PSD is an outstanding dive shop. Staff are super friendly and they supply you with a container that neatly packed all of their rental gears. It made it super convenient for me. I signed up for a refresh course and the pool is conveniently located with its own parking lot. I arrived and was promptly greeted by PSD staff and checked in. Jeremiah and Casey were our dive instructors. Both were patient and explained everything in great details. I had a fantastic time. Would highly recommend PSD to everyone. read more

I've been coming to PSD for a while now, and it's easily the most welcoming shop in Sunnyvale. The staff actually knows their stuff. Whether you're looking for high-end gear or just need a quick tank fill for a Monterey shore dive. read more

The instructors are great however management leaves much to be desired and was quite an uncomfortable experience. Spent over $500 in certification and personal gear at this shop and yet such lack in service, felt treated like a cash cow with disregard to providing a positive experience. They forgot to include my wetsuit in my bin so during my ocean dives in Monterey I had to rent my own wetsuit on the day of my dives. Discussed this situation upon return of equipment and instead almost got charged with $55 for not capping the dust cap back on the regulator. Funny how they DO NOT stress or mention at all upon renting gear - you have to read it in the fine print. Which I feel the owner does on purpose for customers to pay out the extra $55. We ended up "breaking even" despite the huge inconvenience their mistake has brought upon me on my important certification days. Super disappointed with this shop and management. Please bring your business elsewhere. read more

Exceptional- that is the word I would use to describe my experience with Pacific Scuba Divers! I held off on writing a review for a bit after getting certified, wanting to see how Pacific Scuba Divers helped me grow as a new diver. It's true that any dive shop can teach you the basics of gear, getting in the water, and using SCUBA. But after diving a bit and joining different groups around here, I can really see the difference in training Pacific Scuba offers. While other divers with similar experience were struggling and crashing to the bottom on easy dives, I was able to confidently descend slowly and hover mid-water column because of the amazing training I received. I also noticed other divers entering the water without doing safety checks, with gear hanging and regulators not in their mouths. These are all signs that their training might not be up to par, or that they don't really value the importance of a safe dive. I'm so grateful to Pacific Scuba Divers for taking the time to make sure I had the best training to build a solid foundation and become the most confident and safe diver and buddy I can be. I'm excited to take more courses at Pacific Scuba Divers. read more

Great service fast responses and great workers over all the place was fantastic shows up and got the help i needed

Everyone at the shop was so friendly and helpful, they told me what gear I needed for the class. We had Sabine as our confined dive class, she was very professional and patient with students. There was 3 people I our class that didn't " get it, they didn't follow instructions and didn't pay attention to class. She was patient with them but half the class was waiting around, and we almost couldn't finish our class and it would have forced all of us to take another class during the week to finish, which would have cost us more money and time. It was unfair to all the other students. She gave them plenty of time to catch up but in the end they were ruining the class for other people who paid. Sabine apologized to me a few times and when the "troubled" students could not perform basic safety skills, they could not continue. I approve of what happened, she was way more accommodating than she should have been, mostly the rules are all in the signup. I can suggest the other people take personal instructions so they can go as slow possible. Great place to learn read more

This is a while back but I rented a everything for my first dive in class and got this terribly shredded, old suit (photo attached). The butt area was so thin there was water coming in. Of course I complained about it but they said, this is all that's left because it's a busy weekend, so next time come sooner. Something like this shouldn't even be in circulation for rental to begin with, and they still charged me full price. I hate this place. Don't rent from here. read more

Pacific Scuba Divers - This is the suit they rented me, full price. The butt area was shredded so thin. - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Terrible management and customer service. Making a mistake is one thing, not refunding a customer for that mistake another one, and yet another one is lying in the review about the situation. Story as described by PSD is true, but what's also True is we asked for a refund exclusively for the items missing in the order and not for a full refund which would be minimum courtesy. Also, Management is making assumptions about what we paid for the secondary rental and apparently values their customer's time at exactly $0. Decide for yourself, there are plenty of reliable places to rent from in the bay area. Read for yourself: Check out this review of Pacific Scuba Divers on Google Maps https://goo.gl/maps/RviBTA63Ja695KGFA read more

