This is a detailed review:…read more Only one positive: We appreciated the instructor named Marina. However, I cannot recommend this facility, and I strongly advise people to look elsewhere. For context, our 12 year old is aspiring to become a marine biologist, so he plans to become a licensed open water SCUBA diver, and the rest of the family plans to follow through with dive certication because we want to support him. His grandmother paid for a PADI Exploration class, and he has been excited to take part in this for months. While speaking with one clerk at Davey Bones, we had such a terrible experience that we nearly cancelled. This clerk criticized the PADI course, telling me it was a waste of money. I responded by explaining that we had a certificate from Christmas, and he changed his tune when he knew we had already paid. We were then met with unexcusable treatment. On Thursday, disorganization was evident immediately when the clerk could not find his own forms on his desk in folders that were not labeled. He then proceeded to point to different areas on the form, asking me to fill it out. This included the name of his store which was not pre-filled. At one instant, the moment where I almost walked out, he told me to fill my son's name on the top of one page, and then as I filled it in, he started to shout the name of the class my son was taking while pounding is finger on the form. It took me a moment to realize he had changed his mind or not realized what he had asked me to write, and so I asked for clarification about what he wanted me to write on the top. He then said, "Should I have your son fill this out since you can't follow directions?" This was of course in front of my child. In short, I gave him an excessive amount of grace because he had previously mentioned, and then proceeded to tell us in detail, that he served in the Special Forces. As our family has served in multiple branches of the military, during World War II, in Korea, and beyond, we understand that veterans can be going through things. However, this was not a typical behavior from a struggling veteran, in my experience. This was absolute disrespect. After my child was fitted for the various gear he needed for the dive, the clerk asked us to take home all of the gear, bring it to the assigned location for the training, and then to bring it back to the shop the following week. We neither complained nor questioned these requests even though they were not specified when we first signed up for the course. They reminded us, multiple times, of the location and the course would start at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. When we arrived at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday morning, we found that there was a swimming competition for children which was booked for months; a security guard asked me to leave the pool deck where I had brought in the air tank, and the YMCA manager told me under no uncertain terms that no dive session had ever been booked. I called the shop, furious but calm. The same clerk answered, just as insulting and belligerent as ever. He blamed "a girl" at the the YMCA for incorrectly scheduling the event which was a lie; the YMCA pool manager is male. Then, the clerk DEMANDED that I drive for over 45 minutes to another location, but he couldn't give me the address. He told me he'd call me back with the address. We waited for 20 minutes. No call. I called the shop again. The clerk insinuated that WE were at fault for not seeking out the SCUBA instructors at the YMCA to ask for the address. He yelled so much that my child could hear him through my phone. I lost patience. The military certainly doesn't teach excuses or a lack of personal responsibility. Later, I learned that they didn't even have a backup plan. the pool we were using belonged to one of the adult students who showed up that morning... The short version: I demanded the address. My son enjoyed Marina's instruction, but I informed them we would NOT continue coursework with their facility. I also refused to take the gear with me, and I handed it to them there and left.

Excellent Open--water Dive Certification. Best experience I ever had! Marina was very…read moreknowledgeable, an engineer by trade. She was safety focused and patient which made the process comfortable every step of the way. She explained everything clearly and provided a supportive learning environment during the two day in water testing. The training dives were unforgettable, diving in Gilboa Quarry was a highlight to swim through sunken busses, truck and motor cycle. Seeing the marine life up close and gaining confidence underwater was incredible. The equipment provided, well maintained, and instruction was professional with process very well organized and enjoyable. I highly recommend this certification program in SCUBA diving whether a beginner or looking to expand your SCUBA adventure skills. Thank you Davey Bones Dive Shop!

My husband and I wanted to learn dive together and we work very different hours. Dan is very easy…read moregoing and worked around our hectic schedules. He's patient and makes sure we're comfortable with the material before moving on. I also found our he does hydrostatic testing for paintball canisters as well as scuba tanks!

My son traveled with Rustic Pathways to Costa Rica for two weeks (two different, back to back…read moreprograms). He had a great time, had life changing experiences and came home to report it was one of the best experiences of his life. He made lifelong friends and I can't wait for him to return!

I can only share my experience in case it can be useful to any parent that is considering Rustic…read morePathways as an option.... Don't. Rustic Pathways is -in theory- an attractive concept: cultural immersion in a foreign country tied with community service. Unfortunately, weather or not the experience ends up being a good one depends on a mix of variables: the size of the group, the types of kids that end up attending, and the capability of the guides assigned to supervise them. All these factors are unknown ahead of time and it all becomes a leap of faith. Our family learned the hard way that this company lacks consistency in their vetting capabilities. Therefore, any given trip is like rolling the dice. My son first went to their program in Bali and had a great experience, which led us to sign him up the following year to a program in Thailand. The second ended up being disastrous. The group was detrimentally small, only 4 more kids. The age disparity was significant and unfortunately my son was on the younger side. He was paired with a much older roommate that continuously smoked pot and ended up providing it to the rest of the group. They would smoke at the hotel they were staying at under the alleged supervision of the guides. To make matters worse, during a day trip to the market, the same kid bought marihuana there. Again, the guides where in close proximity all the time yet remained oblivious. Only 4 days into the trip, our son called us he was having a hard time with the peer pressure. We immediately found a way to get him on a flight back home. I spoke to the regional director and warned them about what was going on. After all, more than half of the trip remained for the rest of the group. I made them aware of this particular kid that was providing pot to the other kids. To my surprise, they refrained from removing this kid from the trip, concealed this information from the rest of the parents and allowed the trip to go on as if nothing was happening. The only other time I heard from them was when I received a bill for additional expenses. Forget about any conversation about reimbursement, not even partially. I was left feeling very disillusioned but mainly disappointed at myself for having placed my trust in this company. I wanted my kid to be exposed to a new culture and in return he got exposed to pot for the first time. Their lack of response was irresponsible. I kept thinking about the other parents that never found out about this. Unfortunately, I didn't know who they were or how to contact them.