Terry helped me pick out snorkel equipment before a trip to Aruba. I hadn't planned well and only went out a week prior to my trip. Very knowledgeable and pleasant Englishman. If I can work up the courage to take scuba lessons, I will look into getting them through this store. Thanks for your help! Only negatives: it's a store among several stores along the road, so it's not obvious, and you'll probably drive past it. You need to park on the street and it looks like you can only park on their side of the street, which was full when I arrived. I think I ended up parking next to a school and daycare and I needed to cross a busy road. read more

Really friendly staff. Got a new mask snorkle and fin there before a trip to the Keys because I realized my old mask rubber was shot from 10 years in the garage lol. I'm thinking about getting a dive certification now. read more

The staff at Atlantic Edge are amazing. Terry and Rusty are particularly good. Full of great stories, but more importantly great instructors. I found them to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable. What was unique was that they recommended the best type of equipment and class depending on the individual , even if they themselves didn't carry it. I purchased some equipment ( w/o trying it on first ), which ended up not fitting correctly. They gave me a complete refund with absolutely no hassle. read more

I have had such an amazing experience diving with Terry, Debbie and the crew. I decided to do all my dive certifications with this dive shop. read more

Recently signed up with Atlantic Edge to dive the Baltimore Aquarium. Great experience and first class instructors from start to finish. Also received my scuba certification from them several years ago. Would recommend them to anyone interested in scuba diving. read more

Atlantic Edge Scuba is second to none! Their entire staff makes you feel welcome and immediately part of the Atlantic Edge family. This is especially true for Terry and Debbie. Both are amazing! If you walk around Lake Phoenix, you'll hear other dive shops barking directions at their students like they are fresh military recruits or children. Absolutely not the case with Atlantic Edge! If you stop by Atlantic Edge's area at the lake, you'll find a mix of staff and students, all enjoying each other's company, relaxed, not stressed. The number of divers that come down to join Atlantic Edge for "fun dives" during the weekend is also a testament to high quality of staff and the shop. I've earned Rescue Diver and three specialty certifications though Atlantic Edge. Although I live over 200 miles away from their shop, Terry has always gone out of his way to ensure that distance didn't negatively impact my training. From the owner to the guy working the retail counter at the shop, I've never had a bad experience with Atlantic Edge. They are my go-to dive shop in the Mid-Atlantic. read more

We did the confined water part with Terry as an instructor. Everything was compressed within part of one day which made for a lot of stress on the part of the instructor who had to get the whole group to demonstrate all the required skills in rapid tempo. It became very stressful for the participant as well because Terry would yell at people, tell them they were stupid, and was in general very impatient. There is a real problem when you do not allow any time to let people practice a new skill before expecting them to demonstrate it. We passed but we would have learned much more if more time was spent and the instructor was not yelling at people. It felt more like Navy Seal bootcamp than a scuba dive training. read more

Best dive shop on eastern seaboard. Great instructors, kind people, excellent service!! Kevin Asbury read more

Atlantic Edge Scuba is second to none! Their entire staff makes you feel welcome and immediately part of the Atlantic Edge family. This is especially true for Terry and Debbie. Both are amazing! If you walk around Lake Phoenix, you'll hear other dive shops barking directions at their students like they are fresh military recruits or children. Absolutely not the case with Atlantic Edge! If you stop by Atlantic Edge's area at the lake, you'll find a mix of staff and students, all enjoying each other's company, relaxed, not stressed. The number of divers that come down to join Atlantic Edge for "fun dives" during the weekend is also a testament to high quality of staff and the shop. I've earned Rescue Diver and three specialty certifications though Atlantic Edge. Although I live over 200 miles away from their shop, Terry has always gone out of his way to ensure that distance didn't negatively impact my training. From the owner to the guy working the retail counter at the shop, I've never had a bad experience with Atlantic Edge. They are my go-to dive shop in the Mid-Atlantic. read more

