Laguna Sea Sports has great instructors that are experienced in all sorts of scuba diving. They care about teaching you right and although keep things light and fun, make sure that all the important stuff is stressed and reinforced. I also received one on one instruction for my pool instruction which was fantastic and allowed me to really work on what I needed to accomplish. The professionalism yet friendly atmosphere at Laguna Sea Sports makes it a great place in my opinion. If any of my friends wanted to become certified I would not hesitate to point them to LSS. I am very glad to have gotten my certification here thanks Laguana Sea Sports! read more

Scuba Jen (Jennifer Miller) is the best! She is full of excitement for scuba diving, and she is also patient and will take the time to explain and demonstrate more than once if you don't get it. Ron and Gene took us to the ocean and they were definitely pretty cool as well. It's a whole new world down there, and these instructors do a great job in making us all feel comfortable, and making scuba diving an easy and fun task to do. read more

Whoever writes a bad review about this place must be a very negative person. Everyone here is so personable and almost like a second family to me. Paul Felix and Chris Cox got my dad and me through the best two days of dives I'll ever have. I wouldn't be certified without them. I only trust Beach Cities/Laguna Sea Sports when it comes to scuba and snorkeling needs. I know it's expensive but it is always worth it because whatever I get doesn't break as long as I use it correctly. read more

I have been through certification both at Beach Cities Scuba (fka Laguna Sea Sports) and Sports Chalet. Beach Cities Scuba costs a bit more. The personal service and rigor that Beach Cities Scuba provides is worth every additional penny, Dive instruction is serious and I my experience at Sports Chalet was that they went through the motions just to get through the skills on schedule. I was concerned about the training my 14 year old son received through Sports Chalet 2 years ago. Last week had my twin 12 year olds go though diver certification at Beach Cities Scuba in Laguna Beach with their private instructors. Three days is all it took, 2 on a boat out of Dana Point. No parent was required to be in attendance which was a huge convenience. I was very happy with the older and very experienced instructors who made me feel safe entrusting my children. If you are an adult and you want more rigorous training for your safety, Beach Cities Scuba is the way to go if you can get there. For parents whose kids want to be certified, not having to be present and the private instruction with very experienced instructors will put you at ease. read more

Just completed my Advanced Open Water training with BCS. Last summer, I did my Open Water with them. I was really nervous when I started out, and had some issues, and Chob made sure I was with instructors that would be sensitive to my needs. I got a private instructor for my first open water- a good choice if you're nervous- highly recommended- worth it. Back to Advanced... Randy and Robb who I did my last Advanced dives with were both awesome and provided good, clear instruction. They really cared about helping me to be a better diver and it showed. Robb was my navigation instructor and he's the real deal. He reviewed everything thoroughly with me and made sure I really understood navigation enough to be independent. His clear instruction took what could have been just a basic skills test and turned it into a very confidence building dive. Considering taking Navigation Specialty with him in the future. Nothing but gratitude for BCS for helping me to transition from a nervous to confident diver. read more

This place was great, I just got my open water scuba certification in January through Beach Cities Scuba and it was a great experience. I had Jen Miller for the classroom and pool portions of the process and she was awesome! When I got into the ocean I wasn't worried at all, Jen did a great job of teaching us everything we needed to know so that doing the skills on the open water dives was as easy as possible. Everyone was super friendly and made the whole process super fun. (: read more

I just went to BCS for my PADI cert and had an AMAZING experience. Scuba can be pretty intimidating even if you're in shape but the instructors made the all difference for me. Jen was my favorite because she cracked jokes, made everyone feel comfortable and looked great doing it ;) I forget my open water divers name but he was awesome too. Scuba is something you have to experience and I'm glad I did it right. read more

I will be going on my final open water dive for my PADI Open Water Diver certification this coming Saturday and am so excited! Jennifer Miller was the instructor in the class settings and I can not say enough about her professionalism and valuable insight. I definitely felt prepared for the pool and the open water dives. Feeling knowledgeable and comfortable with concepts and equipment makes all of the difference and I can't thank Jenn enough! read more

