Dave and his team of Rainn, Lisa, Chad and Thresher ( what a great name for a dive instructor) at Diving Catalina were exceptional. My family and I did multiple dives over the July the 4th week. Even though their business was buzzing with activity they were very methodical to take time to make sure we were safe and equipped properly for the 6 dives that we did. Each one was its own adventure and it just seemed like Dave and Team continued to help us build a truly remarkable experience. They have a new truck and lots of gear so the options are many and the location at the dive park can't be beat. Have referred numerous friends over the years and they all have said they enjoyed the experience. Love those Giant Black Seabass read more

Amazing Place with Amazing Service I went diving in Catalina using Diving Catalina. I'm glad I did. I had a private refresher course (I haven't been diving for a couple of years and don't have lots of dives) . Lisa was great. She stepped me quickly through the basics and had everything ready for me when I arrived. The dive location was fantastic. There's over a 100 foot drop (I can only dive to 40 feet). So much to see there. Sad was that there were some customers that day that wanted dive introduction even though some in their group do not speak/understand English. I saw Dave had to turn that business away. It was clear safety of his customers and divers are paramount. I wouldn't dive anywhere else. read more

Very fun activity! I had booked a scuba diving lesson ( non- refundable) but woke with a terrible cold. They still worked with me and I was able to snorkel and have a memorable experience. I purchased a $15 water camera. None of my pictures came out, so maybe the owners can remove that product. read more

Diving Catalina - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

I had a wonderful experience with Diving Catalina. I did my refresher dive with Dave. He was amazing. He is patient, attentive, has great communication skills, and was able to review just what I needed. I was a little nervous about returning back to diving, but Dave helped alleviate all my anxiety. We saw so much sea life on the dive. I decided to do another guided dive with Dave the next day. Once again Dave did a great job facilitating the dive and put all my anxiety at ease. I highly recommend Diving Catalina!!!! read more

We found up with Dave at Diving Catalina by accident (we needed to be certified, and I was presenting in Long Beach) -- and what a happy accident it was. Patient, careful, and funny, Dave was an excellent instructor (and certifier). We not only became certified, by the way, but got great diving experiences between the assessments. Dave found incredible underwater life for us to experience. My son and I agreed--we're going back as soon as we can for additional training and tours. You can't go wrong here. You've love it. read more

Can't say enough good things about this company. We are new to scuba as we just received our open water certs in Thailand about a month ago. Andy & Dave made us feel welcome, safe, and we ended up having an amazing dive. The equipment was great, and they went above and behind to make sure we were warm and comfortable (Dave even offered my girlfriend his own pair of gloves to ensure her fingers didn't get too cold). Andy was our guide and took us on a fantastic dive through the kelp forest. He pointed out wildlife, consistently checked up on our equipment, and made sure we were happy & healthy the entire dive . Highly recommend Diving Catalina. We are already looking forward to our next dive with them! - Nick & Ana read more

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It was a HORRENDOUS experience. My friend and I had made some last minute plans for Labor day weekend to visit Catalina and were excited to scuba dive. We were paired up with 2 more girls for the introductory dive. Unfortunately for all of us we dove with "Jordan". We had a terrible time despite what they say on the website about accommodating non-swimmers. My friend who was a non-swimmer was thrown in the water with little to no help from Jordan. While he should have stayed close to her and made sure she was comfortable, he let go of her and asked her to "JUST SWIM". With my previous diving experiences, I was able to tell the group a few hand gestures and what to expect. I also helped the group with their scuba wear. We had no help from Jordan. I was yelled at for not wearing my weight belt tight enough even though he did not bother to check it before we entered the water. He also refused to answer other questions I had about the dive. He yelled at me again for not being able to sink. When I told him it was because my jacket was full of air, he told me to not release any air and not touch the button again. He also went to yell at me for breathing too heavily when I, on multiple occasions told him, my mouth device was not working properly. He told me to bite on it harder. I was left with an aching jaw for the next few days. He also took most of our dive time to scream at others who were snorkeling or diving in the "NOT A PRIVATE AREA". Given all the yelling at other people, all 4 of us resorted to pretending that we did not know the instructor at times. It was very embarrassing as other people were telling us to get a better instructor. He also wasted time trying to catch a breath for the longest time. If you are not at a fitness level to swim a 100m lap, I don't believe you should be a scuba instructor. He used nonsensical hand gestures to try to instruct us to do things underwater. We were all very confused and exhausted. My non-swimmer friend was traumatized when he pulled the mouth device out of her mouth without proper instructions. She was clearly not prepared. And right after he told her she needs to leave. Safe to say, she will not be diving again. He also did not give any heed to whatever we asked, and maintained his focus on only one of the divers in our group (who also did not have a good experience). Definitely do not recommend this guy or this dive shop for diving at catalina. We are highly unsatisfied by this experience. read more