Pacific Scuba Divers - False claims - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Sabine is a great instructor! She put safety first. Taylor, the dive master is wonderful. For a novice swummr su h as myself, both instructors are encouraging and patient. I strongly recommend Pacific Scuba Divers. read more

Overall, my experience getting open water certified here was good, and I would recommend them to others. However, there are some things that it might be helpful to know going in so that you're not surprised/frustrated. My review is long because I want to be thorough about what the experience was like, so that everyone knows what they're signing up for. I want to be clear upfront that I am happy with my experience here and think all of the instructors and employees were very nice and helpful. Communication: There were some instances of poor communication, and we would hear different things from the shop vs the instructor. When I signed up for the course I was told that we needed to be at the pool at 7:30 am. Then a week beforehand, I got an email saying to show up at 7:15 am, then another email a day later saying to show up at 7:00 am. There were also a few times I had to go to the shop to pick up/return my gear, for which I was not given very much advance notice. It's perfectly understandable of course, but it did create some scheduling challenges for me, as I didn't live near the shop and I had to shift around my work hours to make sure I could participate in the certification course. For those with less flexible work schedules, last-minute schedule changes may be difficult. Additionally, there were times when the shop's emails would say things like "cash/check only," but then when we showed up the person/shop in question was happy to take card or Venmo. Thus, especially in the beginning over email, the communication around the course definitely could have been better. But in the end everything worked out with only minor hiccups. Pacing: While I felt the course overall was good, my one complaint would be that some of it felt rushed. We had two pool days and two ocean days, and there was quite a lot of material that had to be gone through during the two pool days. The shop had rented the pool for a certain number of hours, and this time limit definitely impacted the course. There wasn't a lot of time to get used to things before we had to move on to demonstrating the skills required, and there also wasn't really any chance to practice skills before demonstrating them to the instructor. Some students weren't able to finish all of the skills by the time we were forced to leave the pool on the second day, and had to come back for an additional pool session in the evening a few days later. The instructor and shop tried their best to make this as convenient as possible (even moving the date of the session so that I could attend, which I was very grateful for). However, it was still a last-minute change (and expense), and I felt that if this was a common/expected practice, it could have at least been communicated ahead of time as a sort of "heads up, this might happen." I will say though that the additional pool session helped me a lot, and I was grateful for it in the end. So while I did feel rushed during the pool sessions, the instructor did clearly care that everyone be fully ready before the ocean days the following weekend. However, I think part of why that extra pool session was so useful is because it was much less rushed than the main two pool days. If we had had more time in the pool on the first two days, I think perhaps an additional pool session wouldn't have been necessary. Instructor: The best part of the course was the instructor, Thomas. He was very helpful and approachable, and he was both friendly and supportive, while also making sure we did everything correctly and understood the risks involved in scuba diving. He was always happy to answer questions and explain concepts, and on the days when we didn't have a time limit for the pool, he seemed willing to spend as long as it took to make sure we were comfortable with what we needed to do. Shop/Gear: The folks working at the shop were very helpful, especially Sabrina. I had some trouble finding gear that fit me, and she spent as long as it needed to make sure I had the right gear. For the thicker wet suit needed for the ocean, she even gave me two so that I could have a backup in case one didn't work out for me (and to be clear, the issues were not with the suits themselves--it was just that the medium felt too tight for me, but the large might make me too cold). If I had any issues with gear at any point, I knew I could ask them for help and they would be very understanding. I never had to pay any extra fees relating to the gear. I am glad I took this course through Pacific Scuba Divers, and found everyone involved helpful and knowledgeable. If they were to maybe book longer sessions at the pool, and clear up some of the communication ahead of time, I would have no issues at all. I'm glad I got certified here and if I ever need to take another scuba course, I would definitely go here again. read more

