Very surprised to read the negative stuff about the sales clerks. We walked in, what couldn't have been more than 5-10 minutes before closing time. We actually had to ask if they were still open. The friendly male sales clerk said 'Sure, come on in!'. We were leaving for vacation and of course, put off getting our snorkeling equipment until the very last minute. The sales guy showed us their fin, mask and snorkel selection, explaining briefly the differences between certain pieces of equipment and gives some pros and cons, we always had the feeling that we can could inquire for more info if need be, he was super friendly. 2 pairs of adult fins, masks and snorkels later, we moved onto kids' options for our 6 year old. He let our daughter try on several different goggles and masks and explained which he'd opt for (it was rather past closing time at this point, but we weren't remotely hurried along or rushed by him or anyone else in the store). After we got our daughter sorted, my husband picked out a PADI binder (much needed as his dive log was starting to look neglected and sad), and then we agreed that we'd need a decent but compact bag for all this equipment, which was no problem either - the great sales dude showed us several and we picked out the right one for us. There was never any upselling, which was treat. He even showed us certain items that we were on sale and explained why they were on sale. We spent several hundred dollars and walked out very happy customers. If we ever want to 'gear up' with diving gear or revamp our wetsuit/drysuit wardrobe, our first stop will be Diver Dan's. Given the fact that we walked in so late, and the quality of service was so awesome, I really don't see how I can rate this place lower than a 5 star. Also, the actual selection is pretty vast, it's a big store, and the fact that I was able to find adult-sized fins for my really small (size 5 on a good day) feet, was a huge win. All of the purchased gear held up beautifully throughout our trip and was pretty much used every day, no complaints there or, on any other aspect, for that matter! read more

I really wanted to like this place and some of the staff is lovely, but my last visit left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Some of the staff can be quite condescending and rude at with very little patience. I've been to other dive shops in the area who were super patient and kind with my questions and will be shopping there in the future. read more

Just finished my rescue diver course under Will Kraemer at Dive Dans. Will runs a rigorous course and provides clear and constructive feedback, which is especially important in a course about diver safety. Given that we couldn't do a pool session due to COVID, Will did a great job implementing the course using only a classroom and the ocean. We also had some great laughs in the water and Will offered to put me in touch with other specialized instructors in the community to continue my education. read more

Purchased snorkel gear. Very good experience. Dan was very helpful. Thank you They also offer snorkel lesson too. read more

Friendliest dive shop ever! Got fitted for a rental suit, and Streeter killed it on his first day there. Very personable and knowledgeable. His supervisor was great as well, overall awesome vibe. The place is massive, and they have a huge selection of gear. Prices are lower than I thought, turns out they can sell below MSRP because of their relationships with some of their suppliers. Wish I could give them 6 stars. read more

This shop has VERY experienced personnel. There are no part timers here. They all have extensive dive knowledge going back decades. Diver Dans also has extensive inventory and allow you to try multiple suits of any type. Wetsuit, semi dry, etc etc. They have multiple brands of all products and great placement of products. They also discount most items without needing a sale or special occasion. Quite often other dive shops in the area while nice do not have the selection that Dans has. And if you want knowledge and the sales reps to spend time with you they can bend your ear as long as you want. I love that about this dive shop as opposed to other shops that wont go into depth you you on all subjects requested. Whether you buy anything or not they will give you all the information you need and never get tired of your questions. edited to include personnel at store. If you want great service and have questions talk to Jeremy. He is one of those top knowledge good guys. read more

Great to hear many people find Diver Dans their go to place. Unfortunately my experience was very disappointing, was looking for some specific gear to replace some older stuff. Was walking around for a good 15min before anyone even acknowledged I was there. I should point out I was the ONLY customer in store. Asked a few questions got some good, but generic comments then a long conversation of the guy talking about his own diving experiences. Fair to say left without buying the gear I was looking for, will try else where or online. Oh and one last comment, NEVER bag another dive store, poor form folks! read more

