Dwayne and his crew are great!!! Made learning to dive so much fun for the whole fam. You can tell he really cared about our experience and he enjoyed helping us discover this new underwater world. Looking forward to this new passion. Thanks Dive to Survive read more

Today I did 2 open water dives with Dive to Survive and the instructor George. He was awesome! Super friendly and understanding, because I wasn't sure if I would be able to really dive because of an approaching cold. He checked a lot of times if I was okay, which is great. The first dive was awesome! I didn't know that see weed can actually look good under water! The view at the second dive was pretty bad, but we made the beat out of it! Only negative part is - make sure you can really go once you booked your tour. They have pretty high cancelation fees of not canceled early enough. read more

Dive To Survive Scuba - Scuba Diving Near Me - Monterey, California

5 Stars Plus to "Dive to Survive Scuba!" From my first phone call to my last open water dive, I have been so impressed with this place. Dwayne answered my first phone call promptly ,and spent a long time on the phone with me carefully and clearly explaining every detail about the certification process, what to expect and answered all of my questions. Even when I called him back a few times with more questions, he was warm, kind, and funny and made sure I had all my questions answered. The classes were very well organized and Steve and George were great instructors. I am 63 and I was a little discouraged and disappointed in myself because I was having difficulty completing some of the skills. Dwayne assured me that I could come back as many times as I needed to at no extra charge in order to complete the skills. They go out of their way to accommodate you and make sure you feel safe and secure before going to open water. It was suggested to me to get personal one-on-one instruction as I would get much more out of it. I was a little hesitant to spend more money for personal instruction, but it was the BEST decision I ever made. Yioryos (George) was the most knowledgeable, patient and kind instructor I could have ever asked for. He was so supportive and encouraging, and he really helped boost my confidence. He also has a pleasant, positive, upbeat enthusiasm that is definitely infectious! You can tell he really loves the ocean and loves what he does. I would give him 10 stars if I could! I would absolutely recommend DTS scuba. These guys are fantastic! read more

Dive To Survive Scuba - George is a fantastic scuba instructor. The BEST! - Scuba Diving Near Me - Monterey, California

If scuba diving freaks you out (like it did me) then you've come to the right place. I've been working with Dwayne for nearly 6 months now to get my wife and I certified as open water divers. My wife was so excited to get out and learn to dive but it took her nearly 4 years to convince me to try it. I'm so lucky that I found Dive to Survive and got in contact with Dwayne. He explained the whole process to me and made a scary decision into a simple one. Within a couple of days emailing and speaking with Dwayne I knew that I had found the right instructor; someone who cared more about my safety and enjoyment than my money. I can't recommend his shop or services enough. Bottom line: If you want to learn how to dive safely and enjoy the classic rock hits of the 80's you should work with Dwayne. My wife and I had a blast this weekend and couldn't be more excited to get back in the water again. Thank you so much to Dwayne, Steve, Justine and Jerome for your professionalism, help and all the fun you brought to this experience! read more

If you are looking for personal and flexible dive training this is your place. Dive To Survive is not a scuba dive shop. It is a couple of guys with a little training room and a pool. They LOVE scuba diving and Dwayne is an expert. He will teach you what you need to know and he will make it fun. He won't try to sell you gear other than the mask, which needs to fit perfectly and you will need it for the class. All the other gear is provided for you as part of the price. If you are already certified, but it has been a few years Dive To Survive will tailor the class for you. If this is your first experience you will get the full training. No cutting corners other than the signage...the pool is behind a fish shop so it is a little hard to find at first. There is plenty of parking and all the facilities you will need. Dwayne is also a full on scuba enthusiast. He is genuinely excited about diving and getting you in the Ocean. Five Stars all the way! read more

I would give it negative stars if I could, just because of the haughty owner. If you want to buy whatever they have without any questions, go ahead but if you have questions, go somewhere else as the owner WILL tell you so. I asked him a question about the name of the book required for their course, and he took such offense to it and said that he'll let me go somewhere else. Well, I definitely will go somewhere else, but hopefully this warning might help someone. Avoid this place if you can, because clearly the owner wants you to. read more

'Kin folk', are the words that come to mind if I were to describe Dwayne and the Dive to Survive crew. Their the kind I called on a whim and ended up tagging along with an Open water class for two days. I had a great time, I was hovering within 15 minutes and after that I was along for the dives, warm and dry. read more

I hadn't been Scuba diving in many years so I booked a refresher course with George, followed by a dive and tour. It was excellent! George is a great instructor, took things at my pace and did a great job at reminding me of all the basics and helping me practice them. And he was fun to hang out with for the day and go diving with! read more

Dive To Survive Scuba - George is an awesome instructor. - Scuba Diving Near Me - Monterey, California

My friends convinced me to get scuba certified and they chose Dive to Survive after doing some research on local dive shops. It was a great decision. Our instructor was George and he was fantastic. The whole crew at Dive to Survive are great people who love diving and want others to fall in love with it. I got sick during my first open water dive, not great. I ended up having to skip the dives for the rest of the weekend. It was not a problem though. George was not going to let a bit of illness stop me from getting my certification. We worked it out for me to come down another weekend to finish up. He was extremely patient and understanding while I was psyching myself out. He calmed me down, gave me the encouragement and guidance that I needed and never left my side as I went through the certification requirements. I got all my skills completed and earned my cert thanks to him. I could not have asked for a better experience. I highly recommend Dive to Survive, you will not regret it. read more

