Breathing underwater
To begin with, children breathe through the regulator in shallow water until slow, calm and continuous breathing feels normal.
CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver · Kids Scuba · Hurghada
Real scuba diving for children from age eight, built for young divers rather than adapted from an adult course. As a result, your child learns to breathe underwater, to communicate and to dive safely in the warm Red Sea, while an instructor stays right beside them.
The CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver course is the first level of the CMAS children’s scuba pathway, an entry-level program designed specifically for young divers. In Hurghada it costs €220 per child with Red Sea Diving, while we list CMAS registration and certification fees separately unless your confirmed booking includes them. Children can start from age eight, and the standard requires at least six hours of in-water training as well as two open water dives of 15 minutes or longer. Because every dive uses air, takes place in daylight and never needs a decompression stop, the whole experience stays simple, shallow and safe.
Moreover, CMAS treats children’s diving as a program of its own rather than a smaller copy of adult training. Therefore we follow the Bronze Dolphin standard published by the World Underwater Federation, and our instructors set the pace around each child.
| Course | CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver, the first CMAS children’s scuba level |
|---|---|
| Price | €220 per child |
| CMAS fees | Separate, unless your confirmed booking includes them |
| Minimum age | 8 years, with written consent from a parent or legal guardian |
| Swimming | Able to swim 25 meters independently |
| In-water training | At least 6 hours |
| Open water dives | At least 2, and each one lasts 15 minutes or longer |
| Depth | Set by age, so up to about 7 meters from 8 to 10 years |
| Breathing gas | Air, with no mandatory decompression stops |
| Conditions | Daylight only, with direct access to the surface |
| Supervision | Direct supervision by a CMAS instructor trained in children’s diving |
| Next level | CMAS Silver Dolphin Diver |
| Location | Hurghada, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt |
| Operator | Red Sea Diving, a dive operator in Hurghada since 2000 |
The minimum age for the CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver course is eight years. However, age alone never decides whether a child is ready, so our instructor meets every child before the first session.
Not quite ready yet? In that case, a snorkeling day on our Hurghada island trip builds water confidence gently, and your child can then start the course later in the same holiday.
On the CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver course, children learn the core scuba skills in small steps. In fact, every skill starts in shallow, calm water before it moves to open water.
To begin with, children breathe through the regulator in shallow water until slow, calm and continuous breathing feels normal.
Then they learn to equalize gently and early, which makes every descent comfortable.
In addition, they take the mask off and put it back on, and they also remove, recover and clear the regulator.
Moreover, children start to control their balance and fin gently, so they stay off the bottom and well away from the coral.
Similarly, they learn the standard signals for OK, need air, cold, up and down, so they can always tell the instructor how they feel.
Finally, they practice slow ascents while breathing out, and they keep an eye on their dive buddy the whole time.
The CMAS standard sets the minimum training rather than a fixed number of days. As a result, the schedule follows your child’s progress instead of the calendar.
To begin with, the instructor checks swimming ability, water confidence and equipment fit, and then explains the plan to the child and the parent.
After that, children practice every skill in a pool or sheltered shallow water, where they can stand up at any moment.
In total, the in-water training adds up to at least six hours, because CMAS does not allow the course to be rushed.
Once the skills feel easy, the child makes an open water dive of 15 minutes or longer in daylight, with the instructor close at hand.
Then a second dive of at least 15 minutes lets the young diver use the same skills again, although this time with more confidence.
Finally, every child describes what they saw and how they felt, since the standard also asks children to talk about their dives.
However, we never push a child to finish on a schedule. If a skill needs another session, we simply add one, and we agree it with you in advance.
A CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver dives to a depth that CMAS sets by age, and those limits stay deliberately conservative.
However, maximum depth is never the goal. Instead, the instructor adapts every dive to the child’s ability, comfort and the conditions on the day. In addition, every dive uses air and stays inside no-decompression limits, so no mandatory stop is ever needed.
You can also read about the local dive sites around Hurghada, since the reefs near town are where most families start.
Children are not small adults, so the CMAS standard adds rules that adult courses do not need.