This review is strictly on the equipment and service department. Been going into Diver Dan's for over a year ever since I got the $50 fill card. I take 4 tanks in at a time. Service staff is always rude, and unprofessional, or they just completely ignore you and make you wait. Or simply, they are not there at all. So of the 4 tanks I take in, one of them is always not filled, one of them missing the $20 visual sticker (and they will charge you again next time since it's "missing" the sticker and give you the quick hot fill), and that leaves 2 tanks working but yet they would charge you the price for 4 tanks. They never complete the work for 4 tanks, there's always some stickers missing, and there're always tanks NOT FILLED! YET THEY CHARGE YOU FULL PRICE! Imagine all the drama when I take my tanks out to the airsoft field and my teammates expect to get air for the day and there's NONE! Should have read the reviews before going to Diver Dan's. I'm sort of glad that I'm not scuba diving, because I WOULD BE DEAD! **By the way, they will never call you back and inform you that the tank is ready, or if there's anything wrong with the tanks. You literally need to take your chances and go to the shop to see if you are lucky enough to pick up the (not-filled) tanks. *********************************************************************************** Updated 9/20/2018 Thanks for the "ACCURATE" response from owner of Diver's Dan. I'd like to point out, I understand that you are proud of your staff and the training they receive, but calling my review "inaccurate" means you don't really know what is going on in your shop. 1. The very first time I went to Diver's Dan, was with the 4 tanks which were "on the same schedule". Yet, only 3 got visualed, and 1 of them nobody even touched. So the next time (3 months later) I went in, 1 needs to be visualed and I get charged for it. So your staff actually screwed up the "schedule" initially. And they kept doing it, so the 4 tanks were now never "on the same schedule". 2. I leave tanks there for 3 to 7 days, if not more. Yet no one ever calls to inform me that the tanks were ready. So after for about a week or so, I go back to your precious shop, guess what, the tanks are not ready!! So YOUR STAFF HAS TO PERFORM A HOT FILL! It happened MULTIPLE TIMES! And if you are calling it "honoring my wish"...Wow I'm speechless. How many days does it take to fill 4 tanks? 3. Let me stress this again, I use the tanks for Airsoft guns. I can't imagine someone actually takes the tank to scuba dive and encounter the problems I encounter. For me it's fun and games, for them it's life or death. AGAIN, be proud of your service staff and call the customer "inaccurate" all you want. I gain nothing from leaving you a 1-star review. It is what it is. read more

Recently, my boyfriend decided he wanted to start learning how to scuba dive. So for our anniversary I gave him a package to do his certification at Diver Dan's. The course packet suggested that we come in a week before the class began to ensure that we had the right and to do a fitting for his equipment for the upcoming class. When we went down to the store on our day off, not only did we stand around waiting for someone to help us, when we finally walked up to the counter to ask for help, we were treated like morons who knew nothing about scuba diving. Yes, we were new to the experience but no staff member should treat people who are willing to listen and learn this way. We had already purchased goggles, a snorkel and fins and wanted to make sure these would be the proper equipment for the course. I guess this was too much to ask. The worse part about the whole thing was the owner or manager was standing only a few feet away. Obviously, this was normal practice at Diver Dans. I'm sorry that some people are not born with the expert knowledge of scuba diving and want to learn ie: signing up for a course. Needless to say, we canceled my boyfriends course and decided to go to Aquatic Discovery, only about 15 minutes away. We had such a great experience there that I decided to sign up for a course as well. Do not give this store your time of day. They treat you like a waste of time. Please read my Aquatic Discovery review and you will understand why we chose to do all of our purchasing and course work through them. read more

I finally went and got a new reg and gauges for my birthday! They are awesome and and after years of using old ass crap I'm stoked! Five stars for my new purchase, three stars for the Oceanic Sales Rep, ZERO stars for the guy with absolutely no personality that rang me up. Do not ask this guy for any advice, he will just look at you like you're some kind of moron. Dude, please go do something you don't hate and stop being such a downer. You're fuckin' up my happy vibe. read more

