One dive you're holding a million-year-old fossil pulled straight from the Gulf -- the next you're exploring a sunken Army Tank. That's just a normal day with Aristakat. Captain Jamie and Divemaster Katia are the real deal. Can't recommend them enough! Had another amazing day with Aristakat Charters!! Captain Grayson and Dive Master Mate Katia are always fantastic and had a blast Diving the Army Tanks and Barge. Can't wait to come back for the night dive in September or possibly sooner. read more

The nicest people with amazing customer service! You are guaranteed a great time if you book with them!

Great boat, great crew. I've been diving with them for three years now. I highly recommend them. read more

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I had a great time with Capt Jamie and Katia. Demand that he take you to Mammoth Dive Site! It's great! read more

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Good experience, with the captain and first mate offering us insights to where it's best for shark tooth hunting. Less satisfied with communications, as attempted to contact with the given phone number on multiple occasions receiving no reply. Directions are a bit challenging so arrive early to locate the actual area where the boat docks as the GPS coordinates have you in a parallel parking lot. Head for the park area with tables and look for boat trailers along the water line area. read more

It was great being back in the water! And looking for shark teeth no less! Booking was super easy, though I with there was an option to book both morning and afternoon dives in one go (something to work on?). Recommend searching location by Venice boat ramp, as the address can send you somewhere else... and I don't like that operator . The boats are nice and well kept, weights are included (another great difference from previous experiences...). The crew is AWESOME! Both Cpt Jamie and Cpt Chaz are knowledgeable and thoughtful, Josh is amazing!!! Reminded me of live aboard princess diving! Recommend, no HIGHLY recommend these beautiful people if you're into fossil diving! read more

Aristakat Charters - Scuba Diving Near Me - Venice, Florida

Could have been better. Rules were unclear and often broken by other participants. The sites we were brought to were mediocre in my opinion, and not much better than/equal to shore diving. The dive time started once the boat stopped, so your time in the water was dependent on how quickly the person ahead of you could get geared up and in the water. While not the staff's fault, we were rushed off the last dive site and boat due to weather. Again, not their fault, but I wish they had planned it better/not as short with the divers. read more

We first dove with Capt. Jamie on Aristakat in March 2021. It was our first ocean dive in low visibility and that coupled with the winter chill of the water made it a bit overwhelming at first. Capt. Jamie recognized that we needed a few minutes to get acclimated so he was kind enough to toss us a line so we could calm down before descending. The visibility was about 2' and the water was rough. We found a few fossils including a nice whale tooth but no Megs on this dive We dove with Aristakat again this past week (December 2021) and the conditions were excellent. Visibility was almost 20' and we were much more prepared for the adventure. We found one 2.5" Meg and a mini Meg so needless to say we were extremely pleased with the dives! I know there are a lot of other dive boats in the Venice area but we will dive with Capt. Jamie and Aristakat every time. read more

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Capt Jamie & Capt Chas are amazing - both are super knowledgable, personable and just plain fun to be around! I've been on their charter several times now, and will be back for more once this Florida cold spell passes ;) This was one of the best boat dives I have been on: -Easy to get to the boat ramp with free parking available -Super quick trip (15-20 mins tops) to the dive site(s) -Captain knows where to find fossils & shark teeth -Captain knows what type of shark teeth or fossils you find, and are able to identify different marine life (fish, coral, etc.) -Hot wash on the boat to combat the cold ocean -Left with decent sized meg teeth Highly recommend the Arista-kat, especially for meg tooth hunting! Thanks again, guys! read more

Aristakat Charters - Scuba Diving Near Me - Venice, Florida

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One of my dive buddies wanted to take a trip to Venice to hunt for megalodon teeth. She found this charter so we booked. We wanted an afternoon charter, which they offered. They clearly state that if there aren't at least 3 divers, they will cancel the trip. We didn't have three divers but rather than canceling, Captain Jamie and Captain Scott took us out anyway since we offered to pay extra by splitting the cost of what the third diver would have been. We had a great time! While we didn't find megalodon teeth on our two dives, we did come back with some cool finds and a promise that we would schedule another charter with these captains! read more