Manymanymany years ago, I got scuba certified at Atlantic Edge and had the best time *EVER*. Made some cool friends, learned how not to die underwater, and got some super cute pink scuba gear. YAY! So, when my beloved husband found out how fun "getting wet" could be during our honeymoon trip to Thailand, I promptly got him scuba lessons for his birthday. The website is easy to use, and the Atlantic Edge folks called to confirm the class date and answered any questions I had. The wonderful service that I remember from so many years ago hadn't changed. If anything, I think the staff now are perkier and friendlier then before. However, I have 2 small (tiny, really) complaints. First, it's been many years since I got certified, so I don't remember all that went into getting certified. When I spoke to the staff, they neglected to mention that the certification dive would be $175 on top of the $295 class fee. So when my husband when to go pick up his textbook, he had to shell out the $175 for the cert dive. Uncool. I would have gladly paid that fee (it was for his birthday after all) if I had only knew. A little more transparency in the fees would be nice. Secondly, on my husband's second visit to the shop (to pick up some supplies), he was helped by a very nice, very friendly, but utterly clueless staffer that gave him some wrong information about what bring for class, and didn't give my husband the advice he was looking for. Hilarious example of this - so my husband has some body hair (he's manly) and worried about the neoprene wetsuit pulling out his chest hair. So, he asked the clueless staffer for advice: My husband: "Should I get a bodysuit to wear under my wetsuit? I'm worried about my chest-hair..." Clueless Staffer: "Oh, it's OK sir. This is a 'no-judge' zone. No need to be embarrassed about your chest-hair." My husband: "...!!!" BWAHAHAHAHA! HILARIOUS! I've been chuckling about this for a week now! BWAHAHAHAHA! AWESOME!!! Despite this...or perhaps because of this, I highly recommend Atlantic Edge...they have a great selection, the prices aren't extravagant (yes you can get items cheaper off the internet, but sometimes, you want to see it up front first and Atlantic Edge has a good selection, and *usually* a very knowledgeable staff). Heh..."no judge zone". PRICELESS!!! read more

I would say Fenny's review pretty much sums up how I feel as well: -I would've liked more information as soon as we sign up for the class or trip versus a few days before the trips since I am a big worry-wort. - Very helpful & friendly staff - All my master dive instructors were incredibly patient, funny, and cool (I think that comes with the territory when you become a Master Dive Instructor). - The price is a bit steep in my opinion (esp since my sister told me she got fully scuba certified in half the time & half the price in Honduras). I would've liked to know that to get Scuba Certified you have to do you written exam & pool course first (for $295), then pay for another $175 (plus cost for rentals) to do your open water to get fully Scuba Certified. - All the people you get to know if your group/class are so friendly and cool. I think overall, you'll really enjoy the experience. read more

This scuba shop is absolutely fantastic! I got the best customer service that you could possibly get at any scuba shop in the area. Terry, the store manager was incredible! So personable, filled with suggestions and knowledge! He's been working there for a decade and a half or more and he really knows his stuff! The shop has everything you need and plenty of stock. I couldn't be more grateful for Terry's assistance and his friendliness! you literally feel like you're his best friend and yet best customer too! I hear he's an incredible instructor, as well. People remember their experience with him and he's unforgettable! No need to go anywhere else! Check the shop out and you won't be disappointed! Both thumbs up for Terry and Atlantic Edge! Thanks for making my experience the best ever! read more

I obtained my Open Water certification through Atlantic Edge in 2014 and as a satisfied customer (I can't stress how awesome Terry and Pat are as instructors), returned to them in 2015 to take the Advanced Open Water course in Dutch Springs. Approximately a month before the dive date, I perforated my ear drum and was prohibited to dive by my ENT specialist. I called the shop, explained my situation and was told there would be a processing fee to reschedule my course to a later date, but that the 25% cancellation fee would not apply. A few days later when I attempted to reschedule the course online, I noticed the cancellation fee would still apply. I contacted the shop and they apologized for the confusion, but that I would ultimately be charged the 25% cancellation fee. Their reasoning from the original email string: "We only have a certain amount of spots for the class so we need to ensure that we try and fill them. That, along with administration fees and advertising to fill the slot is where the fee comes into play." I get the explanation for advertising fees, however I contacted them well in advance to cancel and the class had at least 3 open slots for other students when I cancelled--go figure. As you can see in some of the other comments, the shop's owner is not willing to accommodate cancellations that are result of a medical issue. Furthermore, John never responded to my emails which echoes some of the other comments. Apparently if you want to get a response from him directly, you're required to leave an unsatisfactory review on Yelp. I strongly urge John to reconsider his cancellation policy and consider granting exceptions to the policy when the cancellation is of a medical nature--it won't bring me back to the shop, but might decrease the amount of negative reviews on social media. P.S. It's rather discouraging that the most recent positive reviews come from Atlantic Edge employees/volunteers... read more