5 Stars for the Open water / discover scuba course First of all, if you don't know whether to commit to the full course, try the discover scuba course, its $20 for a friday night and the money can be applied to your open water course if you sign up. I took my girlfriend with me as she wasn't sure and really enjoyed this course. The classroom session teaches you the basics and then you can go into the pool and learn some skills before going into the deepend of the pool where you can roam around. For the Open water course, its Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and another Saturday and Sunday. The first weekend is classroom + pool sessions, the second weekend is the ocean with 4 dives total. Our instructors were Brian and Carlos, they were really awesome! They were very experienced, patient and pointed out the important details during our training that will help us later in our dives. We felt very safe during the entire course and there were no dangerous events experienced. If you choose to take this course, you must remember that you need to purchase your own equipment (Mask, snorkel, gloves, boots, fins, course package), the rest are rented as part of the course (buoyancy control device, regulator, tank, wetsuit). The course package helps you to understand how to purchase these items, you can also check out the storefront to look at the equipment, go before you signup and don't rush to buy anything. The prices at the store will be similar to the online prices for the exact model and are generally higher end, however, as a new diver, you don't know what you need and can easily spend $400 just on these pieces of equipment. You can save money by purchasing the cheaper equipment online for the items. Talk to a diver friend to get an idea of what you need, you might end up only diving in tropical areas and may just rent this at the destination. If you order online, remember that shipping takes a week and you need this by the first weekend. For weekend2, where you go in the ocean, there are a few things to note to make your trip more comfortable. We went during august, the water was 55F, you will be very cold (shivering) in the wetsuit. You should get thick gloves 5mm/7mm for this, not much you can do with the rental wetsuits except buying those warm packs and stick them inside. If you group is large, you should ask instructors to take the groups separately into the water. We had 12 people and went as one group for our first dive and had long wait times for everyone to finish their skills. We divided into 2 groups later and it was much better. We encountered very low visibility and many jellyfish (rare), you can only get stung around your mouth as you're wearing a full wetsuit from top to bottom. Its not bad at all and will probably not encounter this. They recommend you to stay overnight in Monterey, but we didn't, the hotels/airbnb was overly expensive and not worth it (There was some event that weekend). The dives start at 7AM, so there's no traffic from southbay (1hour). Bring food/water for lunch, for us it wasn't super clear on the lunch schedule, but once you finish the morning dive, make sure you eat your lunch. Being cold and hungry is not fun. Make sure you either cover yourself or wear lots of sunscreen, coming out of the cold water, you don't feel the sun, but you will get sunburnt. Carrying the tanks from your car is heavy, if you have a dolly, bring it. Overall, we had a very enjoyable experience, and are happy to be certified at diver dans. read more

I think people really need to distinguish between their experience here with the courses they offer here versus the actual diving store where we buy the equipment. I have heard great things about their courses, however since my buying experience with them has been below sub-par, I will never find out. First, let me say Mike Davis, the manager is just sitting behind his desk and doing nothing. If you ask for advice he looks at you as if you're stupid. Then he has another minion working for him that is even more hostile, bald kid with glasses, he's hostile as soon as he finds out you purchased your equipment not from his store. I use to come here because they have a nice selection with little knick knacks as an octo holder, but since I have everything, and any new equipment I get will be from Wallins Diver Center or online. I read a lot about how scuba shops frown upon or even become hostile to people that buy their equipment online, but hey, accept the fact that the world now has the internet, either adapt your business or become another failure. read more

Awesome dive shop. They have a large selection of gear on display. Rich and Mike are very helpful with equipment and repairs. Every time I have questions about a new piece of gear they take their time to explain the different options. They also helped me with my Dry suit certification and both of them are great instructors. Bob Halem has been teaching my son since he was about 8 or 9 years old. First with Bubblemaker and Advanced Bubblemaker in the pool. Then, with his Open Water Certification when he turned 10 years old. Bob also helped me with my Nitrox Certification. Bob is also a great instructor. read more

