I was certified as a Basic Scuba Diver in 1978 (more about this later). After 30+ years, I decided to renew my interest in scuba diving on a vacation to Antigua. I took the resort's refresher course and felt pretty good about my skills. On the first open water dive, I had difficulty descending below 30 feet. The dive instructor sent me back to the boat. As soon as I returned from Antigua, I discovered that PADI revised the requirements for certification in 1987 without notifying me of the change. I searched online for dive instructors in the Raleigh, NC area. I contacted another dive shop as well as Kevin about my needs. Only Kevin returned my call/email. Kevin's online reviews all seemed very good so I called him and left a brief message explaining that I wanted to upgrade my Basic diver certification to an Open Water certification (which is what I thought I had originally). Kevin was down in Cozumel on a dive trip (which I strongly suggest) but called me back within a day or two. We discussed my situation and he suggested a "hybrid" approach consisting of the areas that PADI had added to my original training that I could do along with a group course he had starting the following month. (He was scheduled to teach one "diver" to swim before teaching scuba - that's how accommodating he is). The group cancelled so I basically had individual lessons, customized just for me, at no additional cost. In- pool activities were at a local Raleigh pool with "open water" dives at Fantasy Lake, which is a great place to dive. Because of Kevin's understanding and flexibility, I essentially took the whole open water course and was re-certified as Open Water Diver within one month. I strongly recommend Kevin Alexander for scuba instruction for all levels of divers. I have since completed the Advanced Open Water course while on a dive trip with Kevin to Cozumel. read more

Kevin and his team are patient, informed scuba instructors and guides who make you feel safe and take their time to make sure you understand the sometimes complicated components of getting open water certified. Now that Kevin has helped me with my certification I plan to join him on scuba trips in the future! And I'm so happy to know about the Fantasy Lake Adventure Park in Rolesville where I will continue to keep up with this new skill by exploring the quarry! read more

See all

After years of talking about getting certified to dive I finally decided it was time before an upcoming trip to Cozumel. After doing some checking on options in the Raleigh area I was finding the same thing over and over when I called dive shops "Here is our schedule but we cannot get the open water certification done before your trip." Most would recommend I just do a transfer and spend two days of my vacation getting it done but that meant time lost and more money spent. Then I talked to Kevin at By the Shore and he said it was not problem and would work with me to make sure the schedule works! What a refreshing alternative. Once class work began it became clear that I had made the right choice. Kevin has nearly 30 years of dive instruction experience and is an excellent teacher. In addition he helped me get the equipment I needed at a fantastic price and made the whole process pain free! My trip is a few days away and I am ready to go, with my open water dive certification and did it all through Kevin at By the Shore - if you are in the market to get certified, I highly recommend you do the same! read more

When I found out I was going to Cancun and was asked to get SCUBA certified in less than 6 weeks, I started comparing local SCUBA shops and instructors. Kevin at By The Shore SCUBA had the highest reviews, the lowest prices, and the most flexible schedule. He was able to fit me into his very busy calendar and help me get my SCUBA certification in a little over a month. He was super patient with my learning pace and endless questions ("Why do we have to do this?" was my favorite). I am not a strong swimmer, and breathing with my mouth under water does not come naturally to me, but Kevin's teaching methods and techniques helped me get over some underwater fear and frustration. He has decades of experience and thousands of diving hours, not to mention a very personal approach and great sense of humor. Kevin helped me pick out some much needed diving gear and even purchased a thick wet suit for me to wear at the cold quarry in April. He has massive amounts of good quality gear to rent or to buy. Thanks to Kevin I learned lots of useful and lifesaving techniques and became much more comfortable under water with and without SCUBA gear. I would give By The Shore SCUBA 6 stars if it was an option. read more

Kevin is a great instructor! He always made sure i felt safe and comfortable while still having fun in the open water. 10/10 recommend By The Shore Scuba Instruction to anyone who wants to explore the underwater world read more

