I called Scuba Shack for an insurance recovery of my camera drone. I spoke with Carson who was able…read moreto come out that day with his wife Kristie. They are the new owners of the company. They were very professional from the moment they arrived and the recovery was successful. Afterwards I dropped by their shop to check out their business. I was surprised to find a dive shop in Fredericksburg that I would more likely find in Hawaii or the Caribbean. Their staff was very friendly and told me about their planned travel dives coming up. My experience with this company was outstanding.

I've purchased several items from these folks. My Aqua Lung BCD, prescription mask, regulator with…read moredive computer etc, were all fitted by the professional staff and assurances were made that if I have any issues with them I could always come in to get help. This is the shop I prefer.

They have a good selection of products, timely servicing of regulators, friendly, professional,…read morefair prices.

I got a funny feeling when i visited another scuba shop closer to home; got on the phone to talk to…read moreother shops before more time wasted. Spoke with Donna and immediately had a more reassurance, sense of honesty and competency. After trekking the extra 40 min to Dale City, i was not disappointed. Informed, high integrity, cordial, polite. Despite living in DC i will go back and will look into diving trips with this establishment. I got a real sense of enjoyment and community when I got my OWD certification with a friend in Puerto Rico and wasn't sure I would find it in the sales/finance driven environment in my city. I got the sense this shop espouses a sense of fellowship and support that will make further exploration of scuba more meaningful. Donna was not rushed; answered all my questions and just told me to "most importantly have fun."

I completed my dry suit certification with Everett and Valerie at Lake Phoenix. They are skillful…read moreteachers, experienced divers, and great to spend the day with. I left confident in my new skills and appreciate their excellent training.

My sons had a great experience with their weekend pool course as part of their Open Water…read morecertification. The instructors are thorough and attentive. The people in the store were also great - knowledgeable and helpful. All the staff is so into diving, which is really contagious.

I stopped by for some advice on dive computer and other equipment I am in the market for. Mel and…read moreSy (?) were helpful, they clearly have a ton of knowledge. The store carries a lot of quality equipment and they offer classes as well as amazing dive trips. I only had a short amount of time to pick their brains but I will definitely be back!

Did the intro to scuba course. Had a great time. Fred was very helpful and patient. Excellent…read moreopportunity to test other scuba is for you.

After not diving for over 20 years, I enrolled in a refresher class. Christine was the instructor,…read moreand unfortunately I would not recommend taking a refresher course with her. Throughout the class, she was short and curt, and became easily frustrated with both myself and the other student. At one point, the other student mentioned she was afraid to tell Christine that she had not turned on her regulator (which I also had not), because Christine had not instructed us to do so and had already created an intimidating environment. Several of the procedures Christine reviewed were not part of my original certification training, which made the experience even more stressful rather than educational. At one point, she told us that if she could, she would revoke our certifications--though she acknowledged she did not have the authority to do so. When it came time for the buoyancy check, Christine became extremely frustrated with us. This skill was not required when I originally certified, so it was entirely new to me. By the time we descended, I was so panicked that I no longer felt safe continuing the class. I exited the water and left because I did not feel comfortable or supported as a student. As a result, I lost the full amount I paid for the course. Overall, the experience was discouraging and left me feeling unsafe and disheartened. I would not recommend taking a refresher class with Christine.

From the owner: Scuba Diving Shopread more

I stopped by this past weekend to look at some fins. Grace is very, very knowledgeable and she was…read moreable to answer all my questions and more. She pointed out the trade-offs between various types of fins and fin straps. I was surprised there was so much to consider when buying fins. She also pointed out some other things about scuba (not about fins) that were very helpful. I also had some questions about regulators. My concern was that the hose I used at the OBX felt too short and was almost about to come out of my mouth so I had to hold the regulator in my mouth or bite down hard on the mouthpiece. She answered questions about that as well as concerns I had about water leaking into the mask. She pointed out many things to consider. In short, Grace is very knowledgeable. She definitely knows what she is doing. I hope Diventures is paying her well because she deserves it.

I did my cert and bought all my dive gear at this shop when it was Nautilus. I loved Jason and…read moreMelissa's care they took in their training. I felt so prepared. Now that the shop is part of Diventures, I feel like it has become a community, as well. Diventures is a wonderful resource for trips and making new friends. I love all the events that they are having to bring divers together in the community. I'm doing a trip with another shop with Diventures and I appreciate that Willie is working with me and that shop to make sure that my trip is seamless. They take care of you here!

Unfortunately they are now closed. The Realtor has a for lease sign up and inside remains the…read moretropical colors. When they were open it was a huge shop just outside of all the craziness of the DC Metro in a tiny little rural town / farm area of Catharpin. Prices were good. People were good. Location was just 10-ish minutes off I-66. They had racks of wetsuits, shorties, BCs and had plenty of dive gear. They could work on your Regs, Octopus, and most gauges. They could get you a regular fill or a Nitrox fill and you could drop it off or get a sandwich from the gas station. They had training and refresher courses, quarry dives, pool dives, vacation dives in the tropics. There are only 2 good dive shops in the area that remain. It's like people would rather watch TV than go out and dive...