After reading a lot of the reviews below, I am sort of baffled. Guess like everything in life, its perspective, and a little "You get out of it what you put into it." Having been certified in 1980 and having well over three hundred dives in my diving career.... I had a ten year lay off from Diving. My reintroduction is due to my current GF and I've been enjoying getting back into it. The first time I got back into the sport I went to a San Francisco shop that shall remain nameless. They happened to have the LAST REBUILD KIT on Earth for my 1970's Dacor Pacer 900. They repaired it with lots of laughing at me and derision, and sold me a used computer to replace my US Divers Monitor 2, and a used BC. On my first trip back underwater, I was really saddened as suddenly I'm an air hog. Didn't used to be the case. This trip I went to Diver Dan's and I get why people said they didn't get adequate service. I looked around the aisles at new dive gear... no one approached me. I poked and prodded gear with no salesman asking me if I wanted help. I took this as no pressure. Once I what..... ASKED A QUESTION... I got all the help I needed and more. I worked with one sales person, and Diver Dan himself on my two trips there. They didn't laugh at my Dacor Pacer 900 in fact praised it for being "The best in its day" and they bent over backwards giving me a 15% rebate on a new regulator for letting them part out my old Dacor. They didn't push me into the latest greatest, reg, they just pointed out the features (On the budget end) and I ended up buying the second least expensive regulator that WORKED LIKE A CHAMP. They also inspected my gear at no additional charge, and found a leak in my BC that added to my air consumption. They didn't try to sell me an octopus stating my "Air 2" was serviceable and in good condition. They allowed me to try two pair of fins against my old ones in their pool and when I stuck with the old ones... no problem. There were things I had found on the internet, they price matched.... What more can you ask of a store. So if you need to be fawned over, this may not be your place. If you are the type to ask questions, listen to the answers, and do some internet research, you are going to have excellent service, price matching and walk out with good information and nice new gear. On my recent two week trip to Mexico.... I was NOT an air hog and in fact the first one in and last one out with plenty of air to spare. My new camera gear worked like a champ and I thank Diver Dan's for the help and guidance. Yeah... I had to approach THEM with my questions... but I call that low pressure sales. Cheers ! read more

I've stopped in multiple times but always had a bad experience with their retail staff. They are rude and disinterested and arrogant - just want to push overpriced sales items. Not at all helpful with suggestions or info. I do know an instructor affiliated with Diver Dan's through work, and have no problems recommending him, and the fact that they have an indoor pool is really great for training. But they are also an in-your-face PADI store - which means they will constantly try to sell you the next video tape or course or certification. read more

Kudos to Dan's for arranging for a wide variety of classes by a good set of instructors. They have clean, well equipped class rooms and the pool is clean and functional if a bit cramped. Most of the rest of my experience there has been well below what I expect from a good dive shop. The customer service is in adequate at best, surly and misinformed at worst. They appear to have more training in selling than in the equipment they're selling and with one or two exceptions they score a zero on personality. The few good employees they have, Mike is a standout, are highly variable, having been involved in 'professional retail' before I'd guess poor this suggests poor management. Rental equipment is functional though I rented three drysuits in a row that leaked more than a little bit. Yeah, ok, rental drysuits take a beating but three in a row wasn't very impressive. I should note however that I did dive with another person who rented and her suit (womens xxs so maybe not many rental hours) was bone dry. Naturally when I returned the suit and mentioned that it leaked the response was rude. Long story short: good for them for promoting diving education at all levels, too bad the rest of the experience is so bad. I won't go back. read more

The shop: A little high pressure on their sales. I would give them a three out of five. But as I was there to get SCUBA certed, I am writting this review for that team... The dive instructors: Alexis...is an amazing instructor. Very hands off, do it yourself, lets you figure it out, steps in when needed. Gar is a pretty gosh darn niffty guy, who helped me out when I was stressed, and Jason tells really bad jokes. Brian is the zen master of hoovering underwater. They were a great bunch. The only instructer that I had any issues with was one that was in training. I won't list their name, since i don't think they will be a permanent memeber of the team, but they were too hands-on, kept grabbing my fins in the water, changing my boyancy instead of letting me do it. My issue was that after they grabbed my fin for about the fifth or sixth time, I lost it. One half of something I just spent $170, and I loose it, after he kept grabbing them. Meh. I would take away a buncha stars for that, but the rest of the crew made up for it. And now, I'm certed in Scuba, which is so cool beans. Now to try it out someplace warmer... read more

This summer we got our two teen-age daughters through their PADI OW diving referrals through Dan´s accelerated weekend format. They went on to complete their 4 required open water dives each in Kona without a hitch !. Absolutely top-notch instruction and follow-through. It´s good to see this store continuing to thrive. Cheers to all !. read more

Scuba diving isn't something you can just walk into with little knowledge or research. A sales-rep should be able to help answer all your questions and make the experience fun. Diver Dan's Shop does not do either. As a new scuba diver that does a lot of research before buying, I walked into the shop looking at prices for mesh bags (and to see what else they offered). I was the only customer when I walked in. I was hoping for the girl behind the counter to at least say hello and ask if everything was okay, especially when I purposely hovered in the area right in front of her... no such luck! Like all the other reviews, it was like a high school kid that didn't want to work at McDonalds and was there instead. I was there roaming back and forth and not a single hello. I felt lonely.. and not that romantic kind of lonely... but the kind like you went diving without a scuba buddy and you're wearing a 3mm suit when you should've worn a 7mm. The other gentleman at least said hello to me when I walked into the door, but he didn't come up and asked if I needed help either. I had to sum up the courage to say goodbye when I left. I was fortunate, I made it out with a goodbye from the gentleman again! Nothing from the girl by the way. I prefer Aquatic Discovery. They don't have a whole wide selection, but if it came down to lessons and customer service, Aquatic discovery always wins. read more

