Your instructor kept you alive, 60 feet underwater, while pointing out a sea turtle. That's a skill set worth acknowledging properly. Here's what's standard for dive instructors, divemasters, and boat crew worldwide.
The accepted tip for scuba diving instructors is $10–20 per person per dive, depending on the type of dive, the location, and the quality of the experience. For a 2-tank fun dive that took most of the day, $20 per person is generous and appropriate. For a full open-water certification course spread over 4 days, $40–60 total per student is common.
| Situation | Tip Per Person | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single fun dive (guided) | $10–15 | Per dive |
| 2-tank fun dive day | $15–20 | Per day |
| Open water certification course | $40–60 total | Over 3–4 days |
| Advanced / specialty course | $30–50 total | 2–3 day course |
| Divemaster (assisting, not leading) | $5–10 per dive | Less than instructor tip |
| Dive boat crew | $5–10 per person per day | Separate from instructor |
| Liveaboard dive trip (multi-day) | $10–15 per person per day | Tip all crew at end of trip |
💡 Tip the boat crew separately from the instructor. The captain, crew, and equipment staff are different people from your dive instructor. At the end of a dive day, tip your instructor directly and contribute to the boat crew separately — often a shared envelope or tip box.
Multi-day liveaboard dive trips (Red Sea, Maldives, Thailand, the Great Barrier Reef) have their own tipping culture. The standard is $10–15 USD per person per day for the total crew — this is typically pooled and split among the captain, dive guides, kitchen, and cleaning staff. Hand it to the dive guide or trip leader on the last night in a cash envelope.
💡 USD is almost universally accepted for dive tips. Whether you're in Bali, Egypt, Thailand, or the Maldives, dive staff almost always prefer USD. It's worth having USD specifically for diving tips when traveling internationally.
$10–20 per person per dive for a fun dive guide. For a full certification course over 3–4 days, $40–60 total per student is the standard.
Yes — tip the dive instructor directly and contribute to the boat crew separately. The crew tip is typically pooled among the captain, equipment staff, and galley. $5–10 per person per day is appropriate.
$10–15 USD per person per day for the total crew, given as a pooled tip at the end of the trip. Hand it to the dive guide or trip leader in cash on the last night.
In countries like Japan where tipping is not the norm, dive operators catering to international tourists generally expect tips — especially if the instructor is working for an international dive shop. When in doubt, tip.
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