I'm an experienced AOW diver and JDL delivered a superb 2 tank classic dive experience on the Kona Coast. Mother Nature has hand in the captain choosing specific dive sites for the day. We went to Lone Pine and Air Tanks sites, each debrief noted cool fish and critters we were to encounter. Our DM Jim was great in pointing out nudis in small coral and lava tube spaces! A few swim throughs and some surge at shallows made for a fun trip. Captain Christine was great stopping for whale sightings along the way and did not disappoint. I'll be back again for next trip. Highly recommended for both professionalism , attention to tech details ( I dive nitrox) and most of all fun and friendly read more

I had dived with Jack's Diving Locker on a previous trip. At that time I was impressed and told others about Jack's. Now I am so disappointed in how this dive shop has become very mediocre and careless. On this trip I did a single tank pelagic dive on a Friday and a two tank twilight/manta ray dive on the following Monday. During my Monday twilight dive with Sierra as the boat captain and Keller as the dive master: 1. I instructed that some of the weight be placed in the trim by my tank. It was not and I was off balance during my first dive. The captain corrected that on the boat before my second dive. 2. No attempt was made to assign me a buddy diver as has happened on all my 100+ dives in my past. 3. I was running low on air and was rising. I attempted to get the divemaster's attention by scanning my light back and forth at him. He just continued to swim along, focusing more on taking photos than looking after his divers. I surfaced and it was a fellow diver and NOT the dive master who checked on me and accompanied me back to the boat. Once on the boat the divemaster never checked on me. 4. Before my second tank dive, a night dive, I checked my gauge and noticed only 500 psi in my tank. A fresh tank was not installed, I pointed this out to the captain who promptly changed my tank. 5. During this second night dive I again started to run low on air. I attempted to signal the divemaster by scanning my light. Again, the divemaster just continued along taking his photos. I surfaced again and boarded the boat. When said divemaster later boarded all he said was "It looks like I lost you again" with no further inquiry about my condition or what happened. 6. When I signed up for my dives the shop offered to have me leave my BCD, regulator with them and they would bring it on the boat. The day after my last dive, I went to the shop to pick up my equipment. My regulator was still attached to my BCD and the BCD still had sea water in it. When I mentioned that to the person at the shop he just shrugged it off. No attempt was made to empty the BCD or apparently give it a fresh water soak. When I contacted Jack's about this, they responded that all they do is to give it a fresh water dunk on the boat. I found thus absurd for a shop holding my gear for a few days. 7. I had chosen Jack's Diving Locker because their very professional work during my previous trip. This time I was disappointed and cannot give them a very good rating. read more

My wife and have been diving with JDL for almost 15 years, and every time, it's been a fantastic experience. They have a great crew, knowledgable Divemasters, comfortable and spacious boats, yummy lunch and snacks, and great service. They thought of everything divers need to have a wonderful experience. Mahalo! read more