I read all the reviews and didn't feel that the more negative ones had a lot of merit. These people are just like anyone else. They have their good days and their bad days. I have taken the Open Water Basic, and a few other courses and rented several times from these guys and found them to be honest, helpful, understanding and patient. I never found them rude or purposely malicious. They really know their stuff, they won't sell you anything you don't need. You can ask a lot of questions and they are very tolerant about their rentals. What else can you expect? read more

I'll give it 2 stars for being well stocked and clean. Huge down grade as I have been in the shop twice in the last month and given miss information twice. When I asked for clarification I was treated like a dumb-ass. Normally, I would not include anything about myself. That said, I think in this case it is a important. I have held mix gas (tri-mix) instructor certifications, as well as a hole host of instructor certifications from PADI, NAUI, SSI, TDI, bla bla.. My point is I am familiar with the subject. I never showed a card, or walked in with any kind of attitude. All I needed was a quick tank rental for my son to play paintball. I feel sorry for those that walk in for sold info and get jerked around. The bottom line is that it is their business and their insurance policy that may drive protocols. But giving incorrect info or blaming a regulatory agency for store policy then acting like a customer is dumb as a stump is not ok! read more

FREE intro scuba diving lesson! i've always wanted to try out scuba diving. diver dan's gives you a feel for what it's like underwater without having to pay for all the gear and training. unfortunately, when i went in yesterday it was super packed, so we didn't get the full time in the pool. but hey, free is free. jason & gar (the instructors) were funny and helpful. after teaching us the basics, we got to put on some fins and practice diving in their 10 ft deep pool. again, there were like....12 people in there at once, making it quite the traffic jam. the pool was preeettty murky, making me wonder if the kiddos has released their bladders in there. it was a really good first time experience but to be honest, i don't think i'll ever do it again. it's just unnatural to be underwater for so long. my fingers are STILL pruned up. read more

My 5-star rating is only for the SCUBA REFRESHER COURSE. Got a last-minute trip booked up to go to Hawaii for a week next week. Haven't dived for a few years, all of a sudden I was scrabmling to find a dive refresher course. Called up 3 dive shops/dive school near Foster City but none offered class this week. Plus one of them (Wallins in San Carlos) turned me away saying with me not having dived for a few years, they cannot give me that 2-hour refresher course for $75 for liability reason, BUT it would have to be some one-on-one lesson for $125 an hour, or I would have to go through their regular full (6 weeks?) course? What a jerk even though I told him about my immediate need due to the Hawaii trip... OK. now I expanded my search to anywhere that offers refresher course. Diver Dan's popped up on Yelp. I went to their website and voila, they have refresher course for 2 nights this week for $75! I immediately called and booked the class, and drove for one hour down after work Tue & Thu. evenings for the class. 4 stars are for offering the class at such frequency and the design of the class: first evening for classroom session to go over all the key points of scuba dive. 2nd evening is an 3-HOUR pool session and the instructor went over a 17 or 18 points of important skills to go over. Due to the small class size (3) and there is also an assistant instructor, each of us got individual attention to practice every single skills. Also gear rental is included in the fee of the class. So this is really a great deal. After not diving for 4 plus years, I was a little apprehensive about going diving again. But after these 2 review sessions and practice in the water, I feel good going out there to do it again! 1 additional star goes to the Ryan Romero & Lida Burgess for their instruction on the review and pool practice. Ryan is the best instructor I have had. He is funny, explains things well and to the point and made sure everyone got it before moving. He is patient and nice too. His wife, Lisa was a great dive instructor at the pool as well. She worked with me one-on-one and make sure I got it. Thanks to both of you for making my first dive so much more comfortable. I still remember getting yelled at by the diver instructor at the dive shop I got certified at in South San Jose. It was like military training and I was very scared and frustrated and didn't do well at all. 8 years later, I feel like I am much more confident and and dive better! If you are looking for dive classes, I would highly recommend this shop. There are a ton of classes there and they have like 5 classrooms upstairs and many dive instructors there. A couple of them stopped by our refresher class to say hi and they were really nice & friendly. ALOHA HERE I COME!!! read more