This review is for Atlantic Edge's dive program at the National Aquarium in Baltimore only. I have been dive certified for over 4 years and have never been diving in the U.S. (unless you count the U.S. Virgin Islands). What better way to inaugurate myself into diving on the mainland by diving at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. In all my years of diving, I have never been so close to such a variety of sea life. The fish, rays, sharks, moray eels, and sea turtle are all comfortable with divers and so they basically treat you like a big fish. Trying to explain how it feels to have a 250 sea turtle swim within inches of your face is impossible. Or seeing the excited faces of the kids as they wave to you in the exhibit. Atantic Edge's staff does a really great job with this program. I found their office staff to be very helpful in pre-dive questions. On the day of the dive, they take the time to fully brief you not only on what you will see in the exhibits, but the behavioral pattern of each fish or sea creature, and then walk you through the Aquarium so you can see from the outside what you are about to experience on the inside. Its clear the staff love what they do and are excited to share this experience with you. The 30 minutes in the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit and 30 minutes in the Wings in the Water exhibit goes fast, but its worth it to try it just once. read more

I thoroughly enjoy my one-day confined water training class with Atlantic Edge (AE). My buddy and I signed up the class a bit late, and the receptionist on the phone was very helpful and sent us the PADI book by 1-day priority mail so that we can read it on time. The communication was great! We received clear instruction by email that tells us what to bring and what needs to be prepared ahead of time, the time and direction to get to the pool, and so on. Very organized dive center. We had two instructors in our class (4 students in total): Erik and Ryan. They are both very experienced, matured, and knowledgeable divers, and you can certainly tell that they teach for the love of the sport. Throughout the whole class, they were encouraging and very patient with us newbies. My buddy was scared of taking off her mask in the water, and Erik was able to calm her down and helped her to acquire the skill. I can't say enough good things about them. As for the class structure: First, it is a very small class - I was told on the phone that it is going to be 1 instructor for every 2 students (4 students max. per training day), and that is exactly what happened. Second, we really did every skills (it has to be like 40 of them) listed on the PADI manual in ONE day. Just to give you an idea about the schedule - the classroom portion takes 4.5 hours (including 5 quizzes and 1 final exam); the confined water portion takes about 4 to 4.5 hours. After the class, my buddy and I were absolutely exhausted as we were cold and tired by the end of the day, but we learned so much and it couldn't be done without Erik and Ryan. The one-day confined water training class costs $295 (plus $5 for the book to be mailed to you), no hidden fee. You get a referral letter at the end of the class for open water training. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and my buddy and I are planning to get certified in a quarry with AE. read more

I have had a great experience with Atlantic Edge in pursuing my open dive scuba certification. The Atlantic Edge team answered all my questions and worked with me to sign up for the course. Atlantic Edge is not overly pushy in insisting on selling you gear as part of the course, but they do offer a discounted package if you want or need it. The on-line course is PADI - it is pretty much the same for every scuba training company. Atlantic Edge offers the confined (pool) dives in multiple locations during one full weekend day - this is a great benefit for your personal schedule and navigating DC traffic. Atlantic Edge also provides all necessary equipment for the confined dives - again, a great deal and a benefit for you to decide if scuba is indeed for you. Terry Wells was my confined dive instructor, and he did a fantastic job in the pool providing clear and precise instructions. He is very experienced, so he anticipated student reaction to the skill lessons. Terry talked me through what to do, as well as what I would encounter and not expect - making it much easier to complete all the confined dive training successfully. So far, my experience with Atlantic Edge has been great, and I highly recommend Atlantic Edge and Terry Wells. My open dives are coming up this weekend at Dutch Springs. read more