See all

We did open water referral here - there was some lack of communication as they had a staff member pass away but calling or going into the shop was very helpful. They helped us get masks/snorkels and were able to change them out if they didn't work in the pool. The gear rental was also great as they help you find things that fit/work. Sabine and Taylor were amazing to help us in the pool and learn all the skills. They broke it down and made all the skills easy to do. Definitely easier than what the PADI e-learning shows! There were many "pro" tips that weren't in the learning but great real life lessons. We'll definitely be back to take further courses or do some dives with them. If you get Sabine as an instructor, ask to see her amazing underwater photography. She has so many unique stories! read more

Took an excellent open water diving certification course with some friends at Pacific Scuba Divers with Sabine, Thomas, and Taylor as our instructors! The course was great: it consists of some training in the pool and then an (awesome) set of 4 dives down in Monterey. The team here is *extremely* exprienced and ensured that we learned the skills needed to dive effectively and safely. Very accomodating too. Pacific Scuba Divers was also super competitively priced compared to other shops in the Bay Area (and they run a tight ship)! Would do again and highly recommend!! read more

Pacific Scuba Divers - Epic fun during the last of the certification dives in Monterey Bay!!! - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

It was a very bad experience. Before the pool class, Thomas sent me several messages asking me to buy the materials for the theory class, and kept stressing that I should buy the $230 e-learning instead of the $130 books and DVDS in the store, and that if I bought the $230 e-learning, I could get a $75 voucher to buy the equipment in the store. The truth is that I already bought a full set of the best quality gear online, so I don't need this voucher to buy gear in the store, so I want to opt for books and DVDS. Thomas thought that I did not buy e-learning as he said. He also said that I chose books and DVDS costing 130 to save money. This kind of forced consumption made me feel very unhappy. On Friday, I drove for two hours from Richmond to sunnyvale. After I tried on the clothes and equipment, Thomas informed me that I was late and could not attend the pool class the next day, and asked me to rescheduling, which cost $200. I simply canceled the entire service and will never work with this store again. I have two years of experience in free diving, and the service experience in other dive shops is very good. Other shops have cheaper prices and better service attitude. It is my own choice to buy books or e-learning, and no one can force me. read more

Pacific Scuba Divers - Outdoor Gear Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Shout out to Moses was a huge help with gear and general advice. Very wide selection to gear and solid pricing overall, compared to several places in the Bay Area and online. Pricing upfront could be more the apparent but pretty fair. read more

Very organized, was able to complete my warm water referral (pool dives and e-learning) very effectively. Instruction was stepwise and clear. read more

Super knowledgeable staff and instructors had tons of experience and patience. Moses was especially friendly.

Great experience all the way through getting my open water scuba certification. Friendly and knowledgeable staff helped me through tons of questions around signup for the e-learning course as well as getting the appropriate gear. My instructor Thomas struck a great balance between being precise, firm, and using humor to motivate students when they were struggling. Made a couple friends and hoping to go on many more dives together in the future! read more

PSD is an incredible place to both get trained and buy gear. I highly recommend it if you are looking to really learn the finer points of scuba and be safe in new environments. First, training: We started with an Open Water course, and later took Advanced and Rescue with Kevin and Sabine. Both instructors are extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and tough but very fair. We finished all three classes with a strong grasp of the material, and on our dive trips overseas we have been consistently complemented by other dive masters on our technique, bouyancy and know-how. We feel extremely confident in our ability to dive in new environments as a result of their instruction (and the tough conditions in Monterey). Next, gear. We've been thinking about getting our own gear for a while, and finally decided to commit to a Reg/BCD set. Kevin spent a ton of time walking us through getting the right fit on the BCD and the different options we could choose from. When we took them out for our first dive with Sabine, she was patient and helpful in getting us used to our new equipment (which is pretty different from rental sets). Hope to continue learning at PSD! read more

I purchased some personal gears 7 days ago for the certification class. I couldn't join the class since I caught cold, and it's not allowed to learn scuba with choked nose. So, I called them to cancel my spot in the class. I was told at that time that I can return the gears but instructor fees and deposit is non-refundable, which is fair. Today I went to return the personal gears which I bought from them (which I could buy from Amazon for little cheaper). And Kevin (the founder) didn't bother to attend me and bluntly said "Sorry, we don't do returns" Pathetic Customer Service. He didn't even attend me properly and I was turned away from the queue itself. I will rather go to some other scuba instructor than these people!! Beware all! They could cheat you too! read more

