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    South Florida Diving Headquarters

    4.6 (160 reviews)

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    For my senior project, I chose to get both my Open Water and Advanced Diving certifications--and I couldn't have picked a better place than South Florida Diving Headquarters. From day one, I felt supported, encouraged, and genuinely cared for. My instructor, Paula, was an absolute gem. She's patient, calm, and radiates a passion for diving that's contagious. She creates an environment where there's no space for fear, only growth and excitement. After finishing my Open Water certification with her, I knew there was no one else I wanted to guide me through my Advanced. Paula is the kind of instructor who makes you feel seen, capable, and empowered. Truly the best I could've asked for. The entire SFDH team is laid back, fun, and professional. Every dive crew I went out with made safety and enjoyment their top priorities. As a new diver, I had some anxiety around certain skills, but that vanished quickly. If you're ready to learn, they're ready to teach. I explored some breathtaking wrecks and reefs and encountered incredible marine life--all while gaining confidence in the water. One moment that really stuck with me was seeing the SFDH crew support a night dive in collaboration with Grateful Divers Worldwide, a charity that works with adaptive divers and individuals with disabilities. The compassion and community I witnessed that night were unforgettable. A divemaster even brought a cake to celebrate his student's progress--that's the kind of place this is. South Florida Diving Headquarters will absolutely be my go-to for any future dives in the area. Whether you're new to diving or looking to level up your skills, I cannot recommend them enough.

    Dan O.

    One of my pledges this year is complete more reviews of dive shops & sites. South Florida Diving Headquarters (SFDHQ) has two locations: Boynton Beach, and the one I used in Pompano Beach. Been with them once before, and the Veteran's day holiday weekend was a good chance to get reacquainted with both them & a dive buddy who lives in South Florida now. SFDHQ has their dive schedule on-line, but for some reason I couldn't make it work. The backup method, by phone worked fine. Their prices are unbundled, meaning that some of the things I would normally take for granted when booking a boat dive was extra, like weights and air tanks. Makes sense, though. The dive boat was pretty evenly split between locals (who presumably have those things) and tourists. And the price was still reasonable (at least compared to Hawaii prices). On the day of the dive, check in was fast. Paid for the dives, love the fact I wasn't required to pre-pay. Not enough dive shops do that these days. If you need to cancel a pre-pay, your credit card needs to be refunded, etc. Made my way to the dive boat, and went to set up my gear. A few moments later, my dive buddy made her way to the boat too. The dive boat and we shortly made it to the dive site. This trip was advertised as two shallow reef dives, but the depths were 50 ft+. Wish I knew that, I would have gotten nitrox tanks instead. Lesson learned, I should just use nitrox for all my dive trips. Ended up cutting the 2nd dive a little short to keep within my no deco limits (NDL). Otherwise the dive operation and diving itself was a breeze. We had to use a dive surface marker, as it was basically a drift dive. Very fun! All in all, very enjoyable! Got to dive with a buddy for a reasonable fee, dive operation was safe and top notch. Will repeat with SFDHQ in the future and especially check out some of the Pompano Beach wrecks. Repeat and recommend!

    Nursery reef drift dive

    Thank you SFHQ for another great adventure. This is our second year (Jan 2025) visiting for 2 days of diving. I can't say enough about the staff there. They all are extremely helpful, supportive and safety focused. Tiffany at the shop does a great job helping you plan a dive, watch out for her attack dog. And if Paula is your dive master know that she will make sure everyone on board had a great experience. Thanks also to Danny, Tanner and others who were also there for us.

    Okinawa wreck dive on 5/31/2024.

    Our three days of diving with South Florida Diving Headquarters was fantastic! Tiffany was so helpful with our questions over the phone while planning our trip. It was wonderful to meet her and Bandit at our first check-in and each that followed. Our Captains and Dive Masters for our BB three days/six dives were Tyler & Candace and Geronimo and Paula. They were all professional and saw to it we had a safe and memorable experience. Thank you from Tracey and I!! We can't wait to come back.

    Karen T.

    Captain Zolin and DM Ashley were fantastic. I can't say enough great things about these truly wonderful professionals. Captain Zolin put divers right on the reef every time. DM Ashley gave great briefings and assisted divers providing a smooth operation. They were both very personable and made the onboard environment positive and fun. We were on board with them in May when my husband finished his OW training. We're looking forward to going back again soon.

    Brian H.

    Great spot! Kenna and Ben were awesome dive master and boat captain. We had an awesome day diving. Can't wait to go back again!

    Michael A.

