Honesty we had a great experience so many fish and fun I will say the only issue we had was with the size of the group we thought it was groups of 10 when we signed up but it was actually groups of more like 25-30 so it was a little crowded but still overall a great time!! read more

I can't recommend Catalina Snorkel & Scuba highly enough! My husband and I spent our first anniversary last weekend on Catalina. We got certified in Honduras on our honeymoon and had some EPIC dives there. We didn't have the time to get back to Honduras so we decided to stay in California. We were prepared for a less exhilarating experience than last year but boy were we wrong! Jeff guided us on our refresher dive on the first day. He was very mellow and friendly and shortly we felt as comfortable in the water as we did on our last dive in Honduras. Diver Dan was our guide the next day and boy did he give us our money's worth! The amount of wildlife he pointed out was dizzying! We felt like we were playing! If you've never been diving in a kelp forest - DO IT NOW! It's teeming with life and just as fun as coral reefs in the tropics. Catalina Snorkel and Scuba is a fantastic operation through and through: from the delightful lady who takes your reservation to the fun and knowledgeable dive masters! read more

Amazing experience with Catalina Diving. We come to Catalina often and wanted a new adventure. I really wanted my husband to experience scuba diving and I hadn't dove in 20 years so we signed up for an intro. dive with Catalina Diving. Diver Dave was our instructor and he was super fun and thorough so by the time we hit the water we were really comfortable. The gear was great too. My husband couldn't believe how spectacular scuba diving is. At Casino Point we saw a ton of fish and kelp with 60 feet of visibility. We felt really safe with Dave too. I highly recommend diving in Catalina with Catalina Diving. read more

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We had a great time diving in the Casino Point Park here. Dave was a very knowledgeable guide and showed us a lot of awesome stuff under the water like a horn shark, couple of eels and dug up an octopus! My friend has only dove in abroad before and said the diversity and density of life just in the park here was pretty amazing. For the 2hr guided tour, expect 30-45min of actual diving in the water. Even through they have all the gear set up for you, just to put on all the stuff takes a good 30min. Then there's some brief orientation etc. We were limited mostly by the fact that my BF is 6'5" and goes through the air really fast. We didn't go very deep in order to conserve that, but he came out with only 500psi left after 35min. The guide told us that they actually carry higher capacity tanks that could have bought us another 10-15min underwater. Well I guess it would have helped to have gotten those earlier... The shop already had all our measurements, I think could have done better to offer the bigger tank option upfront. read more

My boyfriend and I went Scuba diving this past weekend with Andy and had a blast! It was our first dive since getting certified, so Andy was really helpful and made sure we both stayed safe. We saw a huge 200+ pound sea bass & Andy took us through a sunken ship. Definitely recommend this company & Andy as a guide! Super excited to go back! read more

Diving Catalina - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

My husband and I did the guided kelp dive with Dave yesterday. It was an incredible experience! Dave was patient and extremely knowledgeable. Weather was perfect and visibility was great. We saw several giant sea bass among a wealth of other fish too. We will definitely be back for more dives! read more

My girlfriend had booked this snorkeling tour for us and it was great. Dave was our leader/instructor. He was very knowledgable, patient, and nice. Can't say much else other than he is just overall awesome. Look forward to BREATHTAKING beauty when you look underwater. Beautiful fish and underwater life, clear waters, and tons of kelp. Dave brings fish food so that you can see tons of different kinds of fish. I had fish swimming all around me, it an awesome experience. Rather than read these reviews, just do yourself a favor and book this. My gf and I are thinking of doing the scuba diving with dave too! read more

Booked an snorkeling excursion thru carnival cruise lines. The wife and myself did not do it. I was told "no problem we will contact the ship and they will refund you." Only to find out that was a lie! Spoke with Dave about the matter and he didn't care his employee LIED to us. He was only sure of one thing THERE ARE NO REFUNDS! Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this place. Would have given 0 stars, but that is not an option! read more

We did 2 dives with Diving Catalina. The first was with Chris and the second with Nicky. Both instructors, were very personable and also knowledgeable about what lies beneath the ocean. They also took care to ensure everyone from the group was acclimated in the ocean before we began exploring. The facility was also very well organized. All in all a great experience and I wouldn't dive with anyone else if I came back to Catalina! read more

Amazing time snorkeling -- and going out with a guide made us venture out further than we might have without one. A really fantastic afternoon! Would definitely snorkel with them again. read more

