I was certified as a Basic Scuba Diver in 1978 (more about this later). After 30+ years, I decided…read moreto renew my interest in scuba diving on a vacation to Antigua. I took the resort's refresher course and felt pretty good about my skills. On the first open water dive, I had difficulty descending below 30 feet. The dive instructor sent me back to the boat. As soon as I returned from Antigua, I discovered that PADI revised the requirements for certification in 1987 without notifying me of the change. I searched online for dive instructors in the Raleigh, NC area. I contacted another dive shop as well as Kevin about my needs. Only Kevin returned my call/email. Kevin's online reviews all seemed very good so I called him and left a brief message explaining that I wanted to upgrade my Basic diver certification to an Open Water certification (which is what I thought I had originally). Kevin was down in Cozumel on a dive trip (which I strongly suggest) but called me back within a day or two. We discussed my situation and he suggested a "hybrid" approach consisting of the areas that PADI had added to my original training that I could do along with a group course he had starting the following month. (He was scheduled to teach one "diver" to swim before teaching scuba - that's how accommodating he is). The group cancelled so I basically had individual lessons, customized just for me, at no additional cost. In- pool activities were at a local Raleigh pool with "open water" dives at Fantasy Lake, which is a great place to dive. Because of Kevin's understanding and flexibility, I essentially took the whole open water course and was re-certified as Open Water Diver within one month. I strongly recommend Kevin Alexander for scuba instruction for all levels of divers. I have since completed the Advanced Open Water course while on a dive trip with Kevin to Cozumel.

Kevin and his team are patient, informed scuba instructors and guides who make you feel safe and…read moretake their time to make sure you understand the sometimes complicated components of getting open water certified. Now that Kevin has helped me with my certification I plan to join him on scuba trips in the future! And I'm so happy to know about the Fantasy Lake Adventure Park in Rolesville where I will continue to keep up with this new skill by exploring the quarry!

Went in last week and I was completely ignored by the staff. The guy working was busy flirting…read morewith a young gal....I may be older but I do have the money to spend on my husband for a new BCD. I went elsewhere and bought one. Air Hogs lost a sale. Oh well.

There are four things I want to say about Air Hogs Scuba and its owner, Thomas…read more First, if you're the too long; didn't read type, I HIGHLY recommend Air Hogs Scuba for your needs. In Raleigh? Durham? Drive the extra distance. It's worth it. Second, Thomas and Co undoubtedly know their craft. There are experts, and then there are THE experts. I don't have the largest sample size, but of the shops I've visited in NC and FL, Air Hogs Scuba has THE experts in the field. There is not a question I have asked that has not just been answered but answered in-depth with explanations and reasons why. Third, Thomas has been imparted with Forbidden Knowledge only granted by the Goddess of the Deep after your 1,000th dive about regulator service. I brought my regs in for service, fully ready to get a new pair because they kept leaking at the end of a season. Thomas discouraged me from getting new ones, instead explaining why they did that, what I could do to fix it on the fly, and what he could do to tune my regs to be the best they've been. I just finished using them on eight dives of various depths after service, and not only do they not leak or have any issues; they breathe better than any set I've ever used. The only restriction I had breathing was tweaking the flow setting to try to optimize my breathing effort. The work blew me away. And they work on Hog gear, which many shops won't touch. Finally, I want to say Thomas and those at Air Hogs are genuinely lovely people looking out for the diver and not their bottom line. They went out of their way to ensure I got my regs back in time for a dive. I went in to talk about getting a new BC setup, and Thomas encouraged me to dive a new setup first before spending money on it and even offered customizations if I did decide to go with the new setup (plate & wing). I got the impression I would have to convince HIM to sell me one without trying it first! That's just good customer service and good (diver) community service, in my opinion. Again, I HIGHLY recommend Air Hogs Scuba. They are knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and genuinely care about their customers and craft.

Excellent customer service and great place to rent scuba equipment! The friendly employees first…read moreanswered my questions over the phone when I had called to reserve rental scuba equipment. They don't allow reservations, but since they did not have any classes scheduled the weekend I inquired about, they assured they would have adequate supplies and they did! When we arrived to rent the equipment, the employees greeted us right away. They patiently answered our questions and helped us select the right items since it was our first time renting. They clearly explained the cost and tried to save us money rather than talking us into spending more. In addition to rental equipment they sell scuba gear, hold classes, and host events and trips. They have a heated pool on-site and offer private and semi-private classes. Their training agency is SSI (Scuba Schools International). Overall, we had a great experience here and would rent from here again!

My daughter and I had a trip planned that included scuba diving so we went to Gypsy Divers to get…read morecertified. I was never able to get open water certification because of the pressure on my ears but Mike Welch was incredibly patient and others in the shop had numerous suggestions for me to try. Ultimately I gave up after numerous attempts and got a full refund of the entire tuition even though I had completed the lessons, used their equipment to try and get the outdoor signoff completed, and taken a lot of their time. I would highly recommend the shop if you are wanting to try getting certified and you don't have to worry about losing the large sum of money if you don't make it. I feel like I'm also very comfortable with all of the skills needed but am just held back by my ears! thank you Mike and Gypsy.

I just stopped in to get some information on some equipment and was greeted by Zach who was very…read morefriendly and knowledgeable of all of the equipment. He provided me with some great insights and I'm excited to return!

Front desk is confrontational and will belittle you if you do not understand something…read more Emily has a terrible attitude and makes people feel uncomfortable and not welcome within the store. Seems like they do not care about you or your business. Go elsewhere if you don't want your day ruined.

