Bay Area Skydiving rocked my world.
This was one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. Read like three more reviews and then book your jump - It's totally worth it. Seriously, if you're on the fence about this, just take the word of a bunch of random people on the internet and do it!!
Q&A:
Q: Did you, like, feel safe?
A: Yes, I felt save the entire time. The drive back home was more dangerous than the jump.
Q: I heard there were like dogs. What's the sitch?
A: Yes, there are VERY FRIENDLY dogs hanging around the hanger. They're totally chill and won't bug you at all unless you have scooby snacks.
Q: Some reviews were all like "they're not professional." So like what gives?
A: Yes, they're a small business so don't expect them to run like the Apple store. But their focus is keeping you alive and safe while you have an incredible experience. They're very professional, but also have a lot of fun!
Q: Do I need to like worry about X, Y, or like Z?
A: No, you don't need to worry about X, Y, or Z. They've got you covered bro. You could show up naked with a credit card and have a great jump. Chill out, book your appointment, drive out to Byron (I recommend eating donuts while you drive), and jump out of a freaking plane.
Q: Should I like get the film and photo package?
A: It's whatevs. I didn't.. but my friend did. They made sure I jumped first so that the videographer could film a bit of my jump too (which they didn't have to do). I'm glad my friend got the video, but I'm also glad I didn't. It's pretty expensive. But it makes sense. Another person jumps out of the plane and films you. Then they edit the video on the ground (~15 mins for us) and give you a DVD. If it's your first time, I guess I'd recommend that someone get the video or photos, but not necessarily everyone...
Q: Did you, like, like the view?
A: I really liked the view and scenery. It really reminded me and my friend of Texas and that was awesome since that's where we're originally from. You're not jumping in redwoods and you can't see the ocean, or even really SF... but I thought the views were pretty incredible. Mostly dead grassy hills with some water here and there.
Q: So would you like do this again at Bay Area Skydiving?
A: Yes. Hell yes.
Other:
In 1-2 reviews some people complained about lousy customer service. We didn't experience that at all. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. We also sort of realized that there was a lot going on (you know, people packing parachutes and flying planes and shit) so we didn't expect to just hop on the plane, jump, and be done in like 12 minutes.
In another review, someone mentioned that their group (of 4 tandems - that's 8 ppl, plus any videographers they might have had) got split up between plane trips. That really sucks. We would have been super pissed had that happened to us. Full stop. But... the fact is, they only have so many instructors and the plane only holds so many people... so I guess it happens sometimes... but not to us...
There was a competition the day we jumped (groups of 4 plus a videographer were jumping) so there were maybe 100 people there and an additional plane even. Our appointment was at 10 and we showed up 5 mins early. We were on the 2nd or 3rd plane of the day so we got up and down before most of the competition started.
Total time from arrival to departure: 1 hour 50 minutes. Arrived at 10, left before noon. We probably waited like 20 minutes to jump after filling out the paper work. You might expect to wait longer...or not as long.
They recommend that you call the morning of to make sure they're allowed to fly that day. Do that. In fact, just do what they tell you to and you'll have a good time, I promise.
Shout outs:
Aaron - My tandem jumper. He's the man. Seriously, we're like soul-mates now.
Brad - Our videographer. He's the man. He risked his life to film my friend. Who does that? Brad does.
Bruce - My friend's tandem jumper. He's the man. I wasn't strapped to him falling to earth, so I won't say we're soul-mates...yet... but my friend said he was the best tandem partner ever (possibly a bold statement given it was her first time, but you know we'll give it to her...)
Clay - The boss man (from what I could tell). There was a lot of activity and he was very in control. Things were running very smoothly and we felt very safe with these guys.
Bottom Line: Great, fun, safe, professional, and thrilling experience. I will definitely jump here again in the future. read more