Owner was not honest about tank fill. No visual needed just air. I got scalped on the price. Diver Dan's has 10 fills for $50 punch card such a better deal. Sorry Pacific Scuba has lost my business. read more

Very helpful team. Enjoyed getting my son ready to dive -- he was well trained for safety by the end of his course and had a great time throughout the process. read more

Just got my open water certification here this past weekend! Everyone was super helpful and kind, overall great service!

----- Re: Kevin's bs Not fake news, and I don't work at a competing scuba shop. As long as you make that claim and take this down, i will repost it. Do a good job and earn 4-5 star reviews, and this review will mean less and less. Illegitimately try to get it removed, and i will repost it. read more

The coaches are great! We went though 2 pool sessions and 2 ocean sessions, the coaches patiently walk us through each skills, and make sure we got it. Overall very professional, good experience :) read more

I had so much fun learning how to scuba dive!! My instructors are Thomas and Sabine and they were just amazing! I can tell they really care about you. They are there to support you and to keep you safe :) I still can't believe how far I've come. From not knowing what a bcd is to being able to carry and set up my own gears and dive comfortably in the open ocean. By my 4th open water dive I became so comfortable it felt like flying. When there is a current and you kick your fins just right, you could dash so far (weee! Superman fly!) It was thrilling! We saw a lot of beautiful marine lives down there. They are there, you just have to look closely! It was an amazing experience. I felt like a mermaid dancing through the kelp forest. I also laughed a lot because of how adorable some of the fishes react when they see us :) I now know the life below water is beautiful, and I get to experience it all as a diver. I also get a sense that this is a very close community. All diver seem to know each other and they care for each other. When you are out there, you are never alone. They got you :) Honestly, I was so afraid of the ocean and I didn't think I could do it at first. Once again a huge shoutout to Thomas and Sabine, thanks to your help, now I am a very confident and a capable diver I can't wait to see you guys out there read more

Had such a great experience doing the Open Water Diver certification! Our instructor Thomas was extremely knowledgeable, patient and helpful, would highly recommend this scuba shop! Other upside was the pool was heated and the ocean dives were at 8am (compared to other shops that start at 6am). definitely be doing my Advanced certification here in the future read more

Pacific Scuba Divers was such a great place to do our pool swims/dives for instructing us on our PADI open water certification! Sabine was very knowledgable and helped us through the entire process while assuring us throughout all the exercises and skills. We all had a great time and would recommend Pacific Scuba Divers to anyone interesting in exploring the underwater ocean. read more

It's taken me almost 30 years to finally go after this dream and get my open water certification. I couldn't be happier with my choice to go with Pacific Scuba Divers. Our instructor Andrew, was knowledgeable and patient and took the time necessary to ensure that as new divers, we were learning the skills we needed to keep ourselves safe and enjoy diving to its fullest. The shop itself is full of friendly faces who are all very happy to help you to better understand equipment and diving philosophy while also giving you an opportunity to learn from people who have decades of combined diving knowledge. Don't let your lack of knowledge stop you from visiting this dive shop. Nobody will judge you or treat you differently if you have zero knowledge of diving. They are there to fix that! The shop itself may look small from the outside, but they've got a large and varied assortment of gear and associated toys. Seriously, if you're even mildly considering going after what will end up providing a lifetime of adventures and friendship, check out Pacific Scuba Divers! read more