I did my pool and classroom work for my open water cert with this shop, and they were actually pretty solid. The trainer (Jon) was professional and easy to learn from. Turns out he was a contract employee, and not a full-time employee of the shop, which is too bad, as I've had numerous experiences with this shop since that have soured me on them. 1) Reserved tanks with them for a dive. Left work during the middle of my day to pick them up, only to find that they didn't have tanks for me because they were running classes this weekend. First of all, what kind of dive shop runs out of cylinders under any conditions? Secondly, I reserved them well in advance. 2) Signed up for one of their quarry dives over the phone. When I asked if they were running one of their dive-master led dives out of Hyde's quarry the next morning, they said yes and took my credit card information. When I drove the hour-plus up to Westminster, the only dive-master from AE was leading a class. He informed me that the shop screwed up and that the dive was the following weekend. I drove the hour back to the city without even getting my fins wet because they didn't even have a cylinder for me to use. 3) This was the final straw and the incident that made this a one-star instead of a two star review. I took a CPR/First Aid certification class with them a few weeks ago, and it was embarrassingly unprofessional. My dive buddy and I are planning on getting our rescue certification and need to be CPR certified to take the class. This 'class' contained almost no instruction. All of the information I now have about CPR I learned from the book. The instructor had us perform one set of compressions and one set of rescue breaths, let each of us try to put our partner into the recover position once, and had us put each other in a sling once. That was the extent of the teaching. She didn't explain the reasoning behind anything, have us repeat anything, or correct us when we did anything wrong. She asked if we were taking the rescue class with AE and said that if we did we would get plenty of practice then. She told us what would be on the written test without making sure we understood the concepts, and took little to no time explaining the questions we got wrong. The whole thing was over in under two hours, and that was after we started late waiting for one of the Atlantic Edge dive-masters who was taking a refresher. The level of instruction would've been irresponsible for a refresher course, let alone as an introduction to CPR and First Aid. It's one thing to run your shop poorly. It's another thing to certify someone for CPR without teaching them the skills they need to help people. Luckily, I already know the instructor I'll be taking the rescue course with, and if I let him know how little CPR instruction I received, he'll take the time to make sure I know what I'm doing should I actually need to help someone. I don't care if the next closest shop to me is 20 minutes further. AE isn't getting business from me ever again. read more

Taking the opportunity to reply to the owner's comments, he does not address his rudeness and hanging up on me. He also states irrelevantly that a doctor signature is required for certain things, but not what ailed me. I'd also like to point out that there are three one-star reviews below, which for some reason are not recommended by Yelp, so don't affect the rating, but which are totally consistent with our experience and should bring down the overall rating of this business. Of course we are not interested in learning to dive at a place which encouraged us to show up and spread illness among his equipment and other students. Seems like something a medical inspector should look into. read more

I recently took the first part of the PADI open water certification class with Terry Wells and his team, and wanted to offer a testimonial. It was a fantastic day, and one of the best birthday gifts I've given to myself in a long time. While I think that the format would not be well-suited to those who have a short attention span or get distracted easily, it was fantastic for those willing to put in the work. Doing a compressed class obviously was an intense day, but Terry made sure that everyone was very comfortable with the skill/knowledge sets and expertly balanced between being focused and having fun. I also really appreciated his ability to use his encyclopedic practical experience and anecdotes to expound on the basic material so that we would understand how things applied to the "real world". read more

I am doing my scuba certifications through Atlantic Edge Scuba. I completed my online learning and pool session in Feb 2020, then the pandemic hit and I never scheduled my open water dives. Over a year went by and I reached out to Atlantic Edge and I talked to Terry, he explained that I need to do the pool session again. During my 2nd pool session, Terry was our instructor, it was a small class of 4 people. He took the time to answer all of our questions and explained everything in detail. His energy is contagious :) I was a little nervous about the masks skills, since I was struggling with these on my 1st session. Terry gave me the confidence I needed and even if I had to try a few times, I mastered them all and felt like I have gained even more skills and confidence after the 2nd session. The pool session was a long, exhausting but fun Day and I couldn't have asked for a better instructor than Terry Wells! I know a lot of people complain about the cancellation policy, but keep in mind that Atlantic Edge Scuba is doing the pool session within 1 day (where several other companies do it over several days), so the classes are much smaller so that the instructor can focus on the students. The policy is outlined and stated when you sign your agreement so if you are really serious about doing it, make sure you can make that date (unless of course there are medical emergencies). I myself had to reschedule the 1st session as well and paid the 25%, but in the end, the certification and scuba diving with all the gear purchases will cost you a lot anyway, so I was not too upset about their policy as I was aware of it from the beginning. read more

