I was for scuba! First timer. I've always wanted to check out diving, but didn't really want to commit to certification classes or book a big scuba trip unless I knew I liked it. I didn't even realize there was an option to dive w/o certification, but came across Banzai's beginner's dive (discovery dive) that was only 4 hours out of my vacation and I'd be getting real time under water. Devin was awesome. Easy to communicate via text in advance of the dive, and professional and knowledgeable during the dive. We went through the basics out of water, then boarded the boat with some other divers (our "group" was just 2 of us + Devin) to head out to our first dive. The other diver had done it before and was just refreshing, so Devin was a bit more hands on with me since I was brand new. I didn't have to worry about anything as he put on my equipment, adjusted everything and helped me in and out of the water. I had a bit of a freakout with practicing if your mouthpiece falls out and Devin calmed me and guided me through it under water. On the first dive, we were down there 45 min at about 40 feet and saw some amazing turtles, bright fish, and eels though I was still getting the hang of buoyancy and Devin kept me from bouncing around. The 2nd dive site we didn't see as much, but went deeper and got to refine my swimming as well as explore the reefs. We did see an octupus and some eel, as well as cool fish. I had brought a used go pro that I was pretty useless with and ended up with some bad blurry photos. Devin had taken some AMAZING ones (attached) and posted them to FB that same eve. I can't thank him enough for capturing the magic of meeting the sea turtles for the first time. Highly recommend Banzai and hope to come back and do a more advanced dive or finish my certification. read more

Scuba diving and open water certification has been a life long dream of mine since I was a little kid. My buddy from California just happened to be visiting Oahu when we found a great deal on groupon for Banzai Diver Hawaii to get us both open water certified in 3 days. We signed up and started our training the following week. Our first day was introductions, curriculum and exposure to underwater maneuvering in a closed body of water at Magic Island, Honolulu. Thereafter we spent the next two days practicing freedives from a chartered boat! We explored Turtle Canyon twice, Ewa reef once and another great dive at Horseshoe reef where we actually found sharks and managed to dive to our maximum depth. The entire time Devin was incredible, both with his expertise and training abilities. He took the time to answer our questions, and encouraged the entire class to only proceed when confident with our understanding and fundamental diving abilities. A few times some of the other students were hesitant to continue to dive, so he kindly assisted and educated everyone who had concerns. I don't really 'yelp' but wanted to write an excerpt of recommendation specifically for Devin and Banzai Divers. I am looking to continue my open water certs and progress with advanced diving techniques and will exclusively train with Devin. He encourages everyone to further their skills and overall has helped me fulfill a lifelong goal, achieve competent and confidence in the water, and he couldn't be complemented enough with his skill and business. Thank You Devin! I've picked up my own equipment and can't wait to get back in the water with you! - Aaron Anderson (808-772-6072) read more

What a fantastic dive company !!! My husband and I are certified divers but hadn't dived for a very long time. We booked in with Devin from Banzai Divers for a refresher while we were on our honeymoon and It was the best thing we did. Devin was fantastic, unlike many holiday dive companies, he was very professional but also very relaxed and treated us like adults. Nothing was a problem and each trip, we booked 3 in the end - he was that good, went very smoothly. Each trip is a 2 tank dive as you would expect and Devin busted a gut to make sure all the gear was set up ready for each dive as well as ensuring we as customers were well looked after. We dived the South Shore and each site incredible and Devin made every effort to make sure we saw every thing that was on our wish list; turtles, shark, dolphins, octopus etc. We had a fantastic time. My only suggestion, and it's not a criticism of Devin as it's down to the boat captain, would be that both tanks are on the wreck for wreck dives to get the chance to fully explore these underwater marvels. Instead, the first tank is on the wreck and the second at another shallower location. I understand this is so there's something for everyone but for me and my husband we would have loved to have spent more time on the wrecks. All in all, the dives were the absolute highlight of our honeymoon and Devin was amazing, we would recommend him and Banzai Divers to anyone considering diving in O'ahu. read more

