Enriched Air Nitrox
Teach cylinder analysis, oxygen exposure management and dive planning on enriched air. Indeed, it is the most requested specialty on any liveaboard route.
PADI MSDT Specialty Instructor · Go Pro · Hurghada
Five Specialty Instructor ratings in one structured program, taught on Red Sea sites that actually suit them. Altogether, three to five days of workshops, presentations and practical training dives that broaden what you can teach and what you are worth to a dive center.
The PADI MSDT Specialty Instructor Course is the preparation program that trains a qualified PADI Instructor in five selected Specialty Instructor ratings, the first requirement for the Master Scuba Diver Trainer rating. In Hurghada it costs €750 for the training and normally takes three to five days. Then, after receiving five Specialty Instructor ratings and certifying at least twenty-five PADI divers, an instructor may apply to PADI for the MSDT rating itself. Completing this course alone does not grant that rating. Red Sea Diving runs the program in Hurghada with a PADI Course Director or Specialty Instructor Trainer.
Moreover, the PADI application fees are separate: five Specialty Instructor applications come to roughly €295 depending on your region, and the later MSDT application is charged again. Therefore your written quotation shows training and fees as separate lines. The program follows the standards published for PADI professional development.
PADI MSDT Specialty Instructor Course in Hurghada at a glance
| Course | MSDT preparation: training for five PADI Specialty Instructor ratings |
|---|---|
| Price | €750 per instructor, training only |
| PADI fees | About €295 for five Specialty Instructor applications, paid separately |
| Duration | 3 to 5 days, depending on the five specialties chosen |
| Specialty ratings | 5 |
| Certifications for MSDT | 25 PADI divers certified after your ratings arrive |
| Prerequisite | PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, or an IDC candidate around the IE |
| Typical specialties | Enriched Air Nitrox, Deep, Wreck, Drift, Digital Underwater Photographer |
| Training dives | Those required by the confirmed five-specialty program, tanks and weights included |
| Rating awarded | Five PADI Specialty Instructor ratings; MSDT is applied for later |
| Location | Hurghada, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt |
| Language | English, with other languages on request |
| Booking | Training and PADI fees quoted as separate lines before payment |
| Operator | Red Sea Diving, a PADI dive operator in Hurghada since 2000 |
The course is the training. By contrast, Master Scuba Diver Trainer is a rating PADI issues later, and the difference matters enough to state plainly before anybody books. Consequently the official MSDT rating arrives only after you have done all of the following: become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, received five qualifying Specialty Instructor ratings, certified at least twenty-five PADI divers, met PADI’s current professional status requirements and submitted the MSDT application with its fee.
Furthermore, the twenty-five certifications must meet current PADI counting and application rules. Anyone selling you MSDT in a week is describing the training, not the rating.
In short, this program gets you the five ratings efficiently. Afterward, the twenty-five divers you certify, and how well you teach them, are yours to earn.
Teach cylinder analysis, oxygen exposure management and dive planning on enriched air. Indeed, it is the most requested specialty on any liveaboard route.
Train qualified divers to plan and conduct recreational dives to forty meters. After all, that is where most of the interesting Red Sea structure sits.
Teach wreck survey, navigation, hazard recognition and controlled guideline procedures on some of the best wrecks in the world. Furthermore, they sit within daily range of Hurghada.
Entries and exits in current, current awareness, group positioning and surface support. Above all, it is essential on the offshore and southern routes.
Camera preparation, composition, color, lighting and responsible photography. Consequently, it is consistently popular with holiday divers.
Alternatively, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Navigator, Emergency Oxygen Provider or approved distinctive specialties, subject to prerequisites and trainer authorization.
In addition, specialty standards, student prerequisites, ratios, course scheduling and risk management for every rating on your list.
Equally, knowledge development presentations and open water teaching assignments, each followed by direct feedback from the trainer.
Finally, course organization, certification procedures and honest advice on reaching twenty-five certifications once you leave.
However, the final five depend on your qualifications, your goals, the available sites, the trainer’s authorizations, equipment availability and minimum logged dive requirements. Additionally, some ratings carry extra prerequisites. Therefore the five are confirmed in writing before booking.
First, a review of Specialty Instructor standards, course scheduling, risk management, student prerequisites and your first knowledge development presentations.
Next, practical work in your chosen specialties: Nitrox cylinder analysis, deep diving exercises and wreck survey and guideline skills.
Then drift procedures, buoyancy workshops, navigation exercises and photography assignments on the sites that suit them.
Afterward, instructor-level demonstrations and open water teaching assignments with individual feedback after each one.