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Staff is hard working and knowledgeable. However, you have to know the questions to ask. They are lackadaisical with information. Afterwards they remember "Oh yeah, if you...." We heard this AFTER our two dives. More information should me made aware upfront and on their website. Spoke with Captain Jamie a couple of times to book and check in. He made it clear he would be our captain. We arrive and there is no Captain Jamie, a different Captain, Chaz, who was wonderful, and a first mate who was very friendly but under the weather. The biggest reason for the 3 stars is the rental equipment. My BCD was junk!!!! NO working clips! Only the cummerbund! If you are VERY experienced diving, Aristakat would be great. We had 17 dives before and if choosing again, would go with a different outfit. read more

Captain Jamie, is wonderful and knows where the teeth are. I highly recommend Aristakat Charters for your shark tooth adventures.

8-13-23 Captian Chas and Josh were super. They made the day safe and fun. Found Meg's on every dive. I'll def be back for more. read more

First class, SAFE MEG charter, and they put you on the goods. Most impressive: The divemaster, Jesse, after getting everyone in the water along with the help of Captain Chas, jumped in and returned with two rare finds: a Woolly Mammoth tooth and a Whale ear bone. He gave them to a new diver onboard who had missed the MEGs. That was amazing to see. All you experienced MEG divers! Captain Chaz and Jesse will put you on clay, gravel, and a mix. All the spots I dove into had the goods. They run boats at both 8 am and 1 pm. 4 hours--perfect 2-tank run and gun dive that doesn't suck up the whole day. Highly recommended. read more

Aristakat Charters - MEG with rare brown root coloring. - Scuba Diving Near Me - Venice, Florida

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I've dove with Captain Jamie since 2018 and every time it is great! Boats are in great shape and crew is top notch. I highly recommend them read more

Aristakat Charters - Meg tooth found on last dove. - Scuba Diving Near Me - Venice, Florida

Jesse and Chaz were great. Being new to Megalodon shark tooth diving and not experienced in somewhat poor visibility, we paid extra for the guided tour. This was the best money we spent while on vacation. Jesse made sure we were comfortable and helped us find lots of great teeth. I'd definitely do it again. read more

Standard scuba diving operation. Friendly and helpful but mine turned out to be an expensive trip. The cost of the dive was reasonable but during the dive I lost a rental fin. They charged me over $170 for the lost fin, a rental remember. I could've bought some high-end fins for $170. I'd say I was ripped off! read more

Our party had an awful experience with Captain Jamie. From before we even showed up to the dock (and were 10 minutes early mind you), he was calling our cell phones rushing us and reminding us we were supposed to be there already. He rushed us to get our gear on the VERY cramped boat, rushed us to get everything ready while driving out to the dive site, rushed us to get our stuff out of his way, rushed us to listen to the dive briefing while still going full throttle so we couldn't even hear what was being said, then rushed us to get into the water. Our party had 4 experienced divers, one of whom dives for work, and he treated us like we were an annoyance and didn't know what weights we needed, didn't know what we were doing and even pushed one of our party into the water while they were still gearing up and getting their fin unstuck from under the cooler. Captain Jamie also had the nerve to throw one of our party's gear into the water just to prove a point. I have never been treated so horribly on a dive boat, been rushed to do everything with no thought to safety or seen a dive boat let a diver (not with our party) who had been out of practice for a few years go dive by herself! I will NEVER use him again and all of our dive friends know to go with someone else. He is unsafe, rude and pushy beyond belief. When a diver says then need 14 pounds you DO NOT argue, and then get mad at them when the 12 pounds you insisted they use does not work. Just horrible. read more

Been out twice and both times were excellent. Capt Jamie runs a boat with only 6 divers so personal attention to each diver is given. He provides the tanks and has proven each time he knows where to find megladon and other shark's teeth. On our last trip, everyone found some teeth. Will be going back. read more