My father and I booked a last-minute shore dive with Devin for Turtle Cove. We booked with Devin just a few days before our arrival and he was happy to fit us in. We booked a 2-tank shore dive with Bonzai at Turtle Cove, but we ended up doing only a 1-tank dive due to flight times/restrictions. This was my first ocean dive and my dad's first in over a decade, I've only done lakes previously. Perfect, intro dive. Lots to see and very pretty. Easy dive. We didn't go more than 45 feet down. Devin used a GoPro to take a few pictures of us which he emailed out the next day. It was just the 3 of us and Devin went at our speed, we took pictures with cams etc. He was quick to point out interesting fish/animals/coral. We really enjoyed our dive. Easy to find him in the parking lot at his van, he had all necessary gear, and afterwards we were near some great food trucks. I believe Devin owns this business and we was very friendly and happy to answer all my dad's many questions. Highly recommend you check him out. He was happy to accommodate our start time as we had a morning surf lesson that we scheduled this after. read more

My cousin and I had never been scuba diving before but we are in our mid 50's and decided it was now or never. I can't thank Devin enough for what a wonderful time we had. He was such a kind, patient, fantastic instructor, it really was unbelievable! We went on 4 dives with him so we could become certified. He took care of everything and made it so easy for us. I watched him work for hours with my cousin and also another woman who was very anxious in the water. He has the patients of Job! He got everyone diving like a pro. I would never want to dive with anyone else! We saw so many amazing things! Turtles, sharks, beautiful fish and my favorite, the octopus! What a treat and now my favorite creature!! The pictures he took were amazing and all of his communication with us was prompt and professional! Thanks Devin for everything! It was an experience of a lifetime! I plan to come back with my husband, so he can learn from the best!! Thanks for everything Devin. You are one in a million! read more

Devin provides first class instruction and overall diving experience for all level divers. My 13 year old daughter's first intro dive was so amazing she was immediately hooked. She was nervous and didn't really know what to expect but Devin immediately put her at ease. He covered the necessary basics and allowed her to just have fun. She enjoyed the dive so much (turtles, octopus, eels and a plethora of fish - all on her first ever dive!), she was hooked instantly and ended up getting certified that same week. The certification process itself was effortless, while also mixing in some deeper wreck dives for me as well. Devin also includes professional grade underwater pictures which he posts to his FB. Small diver groups with plenty of personal attention where needed. We will definitely be back, I wouldn't even think of going anywhere else for diving on Oahu. read more

Banzai Diving with Devin was great. I never actually write reviews but wanted to give him one because my boyfriend and I really appreciated what a good time we had. Due to weather we had to stay down by Waikiki, but we were not disappointed. Saw tons of sea turtles, eels, white tip shark and an octopus. Devin held the octopus and let us touch it. He also suggested a 100 ft dive in a shipwreck, which we were hesitant to do because we had never been that deep and only recently certified. But the shipwreck was awesome and he made us super comfortable. Agree with the other reviews about being spoiled having your gear set up for you and helping take off fins as you get on the boat, but not complaining. Thanks for a great time, we loved it! read more

After diving with Devin at Banzai divers, I would not dive with anyone else in Oahu. Devin is definitely one of the best dive instructors I've ever met through my travels and I would highly recommend reaching out to him if you want to dive in Oahu. He really takes care of everything about the dive so you can have the most enjoyable experience. While planning your dive, he is accommodating to your plans and very responsive both through email and phone. During the dive, he is knowledgeable and attentive. After the dive, he follows up with amazing photos! We had four fantastic dives with Devin and saw so many turtles, eels, whitetip reef sharks and octopii! Will definitely be back for more in the near future! read more

My husband and I had the greatest time diving with Devin. My first day we went to the west coast and dove from a boat, Devin hauled all my gear on/off the boat and set it up for me, I felt very pampered. Day 1 I was was one-on-one and experienced my longest dive yet at 77 minutes. The lave tubes were very cool! My second day I dove with my husband, Devin was very patient in providing a refresher. Devin's wife, Taylor, babysat our 1 year old son on the beach right beside where we were diving at sharks cove. Taylor was very sweet and attentive to Theo, I wouldn't have been able to dive with my husband otherwise. Would highly recommend Banzai to my friends and family! read more

