WOW! this place has everything! If you took one part dive shop, one part surf shop, one part kayak rental outfit, one part museum, one part sculpture/glass/collectibles shop, and one part Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, you'd have Pismo Beach Dive and Surf Shop. Full service PADI dive shop, ethical service and prices. They have more boards than any other shop in Pismo, more dive gear (and knowledge) than the other dive stores I've visited, and one of the most eclectic collections of gifts, sculptures, glass, and the best kayak rental and tour service on the Central Coast! It took me a long time to find a place like this, a one stop shop. Our family surfs, dives and kayaks, so this has become our go to place. The prices are low for the top notch merchandise and service you get. Their gift shop portion of this charming biz---the outdoor collection of sculptures, surf boards, collectible glass, shells, rock, etc---is a place we take our out of town guests to. And of course, no business is truly memorable if the staff are humdrum, so about the owner: Mr. Wonka, er, I mean Mr. Bookout himself. Bill Bookout is the proprietor/manager, he is an engaging, free spirited guy who is always so a blast to talk to about local surf, fish, dive and kayak spots. Bill is great! The kayak tours are beautiful, he takes you to the best spots and explores the dinosaur caves and beaches on kayaks. And you will DEFINITELY see mermaids (wink wink you'll see what I mean). All in all, I'm glad we've got this gem in our community, as long as it's doors are open we locals and tourists alike have a great one stop shop for all things beautiful and active on the central coast. read more

There's something not quite right with Bill. He sold me a BCD, billed my card and then didn't ship it for days and days. When I called to find out what was happening, I just got the runaround, and when he finally admitted he still had the item, I asked him to cancel my order. Instead of doing so, he tried to make excuse after excuse. I had to call my credit card company and get my money back. Also, if he tells you that he will discount an item for you if you give him a positive YELP, it's BS. Bill promised us that, but renigged on the discounted price when it came time to buy. However, we had a trip planned, so I just went with it. I'm sorry I did, because of course everything went wrong and then I didn't have my BCD for our dive trip. Trust Bill if you want, but you've been warned. Bill called me later about this post, again denying he had done anything wrong and trying to blame me. He directly asked me to take this down, because as all of you who post here know, Bill likes people to Yelp for him. I'm glad other people are having positive experiences with Bill, but this was mine.....Sorry. read more

My Boyfriend and I went to Pismo for a couple days and kayaking was already on my to do list. I'm pretty particular in perfecting everything I do and had to do a bit of research and get a bunch of information on kayaking. I did not stop at the first place i found ....i Kept looking around and finally i was content with the Pismo Beach Dive Shop. First of all Bill was genuinely nice and made us feel comfortable, almost as we were friends. He even joked with us when my boyfriend and I came out in our wetsuits backwards! =) Our Tour guy Corey was super cool and fun! He had my boyfriend and I laughing the entire time. We even got to see seals and one little baby seal! He got us as close as possible to them which I LOVED! He went far and beyond to make every second count. I honestly couldn't have asked for anything more! It is only $70 per person which includes wetsuit, booties,helmet, life-jacket, AND pictures! We will definitely doing this again on our next trip to Pismo!!! Thank you guys soooo much!! Corey you're the sh**!!!!!! =) read more

My husband and I visited Pismo Beach for our anniversary. I've been wanting to go kayaking for a while and found very little reviews for sea kayaking in Pismo. If you are looking to go kayaking while your up in area this is a great place. We met our tour guide at the shop and he gave us everything we needed for our trip. His truck was already packed up and ready to go. We followed him to where we could paddle out in the ocean. He was very knowledgeable about kayaking and the history of Pismo. He gave us a quick lesson in safety and then we headed out. We had a blast! We went through the dinosaur caves and did things we didn't think we could do. Along our tour we saw tons of birds, sea otters, and even a porpoise! We even stopped at a secluded beach and went hiking to some tide pools. A great little adventure. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to go sea kayaking in Pismo Beach. read more

We had two family looking to book a kayak tour (for a total of seven teens and adults), and Bill was able to clear his afternoon to take us out. We got the safety gear, and the 411 on do's and dont's and off we went. He assessed our level of fitness and interest, and took us out to the usual places of interest... and then we went to the caves. The caves were tunnels and arches that the waves create in the rock structures. Those were a blast and not too hard to navigate!! Overall, Bill gave us a locals tour of the coastline, saw dolphins, otters and all the sea birds. The tour was individualized to our abilities and interests. The equipment was up to date, and did not lack for sizes or quantities. He had a digital camera to take pictures of us going in or coming out of the caves (at no extra charge). Definitely a place to go for kayak tours!!! read more

An old family friend came to visit and wanted to go scuba diving. He found this place and had a great time. He had such a good time that later the same day he decided to go back to this dive shop and rent kayaks for the rest of the day to take me and a buddy out. Whoever was running the shop, I believe it was the owner, was super helpful and nice. There was another group taking a guided tour with this gentleman and we asked them how their excursion was and they said it was a lot of fun. In fact, reading the comment below I believe it was Robert S. and his family that we saw! Haha, I'm a little late posting this, but I believe Pismo Dive Shop deserves a good post because working in the service industry I realize that not enough people who had a good time take the time to post something good. Thank you! We will be back and refer others. =D read more