Note: this review is for the (beginner's) open water course I currently work in the service industry, so believe me when I say I know great service and/or retail when I experience it. I looked at other courses and found that Beach cities has the best 6 month plan for the basic open water diver course. If you work a 9 to 5, this place is great because it only requires 2 classroom workshops and the rest are dives separated over 3 days, all of which are on the weekend. The course price has a student discount and rebate built in, so it encourages you to shop within their store locations. With the help of Anthony, who was very attentive and answered all our questions with the confidence and knowledge that you would hope you get when shopping for a new hobby you know little about. although I had found what seemed to be a good deal with another source online, I ended up buying all my personal gear (required for you to take course) through them because of quality assurance of the products. It may be tempting to save money, but in the end you will want to go with gear that is well-made, comfortable, and has a good reputation due to the seriousness of the sport. Based on your location, the instructors try to accommodate the classes to your own schedule. Of course, it is not personalized but still good to know they're flexible. Allison led the classroom orientation at the Dana point location. She was very resourceful and helpful in making sure we understood the objectives of the chapters in the book. The book is super important and when you pick up your course material, they'll recommend you read ahead of time. Do it! They go over important knowledge quizzes during that first classroom session, so there is definitely no lazing around. The second classroom session is a few days later on a Saturday, the day before the first confined water (pool) dive. Greg was the dive master who walked us through important technical items, including dive math (yay!) and other safety issues. Diving is no joke; while it is fun and amazing, it definitely takes more planning than sports like running. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even while it may seem like a silly question, I assure you the instructors will take them seriously and make sure you comprehend whatever objective it is you are inquiring about. The dives (a personal account): 1 confined pool dive: was on a Sunday at 10 a.m. Christina was my DM and was very helpful when I had encountered small problems, like leg cramps or not getting a skill down right away. About 10-15 major skills are practiced, with a bunch of small, but not trivial common sense ones demonstrated in between. I felt great leaving the pool session. 1/2 of actual open water dives: A week later, at 6 a.m. There are multiple instructors that divide up the group. For the season (Oct into Nov. ) it is actually quite cold, and they provide 7 mm wetsuits for warmth. Still, I became quite cold during the return of the first dive and made the decision to reschedule my dive. This is important to the instructors, who have interest in you completing the course but also making sure your health and safety come first. Jed and Mike P. effectively helped my situation and I was encouraged to reschedule, which I gladly did the next day. Chob was great in helping me reschedule my next dives, and when I expressed interest in the boat charter, he told me it was full and that he would notify me if a space opened up. A few days later, I got such notification and immediately signed up. Chob knew I had a deadline and so I commend him for trying his best to accommodate me. A week later, I scheduled one beach dive and then a boat trip with 2 dives for the following day. Although the boat dive is significantly easier, I do recommend doing a combo of beach and boat. The beach dive is hard, walking with all the equipment and then getting through the surf, but the DMs are there with you all the way and completely understanding if you tire out or get cold. I consider myself quite active but there's a little bit of extra grunt work you have to do, in exchange for an amazing experience. Dive 2 was led by Mike and assisted by Tasha, both of whom were very helpful. Dive 3/4 on the chartered boat, the Riviera. If you do the boat, the shop will give you an itinerary. Follow it down to its last detail. The boat leaves promptly and is carrying about 15-20 people, including its crew. Bring some cash for crew tips, and instructors if you want. You're paying for the crew and boat service, which is why they say boat diving is easier. They stop at two dive sites, and provide snacks and drinks on board. Everyone is friendly and just wants you to have a good time completing the course. I was grouped with Shane for my last two dives, and I consider myself quite lucky for that. overall a very positive experience! read more

High pressure. Didn't seem professional, feels like they are more into freeing dollars from tourists than serving the customer. Also scuba class ran WAY late, was supposed to be done in 5-6 hours and took 8 because instructor couldn't stop talking...not impressed. read more

Great Dive Shop. Friendly service. Cheap air. The guy helping me looked like Johnny Peebucks who is the lead singer of one of my favorites bands the Swingin' Utters. read more