Jack's Diving Locker (JDL) is not a safe diving company! I am a newly certified diver (Feb 2023) and have done 2 dive tours: 1 in Cancun and 1 with JDL. What a night and day difference between the two tours. I felt very safe and supported on my very first dive in Cancun. Our guide in Cancun went over the dive plan and was focused on our group, checked in all the time and was very supportive. I had a very different experience with JDL. Our guide was Justin and on the boat debriefing he recapped certain hand signals, he said he would check in often to see how much air we had (which he did not), and there was no dive plan and instead he said when someone was at half tank we would turn around. On our first dive we started to go down and I was having issues with my mask. Justin never stopped to verify if everyone was okay before we started the dive. He just descended and started going. Luckily I was with my brother-in-law, who is a master diver. He came over and helped me with my mask and we caught up with the group after the fact. The entire dive, Justin never checked in with us and was too busy taking pictures. It was if we weren't even on a dive tour and just joining Justin on his own personal dive. I had to go over to him and let him know I was at half a tank. He said okay and we kept diving. Then I told him I was at 800 and he said okay and kept diving. Then I told him I was at 500 and he said okay and kept diving. I felt like he was so lackadaisical about it so I told my brother-in-law and he signaled we would go together to the boat. The second dive was no different. Justin never checked in with us and when I remembered to check my air, I was at 1000. I let Justin know I was less than half a tank and he said okay and kept diving. I let my brother-in-law know and when I was at 600 he said we would go together to the boat. However, we couldn't see the boat. We let Justin know our plan of buddying up and going to the boat and asked where the boat was. He just pointed and again we couldn't see anything. I am so glad my brother-in-law was with me because I would have been so stressed if I had to ascend by myself (which Justin made one other guy in our group do). I can maybe see having an advanced group of divers do this, but we signed up for the beginner dive. By the time we made it to the boat I was at 200. My brother-in-law let me know that diving tours can get fined if they allow people to be that low on their air. Now let's talk about the crew. What a bunch of unhappy, curmudgeonly group of people. The only happy, outgoing crew member was Anna (she was a joy!). Captain Bob was not helpful. I was struggling getting out of the water and he just stood there and watched. When I was in Cancun, the person helping us out of the water grabbed our tanks and helped pull us up, which was very nice and helpful. I never saw Mongo smile once and he seemed so irritated with everyone. The crew are a group of people that love to dive so they got a job doing it, but they don't want it to be a job. They just want to dive. My suggestion to JDL is to make it your job. We are paying you for a guided tour. Put away your cameras and focus on your divers and the safety of your divers. I will never recommend JDL to anyone and I am so glad it was not my first dive experience because it might have swayed me away from doing it because I didn't feel safe or supported. read more

My 12 yr old son and I did the Pelagic Magic dive two weeks ago and loved it. I did the specialty for Pelagic Magic through Jack's about 10 yrs ago and wanted to take my son once he finished his Jr AOW certification. It was an amazing experience. The sunset boat ride out to the site was spectacular and we saw so many otherworldly creatures during the dive that it's hard to explain them all. If you love diving and like night dives I highly recommend it. You will never see anything close to what you see on this dive unless you do another black water dive elsewhere in the world, which there aren't many sites to choose from. Our divemaster Simone Matucci took photos of the creatures on the dive for optional purchase afterwards, which was great because I wanted to experience the dive without worrying about a camera. It was also a very small group on the boat which felt better than the hustle of the more popular manta trips. I can't recommend this dive enough! read more

Grandson went for a week summer camp! Best experience ever!! Teal said it is 20 out of 10. Will definitely sign up for another week!!!!!!

A few years ago I bought a snorkeling kit from Sports Authority. Recently, my mask started leaking. At Jack's Diving LockI explained to Jimmy that I wanted to replace and upgrade my mask. He suggested some masks that might fit me within my price range and invited me to try them on and use them in the pool, which I did. This new mask is a game changer for me! It's super comfortable and doesn't leak. I didn't know what I was missing out on. Big mahalo to Jimmy. read more

My wife and I participated in the 2 tank night manta dive. David our captain and the dive masters were amazing. This was our first real dive other then what we did to get certified and everything was amazing. Would highly recommend. read more

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I stop by ask price for refreshments course I went 3 dive shop I choose this store my friend Annie start going there she recommended highly but I needed check price . Price and counter lady was nice I like to choose this company . I felt better customer service than other 2 dive shop . read more

These people Absolutely ROCK ! Their owners and every one of Jack's employees are so polite, personable and helpful. Their dive boats are top notch with a crew as already described above ! Besides the great open circuit shore and boat diving, Jack's also support's and teaches Rec./ Tec. Closed Circuit Rebreather diving on both the KISS and Poseidon CCRs, through their guru instructor Zach F. I only dive my Poseidon Se7en CCR while there, and consumables, Trimix, wash and prep area is always awaiting me ! Oh, and did I mention that "I Love Diving with Jack's Diving Locker" ! As Arnold says, " I will be back, Lol ! Craig & Marlene H. read more