First, I would like to say scheduling an appointment was very frustrating. I almost didn't want to go with this company but my friend really wanted to scuba dive. We went for the Introductory Dives because we are both not certified. Dave was our instructor. He was very patient and thorough with the instructions. He made me feel safe while scuba diving in 30-40 feet. The equipment is very heavy. You have to be in good shape. I'm not in great shape but I was kind of struggling while walking with the tank on. Imagine if you're in terrible shape. The water is very cold. I'm only 86 lbs and the wet suits didn't really fit me as well as other companies, but that's just a minor problem. We saw an eel, a humongous lobster, leopard shark, sea cucumbers and many other fishes in the sea. I was hoping to see an octopus but we didn't spot one. We stayed a minimum of 30 minutes under water but definitely not an hour. Instructor wonderful but scheduling an appointment is terrible. read more

Amazing experience. Pretty intimidating and scary at first once you get it the water but I was with Nikki and Rain and they were fantastic. They always made sure we were comfortable and felt safe before we moved on to the next step. They were very encouraging, always positive and made sure we were having a safe and fun experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone. I would recommend make to sure to watch the video a few times before hand and listen carefully so your experience in the water is seamless. read more

I have never done scuba diving before so I was a bit nervous but Dave and his team made my first scuba diving experience THE best experience I have ever felt in my life. We got there 30 minutes before our appointment time and we saw the crew getting ready for both scuba dive and snorkel tour. They were repeatedly checking all the gears which made me super comfortable. After signing few papers, Dave sat us down and went over scuba dive instructions thoroughly. We were total of 6 scuba dive guests and 3 instructors guiding us throughout the whole tour. They repeatedly check if you are doing okay underwater and guide you through the kelp forest and much more. I couldn't believe it was this amazing under water! I highly recommend scuba diving tour to anyone who visit Catalina. I will definitely take classes to earn my scuba diving license. Diving Catalina team made my experience so comfortable and fun. Thanks! read more

Hands down the BEST intro dive experience (Diving Catalina ) and most awesome instructor (Dave) I have ever experienced! Early Aug 2016 my four teenage kids did intro dives together with Dave. The instructions, equipment and overall experience far exceed my expectations... which were very high. Five stars for safety, convenience, expert instruction and value. Dave hits the right balance of seriousness and conviviality in his approach which instills just the right amount of caution in the unbridled enthusiasm of outgoing teenagers. read more

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Diver DAVE is awesome!!! I would definitely recommend coming here. I was actually amazed at how much there was to see right off of the shore. I did my dive with Dave and couldn't be happier with his enthusiasm. He was a great host, instructor and human being. Thanks for accommodating me on such short notice. I hope our paths cross again. With sincere thanks, Eddie read more

Good service, fun times and beautiful!

I would give you zero stars if I could. We booked this a month ago and now you're saying we can't two days before....

We had excellent service from Diving Catalina. The equipment was modern, well maintained and clean. Our dive guide was friendly and patient, and he showed us many fish and lobsters which helped with our photography. read more

Diver Dave took my husband, John, on an early morning dive. John hadn't been diving in quite some time, despite being an avid diver in the past. John wanted an easy introduction and review to get his diving skills back to where he was comfortable. Dave was super patient, friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. Within 10 minutes John said he was as comfortable diving as he had ever been. The water was crystal clear, not cold and Dave's outfit provided all the comfortable and well fitting gear, John needed. John said he had an amazing dive, saw lots of really interesting animal life and beautiful kelp. He was surprised at the diversity and size of the dive area. He said he felt safe and entertained diving with "Diver Dave". John said for sure, he will be back again and that now, he's got the diving bug back! I'm going to join on the next trip to Catalina and for sure will dive with Diver Dave and his great company. Thanks Dave! read more

Get Service from start to finish. Dave was patient with the instructions before we snorkeled and gave us a phenomenal guided tour for over an hour! Was able to see a plethora of fish and even dove to show us a lobster! Would recommend snorkeling here to anyone visiting Avalon as a first or experienced snorkeler. Thank you! read more

Dave was the instructor when I took my boyfriend. He is really smart, knowledgeable and funny. His sense of humor is really what helped us get more comfortable with learning how to snorkel. It's a great time out in the ocean, we saw a 1 foot long sea slug just resting on the ocean floor. You can expect to get a great view of the ocean on this dive while also learning a little more about the ocean. The fish came up to us to the point where we were swimming along with their schools. DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS EXPERIENCE!!! I mean it! read more