Of all the Scuba Cities, I like this place the most. Its a beautiful one hour drive out to Laguna (well, at least once we get onto the PCH). Why would I drive about an hour just for a dive shop?? .....when I could just find one in my local area? CUSTOMER SERVICE. My boyfriend referred me here. Everyone here is extremely chill and really nice. My boyfriend has been coming here for a few years and always talked about how great this place is. He even talked me into learning how to dive! So when I decided that I wanted to learn and get certified, I talked to Chob. He's the best person to get advice from. He listens to my concerns and always knows what's best for me. He got me into a class right away; with books and everything. He scheduled my pool dives (tests) and Open water dives (more tests to get certified) all around my extremely busy schedule. He even fitted me into a BCD!!! NOTE: it is very hard for girls with a bigger chest. Buoyancy is hard for us too. Chob even helped me get comfortable into the new gear. He was very patient and understanding. Some people don't understand why we have to get our own gear before your skills training and tests. To be honest, its better to have your own gear. It's so you can get use to it while learning these new skills. You're basically learning how to breathe underwater. YOU WILL USE ALL THESE SKILLS that they teach you. Nothing is a useless skill. They even offer private instructors to help you with your skills. I was one lucky girl to have ONE instructor throughout my certification for open waters. Jeffery was such a great instructor! he was very patient with me. (I was afraid of the water.) I liked his technique of teaching best. He does the skill, and I copied. Simple. I did both of my Open Water on the boat. The captains were really awesome. We saw a humpback whale, and he circled around for us to watch the whale breach from the water. He and his co-captain even helped get our gears on and into the water. How amazing is that?! (They do work for tips.... so tip tip hooray!) I am now certified and LOVE diving. The open water in the ocean is the best experience. read more

Speartip for pole spear = prohibitively expensive :(

I can't tell you how relieving it is to work with a dive master who's first priority is safety and awareness in diving! I didn't do a "Group-on" or weekend impulse desire to dive, I wanted the real thing. I am 53 years old with a few extra pounds ready to take on Tahiti with confidence. Thank you Greg Moss!!! You are the real thing!!! read more

As any diver would know when heading into a shop for the first time, the happiness and kindness of the staff is ALWAYS a good indicator of a greatly managed dive shop. This was the case for my first time here this morning. I was welcomed with open arms and stories for days from TOM, who is just a certified bad @ss super hero. I was paired up with my guide, BRITTANY, who was JUST as effin AH-MAZE-ING. She was so patient, sweet, yet knowledgeable of Shaws Cove and other sites I am sure. You can not go wrong if paired up with Brittany. ALWAYS, ask for her. Great shop, gear, and staff. Looking forward to doing more dives with them! read more

I own my own gear but went here to refill between dives. I just bought a Blue Steel Faber 100cu steel cylinder and this was my first refill. They filled it up and I noticed the staff kind of struggling with it while filling it. My buddy and I paid and went off to prep for our second dive. When I hooked up my Octo to the cylinder it leaked severely so I took it back for them to take a look at it. At this point I was just concerned about my safety so I was not upset. When I got back to the shop the Asian guy there (didn't get his name) was so quick to pass the blame to the tank manufacturer and didn't care the slightest about my safety or that it may have been their fault. I explained to him that it looked slightly bent around where the O ring sits and that had to happen when they filled it. The guy actually said that all tank valves are bent like that which is total BS. He messed with it for a bit and changed the O ring out several times and got it working ok. I was able to dive but my buddy notice that the tank was leaking slightly the next dive and we cut the dive short. I have been to the shop before and they have always been really helpful and friendly but I just felt like they needed to be quite a bit more concerned about this cylinder leak and my life potentially being in danger. Seemed like this Asian guy's only concern was make sure they weren't to blame. Wont be back here. read more

Perry and Chob were very accommodating to me. I was visiting from the East coast and they provided a beautiful tour of Shaw's Cove. Safety was their primary concern and they definitely were not pushy or trying to make a money off of me. I would definitely seek out this dive shop again if ever in So. Cal again. read more

They are VERY unorganized. Took them quite a bit of time to find 2 pairs of matching flippers. They are expensive to rent. For the same price of a rental for a pair of flippers, snorkel and mask you might as well go buy the exact same equipment at a sporting goods store. They could have been a little bit more concerned about whether it was safe conditions that day instead of trying to make a buck. BEWARE! If you lose any thing you rent, they will charge you out the ying yang for it! It would be cheaper to go buy it yourself and then turn in back in in place of your rental! I would give them no star except for this website is making me rate them at least one start so that I can post this review! read more

