Customer testimonials: Experiences with Freediving El Hierro

I completed both my AIDA 4 and AIDA Instructor courses with Karsten and can highly recommend him as an instructor.
The way he teaches is not only informative, but also very well structured and, above all, very practical. It was particularly valuable for me that Karsten responded very precisely and individually to all questions and took the time to give detailed explanations.
I learned a lot on both courses – both for my own apnea practice and for my future practice as an instructor.

Many thanks for the intensive and instructive time!

Ludmilla Eimer

Karsten struck a great balance when explaining the rationale behind freediving theory, focussing on important details without being beleaguered by unecessary information. Very efficient.

He tailored his approach to the needs of all the students and we were each challenged to progress comfortably throughout the week. His enthusiasm was evident and inspiring.

I also really enjoyed practicing technique under Karsten’s supervision – helped me feel like I had time to focus on the details. I was happy to overcome my sticky ears and equalise successfully to achieve some deeper dives.

Gretel Waugh

What I appreciate so much here is the calmness and the “different” approach without pressure and pressure to perform

Michael Heider

A truly new experience – in the “deeper” environment with impressive after-effects. Makes you want more… without losing respect for the medium!

Fred Franzke

The equalization course was very well structured, with an optimal mix of theory and practical exercises. Session in the water: very relaxed, with really good instructions. I had the feeling that I was given very individual attention. I felt very well looked after & absolutely safe.

Madeleine Klenke-Müller

I apreciated the way of explaining, calmness and respect. All.

Maria Pilar Pilar

Karsten makes learning to Freedive easy and exciting and I look forward to returning to El Hierro to learn the second level. Thoroughly recommend!

Paddy Austin

First of all: El Hierro is worth a visit no mather what you want to do over there. The island is beautiful and anyone who is not looking for a touristy place but for lovely nature will enjoy spending there time here. The freediving it self is wonderfull here as well, you can really dive into the deep blue and see so much wildlife that even just a simple swim is amazing.

But even without this I would recommend to follow a course in freediving at Freediving El Hierro. We had some previous experience and came here to learn more (go for AIDA3 certification). Karsten first taught us the theory and after that we went for ‘pool’ sessions and open water sessions at the beach. All the sessions were well prepared. We got an clear explanation about what we were going to do and the instructor was always very calm, helpful and professional.

The fact that there was always an instructor on every two persons made it a very personal training. It was nice to get that level of attention. We got very good feedback on our technique and how to improve it. There was always room to focus on a part that you wanted to improve yourself.

I love that there were video’s of all our trainings, which we looked at before another session so you could actually see what you did well last time and what you could improve.

The possibility to go on some extra excursions was the cats meow, we saw some amazing caves, lavatunnels and the nightdive was an extraordinairy experience I will never forget.

Aida Evink

Relaxation techniques and support allowed me to reach times and depths within just a few attempts that I didn’t know I had within me in such a relaxed and effortless way. It was a very intense experience and definitely makes me want more!

Felix Gaisbauer

I can give it a 100% recommendation. It’s fun, you learn a lot, the island is very beautiful, the variety under water is great, there’s all kinds of equipment to borrow if you need anything, fins for example. I would definitely like to come back again.

Melanie Hirschmann

I can highly recommend Karsten and his freediving school (and a stay in the paradise of El Hierro) and will be happy to take lessons with him again in the future. What I also liked was his competence, calm manner and humor.

Diana Marloh

Whether you are a complete beginner or an instructor yourself, you can have a great time freediving with Karsten and his team – whether it’s a course, personal coaching on special topics or free training with as much support as you need – you can get it here. The dive sites (also for deep training) are easy to reach. The arrangements are great and reliable. Everything is super safe and super professional. And with a lot of fun and pleasure in freediving. An unconditional recommendation! We will be back.

Stefanie Falkenburg

There’s something magical about El Hierro that helped me forget about the outside world and sink into the deep blue. Karsten’s training philosophy puts a big emphasis on relaxing and enjoying, and as a result I did some of my calmest (=best) dives there!