Just finished with my confined water dive and test with Atlantic Edge. Couldn't recommend them enough. The staff was very helpful and really seem to love what they do. You can have your books and DVD mailed to you for $5, or stop by either office to pick them up. Give yourself at least a week to get through the textbook and DVDs. If you actually read and complete the quizzes, you'll sail through the classroom portion of the day (and they will help you on anything on which you're not 100% certain). It also helps you dive confidently for the first time. Another great part of Atlantic Edge is that you can choose from a geographically wide variety of pools around the area, almost every weekend. The pool portion is straightforward and they patiently wait until you've mastered something before moving onto the next skill. I would imagine all of their other classes are equally excellent. Thanks Atlantic Edge and Mary, for the first part of my certification. Can't wait until I'm certified and can dive in the Aquarium with you all. read more

I saw a couple of reviews where people gave a 1 star rating and were upset that they did not get a full refund when cancelling late. I used them for my open water course in Aug of 2015 and felt they were great. Their model focuses on training and not scalping you at the register for product as many others do. I plan to use them for many other courses as well. read more

Owner John was very rude and very unprofessional, he wated me to pay the full amout for the training even though the trainer did not allow me to attend for a missing info of a bad form he sent to me. Bad attitude, bad customer service. read more

I recommend Atlantic Edge and especially Terry Wells who was my instructor. I took the scuba diving course 3 times. The first time my instructor was ok. second time terry was my instructor but I failed bcse I had ear pain and had to stop. The third time i made sure Terry would be my instructor. I would like to thank Terry Wells immensely for not giving up on me. Although it was not my most enjoyable experience, it was one that brought a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I am so very grateful he was my instructor and so happy that he did not give up on me. It is thanks to him that I am closer to one of my dreams; scuba dive in Australia. So Terry, thank you for your humor, your kindness, your persistence and your faith in me. I' ll see you again under the sea. read more

I have completed my certification with Atlantic Edge. The experience has been overall great. All the instructors are extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The open water portion was particularly enjoyable, and this is in spite of the freezing temperatures at the bottom of Hyde's Quarry, which had me shivering like crazy most of the bottom time! Their prices for the certification are lower than all the other shops I checked in the area, and they have a lot of knowledgeable staff, so those are definitely great positives! The Gaithersburg store is nice and staffed by helpful and knowledgeable people, but they keep very few items in stock, so they would probably have to order much of what you need to buy. The pool session felt a bit rushed. It did accomplish everything, and it's more efficient that other approaches in that everything is done in one session, but it felt a bit inefficient due to the fast pace in the water. I would suggest that they spend more time in the water and less in the class, where they mostly review the tests from the book - everyone should do their homework! I guess they have to accommodate the lowest denominator, and there were a couple of relatively clueless people in the class, but still... They are the shop working exclusively (as far as I know) with the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and that's a great opportunity - I already signed up for my session :) Overall, starting out without any prior knowledge about the shop and the options, I am very happy with my choice and plan to be a long term customer with Atlantic Edge. Thanks guys! read more

I found the staff at Atlantic Edge to be incredibly helpful and knowledgable. They truly love diving and want you to love it just as much as them. Their prices are competitive too and they have great sales! read more

I have been scuba diving for over 40 years and have been a PADI Pro for the last 5 or so. I first became involved with Atlantic Edge over two years ago when I took the PADI Instructor course from John Harman at Atlantic Edge. Since that time I have been an Instructor at Atlantic Edge and have taught diving at many of the local pools, quarries and the Baltimore Aquarium. Of all the dive shops that I have worked with or used during my life I can honestly say that Atlantic Edge is one of the best. All of the Instructors and Dive Masters are truly professionals and they work very hard to make sure that students have the best possible training experience. By keeping the Instructor-to-student ratio low it allows for more personalization than would be found at most other scuba diving training centers. John (the owner of Atlantic Edge) has been a real plus to my professional diving experience and he has helped me (and encouraged me) to move from an Instructor to a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, which I completed about 18 months ago. One of the things I especially like about Atlantic Edge is that the students are given very CLEAR and PRECISE instructions about what they need to do to get ready for the class as well as the consequences should they need to cancel--even if that cancellation is at the last minute due to an illness or emergency. The students never have to play a guessing game to know what is expected and this has made life a lot easier for both students and their Instructors. Finally, I have visited all of the dive shops in the DC area and I believe that Atlantic Edge has the best overall facility with the best gear options, as well as training and travel opportunities, in the area. As the high number of repeat customers attests, Atlantic Edge does good! read more