    The team at South Florida Diving Headquarters is great. The staff is super helpful and they have a pretty efficient system for taking care of their customers. The boat we used was fairly big, certainly the biggest group of divers I had been out with, but the Capt and dive master made it look easy. I definitely recommend using South Florida if you're planning a trip to Pompano Beach!

    Jamie H.

    I recently moved to Florida and spent 4 days with South Florida Diving Headquarters - Pompano Beach. It's a professionally run and safe operation, good captains, good crew, nice life zone on the reef dives, and the artificial wrecks we dove were also interesting. Special thanks to captains Jason and Brad, along with a great crew; Martin, Evan, Steph, McKenna, and James. I dove off the Black Pearl and Goliath. Although the Black Pearl is a large boat, Brad did a remarkable job placing all the divers based on various experience levels, and gathering us all up safely. I didn't feel cramped. The Goliath is a smaller boat, and Jason had her under control even when we had some chop and wind. The Pompano/Jupiter area is a good dive destination and I recommend you give this area a visit. I'll recommend South Florida Diving Headquarters to anyone who dives.

    My hogfish I speared.

    Dove Scubatyme out of Boynton. My buddy and I were spearfishing. Captain Todd put us on great spots and the DM Matt was very attentive. The boat is comfortable and easy to get on and off of. Safety is definitely a priority. Looking forward to diving with them again soon

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    Went diving here a few days ago. I recommend! They had snacks on the boat, and the whole crew was very helpful!

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    2 years ago

    Great day on the water! Brad and Brad were professional, informative and entertaining! Would definitely recommend.

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    Review Highlights - South Florida Diving Headquarters

    Special thanks to captains Jason and Brad, along with a great crew; Martin, Evan, Steph, McKenna, and James.

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    AquaLife Divers

    AquaLife Divers

    4.3
    (17 reviews)

    We went out with Aqualife Divers for a two tank dive through our Scuba coordinators, Jupiter Scuba…read more The boat was spacious, well appointed, and safe. there was plenty of room for our gear. The captain did a great job staying with us on the drift dives and picking us up. They provided great snacks and encouraged us to drink as much water or soda as we needed. Skip was a great deckhand and helped us find everything we needed. We even met Fred(erika) the pelican and my wife had a lifetime wish fulfilled getting close to and feeding a pelican. Overall we loved our time on the Aqualife with Skip and the captain and look forward to being on their boat again next trip!!

    do not recommend diving with this operator due to multiple serious safety concerns, poor…read moreorganization, and unprofessional customer service. I prepaid for a two-tank Nitrox dive approximately one week before the trip. When I arrived at the boat, there were no Nitrox tanks available for me despite my reservation and prepayment. Brad repeatedly counted tanks and passengers but could not determine why my tanks were missing. It was eventually discovered that another diver had taken the tanks I had reserved and paid for, set up his gear, and used them without having a prior reservation or payment. Rather than reclaiming the tanks that had been reserved for me, Brad arranged to use tanks that a friend happened to have in the back of his car. These replacement tanks raised several concerns. They were not properly labeled, had no visible inspection stickers, and there was no way for me to know when they had last been inspected, serviced, or how they had been filled. One tank had a damaged O-ring that required replacement before it could be used. Additionally, the replacement tanks were not secured when brought aboard. One fell over onto the deck, causing the valve handle to break off. This seemed to me that the handle had been corroded. I was also inconvenienced by having to reconfigure my gear to accommodate a steel cylinder instead of the tank type I had reserved. After the first dive, I set up for the second dive and discovered that my replacement tank contained only 2,500 PSI rather than a full fill. When I brought this to Brad's attention, his response was dismissive and unprofessional. I explained that I had reserved and paid for full Nitrox tanks and expected to receive what I had purchased. Rather than addressing the issue professionally, he became confrontational and aggressively stated that he would "comp the tanks." The most concerning issue occurred after the second dive. The boat began departing the pickup location while two divers were still in the water, visible at the surface with their dive flag. Brad had to shout to the captain that divers were still in the water, forcing the captain to stop and reverse course to retrieve them. Starting the engine and moving the vessel while divers are still in the water is an extremely serious safety concern and could have resulted in severe injury or worse. The trip concluded with passengers being required to climb approximately five feet from the boat to the dock using an unstable ladder, creating yet another safety concern. Overall, this operation appeared poorly organized and inadequately prepared for foreseeable issues. There were no readily available backup tanks, equipment handling practices were questionable, and customer service was lacking. Most importantly, several situations raised significant safety concerns that no diver should have to experience. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this operator.

    South Florida Diving Headquarters - boating - Updated July 2026

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