Do NOT get certified here. I got sick before I was fully certified, and was promised a partial refund by Dwayne. I have been trying to get this refund from him since November (it is now mid February), calling at least a few times a week. He has been very unresponsive. Completely unprofessional and I am very frustrated and disappointed. read more

I was hoping to get a dive certification for a trip to Hawaii. After doing a lot of research and being tempted by a few groupon deals, I found that for your money this place was the best. Diving is obviously a very expensive hobby, so I was happy to see that they include everything in the price that they give you online. I had gone to a few places that quote you for the open ocean dive, but then with tank rentals, scuba equipment, etc. the price almost doubled. What you see is what you get here. Dwayne answered my emails quickly and even tried to get me in a class the next day. Jack was our instructor and he really had our best interest in mind. Our first dive weekend was extremely low visibility and he worked with all of us to get us in the water another day. He could have easily just taken us out just to get it over with, but he wanted us to experience the bay as we should. The next class visibility was a bit better and he took us down to look around a lot. I cant wait to explore more of this bay now that I am a certified diver. read more

Well I took my deep water class with Dwayne Reyes from this dive shop and my girl at the time. I have a hard time believing this shop only has three reviews!!.. This guy Great!! He puts a little laughter and Comedy into this great sport and you can't not help to like Dwayne.. Like most small little dive shop like this it's not his full time job and he does it because he loves it so much and what better to get lesson from someone that loves his hobby? .. He been doing it for a long time as I been diving for over 20 years and most of that time not being certified:/.. I was head strong and always saying I don't need a card to tell me I can dive or not but when you go to other countries it helps lol.. Anyhow take my word try to take your open water with dive to survive !! Great people and he a one stop shop and he give great deals on gear!! Do remember it's a very little hole in the wall but makes up with it with his joy of teaching and don't freak out he not new to the sport and he won't fail you!!!! It's not hard to become a diver !! read more

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Special thanks to George and Steve of "DIVE TO SURVIVE" for their great & outgoing instruction. I had thought at 68 I would not have been accepted into the training. Their patient and encouraging direction gave me the confidence I needed and brought me through to success. Now I will be able to rejoin my old Navy shipmates on their annual Roatan dream diving vacation. Sincere best of wishes Yioryos for your return to your home island. Please let your admiring students know the name of your island. Who knows, you may have visitors one day. Should I ever pass that way I will be sure to stop for a quick hello.....but you will probably be out diving! Both you and Steve are a great asset to the dive sport. Lead dive instruction at DTS will then be in the very competent hands of Steve Clatterbuck. The Dive To Survive" organization is the best. ....phil read more

Did my PADI Open Water Cert here over the past 2 weekends, and had a great time! There were 14 of us (which was probably 5 too many for their pool) and they were super accommodating - even hooked it up with a group rate! Would 300% recommend you request George - he's the best! If you're at all apprehensive about diving, know that he's incredibly encouraging, supportive, positive, and fun! Made it all around just a special experience. Thanks George! read more

Great place to learn over the weekend, had all the equipment ready to go. Got to do 3 real dives. Just a weekend and I was full certified and ready to go diving in Hawaii and a few other places. The owner is a great guy and might be part fish as good as he is underwater. All my friends that want to learn to dive I tell them to go to Dive to Survive only. read more

I'm a little late in writing this, but I was certified for open water about a year or so ago through Dive to Survive. The price was affordable, and I wasn't made to buy all kinds of gear... all of the gear rental was included with the price of the class. (As another post pointed out, the mask is a highly recommended purchase because it does have to fit correctly). Class dates and times were very flexible, and I think that was what finally sold me on this course, as opposed to the other shops that had one open water per month, and it was on Father's day that month. I particularly enjoyed Dwayne as an instructor. On the surface and in the classroom, he is fun, energetic, and inspiring. The minute you drop down to dive, it is all business and you KNOW that your are being watched out for, taught, and safe down there. He is the kind of guy that you know is teaching because he loves the sport. The assistants were fun, knowledgeable, and professional as well. I have since gone back for my advanced and rescue diver (highly recommend) certifications... and I am now looking at completing my Divemaster and moving on to teaching open water as well someday. I found these courses to be that inspiring. Diving isn't for everyone, but if you've ever had an interest, I say give it a shot, and through this shop. I have seen quite a few stories like mine, in that a lot of first time students fall in love with diving, and end up coming back to the shop wanting to help out new divers. Overall, this was an incredible experience and I wish I had done it sooner. read more

My boyfriend and I were looking to get advance certified and wanted to find a place in Monterey for a specific weekend. Duane was super helpful in booking us and they had all the rental gear we needed to complete our dives. They made sure everything fit well and we were covered to avoid getting cold in the water. Our instructor Jack was awesome. He was full of great advice and stories that made the weekend safe and fun. He made sure we fully understood what was going on before we got under the water and really kept an eye on everyone to make sure no one was in danger at anytime. This made the deep dive a really fun experience, rather than a scary one. If you are looking for a place to get a certification and you would prefer a relaxed environment that will still fully prepare you in what you are trying to achieve, I would highly recommend Dive to Survive. read more

I did the PADI certification with Yioryos and it could not have been better. Yioryos is genuinely nice, patient, helpful, dynamic and a fantastic instructor. He is transmitting energy and passion. Discovering the fascinating world under the ocean was just a pleasure. Thank you Yioryos ! YOU ARE THE BEST ! read more