I was very disapointed with the freediving class. First day the professor spend half of the class just talking about equipment's and abalone, after that we went to the pool and he taught simple descending technique we practiced that a few times and than the class was done 30 minutes earlier. The second day was suppose to be about apnea and diving techniques but he did not show any training we could do to improve breath hold, no co2/o2 table nor anything. The only thing we did was a simple 1-2 breathing and than we did static apnea to see how long we cam hold breath. He badly talked about equalization and did not even knew what diaphragm contractions are. Most of what we did on the final day was to dive to pick up an abalone shell in the bottom of the pool and again the class finished 30 minutes earlier. read more

My husband and i decided to get certified for scuba diving before our trip to hawaii and this seemed like the best place to do it since some friends recommended it to us. We were really happy with their program and learned a ton. Our book program was pretty easy and a lot of it is common sense. The instructors had a great way of clarifying content. Our pool program was pretty tough but we pulled through, make sure your swimming conditioning is up before you enroll since you have to meet some minimum criteria before you start the pool training. When we went to Monterey for our final test we didn't have the best conditions, really choppy waves and the visibility was pretty bad. We got through it though and it was a great learning experience since we are prepared for the toughest conditions. They have decent prices on their equipment there if you are looking to buy some gear instead of rent. If you are thinking about getting certified go to these guys, friendly and knowledgeable staff, a good facility and a great program. read more

Exceptional customer service and knowledge of dive gear. Dan and Jeremy advised me on a new wetsuit for Monterey and I was way warmer and more comfortable than my buddies! Their fitting expertise helped me get the correct fit. I was so impressed with Diver Dan's that I went back and got a new BC, integrated dive computer, and regulator. I am so happy with all of them! They have reasonable prices and great deals too. Highly recommend. read more

Honestly... They have everything I needed. But they are pretty pricey for example... I own a wetsuit and its brand new, I bought it in Santa Cruz for $120.00 and I found the same exact wetsuit here at diver dans for $280.00 so I could only imagine how cheap the stuff is they sell if they did that to a wetsuit. For the service, they lag in giving you attention and have very boring personalities as if they don't care but they still will answer your questions. For example... I walked in and looked around and sat in theses chairs and waited for someone for like 17 mins until a guy came up and said "you guys doing fine?" as if I was helping myself... But in the end I got what I wanted and needed. read more

Yes I think Diver Dan's has a name image problem. As far as the shop goes - I was EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY skeptical about going to Diver Dan's. However, I picked DD's as my shop because it was the closest to where I live. Based on the poor overall Yelp reviews, I had a very negative attitude going in. I was even prepared to shoot back with the snoo We rented a drysuit once in a different dive shop in Monterey, and not only was it more expensive than at Diver Dans, it was only for 1 day! Also my husband's credit card was frauded a few days after and following an analysis we concluded that it was probably from that Monterey dive shop... This NEVER happened at Diver Dans! Yeah but you imply that you suspected Diver Dan's who stole your money. At Aquatic Discovery it would have never had crossed your mind. Diver Dan's is really sloppy kind of a turn off, which is fine if I'm just going to buy something but I couldn't imagine getting instruction from the guy and the guy doesn't like to answer questions. read more

I just completed the Open Water PADI course- Fri night, all day Sat and Sun., and the next w/e was the check out dives in Monterey. We had to be there by 7:30 Sat and were done by 3:30pm Sun (Sat. we were done by 3pm or so). First, the instructors were all superbe. They really really really love diving, and they really want to get people in to it. The store staff were fine- I got in at 5pm Fri and bought gear, got fitted for a wetsuit and had plenty of time for the class which started at 6:30. The staff have recommendations all over the world for diving, which is really helpful. the only thing is that you end up buying a lot of gear right there at the shop, and you don't know if you're getting a deal or not, or whether you might really need it. Like thick gloves and booties? I *know* I'm gonna be a fairweather diver, so I'm not sure if my investment will be long term, as it were. Still, the schedule worked out well, I felt I learned a lot, both knowledge and skills, and people were nice. read more