Finally, a performance review, specialty application preparation, planning your first student courses and mapping a realistic route to twenty-five certifications.
However, the schedule and the number of dives depend entirely on which five specialties you select. Consequently a three-day program is realistic for some combinations, while others need the full five days.
Moreover, IDC candidates can often schedule the program directly after the Instructor Examination, subject to Course Director approval. Otherwise, if you are earlier in the pathway, start with the Divemaster course and the PADI IDC in Hurghada instead, and remember that the EFR Instructor rating is required before your instructor rating is issued.
Therefore the initial total is roughly €1,045: the €750 training plus about €295 in application fees. However, PADI fees change by region, currency and year, so we confirm the exact figures against the current professional price list before you book.
Hurghada gives you coral gardens, deep reef profiles, wrecks, drift sites, navigation terrain and photography locations, often within one day’s range of the same marina. Consequently the five specialties can be taught on sites that genuinely suit them rather than improvised in a single bay.
Moreover, you get real experience working with international divers in a busy destination, and our daily diving is where a great deal of teaching experience actually gets built between the formal sessions. Our procedures are set out on the diving safety page.
Furthermore, doing it well matters more than doing it fast. Teach the courses you genuinely understand, keep complete student records, ask for mentoring the first time you run a new specialty, and keep your membership and insurance active throughout. Ultimately, instructors who rush the twenty-five tend to show it.
Gallery
A professional instructor rating. In other words, it means you hold five Specialty Instructor ratings and have certified twenty-five divers, and it lets you teach a much wider range of courses.
By contrast, a recreational recognition rating for divers who meet the required training and experience. An MSDT teaches the specialties that help recreational divers reach it.
Overall, the professional route runs: Rescue Diver → Emergency First Response → Divemaster → EFR Instructor → IDC → Open Water Scuba Instructor → MSDT → IDC Staff Instructor. Nevertheless, the MSDT rating does not guarantee employment, salary or a particular number of students, and any school that implies otherwise is overselling.
Why us
Above all, full emergency equipment, a documented action plan and briefings before every dive, which is the standard you will be teaching to.
Indeed, more than two decades of diving and liveaboard operations out of Hurghada, on every Egyptian route.
Furthermore, you complete a structured professional program instead of chasing five separate specialties across three dive centers.
Moreover, you develop teaching experience on actual dives in the environments where you will later run these courses.
In addition, training and PADI application fees are quoted separately so nothing arrives as a surprise at the end.
Likewise, you get practical guidance on course planning, presentations, student control and reaching the twenty-five certifications.
Questions
The training price is €750 per instructor. However, PADI Specialty Instructor and MSDT application fees are separate.
Approximately three to five days, depending on the specialties selected and the dives they require.
Yes, provided the Instructor Trainer is authorized to conduct them and you meet the prerequisites for each.
The practical dives required by the confirmed five-specialty program are included, with tanks and weights. Nevertheless, the exact number varies with your selection.
No. First you must receive five qualifying Specialty Instructor ratings and certify at least twenty-five PADI divers, then apply to PADI for MSDT.
Qualifying PADI diver certifications accepted under the current MSDT requirements. Therefore confirm the latest counting rules before submitting your application.
Only once PADI has approved the relevant Specialty Instructor rating and your professional status is active.
Experienced MSDTs can continue toward higher professional ratings, including PADI IDC Staff Instructor, after meeting the prerequisites.
Yes. The program is designed for PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors. However, IDC candidates may schedule training around their Instructor Examination, subject to eligibility.
No. The five Specialty Instructor application fees and the later MSDT application fee are paid separately.
The combined amount is approximately €295, although it depends on your PADI region and the current professional fee schedule.
No. It strengthens your professional profile, although employment still depends on experience, languages, availability, legal requirements and the employer.
Send us your PADI Instructor number, your current ratings, your logged dives, the specialties you want and your available dates. Then we confirm eligibility, the schedule and the current PADI fees in writing. For liveaboard diving in Egypt see also redsealiveaboard.net, and read the current fitness guidance from Divers Alert Network.
Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 132 reviews on Google.
Prefer to talk? Message us on WhatsApp or call +20 105 005 6542. In fact, we answer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Red Sea Diving, Madares Street, Hurghada 1, Hurghada 84511, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt. Diving and PADI training here since 2000.
This page was last reviewed by the Red Sea Diving instructor team in September 2026.
Premium Red Sea diving in Egypt. Liveaboard trips with experienced crews, comfortable vessels and 20+ years of experience.