Last weekend I started the PADI Open Water Diver course with Pacific Scuba Divers. Unfortunately the class environment and pace weren't a good fit for me, so I quit after the first day and decided to look for another way to complete the course. (I did not get any refund from the $395 I paid PSD for the course.) Environment: There were 16 students, 1 instructor, and 1 assistant instructor, and we were sharing a small pool with two other classes (one scuba refresher class and one life guard class). We spent a lot of time standing/kneeling in a large oval-ish shape, but it was crowded and the student to my left kept drifting right in front of me, blocking me from seeing many of the instructors' skill demonstrations. I think it might've been easier to see if we had split into two groups with eight students circling the instructor and the other eight students circling the assistant instructor. Pace: We were on a super tight schedule so after the instructors demonstrated, we could only do each skill one or two times before we had to move on. Students who couldn't do the skill in one or two tries were told to come to the $50 make up session later that week. A fourth of the students in my class had to do this. Students who cannot pass all of the skills in the pool before the scheduled open water dives the following weekend have to pay $80 to reschedule their open water dives. The fees for additional and/or rescheduled sessions are stated in the paperwork you sign before you begin the course, but it was surprising that students only had one or two chances to do a skill before being made to attend an additional session. This could quickly get very expensive for people who need more time to learn but don't have flexible work schedules. Even though this style of course is not for me, many of the students in my class seemed fine, so if these things wouldn't bother you, you would probably be fine as well. read more

I love this business. Every person who works there cares deeply about scuba and wants to make sure you have a safe and wonderful experience. Since getting certified through Pacific Scuba Divers, I've moved from Los Gatos to Tiburon. Even though it's an hour and a half away now, I will still make the drive down to the shop any time I need anything scuba-related because I trust that the staff is knowledgeable, that they would never rip a customer off, and that they have safety as their top priority. I feel so safe and confident in my knowledge about scuba because of Kevin Donovan and the care and detail he put into our class. The open water dive weekend was truly one of the best weekends of my life. While we were diving, Kevin took the time to point out sea creatures and to show us the amazing things on the sea floor. His love for diving is contagious and our entire class was radiating with excitement and delight every time we came up out of the water. For anyone looking to get certified in the Bay Area, I definitely recommend Pacific Scuba Diving. I am now taking more advanced certifications through the shop. For those wondering about the Open Water Diver certification (this is probably what you're thinking if you're a newbie and you want to get "scuba certified") here is a more detailed account of my experience: I found Pacific Scuba Divers on Yelp and signed up for the Open Water Diver certification with a friend. Our experience started by emailing Kevin to coordinate dates that worked with our schedule. Kevin gave us a ton of information and helped us understand what it would take to complete the certification -- both time- and cost-wise. $370 covers class, pool time, ocean weekend instruction and major scuba equipment rental, but there are a number of other costs I outline below. It took me 8 hours of online study to complete the course, two 4-hour sessions in the pool and a full weekend in Monterey (four dives over two days). On our first visit to the shop, a young man named Thierry helped me and my friend find all the gear we needed to purchase. To get certified, you'll need your own "personal gear" which consists of: Mask, snorkel, boots, fins, gloves. This cost us about $250-$350. There are a number of options for each purchase and we spent a little over an hour at the shop while Thierry helped us understand the pros and cons of each type of product and guided us to pick the products that were best for us. He was absolutely fantastic, very knowledgeable and did not try to upsell us on anything at all. We later found out that his father, Thomas, also works at the shop and he is equally fantastic. Thomas taught another class I took to get certified in Dry Suit and he was extremely kind, funny and made sure everyone was safe while having a good time along the way. I needed a bit of extra time and attention to get my gear sorted out and Thomas went above and beyond to make sure I had what I needed. You'll need to go back to the shop again before your pool session to be fitted for wetsuits. The staff takes their time to make sure you have gear that fits appropriately and that you understand how to put it on and take it off. I recommend wearing a bathing suit or sports bra and exercise shorts/underwear to this fitting. They have fitting rooms and you will be putting the wetsuit on so the staff can make sure you're in appropriate gear. A day or two before you start your class, you go back to the shop to pick up the major rental equipment. Note: wet suit, BCD (the vest-like thing that you inflate and deflate to control buoyancy), regulator, tanks and weights are all covered in the cost of the class). The first part of class is a few hours in the classroom at the shop. Ahead of your class, you have the option to purchase a book and DVD or e-learning materials. E-learning is a bit more expensive but definitely worth it. ($230) Pool classes are at Rancho Rinconada Pool in Cupertino and start with a swimming test and treading water test. Scuba is a physical sport! Do not sign up if you don't know how to swim. Our pool classes ran from about 6:15 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Important: You will need to go back to the shop in between pool dive sessions to refill your air tank. Make sure you don't show up to your second pool session with a half-filled tank! The refill is included in the cost of class. After the two pool sessions, you need to go back to the shop to exchange your pool gear for ocean gear (warmer suit, heavier weights, etc). The ocean weekend consists of 4 dives over 2 days at San Carlos Beach, Breakwater Cove, in Monterey, CA. I highly recommend getting a hotel room for the night in between. It's a beautiful place to be with plenty of places to explore and eat in between class. I am out of room but I could go on forever about how much I love diving and how glad I am to have PSD to guide me on my adventure! Hope to see you in a class there soon! read more