I purchased a Groupon for my boyfriend and I - just the standard one - and we had an INCREDIBLE TIME! The staff was friendly and helpful. I think I want to take up snorkeling as a hobby - IT WAS AWESOMMMMMEEE!!!! :D I didn't give them 5 stars mainly because I was worried about the mouth pieces not being sufficiently cleaned as all the guests use the same equipment. I was told that they are all sanitized but...I still am not 100% convinced it was thorough enough :/ read more

Two really good days of diving. Rane and Chris are good guides and do a great job of pointing out the wildlife. We saw the usual cast of creatures along with a nice moray eel and California Nudibranch. Visibility and conditions were good - and those 7mm wetsuits kept us warm. read more

A Haiku Review of Catalina Snorkel & Scuba: This is a "Must-Do" while you're in Catalina. Instructors were great! read more

Wrong review at a wrong place ! My bad. Sorry ! it is an amazing place with amazing people. honestly i would have love to give all 5 stars for the instructors that dived with us. PROS -its one on one diving. so if its your first time. this is really helpful. -they are serious. they make sure you read all the instructions and make sure you understood all the safety rules. -amazing divers. they are all nice and chill. would love to dive again with these people. CONS - there is a lady at front . she was keeping everything slow. and some how she has something that makes ppl not want to go there because she is just too annoying. we went as a group and every single person was very not happy with this woman and almost decided not to go scuba diving. -it is slow. they are very relaxed. we were booked for 2 pm but by the time we were dressed for scuba it was already 4. and from there they started to teach us about safety rules. so.. ya.. it took all day. -my mouth piece broke. I am not sure if the word mouth piece is a correct word. but the plastic that goes into your mouth and holding it in broke. thank god that it broke before I went into the water. they didnt seem to freak out or something just gave me the other mouth piece (the tank comes with two mouth piece to begin with just in case) so the two stars i took away was because of 1. that woman 2. the broken parts. If i were the owner i would not let her stand out side and take care of customers. read more

This was the best guided Scuba tour of my life. Andy made me appreciate my existence in a way I never thought possible. It's crazy to think how small and insignificant our lives are in the grand scheme of things, especially when placed next to a 400 pound giant Black Sea bass. Big ups to the Diving Catalina team for an amazing day! read more

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Although my husband and I are advanced scuba divers, we wanted a guide to show us around the Catalina underwater park. Dave was courteous, patient, made sure that he had us in wetsuits that fit us, and took care of us from beginning to end. He pointed out an awesome assortment of wildlife that we probably wouldn't have seen on our own, including three octopi! The kelp forest is really beautiful, and the variety of fish is wonderful. The walk to the trailer by Lover's Cove is kind of far with all your dive gear. Next time we might take a taxi. Dave stored our gear overnight since we were diving for two days, and dropped us at our hotel after the second dive, saving us a lot of gear schlepping. This was a wonderful experience, and a great memory for us. We highly recommend Catalina Snorkel & Scuba for your scuba diving on Catalina Island!! read more

Today is my 1st successful Pacific ocean dive at Catalina island thanks to the patience and encouragement of Dave the owner of Catalina Snorkel & Scuba! We saw so much sea life! I can't wait to dive again and will only use Catalina Snorkel & Scuba! Schedulng was a breeze, everything we needed was provided, all we had to do was print forms online to sign and show up. read more

Diving Catalina - Thanks Dave/Catalina Snorkel & Scuba for making Carmen's 1st Catalina dive even better than the warm Caribbean! - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

They should really put on their description that the 90 minute "tour" starts when everyone is putting their wetsuits and getting supplies (Which will take up to 45 minutes). We aren't allowed to get in the water because they want us to go in as a group. When we finally got in the water our instructor was maybe in there with us for 10 minutes, then he had to get out but told us to " look around and we might see some cool stuff". He didn't show us an cool animal life like the description of the tour said they would. We didn't see or learn about anything. My friend and I got out of the water after 15 minutes and asked about the tour and he said it was over with a long time ago. He had told us then that the tour started when we first signed in. Totally not worth the $49. I could've done this for free at lovers cover. read more

Andy was a great guide. Lots of fish, kelp, eels... Great. Visibility was about 50 ft. Water was comfortable, rental gear all worked. Basically a wonderful time. We will be back and ask for Andy again for sure. read more