I did the Pelagic Magic and Manta Ray dive. The staff for both trips were FANTASTIC. I was extremely nervous because I suck at swimming and haven't dove for a few years since getting my certification. Toby was SO patient and kind helping me inside and outside the water. I let him know from the beginning I needed looking after and that's exactly what he did!!! Keller was hilarious when giving instructions and so fun having on the boat. Casey gave a great lesson on the Pelagic dive so I actually knew what creatures I was looking at when it all happened. Captain David was so animated and nice! What a great crew. If you're a newbie diver like me, you're in good hands. We saw 13 mantas and lots of cool things on the Pelagic dive. Highly recommend both! read more

We've been coming to Jack's for about 20years and they've always been fantastic! This trip, now that our daughter is certified, we stopped in and picked up a spare wetsuit, a couple more tanks, and some other bits, and then got 6 tanks filled with same-day service. The whole staff is knowledgeable and friendly! read more

The crew is incredible everything is clean everything is professional everything was primo outstanding note the pictures below I will always dive with them if I have the opportunity!!! read more

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Awesome crew and great experiences both times for manta night dive. Unlucky with manta the first time (but good fun and clear site for seeing fish) we were allowed to come back and try again. And the second time it worked. High quality equipment and multiple options for maximum comfort. Small groups (1 instructor for 5-6 people) Thank you Keller, David and Marina as well as captains and the staff. read more

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I had really high hopes for the two trips I had booked with Jacks. The first crew I'd highly recommend and enjoyed my time with. Especially being a newer diver they made the day enjoyable. The second crew and dive experience was not as pleasant and was down right disappointing which was really upsetting considering the manta dives were the very reason I came back to Kona. There were a few things that came into play such as my experience as a diver (which didn't have to play as big of a role as it did as I communicated concerns before hand) the fact that it's a popular area and experience and the surge that night that couldn't be helped but I felt that the crew could have handled things better and been more pleasant and helpful in addition the shop could have taken measures or added/selected crew members that fit the situation better. Overall the night manta dive was a chaotic experience and I walked away incredibly disappointed because the lack of communication from my guide, the amount of people and everything else distracted from the main purpose of the trip which was the mantas and I wasn't able to fully enjoy it. What was worse was that I didn't have time for another dive or snorkel with them and after booking a snorkel trip with another company to make up for the dive the weather ruined it and I was not able to get back into the water to see the mantas again. I understand sealife and people are two very unpredictable elements so I highly recommend you check your expectations and maybe have a backup plan in place if something similar happens to you. I'll also add that in speaking with another diver who used Jacks she had a similar negative experience with what sounded like at least a couple of the same crew members I struggled with. read more

Just spent the last 10 days diving with Jack's. I can't say enough about their level of service. The crew is incredibly friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I had mentioned to my friend that I was going to add more weight for the night manta dive. Two minutes later, Sierra the captain, came by and told me she added weight and asked if it was enough. The dive masters are all very knowledgeable about the dive sites, marine life and loaded with local information. The shop staff is super helpful at helping you find what you are looking for. I found the shop to be well stocked and the prices were good. The boats are fantastic and have warm showers and reef friendly sunscreen, shampoo, and leave in conditioner. Overall, I highly recommend! Happy diving! read more

Jack's Diving Locker was a great experience. I initially started my Open Water Scuba certification in Washington state. I decided to finish up and take a referral elsewhere since I would never dive in Puget Sound. I was recommended to give them a call from my girlfriend who was certified by Jacks many years earlier. I was glad I took her advice. They were beyond helpful from the first time I called them. This was all new to me. They made the process extremely easy. I arrived early on my first day to get checked in. Very warm and friendly. I was so glad that day 1 was a refresher. It included classroom work and pool work as well. I was glad that they did this, since it was two months ago when I started. Day 2 & 3 were great. We had Rachel and Simon instructing us. They made sure we knew understood what was expected through demonstration and walking through the plan for each dive. Both were 100% with us to make sure we succeed. I am now confident in what they taught us and can apply it to all future dives. I am already planing to come back later in the year and complete my Advanced Open Water. I would not want to do it with anyone else. read more