See all

This scuba diving class is a bless for my summer treat, which my husband got me for our anniversary. I still enjoy even thinking about it. Our primary instructor is Mark Suzuki, he is really skillful, kind, and very clam. I was really nervous at first because I haven't been in the pool or ocean for over 2 years and lots of equipments that come along with the dive. Mark has organized the class very well, we went through all the skills and he make sure that everybody got them right and he didn't mind repeated them again. The Beginner course for the Open water diver takes totally 4 days (2weekends) The first week, we learned the skill in the pool. Reminder, we have 4 tests and a final on the first day after the pool section. So you need to be prepare by reading the material they give you. The second week we go to Monterey (Yahhhh), Eric is another instructor that help out with Mark in the open water class. Our first day at the ocean my buddy and I barely make it to the ocean because all the equipments are soo heavy but when we enter the water everything gets easier. We have to repeat the same skills again in the ocean to make sure that we can survived lol, and It's harder than I though to keep my buoyancy balance. Mark and Eric really help us out, and especially keep me clam. We have a free dive in our last day and it what I've been waiting for. I have soo much fun and great experiences, and I definitely going to continue for further diving skills. read more

See all

I got my OW certification here. I have learned more than i was expecting. Instructor is willing to help and teach. I will recommend them to people willing to learn real skills to dive. read more

Amazing customer service from Moses and Kevin -- super helpful and much fun to talk to! Also amazing instructors and had a blast open water class with Andrew :) read more

I signed up for the open water diving course and showed up to the pool at the stated time. Another customer and I waited for an hour plus for the instructor to show up, but they never came. Apparently the class was cancelled, but no one ever called to tell us that. Really poor communication all around. They refunded my deposit but their poor communication caused me to waste my Saturday morning as well as money spent on a rental car. read more

Great place! Friendly staff, and I learned a lot. I feel very confident in my diving abilities and can't wait to get out in the ocean!

I tried to get dry suit certified here, and it absolutely SUCKED. I got fitted for the suit, and that was fine. Signed the rental agreement and left with the suit to go to the pool. No one told me I was supposed to pick up the rest of the gear too until I got to the pool. I had to drive all the way back. I brushed it off. Mistakes happen. Got back to the pool, put everything on, then I realized the rest of the students have boots. I didn't have any boots. They forgot the boots. So, I dove without boots and was told I had to go back the next day. Then I was annoyed. When it was time to descend, my dry suit flooded with water. So, I shot back up and told the instructor. I got, "it's normal to get a little wet." So, I dove back down. Water continued to flood me every time I reached for the exhaust valve. I told them twice more I was flooding, and I was told, "it's normal to get a little wet." And they didn't believe me until I was undressing and was soaked. Then they just said, "We need to adjust your seals before the ocean." When I was repacking, I noticed they didn't give me a hood either. At first, they didn't tell me to get my extra gear. Then I was missing my boots AND my hood? I was very angry by the time I left the pool. There was no way I was going to trust those people to get in the ocean with them after that. So, I didn't even get certified. I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because I did get wet suit certified there, and it was fine. They did mix up our suits once during the pool classes, but the rest was fine. However, I'm going to Diver Dan's next time. read more