I'm only now 1/2way through my PADI open water scuba certification at Diver Dan's so hopefully I won't jump the gun on giving them a good review now -- I can't say much regarding what Jill said about their being a bad place to buy equipment from, except that some of the other people in my class said that a lot of the essential equipment required for class (which I decided to rent) was $20 cheaper per item online. As for the open water course, our instructors have been really organized, thorough, safety conscious, and fun. While scuba is an expensive sport, getting entry level training can be done for a few hundred dollars, and if you really want to drop more cash these guys can do lots of more advanced certifications, all the way up to being an instructor yourself. Can't wait till next weekend when we do our open water dives in Monterey! Update. Getting PADI open water certification is tons of fun. Driving down to Monterey to go diving, there was fresh snow in the trees in the Santa Cruz mountains, and there was some hail while we were in the water. And i did almost freeze to death the first day... but I borrowed a 3rd wet suit layer for the 2nd day and fully enjoyed it. The majority of our training staff was really cool. read more

My favorite California dive shop. Knowledgeable and low pressure sales. Very helpful when asked. They pretty much leave you alone if browsing. Received my open water very here, it's nice that they have their own pool and changing rooms. Prices typically better than online. If not they will match most reputable web sites. If you're a frequent diver check into the dive club for discounted "tanks allot cards" Warning, this is a one dog dive shop. Please leave your pets at home. Brandy rules the roost. read more

Heard about DDs through some friends that strongly recommended it. Went through weekend accelerated course early June 2008. Had Kyle, Ryan and John as our pool / open water instructors Pros: -Great, enthusiastic instruction from great instructors. -Pool located on site cannot be underrated! Some other dive shops had you do your pool dive at a local high school pool with class time at their shop. You do not want to travel to multiple locations. -PADI method is thorough, methodical and meaningful -When you do your open water dives in Monterrey, you will see other dive outfitters set up there at that location. They may have fancier tents, chairs and plastic bins to store your stuff, but our group seemed to have the best quality session... we briefed and debriefed a lot (which is a good thing). There seemed to be a better instructor / participant ratio on our side. And, our instructors seemed to have fun / like each other. I know this is not a 100% fair comment because I haven't gone through other outfitters but this is from my observation. Cons: -Get your gear online / another source. The gear there is at retail price and echoing other user's comments... I felt a bit of sales pressure / intimidation there. Go to the store to figure out the brands and sizes you like and then go online to find the best price. - If you read the manual well, the classroom time seems a bit redundant. But, if you look back on their approach, what seemed repetitive was actually a great learning technique. You naturally absorb the ideas and techniques because you go through it in the classroom, pool and then the open water. There may be cheaper dive outfitters around but they are the best. read more

I took the accelerated Basic Open Water course with Gar and Jason in January of 2012 and had an absolute blast. The instructors were knowledgable and did a good job making dull topics entertaining. If you're thinking about getting certified, DO IT! You can't beat a heated, 86 degree pool in the middle of winter. The course fee includes all your rental gear for your pool sessions and your ocean dives. I had so much fun in Monterey, I signed up for Nitrox and Advanced Open Water after I got back! Here's a video from the Monterey ocean dives: http://vimeo.com/37499435 read more

5 stars for the PADI open water scuba diving class! Greg Olson is a great instructor! He is an excellent teacher both in the classroom and in the water. Greg is nice and patient, and he takes care of his students. You feel very comfortable and relaxed as a first time diver. Carlos, the assistant instructor, is also very good. He is serious about every detail, which is good for us to avoid mistakes in the future. I thought we would only dive once or twice to practice the skills in the sea. But actually there were 4 dives in the two days at Monterey bay. Every time after practicing the skills, the students were led for a diving tour underwater. It was amazing! As Greg said, he wanted to let us enjoy diving, and we did enjoyed every dive. read more

I come here to get my scuba tanks filled. Sometime I have to wait in the backroom, after an employees is finally off the phone taking to either a customer or spouse, not sure which one it is. Once I do get some help I am able to get the tanks filled quick and up to 3K, but once I am assisted there is no issues with the tanks and fills, so that is one of the reasons I keep coming back. read more

Had a great experience with an equipment rental. The staff was helpful and kind about the fact that I hadn't had much experience in cold water diving before. That's really an important thing: I find it often happens in the hobby world that people feel the need to admonish and scold one another for not knowing as much as them: "Brah, do you even Nitrox??". So yeah, they were nice, but paid close enough attention to the details to help ensure I had a fun and safe dive. They also let me know that they offer a coupon to those joining their dive club, which made my rental super inexpensive. read more

