accommodation in this way and pay on average $150-200 for a room in a 2 bedroom apartment per month (includes kitchen, bathroom, living area, TV and sometimes balcony. It’s very easy to find somewhere to share and this can be arranged once you are on the island in your first week, if you do decide you’d like your own apartment then the following options are available;

Freddy’s Place; E-mail , $350 per month for room in 2 bed room apartment, sharing bath room and kitchen, 2 minute walk from UDC and bay view location.

Sandstone apartments; E-mail or , $500-650 per month (1-2 bed room), 5 minutes from UDC and ocean location.

Tropical Sunset apartments; E-mail , $450-600 per month (1-2 bed room), 5 minute walk from UDC and bay view location.

Patrick’s apartments; E-mail $350 per month (1-2 bed room), and 15 minute walk from UDC, town location.

Plum Tree apartments; E-mail $300-450 per month (1-2 bed room), 30 minute walk from UDC, hillside location.

Visas and Living on Utila; After you have accounted for your rent you’ll find living expenses on Utila are approximately $500 per month, obviously this depends on how much you eat and drink. Utila is an extremely social island with many bars and restaurant, with lots of visiting tourists/back packers each week you’ll soon make many friends, some for life as you’ll share a common passion through scuba diving. To give you a rough idea of daily costs on the island a beer costs $1-1.50, a soft drink $0.75, a breakfast $4, lunch and dinner between $4-8, internet is about $2 per hour. There are 2 supermarkets on Utila with affordable groceries, and 2 banks and an ATM (does not accept MasterCard), also a clinic. For most citizens you automatically receive 90 days entry into Honduras at the airport/border and then can renew your VISA for one more month for a cost of $20. After 4 months you can take a short break and make a border run to either Belize or Costa Rica, many of our staff also use this as an opportunity for a mix of vacation as well.

To book now, or for more information, please contact ‘Director of Professional Training’ Andy Phillips on or call International +1-305-420-5959. Don’t delay………Make your life mean something, both above and below the water!