Went kayaking for the 3 day stay at pismo beach and man the kayak trip was the best experience me, family and friends had. Bill and his associates are the friendliest few you can ever meet, the shop itself is really close to the beach and has a wide variety of selection in the store itself. Their very experience in there field and prices are reasonable. We didn't have a waterproof camera so Bill offered to take photos for us and man was it worth it. Best dive shop in town and I definitely recommend this place for future vacationers. Definitely coming back to this same shop next year. If you don't believe this review you can check them out on their Facebook page, Pismo Beach Dive Shop. read more

Returned for a second time with Bill this year after an outing to the lighthouse last year. Dinosaur Caves were adventurous and fun. Lots of marine life with background info on each, courtesy of Bill. Five of us, two adults and kids ages 10-13, learned to safely navigate some narrow passages through the caves. We all benefited from a safety briefing before heading out. Equipment (Kayak, wetsuit, and booties) were clean and in good condion. The DVD containing over 100 pics will forever remind us of this great outdoor adventure. Small, quality business with a personal touch. We'll definitely be back! read more

My wife and I are going on an exploration cruise to Fiji, Tonga and Tahiti. We stopped in at the Pismo Dive and Surf shop to purchase rash guard wet suits for the trip. We met with Bill, the owner of the shop and he helped us to determine the type of suits that would be appropriate for us to purchase. Although Bill has an extensive inventory of equipment he went out of his way to special order the correct type and size of suits that we should have for our trip. Bill and his staff were knowledgeable and friendly and when we return we look forward to sharing our experiences with them. read more

i didn't know whether to go with five or six stars, but since five stars is tops, I still want to give it six stars. Here are the things I've done with them in the past six months: Dive boat trip. Surf board purchase. Dive gear purchase and some rentals. Kayak tours. (one am, two pm). I've got to hand it to this place, they really rock and they really know their stuff. The owner, Bill is a really cool guy. He gives you info that would normally take someone about five years of living here to acquire. Good info about kayaking, diving, etc. Whole hearted approval. read more

My friends and family decided to go for a kayak tour with Pismo Beach Dive Shop. There were 18 of us all together, and this shop was able to accomodate us easily. They suited us all up with wetsuits, booties, helmets, and life vests and we headed out to Shell Beach. The experienced guides took us through the caves, and we got to see a lot of seals, sea otters, and even dolphins! We all had an amazing time, and we even got a CD with tons of pics to keep so we can always remember our adventure! I highly recommend Pismo Beach Dive Shop!!! read more

Just had another great experience with the pismo beach dive shop. Bill is very helpful and has all of your central coast ocean needs. Whether it be diving, free diving, snorkeling, kayaking, surfing, and stand up paddleboarding. In addition, they also do guided kayak yours and stand up paddleboarding rentals. I have never been on one myself but I've heard great things. I personally just went in to get a new free dive wetsuit. Bill was great and very helpful in providing me with the right wetsuit for me. read more

Well, me and the family where searching for something the whole family could enjoy on our yearly family vacation. Well, as we got off the off ramp there was the Pismo Beach Dive Shop. It all started from there!! We booked our kayak tour!! It was the best time my kids have had in along time. It was awesome seeing the Dinosaur Caves and actually going through them was a blast. The owner Bill was very helpful and knowledgeable. The kids are begging to go back!! P.s Don't forget to get your DVD!!!!! read more

On Sunday the 8th of September my husband, daughter and myself booked a kayak tour with Bill, What a great time we had, the experience was the best ever, went thru caves, saw lots of wild life. We would do it again and I am sure the next time we are in town we will do it again, but I think I might try paddle boarding. Since Bill was a great teacher for kayaking I knew he can teach this old lady how to paddle board, I would trust him also with teaching me to surf. Can't wait to go back Patty C read more

Great local dive shop! I live in Grover Beach and have been coming to this shop for many years and am always taken care of here. I freedive, and although it SEEMS to be a scuba oriented shop, there is everything in here for the freediver as well. He even has a nice line up of spear guns and pole spears for hunting. Even if you don't dive or kayak, it's a great shop to walk around. LOTS of goodies and the owner is always super positive and friendly! Just another day in paradise ;) read more

A full service PADI affiliated dive shop, friendly and knowledgeable. Got a great deal on a new BCD there and they have all the equipment you could ever need. I use the shop to service all my diving equipment. They also offer dive trips to Shell Beach, kayaking, pretty much anything you need, if you need to rent equipment they have it. Experts at local dives and areas to kayak. Wonderful souvenir shop as well. Since they are a PADI center, you can get fully certified. read more

We have not used the dive shop services but we love the souvenir shop and have gone there for years. We come to Pismo Beach twice a year from Phoenix and we make sure to stop in. We have purchased everything from welcome mats to glass sculptures and toys as well as one of a kind items. We have never been disappointed with the goods or services and many of the items are displayed in our home. We highly recommend that you visit this one of a kind shop. Steve Santos read more

Took the kayak tour with my daughter and had a great time. Scenery was beautiful and the guide was great. He made sure everyone was enjoying the tour and provided a perfect mix of scenery, wildlife and adventure if you wanted to navigate any of the caves. We saw seals, otters and pelicans. He provided a CD full of pics from the trip at no extra charge. Excellent time overall and I would definitely recommend. Professional, fun and safe. read more

a most welcome local dive shop that offers dive tours scuba tanks for sale as will as aqua lungs regulators go pro digital cameras dive fins and much much more for all your diving needs , a big plus bill is super nice and very helpful sales man all in all 5 stars across the board also large selection of surfboards and kayaks very good prices !!! and very fast pro surfboard ding repairs no job to big or small read more