Because children lose heat faster than adults, we also check that each child’s exposure suit suits the water temperature. Furthermore, a parent or legal guardian completes the medical documents with us, and when the form calls for it, we ask for a doctor’s clearance before training starts.
You can read the rest of our procedures on the diving safety page, as well as the current fitness guidance from Divers Alert Network.
The CMAS Bronze Dolphin Diver price with Red Sea Diving is €220 per child, and it covers our local training program in Hurghada. Meanwhile, we list the CMAS fees separately, unless your confirmed booking includes them.
Therefore we confirm the exact inclusions and every CMAS fee in writing before you book.
Hurghada gives a young diver warm water, sheltered spots and colorful reefs within a short boat ride. Depending on the site, children may see butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish, moray eels, stingrays as well as hard and soft corals. Of course, marine life is wild, so we can never promise a particular encounter.
Meanwhile, parents who dive can join our daily diving trips in Hurghada, and the whole family can also spend a snorkeling day at the Dolphin House.
Gallery
We teach children’s programs from three agencies in Hurghada, so parents often ask which one fits. In short, the answer depends mostly on your child’s age and on whether you want open water dives.
From age 8 and €220 per child. Moreover, it includes at least six hours in the water and two open water dives, so an eight-year-old can dive in open water on a certification course.
Also from age 8, at €150 per child. However, it stays in a pool or sheltered shallow water across five AquaMissions, so it suits children who are not ready for open water yet.
From age 10, at €250 plus BSAC fees. By contrast, it goes deeper, with open water dives to 12 meters under supervision, and it counts toward BSAC Ocean Diver.
After Bronze Dolphin, the CMAS children’s pathway continues with Silver Dolphin Diver and then Gold Dolphin Diver. From age 14, a young diver can then move on to the adult CMAS One-Star Diver course. You can also compare every PADI program on our PADI courses page.
Why us
Above all, every dive follows a documented emergency plan, and we brief each child before they enter the water.
Indeed, we have run diving trips from Hurghada for more than two decades, as our about us page explains.
Moreover, CMAS allows no more than two children per instructor in open water, so your child always has close attention.
Furthermore, our instructors let each child set the pace, and they pause a session whenever a child feels unsure.
In addition, we set out the €220 price and every CMAS fee in writing before you confirm.
Likewise, CMAS certifications carry recognition across its member federations around the world.
Questions
The Red Sea Diving price is €220 per child. However, we charge the applicable CMAS fees separately unless your confirmed booking includes them.
Please send your child’s full name, age, height, approximate weight, shoe size, swimming ability and any snorkeling or diving experience. In addition, tell us your travel dates, your hotel in Hurghada and a contact for the parent or guardian.
Yes, we include local transfers within Hurghada on the applicable training days. Therefore tell us your hotel when you book, and we confirm the pickup plan.
Air cylinders and weights come with the €220. However, full personal equipment rental depends on your confirmed booking, so send your child’s height, weight and shoe size and we will match the sizes.
The minimum age is eight years. In addition, the child must be able to swim 25 meters independently, and a parent or legal guardian gives written consent.
Yes. It is the official CMAS entry-level scuba program for children, so your child breathes from a real regulator and dives in open water.
Depth depends on age. From 8 to 10 years the limit is about 7 meters, while older children progress gradually to 10 and then 15 meters.
No. Bronze Dolphin dives never need a mandatory decompression stop, and all of them take place in daylight or in conditions that simulate daylight.
At least six hours. In fact, the standard sets this as a minimum, so a child who needs more time simply gets more sessions.
At least two, and each open water dive lasts 15 minutes or longer.
No. It is not an independent qualification, so the child always dives under the direct supervision that CMAS requires.
The next level is CMAS Silver Dolphin Diver, followed by Gold Dolphin Diver. After that, from age 14, the child can join the adult CMAS One-Star Diver course.
Send us your child’s name, age, height, approximate weight, shoe size and swimming ability, together with your travel dates and hotel. Then we confirm the schedule, the €220 price and any CMAS fees in writing. For liveaboard diving in Egypt, see also redsealiveaboard.net.
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Red Sea Diving, Madares Street, Hurghada 1, Hurghada 84511, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt. Diving and dive training here since 2000.
This page was last reviewed by the Red Sea Diving instructor team in September 2026.
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