Great place to get your open water certification. Instructors are experienced and knowledgeable. We trained with Thomas during the pool sessions. His approach was detailed, methodical and fun. I felt well prepared for the ocean session. Mark Suzuki was our instructor during the ocean sessions. He was very patient with us. I was a little nervous before the ocean dives, but with Mark I felt comfortable and safe in the ocean. Plan a few weeks in advance for the course as there is some paper work and online classes to finish before the pool sessions, be well prepared and follow the instructions, you will have a great time. Happy diving! -Chandra read more

There are many issues with the operation of this dive shop. First of all, their sign up process doesn't provide clear instructions on how to get things like learning materials, student packets, logbooks etc. It may be obvious to people who already know the process, but keep in mind a lot of us who sign up for the class are completely new to scuba diving and know next to nothing about the process. It doesn't help that the shop owner Kevin seems very impatient and easily irritated. When I called to ask questions, his attitude makes me feel like I'm just dumb and why I don't already know everything. Because of his negative attitude, I was intimidated from asking more questions and I still didn't fully understand the process after hanging up the phone, together with my mood ruined for the rest of the day. When I purchased PADI eLearning course from their website, after payment, there was no instruction or explanation email about what to expect next. After a long wait, nothing showed up, and I called the shop a total of three times throughout the day before finally receiving the link. The shop owner insisted I didn't check my spam folder carefully enough but it turned out he sent out the activation link to a different email address. No apology offered. Coming to the day of the 1st lecture, one third of the class showed up without the necessary materials. So it wasn't just me. But he still insisted that his instructions were very clear and it was our fault of not reading the emails carefully. The shop owner's attitude has impacts beyond the sign up process. We needed to buy and rent gears from the shop before the diving practice and when asking him questions about the gear, he is very impatient, condescending and defensive and provides little useful info to directly answer the question itself. My intent of asking questions was solely to understand why and learn, but he interpreted it as I challenging his authority and 'many years of experience in the business'. This type of attitude is not only discouraging, but can be a security red flag when new learners of scuba diving are afraid of asking more questions about the operation and safety of the gears. In my opinion, this particular aspect is not acceptable. His shop also rents out defective gears. For example, one student received a BCD that leaked air and had to be inflated every 2 minutes to stay afloat. Another student received a wetsuit that didn't have any Velcro left at the neck area and caused the suit unzipping itself in the ocean. This could have led to dangerous hypothermia. Yet another student received a second stage regulator that had a slow leak, also in the ocean. Their defense is that the students are 100% responsible for checking the gears. But don't you think this is a bit irresponsible for brand new students that completely lack any prior experience? One of the female instructor also has a very questionable teaching style. She would yell at you, slap water in your face and humiliate you in front of the whole class and all it takes for her to unleash the temper was if you make a mistake on the first attempt of a new skill. Although I do understand scuba diving is a serious sport with inherent danger, being serious about safety doesn't mean the instructor has to use an abusive teaching style. It is actually counter productive to be demeaned like that when people are already trying their best to perform the skills. We are all adults, not 5 year old kids and I completely disagree with the disrespectful way we were treated in. Overall, it was a very unhappy experience for me and my mental health took a toll taking the class at this dive shop. I hope the shop owner can read my comments with a positive mindset and try to self-reflect and improve. In doing so it is not only beneficial for your own business, but more importantly the many new students that will be taking classes at your shop can have a happier, more positive experience at the very start of their scuba diving journey. They deserve it. read more

Super awesome instructors for open water certification ! Both Thomas' were professional and made the class enjoyable. Moses -the indoor staff member was very patient and nice. read more

I did my Open Water certification with Sabine and Thomas at Pacific Scuba Divers, and had an incredible time! It was less expensive than the SF based shops, and I could tell the instructors love teaching. They were simultaneously entertaining and informative, without sacrificing clarity or letting mistakes slip through. I've come back to take more advanced certifications, and they continue to surpass my expectations. It's worth noting that the shop offers both NASE and PADI certifications. Both are valid and respected worldwide, so make sure you look into NASE and don't just default to PADI! read more