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Great, friendly and helpful staff! We did the manta ray dive (I did the dive, wife did the snorkel) and it was fantastic! It's a "must do" while at Big Island. Jack's might not be the lowest priced tour, but you definitely get your money's worth with them and the gear and staff are top-notch. I did the refresher pool dive (highly recommend this if it's been awhile since your last scuba dive, and got some great gear recommendations from the staff for mask and snorkel. The boat crew on the manta dive was great and had lots of jokes. We'll be back someday! read more

The manager Patti will come up with prices depending on her mood. Double check on their website before you show up at their store. I lost about 90minutes of my day because of the outrageous priced i was quoted. I ended up renting at another place nearby since I was quoted 4x the advertised price. their rental gear is also subpar. i feel like the company management is becoming complacent. which is very unfortunate because a lot of the other staff is really putting their heart into it read more

Highly recommend Jacks Diving Locker! Top notch from start to finish. Jeff and his crew took great care in making the night manta ray snorkel an experience we will never forget! read more

Where to start.... From the moment that you book a trip with these guys the hospitality is on. The remind you send you all the forms ahead of time, are super on top of everything. And i even was super late to my first dive and they waited for me. This group is amazing. The dives were hands down some of the best I've ever had, the crew was hilarious and super knowledgeable. There was nothing that they didn't know. All of them are extremely patient and very communicative. Couldn't have asked for a better adventure. read more

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Jack's Dive locker is by far the best dive company on the big Island. My family has been going with them for years. This week Elle took my 11 and 13 year old through the open water dive certification course. She was patient and kind and they both had a great time. Keller is always a lot of fun and I appreciate his jokes and pictures. Captain Bob is a great captain. read more

Professional, courteous, polite. They have the Aloha spirit of diving my third Manta dive with them. Highly recommend.

Excellent from booking through dives. The Dive shop in Kona has great selection and Harbor shop makes day trips so easy. My daughter was certified by Jacks Dive locker, including use of their pool, and our first family boat day trip exceeded my expectations. They prep all gear, provide excellent instructions, cover the wildlife seen underwater, and have warm water hose showers on the boat. Warm fresh water showers was a first for me! We will dive with Jacks Dive Locker every time we are in Kona. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Harbor operation. - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Yikes! Not the warm customer service we've had in the past! On a recent 2-tank classic day dive trip, we were surprised at how obviously bored/going through the motions most of the JDL team was. Harbor shop staff came across as unprofessional/rude (eye rolling in front of guests). Boat staff seemed annoyed at every interaction with the guests -- cold vibe start to finish, abrupt responses, "get away from me" energy. (One dive guide expressed some semblance of enjoyment for their work when discussing local fish species - that was something.) Overall this experience felt ironic coming from a company that says on its website "our friendly people make the difference." Ha! Maybe back in the day they did - that was our experience 5-7 years ago - but not present day! Separate point (and there are many reasons/causes here - this isn't JDL's fault): our dive sites for the day were tiny, cramped and overall fairly boring. Three stars for safety + working rental equipment. I can see how JDL wows brand new divers + people who have never seen mantas before. (See other reviews) If you're an experienced diver who has spent time with top-tier dive shops/high-caliber customer service, you should probably book with a different dive shop in Kona to increase your likelihood of a great experience! We're left with regrets at having burned $500 for a subpar day of diving. JDL's people did in fact make a difference: we're looking forward to diving with different Kona shops from now on! read more

I have pretty much stopped going to Jack's for airfills. As a local I really get tired of standing for 10 minutes or more while they sell a $300 day trip to a tourist. And my air fills are consistently around 2800 lb. I have become a Hoover in my old age and I really miss that 200 plus pounds of air on my dives. They almost always offer to check them and ask me do you want to top off. Which is another 5 to 10 minutes. I have complained multiple times. I have moved to another dive shop where I routinely get 3,000 lb of air without fail. Don't get me wrong it's a nice dive shop and the employees have always been friendly. It's just I guess nobody's ever told them when you fill tanks hot to 3,000 lb you'll have to go back and top them off. read more