I enjoyed in particular the dry training, the depth session with Kai after that, and the excursion. And the STA/DYN session too, as it turned out to be far more relaxed and easier than I had thought. Although I feel I didn’t quite get the breakthrough with the charging technique that I had hoped for.

Hanna Sarkimaa

My problem was that the relaxation and “good feeling” wore off at a certain depth (usually between 30 and 35 m, sometimes even earlier), accompanied by an unpleasant feeling of a breathing stimulus. Around 35m I usually had to make a stop as equalization became difficult, during the stop I regained some equalization and continued to 42m, but this was no longer a clean and relaxed dive. Thanks to targeted and methodical training with advanced pressure equalization techniques, I can now reach less than 35m with less air (no mouthfill, only N-fill). The unpleasant feeling of the breathing stimulus described above no longer occurs and I no longer need to stop. I reach this depth repeatedly in one session, relaxed and clean and with a “good feeling”, which is a lot of fun and makes for a very positive experience. My time and depth, which I can spend relaxed in the underwater world (i.e. not on the rope 😉 when reef diving), has also improved and increased the positive experience there too. The method and training plan Karsten used to perfect the N-fill worked very well and led to a gradual improvement in pressure equalization below the residual volume, i.e. by automating the processes and building confidence and awareness in the processes.Karsten knows how to combine methodical training and positive motivation.Karsten’s training philosophy focuses on the positive experience underwater and during training. For me, this is also an inspiration and motivation to incorporate new aspects into my way of freediving and to understand why. This helps me to develop my freediving under professional guidance and support and to achieve my goals.

Robin Babel

I am extremely satisfied and delighted with Karsten’s course. He is very emphatic, explains and demonstrates excellently. I have made significant progress, feel more confident and am noticeably calmer when diving. I will definitely be back and until then I will not miss any opportunity to recommend him to others.

Rebecca Kapellusch

The courses with Freediving El Hierro were great – we pushed our limits almost imperceptibly and dived relaxed into the depths of the sea off El Hierro at beautiful dive sites.

Dominik Kaulfuss

Although it was my first contact with freediving and I couldn’t imagine being able to achieve the required performance, I felt good throughout. Thanks to Karsten’s teaching style, I very quickly managed to trust myself and my body. And that’s exactly what I did. As a result, my performance got better and better and of course I felt proud, happy or whatever after a good dive, I felt good. It is definitely a lasting experience with an addictive factor and positive effects on everyday life. There is a lot of power in calmness and focus. Many people know this, but far too few can or use it.

Udo Flaccus

I did AIDA 1 and 2 with Karsten and I absolutely recommend to everyone who enjoys being in the sea. I acquired good knowledge and a deeper and loving connection with sea, I learned that the success is related to relaxation. I loved the meditations in land and in the sea before each session.

Karsten has been patience with me and perfect teacher for showing me the correct way to perform. He really helps you to feel at home while you are at sea, including when I was doing the diving exercises. Every step forward felt natural and easy to do.

Also the places where we did the course are so beautiful and it is incredible the amount of fishes I could see and amazing landscapes. He also knows about fauna and explained me lot of things.

Thanks you Karsten, I hope I will come back soon to enjoy more free diving in El Hierro with you!

Clara Estela Jiménez Tejero

I can absolutely recommend Karsten Mohr and his freediving school! I had my first experience of apnoea diving on El Hierro – and it definitely won’t be my last. Karsten is an incredibly pleasant and relaxed person who, together with his team, provides great, well-organized instruction. I really enjoyed it and I would love to come back!

Gerald Falkenburg

I did an AIDA 1-day workshop with my girlfriend during our vacation on El Hierro. We are both interested in breathing techniques and the water, but with Karsten we were able to have a great new experience in the depths that really impressed us both. Consciously relaxing in the water and thus being able to better perceive the wonderful underwater world of the Canary Islands also gave us a better experience during the rest of our vacation. We are thinking about diving further into freediving at home and learning even more about this special skill. Thank you very much and hope to see you soon! Max and Pia

Max Reibert