My husband purchased the scuba certification for me with the hopes that I'd be certified in a month or two. While class instruction was smooth, the pool classes with the scuba gear was less so. While I'm comfortable in the water and am a competent swimmer, being in my 40s, I had hot flashes (even in cool water) and got slightly claustrophobic in the wetsuit and the heavy gear in the pool I had to upgrade for a private pool session with Jen Miller. She was very, very patient, informative & reassuring and I was able to finish the pool portion of class quickly and with ease. While I still need to complete the open water portion of my dives (two attempts made already), I'm opting to wait for warmer, clearer waters (sans wetsuit, ala Magnum PI). Chob & the staff @ Beach Cities Scuba are very friendly, encouraging, professional and patient. I'd highly recommend the location and am very, very thankful in particular to Jen who provided private instruction @ my own pace. read more

I'm finally a PADI certified open water scuba diver! I took the certification course with my brother and we both very well enjoyed it. Thanks to Laguna Sea Sports and Beach Cities Scuba! Rob and Jed were our instructors for day 1 and 2 of our beach dives. They answered all our questions well and gave some useful tips. They were very strict on safety which is really good. I guess my only suggestion is to have some type of help whether it be a wagon or trolley whatever to help us up and down the hill with all of our gear. It was BRUTAL to go up and down the hill and stairs to Shaw's Cove with all the gear plus weights. Other than that, they did a pretty good job with everything. I know I still need practice with my buoyancy but hey, it's all part of the learning process. I can't wait to start doing local dives! I can already tell that all my travel plans in the future will change because of the fact that I can go scuba diving now! Thanks Laguna Sea Sports! read more

Real honest and helpful people here. I lost my gopro and one of their staff found it and returned it to the shop! Thanks Tate Nelson for your honesty. Thanks also to Chob (Boonchob Vijarnsorn) for reaching out and finding me with the good news. read more

After years of wanting to but never doing I finally enrolled in the Open Water Scuba Training through Beach Cities Scuba. I am very satisfied with the results. Everyone that I dealt with on the phone and face to face was very helpful. I travel a lot for work so my training was broken up and the staff was flexible with my schedule. I did my pool and class room work with Jenn M and she was a great instructor. She took the time to make sure I understood everything and took the anxiety out of the process. I did my first open water dive on the Riviera and had Ron as my instructor. The classroom, to pool, to boat was seamless and consistent. Thank you to Beach Cities and its staff for opening my eyes to a whole new underwater world. read more

I don't know why there are bad reviews, because I absolutely loved it! The only thing I can think of, is that those people are shy and more quiet personalities, which is totally fine, but being outgoing and willing to make it happen definitely helped. The instructors were great! I had 3 different ones, which I really liked because they all did things a little differently making it fun. Mike was my beach dive 4 and 5 instructor and he was great!! Very patient and made the skills easy to do. Chob is legit as well, he is way enthusiastic about diving and every time I saw him he was showing me something new and all. I loved my experience with them, and visited 3 of their shops. I'll be doing my advanced diver certification starting soon!! read more

Got certified here with 3 other friends and have nothing but good things to say about the shop. Had Dave and Chance as instructors and they were great, not just in their patience while teaching but in advice from seasoned divers. Chob is the best, he can get you great deals on your gear and he will take into account competitor prices. As far as their prices for classes they have some of the lowest prices I have found. You just show up and all your gear is ready to go no extra charges, unless you choose to dive off the boat. read more

I came to the shop a couple of days ago with my friends, and they completely blew us off, the Asian guy simply ignored us, and they acted very snobby when questioned about the gear, yes I know I'm a beginner, but that's why I came to the shop, wouldn't recommend this place if you aren't very familiar with the diving scene, no help what so ever. read more

we had two good dives with the support of the crew here. they were very accommodating. Chop and the staff were friendly and helped us with every details of our dives. One young helper there showed us the dive site and how to navigate at the site. Very genuine. My gratitude for the dives that we had. The hardest part was the walk back from the beach with 60lbs of wt. Thanks also to Joe at the Dana Point site for recommend us to Laguna and also being very understanding. read more