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Absolutely amazing! We were scheduled to dive Monday, but the weather was crummy. Andy offered to switch us to Tuesday, which wouldn't have worked because we had our dog, but the friendly staff watched our dog while we did our dives! It was amazing! Andy offered a beautiful guided tour through the kelp forest! He navigated us toward unique items on the ocean bottom, hidden lobsters, and a hidden octopus! Most amazing dive we have been on yet! The staff was so great! Everyone was so friendly and knowledgeable! Our dive guide, Andy, was constantly checking to ensure we were doing ok. Also, double checked our gear each time to ensure a safe dive. He took tides and current in consideration to give us the best dive, and he had some good jokes! read more

Wanted to try snorkeling yesterday and did the night snorkeling tour. The guide was knowledgeable and kind. We spent about an hour in the water and saw horn sharks. read more

We had so much fun on the snorkeling tour, and the Groupon was a good deal. We had both snorkeled before but I wanted that extra reassurance of having a guide with us. Rain was a great guide. He was knowledgeable, chill, and full of information. He brought fish food so we could see a feeding frenzy up close, and also recommended some human food spots for people to try in Catalina. The truck wasn't hard to find at all, parked behind the casino. We got our gear, suited up with our group, and were in the water without taking much time at all. The tour was the perfect length for us as our fingers and toes were starting to get numb by the end of it. Would recommend! read more

Pleasant experience overall and no real complaints. It took a while for the tour to actually start as other guests took their time to get to the trailer and get suited up. If we're on a time schedule, the business should enforce it to some degree instead of accepting people coming up to half an hour later than what's listed. The staff was friendly and helpful getting suited up and giving a brief tutorial on how everything works and should be used (my wife and I are beginners so easy to follow instructions were awesome). The guide was extremely knowledgeable of Avalon, the ocean, and all the crazy animals right under our noses. It was too bad we didn't get to see a whole lot of variety of fish (they just weren't around; can't blame them for that). I would definitely use them again on my next visit to Catalina. I just hope people will be on time; the staff seems to be too friendly and will wait an eternity for all the stragglers to show-up. read more

The instructor was over the top friendly - like the way a dad talks to someone else's small child when his parents are around. Knowledgeable, accommodating, not overly expensive. No complaints. read more

I had THE BEST TIME!!! Dave, you're AMAZING!! Today was my first time snorkeling and Dave the instructor was very patient and friendly and made the entire process a better experience for me. I arrived 30 mins before my scheduled time and Dave gave me all my equipment. I was nervous but he reassured me that all would be well and it'd be easy as pie. When I got in the water it was cold but Dave talked me through what was happening and what was to be expected. I will DEFINITELY be coming back to Catalina and will go directly to Diving Catalina! read more

Diving Catalina - Getting ready to hop in the beautiful pacific! Thanks Dave!! - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

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My husband and I had a blast. I definitely recommend the night snorkel. We saw nurse sharks, swell sharks, sting rays, tons of fish, an eel and even an octopus! Dave was so helpful, and it was a great experience. read more

To say the water was frigid was an understatement but Nicky who was my family's group instructor was wonderful. The other instructor, Chris is his name I believe, was incredibly rude and condescending to another group. So glad we had Nicky. This person should not be dealing with people if he talks to them like this. The owner should be aware of this, hence not 5 stars. read more

they were so accommodating to allow us to continue with our reservation/snorkeling when we arrived at 2 pm and their phone person assisted us with directions there when we called 16 minutes before. check your email regularly to make sure your reservation status goes from pending to approved. The small print on the web page and absence of a field mask was a factor why i didn't spot the mistake in phone number and check box to accept all conditions. after arrival, everything went very well... the snorkeling instructor was so nice, informative and patient. he offered my girlfriend a float when she was nervous and tired. he went way out of his way being observant and helpful to make sure everyone had a safe and positive experience. he really knew how to handle beginner's fears, nervousness and clumsiness. his direction before snorkeling was spot on. you guys are great and i won't hesitate recommending you to friends! read more

What a great team! We signed up for the guided tour and both guides were great. We accidentally signed up for a Friday tour but we thought we booked for a Thursday dive. They really worked with us and were able to take us on Thursday instead. Plus their location right at the dive park makes it convenient and easy. Don't have to go to a store front and shuttle over. read more