The wife and I finally decided to go get Open Water Certified. With a very open search we found…read moreSandhills Scuba. Our instructor was Dan, what a great, prompt, patient, and knowledgeable teacher he was. He was very precise with instructions on day 1 thru 4. He was amazing at explaining and teaching all the tasks we needed to learn. Definitely, ask for Dan if you choose to get certified through Sandhills !

I completed my advanced open water certification with Mr. Dan Travieso at Sandhills Scuba, and I…read morehave to say that it was an even better experience than when I did my Open Water Certification. Mr. Travieso is extremely kind and patient and made sure that I had a proper understanding before letting me enter the water. I would recommend Sandhills Scuba to everyone in Fayetteville, North Carolina and all around North Carolina. If you are looking to do anything that has to do with Scuba Diving, this is the only school I will recommend. I will most definitely be coming back to Sandhills Scuba as I advance through scuba diving. Thank you Mr. Travieso!

The owners Deb and Chris are amazing! They are excellent instructors, safety oriented and taking…read moreextra time to explain concepts that was difficult for me to wrap my mind around. The divemasters that work with them are also wonderful and have been a great addition to our lessons. We enjoyed our open water training so much we decided to immediately follow it with nitrox training. The retail side of the store is a great resource. We have never felt pressured to buy expensive high-end equipment that is outside of our needs. When we have decided to purchase equipment they offered good advice for budget friendly options that will meet our needs. Their military discount is another bonus. I cannot say enough good things about them! I would highly recommend them for diving education or equipment needs!

I did it!!! I recently received my NAUI Basic Open Water and Nitrox certifications from Adventures…read morein Scuba! I couldn't have done it without my instructor, Deb. She was there all along. Her knowledge, experience, and also her encouragements helped me give my very best and allowed me to become more knowledgeable and confident in my diving abilities. I had a few sessions with Chris and learned so much from him as well. Both of them are wonderful people who deeply care about sharing their many years of experience and love for diving. It is contagious! We recently returned from a one-week dive trip to Bonaire organized by Adventures in Scuba with Deb and Chris. It was an awesome trip where my husband and I both got certifications. We dove up to 4 times a day in beautiful waters with everything perfectly organized for us: the lodging, the food and the dives. We made new friends and felt that we were part of a new family. What a blast! I highly recommend Adventures in Scuba! A warm thank you to you both Deb and Chris!

I have been wanting to go to Fantasy Lake since last year and I finally got to go…read more We reserved a 2 hour slot and got there 25mins before our start time to get changed and settled. The obstacle course is really fun for both kids and adults. The slides were my favorite part. They also have scuba diving on the end side of the lake. The only negative I will call out is that they don't have a water fountain or a filling station. I get that they allow outside food and drinks but for an outdoor water park, having a water fountain/filling station is a bare minimum.

A couple of staff members were unnecessarily rude to me, my girlfriend, and our child during our…read morevisit. At one point, a blonde female staff member approached my girlfriend in a very confrontational manner while we were simply saying goodbye to family members on the dock without wearing life jackets. We understood the life-jacket policy, but the way the situation was handled was disrespectful and could have been communicated much more professionally. Later, as we were leaving, we initially walked up one side of the ramp. We had already washed the sand off our feet and changed, so we did not want to walk back through the sand, get dirty again, and have to wait in line to rinse off a second time. We walked back down so we could leave through the other side. A young blonde male staff member stopped us simply to tell us that we could not be on the dock without life jackets, and his tone was extremely rude. I explained that we were aware of the rules and were only trying to leave through the other side because we had already cleaned the sand off and did not want to go back through the rinse line. Instead of simply acknowledging that and allowing us to leave, he continued to speak to me and my family in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner. What made the situation even more frustrating was that two older women were standing at the end of the same dock without life jackets, and neither staff member addressed them. That inconsistency made us feel singled out and raised concerns about whether the rules were being enforced equally for all guests. This business needs to take a serious look at its staffing and customer-service expectations. Some employees appeared to lack the communication skills necessary to interact appropriately with customers. We also encountered staff members who were not welcoming upon arrival, appeared disengaged in their responsibilities, and created the impression that certain guests or demographics were being treated differently than others. I am not normally someone who leaves negative reviews for businesses, but this was one of the most disappointing staff experiences I have encountered. Families should be able to visit, follow the rules, and still be treated with basic courtesy and respect. Based on our experience, I would not recommend bringing my family back.

Great group of guys. Veteran owned, and most who work there are veterans too. Serviced my tanks…read moreand regs quickly and top notch, and took several classes for different certifications, and the instructors were great! Just about everything was one on one instruction and very professional. They have all my scuba business!

From the owner: Established in 2011. We're not the type to swap war stories with every person who walk through the…read moredoor. We're just not the average Dive Shop that has individuals with no life experience working here.

Thanks Dave for your response to the regulator issue. The issue was resolved with one phone call…read more Dave went above and beyond to fix the issue. Thanks again.

The owner of this shop, Dave Farrar, contacted me by email a few weeks later. He apologized for the…read morepoor service I received and offered to provide me with a new regulator free of charge. Between the time I picked up my disassembled gear and the owner contacting me, I had purchased a new regulator to replace the ones that were no longer usable. The owner again apologized and offered to pay part of the purchase price of the new gear. Today I received a check for 1/2 of the amount that he agreed to provide to me. I was very shocked and very pleased. I have never been shown this level of service by a business owner. I think Dave Farrar has shown an unusually high level of honesty and integrity and I will once again return to his store as a customer. Thank you Dave, you are a great dive buddy!