I hope we just caught this dive shop on a bad day. We met another couple in the water and they had exactly the same comment we did- why on Earth did our friend recommend this place? Never have we encountered such a complete lack of enthusiasm at a dive shop. Despite contacting them well in advance and being assured that although they did not reserve gear that there was always plenty available in all sizes, the day we arrived they were almost completely out of gear. After much grumbling at us that we were too picky (gee, sorry, but XXS really does not fit; it's not that I'm such a bizarre body shape that no BC or wetsuit will ever fit me, M works fine) they finally admitted that their classes that morning were over-subscribed and almost all their gear was out. If they'd just explained that in the beginning before handing us incorrectly sized gear and blaming us for supposed pickiness, things could have gone a whole lot better. One of the fins had a completely rotten strap, and they accused us of mistreating it when we attempted to trade before our dive. (rotten rubber has one look, abused rubber another; this was clearly older than its useful life). I certainly was annoyed at their prices ($18 for 2 hours of fin rental!). No discount and no apology for all the hassle, including having to rumage through a basket of unpaired gloves and boots to try and find something to use. I didn't imagine that we'd be charged for those if for no other reason than the price sheet talks about "pairs." Plus they seemed pretty uninterested in answering questions about conditions and dive sites. Again, hopefully we just caught them on a really really bad day, but I'll certainly not go back. read more

Renting equipment is very expensive: we payed 60 dollar for renting very basic snorkeling gear. On top of that, they are not very customer friendly. If you can find another place ro rent equipment, please do. Anything will be better read more

I had Jen "Scubaholic" Miller and Chance as instructors at Beach City Scuba when I took the dive class. OK. At first I thought she was going to be really tough because she seemed so serious during the classroom part. I got through that pretty well. I was nervous at the pool because I have had trouble in the past with pressurizing my ears and I'm not a really strong swimmer. They were both was sooo patient and helpful offering different tips on how to clear my mask and ears and do the various exercises. And they were really good at communicating with the students to make sure everyone knew what they needed to do and that they were ready to go. I give them my highest recommendation. Besides, they are just really cool people. I think it would be fun to travel on dive trips with them read more

Stopped by on the way to Laguna beach. They were very helpful and had everything that we needed. Although they didn't have the widest selection it was enough to get us through the dive! read more

Went on a guided dive with Jeff, who was very helpful and friendly. Great experience!

Horrible customer service. I get to the dive site and realize I left my weights at home. No problem there is a dive shop around the corner. I went in and explained my problem to the 2, twenty somethings behind the counter. They suggest I buy "soft" weights instead of "hard" weights. I am in a hurry because my dive buddy is suited up and ready to go waiting for me to get back. They ring me up and wow it is over $130 just to make this dive. As the credit card goes through I see that they rent equipment for the day. I say wait, I can just rent the weight. Yeah, $20 for the day. Okay, cancel the sale I will rent. Sorry, your card already went through, no refunds, store credit only..... I now have over $100 on credit. How about suggesting I rent the weights instead of BUYING them. I go do the dive and have a great time. I go back and return my rented weights and decide I will look around since I am going diving in St Lucia in 3 weeks. I ask the same employee who "took care of me" earlier. Can I see that flashlight. "Sure". Is that a halogen bulb or LED? "Ughhh"..... I am not sure... How much is it? "Ugh...... like around $100 and something" What kind of batteries does it take? "Ughhh.... not sure, usually C's or AA" Okay, great thanks for the info. Can I see that camera? "Sure." What model camera is it? "Ughhh...... let me see..." "Ughhhh it does not say on the box. Huh, what do you know about it? "Ughhh I don't think this is a camera. I think this is just the housing...." (It was the SeaLife Reef Master Mini 2 camera but I was not going to tell him) This guy was a complete idiot. He did not have a clue about anything behind the counter. I will never buy anything in this store. At least I can use my store credit at one of the other stores. I hope someone there can give me something other than "Ughhh......" when it comes to explaining the equipment they sell. read more