I love breathing under water. So much so that I have gotten my open water, advance and rescue - all through Diver Dan's. The instructors here rock. They definitely know what they're talking about, what they're doing, and make wearing a 7mm wetsuit in an 80 degree heated pool enjoyable, when it really shouldn't be. If you want to get certified, get it done through Diver Dan's. The instructors are amazing. That said, I don't care much for the store staff, except for Mike. When I'm dropping an entire paycheck, I like walking out of the store feeling like I didn't waste my time or money. Everyone there is seriously lacking in personality. "What kind of fins should I get?" "That one." "Why?" "Cuz." um... ok. bottom line: go there for the instructors and if you don't mind disinterested staff. read more

This review is for the dive shop itself and not the services, classes or certifications offered. Specifically, the great customer experience I had was with Rich, Dan, and Dan's adorable golden retriever (my soft spot). The shop is well lit and open with everything merchandised very well. Everything in a category is meticulously lined up on the wall or across on a shelf. It's very easily shopped. Upon walking in, Rich introduced himself to me and for the next hour, I had his undivided attention. I came in to purchase a new mask as well as gloves and boots for my first cold water dive but I also wanted to poke around and try out some other gear with no intention of buying just yet. Rich was incredibly patient and answered all of my questions, weighed the pros and cons of everything and offered his advice. At no point was he pushy; he was very helpful and patient. It was nice to see Dan, the owner, on the sales floor chatting with customers as well. I picked up some Aqua Lung boots and gloves as well as an Oceanic mask. They have a great return policy unlike most other dive shops; you can get a full refund within 30 days. read more

So you're interest in SCUBA diving? Well Diver Dan's is a great place to learn. I came here about 3 months back to start my SCUBA certification, and I am very happy I did. Back-story: I used to live in Hawaii, and have wanted to learn to SCUBA for a while, but just ran out of time while over there. So a friend of mine was going on vacation and she thought it would be cool for her to learn before she went, and I immediately signed up with her. I've only gotten through Advanced open water, but plan on going as far as I can, as long as I find the time. So Diver Dan's.... My first instructor was Greg and he was awesome. Very knowledgeable about what he was teaching and very confident too. I'm pretty comfortable in the ocean, but some people may not, and Greg and the other instructors were very helpful to people who may be a little intimidated but the big open ocean. So I did the compressed course, Go to class on a Friday night, study the book, go back the next Saturday from like 9am till 5pm, study the book a little and jump in the pool to get used to a wetsuit and all the equipment. And then come back on the next Sunday for some more pool time. The weekend after that we went down to Monterrey Bay and actually put our new found skills to work. The pool session was very helpful, It was a very cool feeling the first time you get to breath underwater. The book and the pool stuff is fairly simple stuff, but it is very necessary to get you familiar with the equipment. Now Monterrey was nice, but very cold. Not too big a deal cause you have a thick wetsuit on, but you should know its still going to be cold there, not a big deal, you'll survive. One of the great things about Diver Dan's, was how enthusiastic the instructors were. We had maybe 7 or 8 people in our class, and once we get to Monterrey, we had about 8 Instructors. They love diving so much, they just want to be out there, and its really great to have almost a 1 to 1 ratio. Now this may not be every class, but I'd guess its still going to be 1 instructor to 3 or 4 students max. All in all I'd recommend Diver Dan's. I had a great time, and am very glad that I went and got my certification. Now if you are up for it, I also recommend doing the advanced open water. I did mine, again in Monterrey bay, and it was very awesome. We did a few regular dives, a Night dive and a boat dive ( also a deep water dive). The night dive was awesome, tons of little sea creatures come out at night, and we saw an octopus and an eel. If you've been wanting to take SCUBA lessons but have always just made an excuse, well than, stop making excuses, Go do it. Its a fun activity, and if you visit some where tropical, you'll be very glad you are able to actually explore the ocean and coral. read more

The shop had a great selection and seemed nicely laid out. I bought a regulator which was $50 cheaper than the competitor down the street. I would have given a higher rating, but I had to return to the shop after my purchase because the wrong serial number was on the receipt. When I returned, the correction was quick and I was on my way. read more