Did my Padi Open Water certification with Banzai Divers last week. Devin was an incredible teacher, emphasizing making it safe and fun for all of us. His passion for scuba is obvious, and it's something I believe he transferred very successfully to our entire group. I really appreciated how he delivered constructive feedback/criticism as opposed to yelling like less skillful educators might do. If you were ever intimidated by learning to scuba, don't be, Devin made it really easy to learn! On top of learning to scuba safely, we also got to see a lot of cool sea creatures like turtles, sharks, octopuses, eels, and urchins. Needless to say I was very satisfied! read more

We did 2 days of diving with Devin from Banzai Divers on Oahu. We are Great Lakes shipwreck divers. We went out of Honolulu to the Sea Tiger wreck twice and I have never seen such a nice wreck in salt water. It is upright and intact with amazing sealife. There was a huge green sea turtle, several white tip sharks, an eel, nudibranchs, frog fish and big schools of fish. We did our safety stop the first day in a bait ball and had dolphins on our surface interval! The shallow reefs had lots of turtles, eel and octopus. The dive sites were very close to the Harbor and the dive day was very efficient. Devin did a great job showing us around. read more

Great dive experience! I used Banzai Divers for my first ocean dive, I chose the lava tubs shore dive on the North Shore, it was a perfect beginner friendly dive. There were others in my group that were much more experienced and they also enjoyed it, I would say over all this would be a great dive for anyone! Our dive master, Devin, was super knowledgeable. He knew what part of the lava tubes/reef to show us first before it got crowded and where a lot of the marine life were hidden, we got to see a sea turtle, two octopus, an eel and a ton of great fish. I felt safe and in good hands with Devin. I would Dive Banzai again! read more

We had a great time diving with Devin. He has an easygoing way about him that makes you feel like you're in good hands. Before heading to the water he went over the important hand signals that we would need to use, and important information about equipment use. We are novice/beginner level divers and felt very comfortable. Once in the water we spent a few minutes making sure our ears were equalized before heading off. The dive itself was great! It was awesome to explore the areas around Sharks Cove. I would recommend Banzai Divers Hawaii to anyone with limited experience looking to scuba dive while on Oahu! Mike L read more

Devin was my instructor for Open Water Diving certification. I got lucky in that no one else had booked the days I did, so I got to work with him one-on-one. He has the patience of a saint, is very calm and considerate of your comfort level, and has a great, sharp eye for pointing out all kinds of things while you're in the water. Everything about the dive was well prepared, so execution was smooth and seamless between arriving at the boat, heading out, receiving instruction, performing the skill assessments, etc. I have every intention of getting my next cert with Devin once I get back to Oahu. read more

I had great experience with Banzai Divers. I took my open water certification course with Devin, and he is an amazing teacher and instructor - very knowledgeable and patient. I loved everything, even the theoretical portion of it, which is not really fun in general. And definitely the diving part - Devin seems to know all the locations around the island, and knows all the local sea life, encourages everyone to be very respectful of it, and to top it all off, takes great pictures. I really enjoyed my experience and would recommend Banzai Divers and Devin to anyone who wants to scuba on Oahu. read more

Diving with Devin is our best experience in Oahu! Shark cove is a wonderful place for diving, and not as crowded as Hanauma Bay. We saw sea turtles and octopus! It is also our first dive. Devin is extremely patient and helpful. He went through the basic and made everyone confident before diving into the water. During the dive, he constantly pointed out interesting stuff and checked our conditions. Highly recommended for first-time diver! read more

I recently moved to Oahu and I'm getting back into diving. I found Banzai and a couple others on Groupon and so far Banzai is well above the competition. The dive masters at each site have been great but the amenities that Banzai provided makes them stand out. They provided a large ship to get to the dive sites, and pictures were taken on the dive which were available that day. I definitely plan on going back with this team. read more

Devin was an awesome dive master. Took my last minute reservation and tailored the dive for me. I've dived The sea tiger wreck and horseshoe before but Devin showed me things I had not seen. He knows where all the fish and octopus are hiding including the leaf scorpionfish hiding in plane sight and coral shrimp. There are a lot of over crowded dive tours that just drop you in the water. Devin provides first class service! read more

My first scuba diving experience and it was amazing. We went out to Sharks Cove at Pupukea Beach. My sister was having trouble getting used to breathing through her mouth but he was very patient with her. Devin's an experienced diver and most importantly he me and my family feel safe. Diving with Banzai divers was one of my favorite moments in Hawaii and I'll never forget it! read more