I have had 2 experiences with AE so far. The first was a demo dive in the pool with full face masks - that was run fairly well and I enjoyed it. The second was a turtle tagging trip to West Palm Beach scheduled for 17-20 May 2012. My girlfriend and I booked it back in March and paid fully. On the 16th of May my mom went into the hospital with a massive stroke, which caused both of us to cancel the trip at the last minute to be with the family. My mom passed away on the 20th, so I am glad I cancelled the trip. The airlines (Delta) refunded the entire fare for both of us; AE was not so accomodating. After talking with the trip leader, we were advised that the owner would have to approve any refunds. The owner would not talk to us - he only responded by email. His email answer was a simple NO - he was unable to refund or credit us for a future dive trip. No sympathy or trust whatsoever - just a cold business decision to preserve the shop's bottom line. As a result, I will no longer do business with Atlantic Edge. I had trusted that they were respectable, competent dive organization, but this incident showed me that the leadership of the shop does not have the customer's best interest in mind. I have already seen what another dive shop (Splash Dive) with a leadership problem has done. In summary, I do not recommend using AE, and will tell that to my fellow government and military friends in the DC area. read more

Atlantic Edge completed my pool training three years ago and then a refresher course a few weeks ago. During the sessions they were professional, timely and extremely kind. However, I recently learned there was an issue with my certification and my check out dives (not completed with Atlantic Edge) and I needed to quickly fix it before a work trip with diving coming up. I called Terry Wells who organized my refresher course and he was awesome. We spoke several times in one day as I tried to get all my documentation and scheduling in order. He was always patient and chipper. He then made time for me to complete both dives one on one after he had run a day long dry suit course! So despite having a long, cold day of diving in a quarry, he made time for me so I could be free and clear to dive on my work trip. Thanks a TON, Terry and Atlantic Edge, I couldn't have resolved the issue without you. read more

I dropped off a series of regulators at their Annaolis location for their annual maintenance and servicing on July 2012. I was told that the service may take four to six weeks at most due to the large number of regulators I dropped off. I was also emailed a quote (August 1st) which detailed the parts and labor breakdown for the service. I replied (August 2nd) with my permission for them to go ahead with the service. I figured that I would be contacted sometime in four to six weeks telling me the service had been completed. Four weeks came and went and no phone call or email on my regulators. Another two weeks went by and still nothing. During the seventh week (September) I started sending emails. They were not answered. I also started making phone calls. The people who answered were sales clerks and transferred me to the answering machine of the person who they thought may know what was going on. Unfortunately the initial voice-mails were unanswered as well. After a couple more phone calls I finally reached someone. The answer I got was that nothing had been done. None of my regulators were serviced. They had my equipment for over six week weeks and they did nothing. They did not even bother to call or email me once during that time. If I did not initiate contact with them myself I wonder how many more weeks would have passed before they did anything. I had been planning to go SCUBA diving with my wife during the latter part of September but those plans had to be scrapped because Atlantic Edge still had my regulators. What distinguishes good customer service from poor customer service depends upon what the business does to make things right again. Keeping up with their past behavior, they did not do anything other than to give me my equipment back, unserviced. read more

I signed up for the Goliath Grouper trip in August 2013. The cost was $699 which included 3 nights at a Marriott in West Palm Beach and two 2 tank dives. I told AE I did not need the hotel because I had a condo in area. I was promised a hotel credit. I subsequently received a charge of $599. I asked AE why I only received a $100 credit for the 3 nights of hotel which costs $100-$149 per night, and I was told that the rest of my money went for a donation to the Brevard County zoo, marketing of the trip and cost of a lecture about the fish. So the net cost of a two tank dive was $300. I consider this to be shady business practices and therefore would warn buyers beware of AE's lack of transparency on their trip costs. read more