Kevin Alexander is an excellent SCUBA instructor. He just finished certifying my 11 year old son. Throughout the training, he was deliberate and patient, keeping my son's attention focused on the course material and ensuring that critical skills and knowledge were both learned and retained. Kevin was also flexible about scheduling lessons and open water dives, making it as convenient as possible for my son and me. I couldn't recommend Kevin more highly. If you're looking for an instructor around Raleigh, you should definitely give him a call. UPDATE APRIL 2016: It's been two years since my original review and everything I said then applies now. Kevin has just completed the certification of my younger son, who is also 11 like his older brother was back then. This time, we had the added pressure of wanting to get the training done before our family left for a Caribbean vacation. Kevin was incredibly flexible, working out a schedule that accommodated our limited availability while getting our son through all of the book, pool, and open water stages within just a few weeks. As had been our previous experience, Kevin's approach and style were perfect for son #2, patient when appropriate, firmer when necessary, and always deeply committed to providing a thorough education in diving safety and best practices. My son is very proud of this accomplishment and we're all looking forward to diving together next week. Many thanks, once again, to Kevin Alexander and By The Shore Scuba Instruction. read more

Kevin is amazing! I will only use him now for my scuba needs! You can tell he really is passionate about his customers & scuba diving! I am grateful for finding him. He's just one of those good business men that we need more of. He runs his store out of his house but had more & better quality equipment then other dive shops in town. I found Kevin when I had diving with a friend that day & I had called my previous dive shop to ensure they would have equipment to use & students would not have it all. As expected, I show up to get a wetsuit & they gave me 3 to try, none remotely fit me & they could find a tag with sizes. After trying them on, I am about to leave in tears as a girl, you want things to fit you. I am 5'3 average size & could get these past my knees. Here's where Kevin saves me! It's about 5 pm on Saturday, shops are closing & I don't have a wetsuit & other equipment. I show up at Kevin's, he finds me perfect wetsuit the first time & gives me equipment that I can tell has been taken care of & maintained properly. He even gave me a refresher lesson. Next day, I brought him a watch battery for my dive watch & he changed my dive watch battery out for no charge! Thanks Kevin for all your help! read more

Kevin at By The Shore is an outstanding SCUBA Diving Instructor. He pays close attention to your level of understanding and put you at ease in the water. Kevin knowledge about what I needed in gear was very helpful and clearly saved me money. A recommend Kevin for both SCUBA instruction and SCUBA trips. read more

I can highly recommend Kevin at By The Shore. I was really afraid to learn to scuba dive, in fact, half way through the pool dives I told Kevin I wanted to quit. He wouldn't let me quit and encouraged me to keep going. I am so glad I did ! My open water dives were completed in Cozumel Mexico on a trip Kevin planned. I logged 13 dives on some of the best reefs on the islandl!! Kevin has long standing connections so they were not standard resort dives.. even a local dive master who lives in another part of Mexico chose to join us on a couple of our dives during his vacation! It was an incredible experience. .. I can't thank Kevin enough !! read more

After doing a resort dive in Cancun, I had the itch to complete my open water certification, and I could not be more happy with choosing By the Shore Scuba to do so. Kevin and Ken are both extremely experienced and knowledgeable. They were incredibly flexible, enabling me to complete the certification around my work schedule. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for scuba instruction; I know that I will certainly continue to go to them for all of my scuba needs! read more

Kevin Alexander, By The Shore Scuba, provided me with the most comprehensive open water scuba training. Mr. Alexander was able to customize a training schedule to meet my needs around a seriously busy work and family life. Kevin's equipment is always maintained to the highest degree and was perfect in both the confined and open water environments. Kevin's scuba experience and knowledge exceeded all of my expectations and you would be hard pressed to find a more experienced master diver and instructor. I am very confident in my open water skills and ready to use them. Thank you Kevin! read more