I cannot recommend Jack's Diving Locker enough. After searching a bit about different dive companies, I decided to go with Jack's and I am so pleased I did. I did 3 different charters with them- the classic 2 tank day trip, pelagic magic, and the manta afternoon/night 2 tank. The staff was friendly, professional, and helpful on all 3 charters and I had an absolute blast. The pelagic magic and manta ray dives were truly unparalleled and some of the coolest dives that I have ever done. The pelagic magic is a pricey dive, but worth it 10-fold in my opinion. I am already planning my next trip back to bring fellow diving friends and family! These dives were absolutely the highlight of my vacation, and I would absolutely recommend Jack's to anyone (beginner or advanced) looking to dive in Kona! Attaching some pretty bad photos from 2 of the night dives- just know they do no justice to how cool of an experience they both actually were! read more

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Let me start with the good. We did our open water certification November 2021 with Jack's and it was amazing! We had only the best guides and teachers. It was an amazing crew who seemed genuinely happy to be there helping and guiding We have returned this year (2022) and have had wonderful guides and crew. First Captains Greg and Bob you are so wonderful at making sure everyone is safe and taken care of. Our guides Jim, Jessica and Toby you are the bomb! So patient and kind. Thank you for everything. Keller! I can't forget Keller, he took pictures of everyone (even if you weren't with his group) and everything on our dive. Then shared them with all of us. Lastly, I have only been dive certified for 6 (3days) dives all here in Kona with Jacks. I decided to rent a GoPro camera from them for my 7th (4th day). This dive was amazing, I took pictures of all the fish I saw, and had the amazing experience of playing hide and seek with a medium size octopus!!! This may not seem exciting to the people at Jack's who dive all the time but this was really something to me! Alas, when I handed the GoPro to our guide she wrote on her white board "No SD Card" whoever got the camera ready did not install an SD card. I have been in tears. Our guide and one of the others shared the pictures they had and that was very nice but they aren't the things I saw and wanted to share with my friends and family. They offered to refund the rental fee or let me have the camera for my next dive for free, but what I lost cannot be replaced. Check your rental equipment before you dive. read more

My children took an open water class from Ali here, she is a fantastic instructor. I also really enjoyed working with Patti in the dive shop - she helped us organize everything and get well fitting masks and gear for our children. She is very calm and pleasant to work with. My husband and I also went out on the boat trips to dive with the open water class. We especially enjoyed Captain David (Daveed) and Dive master Keller. They made the trip extra fun with their encouragement and enthusiasm. Keller is a great diving guide, good timing, great dive briefings, and he goes the extra mile to write underwater notes explaining what you are seeing . He also took pictures on our dive and shared them afterwards. It was a very fun day! The veggie sandwiches were also good. :). read more

I've worked in the industry for almost 2 decades. Whenever we go somewhere new we visit prospective shops to scout who we'd like to dive with. Jack's was our third shop visit yesterday, and I must say that they are definitely the shop for us. We were warmly greeted by everyone, the shop is nice and clean, the fleet looks quite tidy, and a wonderful young lady, Jessica, took a healthy amount of time to help us out with all kinds of helpful info. More importantly, she took the time to just chat with people (us), and really gave us great information and tips. It was Jessica that made our decision to choose Jack's an easy one. read more

First Class dive shop. I've dove with many dive shops and Jack's was by far the best. They were organized and on top of everything. Dives were not rushed and or cut short. My favorite part about the DMs on our trips was that I felt they truly wanted to be in the water diving. They were excited to find, see and point out all the cool stuff. It was more like diving with friends. I will back to Jack's next time I'm on the Island. Great Job! read more