Review for the shop:…read more This shop is huge, their selection for all types of diving is excellent, and the staff there was friendly and better yet, informative on everything. They went above and beyond in answering all of my questions, including being able to tell me the mechanical details of how a regulator first stage (piston type) works, the pros and cons of each type of regulator, possible freezing temperature (unlikely but possible), air flow capacity etc... they were able to tell me the different types of BC's and all of their pros and cons... list goes on for everything I purchased. Now naturally, one would expect sales people to be attentive, sure, but they were educators first and salespeople second. I never was pushed, just helped and I'm satisfied with everything that I purchased. They helped me assemble my regulator first and second stage, and hoses. (I would have liked to have seen the process for that- but then again, I didn't ask, so that's my fault. I can always YouTube it.) Before buying, I even grabbed some food and double checked what they told me in the car via online research, and they had been honest. I had spent an hour at Best Buy last night trying to get a GoPro to no avail (Best Buy didn't have a waterproof glass casing in stock), however this store had a pretty decent competitor to the GoPro 4 for less than half the price, and it already came fully encased, waterproof up to 300 feet. And yes, I checked all the specs. ============== Review for the dive instructor/class: Immediate pro is that it cost only like $210 for the entire advanced certification, including 5 entire dives, 2 days with instructors, AND a drysuit rental. I found it exciting, challenging, and more difficult (in terms of dealing with cold water, low vis) than your average warm water dive or pool class. Which is exactly what I expected and wanted, walking into it. It was great for training and building mental toughness in the water. The instructor is very informative and helpful, and the class size was small (me and maybe 1 person), which is never a bad thing as you get a lot of help and focus. He's friendly but also expects you to perform your skills right; which is how it should be for an advanced diving cert/class. The only thing that didn't go as planned is that we weren't able to perform all the skills we were supposed to, as visibility was only about a foot (it rained heavily this week). Which is completely understandable from a common sense/liability POV, but it still sucked. The instructor said next week should be better though, so we'll see. If it is, I'll update review to show that. Either way; I get to come back for free until lake conditions are acceptable for training. Worst case scenario if they're not is a free day of partial dive training. Only things to work on: try to get a better range of sizes for drysuits and 7mm wetsuits. Bottom line: I highly recommend every new scuba diver in the entire D.C./MD/VA area come to this shop for their gear, and also for their advanced certification

This dive instruction business is female owned. Classroom instruction done in Culpeper and pool…read moreinstruction done in Manassas currently. The open water dives are done in the quarry near Fredericksburg. Ronda is very patient with the students and ensures safety and having fun is always present.

I received my Rescue Diver certification through Fins Up Scuba. The instructor was very…read moreknowledgeable and thorough in her instruction. She was very personable and patient with all of the students in the classroom and during the open water exercises. Very well recommended!

The most enjoyable and memorable Scuba Dive Center in St Mary's County. Since getting certified…read morefrom open to advance, my trust and experience with Scuba Center & Outdoor Rec has exceeded my expectations and I knew it was from day 1 when I signed me and my wife up for Scuba Diving. By getting certified, we have gone on many annual trips with the dive shop, meeting new people, and making friends that will last a life time. Every trip has been full of laughter and enjoyment. This is one shop that does not only train and hand you out your certification, this is a shop that likes to put your diving reality to life. If you live in the area and want to get certified by a shop you can trust and join the diving excursions, go to Scuba Center & Outdoor Rec. Trust me, they will not let you down. Even if you are thinking about the hobby or it has been something that you have been itching to try, you can sign-up for their discover scuba and feel what it is like to breath and blow bubbles underwater. This hobby will take your mind and experience to whole new level. Chill Will

Once you dive with them, you're family. Outstanding staff that works with you on a personal level…read moreno matter what size the class is. If you're not sure diving is something you can do, there's an introductory class. Once you're hooked, there's a plethora of other specialty courses to further your knowledge of scuba diving. Everyone is very professional and safety is the number one priority. If you're thinking of taking the plunge, you've come to right place.

Calling out Drew Smith for his proffesionalism as a trainer of many scuba skills. I also trust Drew…read morecompletely as a scuba equipment maintenance and repair technician. When you need your scuba regulator (life support equipment) inspected and maintained, you can feel safe in his hands. He's an asset to Diventures indeed.

Thanks Diventures and Diveventures Virginia for making the Secore trip to Curaçao amazing! Amazing,…read moreeasy week of diving some beautiful and alive corals reefs. It was great learning with Sabrina, Dirk (and Paul) about the work Secore is doing to help the reefs! Thanks Wille (Duane and Josh) for helping sort through the selection of flashlights and making sure I had my Big Blue flashlights I wanted for the trip. I preferred having the red lens and the marker light at night! Also, the 1 mm neoprene top was perfect weight for me. Thanks Drew and Tracy for making sure my gear was good to go. And MaKenzie and Nathan for facilitating it all and positive vibes! Coming from another Diveventures shop, its great to see the family grow! Thanks oceanencounters_curacao for the photos!