I have to agree with the recent reviewer who noted that the service at Jack's is hit and miss--with the older woman with dark brown hair being a definite miss for us. One of the pleasures of shopping local is good service, but in our ten or so times we have bought items at Jack's, the service is so variable I think it is time to look elsewhere. read more

They made renting snorkeling gear a breeze, nice employees, clean vibe... pleasantly surprised to see they also teach snorkeling on-site, with a glass walled swimming pool for students. Would recommend this place to anyone. read more

Jack's Diving Locker lived up to theit reputation. What an amazing experience! The Manta Night Dive is a dive I will never forget and the crew made it so much fun. We had Anna as our dive master and she was awesome! Very knowledgeable and caring. She made you feel very comfortable during the dives and created a great sense of safety and confidence with our group. The equipment was in great condition and if anything needed attention the entire crew were able to get it taken care of. I highly recommend Jack's Diving Locker for your next dive in Hawaii read more

Super safe, fun, and very friendly. We took a refresh course with Jeanne who is extremely knowledgeable and patient. Dive sites were chosen with care and there were no more than 4-6 divers per dive master. Wish we were in town longer as we would definitely have done more diving with them! read more

Absolutely terrible customer service. They lost two of my tanks and refuse to help! This used to be a good dive company

What a wonderful team! I went on an exploration SCUBA dive, attended the training beforehand, and had a great, attentive trainer (poolside training on site!) and dive assist. Everything about the dive trip was great - prompt timing, skilled crew, yummy lunch. My experience couldn't have been better. Catelynn, my dive assist, was even kind enough to give me extra 1-on-1 time with my leftover oxygen in the tank! read more

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There seems to be many scuba dive/ snorkel shops. This one is the one that initiated the manta ray night dive tour. Of Jacks crew KC seems to be the kindest, accommodating and most helpful. He took pictures of us and we followed him in the water. The captain, was helpful and like a captain and the crew should be, he was focused on Safety. He also gave a nice presentation on Boat Safety with lots of those funny "Dad jokes" which always seems like a perfect setting. We got the Manta Ray Night Dive for two $347.75, which includes wetsuit, snorkel gear or dive gear, (you have to be certified diver/or get certified by the time the night dive happens), two dives/snorkels dives, and half sandwich/ chips/ and a drink...believe me you won't want much more because you're on the water. If you are snorkeling, don't use your wetsuit until the 2nd Dive, you will be better off. Their boat seems to be the biggest when you go out there at night. It seemed to give me just a bit more security and comfort. Up high (top level) of the boat we were able to see baby whale site-ings. And with smaller boats they rock a lot more. And During the winter months the water is extremely choppy and many many get sea sick...you might try focusing on the horizon or on talking to someone about something interesting to make you and your mind focus on something else other than than the rocking of the boat. Remember Winter Hawaii has some big wave action on the islands... ‍ But if I were going to do this again, I would go more towards Summer. Summertime is better, the waves are smaller and ocean calmer. During closer to the summer months is when I got certified. This Dive Company stays out for TWO dives. The others just one. Overall, awesome and crazy beautiful being within 6 inches of these 1000lbs flying ocean mammoths. (And don't worry these are Manta Rays, not Sting Rays) read more

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I did the Pelagic Magic dive with Jacks Diving Locker and it was amazing. The briefing before the dive was clear and calmed any nerves I had going into it. The process for keeping everyone safe was easy to understand and follow. The tiny creatures were fun to watch! I'd recommend the dive and the shop! read more

We had a great day diving with Keller and Capt Bob. Keller was hilarious, took and shared many great pictures and videos, and was also very good at quickly assessing our skill level and giving us a couple of great dives. It doesn't hurt that we had Jack's luck, too, with a pod of pilot whales, a pair of monk seals, a daytime manta ray, a cute frogfish, strangely un-shy garden eels, and a 10-minute octopus encounter, among many other adventures in just two action-packed dives. The boat was ship-shape, and everything went smoothly. We can't wait to upgrade to the adventure dives next time! read more