I can verify the review below me, because I was one of the other girls in the dive group! My sister and I have never dived before and we booked last minute so we were just excited and open to the new experience. When we got there there two other girls in our dive group,Meeting these girls was probably the best part of our experience! for the first hour our instructor "Jordan" seem very annoyed and upset and told us it was bc his dive partner girl didn't show up for work and was honestly talking crap, it was very unprofessional... he then left us with some gear and walked away for like 15 minutes I don't know where he went. One of the other girls on the dive had diving experience and she helped us with our gear! And we didn't go over any hand signals or anything. When we were underwater he was making a lot of bizarre hand signals and we honestly didn't know what he was talking about. I can't even explain how much time our instructor was in verbal altercations with other divers, I am from Ohio and even I knew that that was a public dive space. He yelled at other divers the whole time to get away from us, and when the other divers responded to him he fought back. These altercations lasted between 30 seconds up to a couple minutes. After each altercation Jordan needed some time for himself to calm down and breathe... Me and my sister and the other girls just floated there in silence so grateful that our masks were covering our faces bc it was the most bizarre, embarrassing and unprofessional thing I have ever experienced. The only other thing I would say is that we were only in the water for like 15 minutes, and most of that time was spent Jordan fighting other divers. Because he was so distracted fighting with other divers he did not help the girl in our group who told him that she could not swim. Instead he dragged her out of the water and put her on shore. And when I say he drags her out of the water I mean quite literally. Eventually my sister and I got to go down and use the scuba gear and we were down there for about a couple minutes and at the end my sister told our instructor that she got so lightheaded she felt like she was going to pass out and he said you're fine that's normal.... After we got back to the truck we actually had a conversation with Dave, who also happens to be from an area near Ohio where me and my sister are from. We had a great conversation with him about Cedar point and he was super personable and awesome. Honestly it probably would've been a different experience if we had him as our instructor but I guess we'll never know. I really hope this Jordan person find some inner peace in his life, because mostly what I remember of my experience was trying to regulate and calm his emotions. So weird .. One star I have nothing else to compare it to but I will probably never be in Catalina again in my life so here's my experience *** two stars because I feel bad if this affects business for him! ** read more

If there is anyone who wishes to try and scuba dive this is by far the best company to work with. The knowledge and patience that the instructor Dave has is amazing. Great equipment clean and new if I go back to Catalina I will use this company again. read more

Definitely the highlight of our trip to Catalina! We saw so MANY fish including Garibaldi, sheepshead and even abalone. The kelp was surprisingly beautiful. Our guide was really knowledgeable and informative. I can't wait to come back to try introduction to scuba diving. See you soon Diver Dave! read more

Leaving this review after an year of using your services because I only recently realized how good other scuba and snorkeling places are. I was traumatized because of my experience with this company. Their website claims no swimming required for the introductory scuba class, however if you dont know swimming, all the instructor tries to do is scare you and demotivate you from going into the water. 4 of us had one instructor which is obviously not enough if you are not so confident. And then if he keeps warning you "this is the last chance to bail", you have no choice but to tap out. I had to get out of the water 2 min after getting in because he kept warning me that this is the last chance. After taking the class I was so scared of water for so long and thought scuba and snorkeling is not for me until I tried snorkeling with other instructors. I would not recommend anyone to take their session unless you are absolutely confident what you signing up for. read more

Bough 2 Groupon snorkeling excursions for a 90 minute snorkeling tour for my daughter and her friend. Easy to schedule and a beautiful day, lots of fish and nice tour group of about ten other people. However, the whole experience only lasted one hour which included putting on equipment and taking it off- at which point the group was told that they could stay to continue to snorkel but that they would have to "go over there(pointing to rental area)"and rent snorkel equipment.NOT WHAT WE PAID FOR!!!!! VERY DISAPPOINTING!! Groupon can't (won't) do anything about it. Just wanted others to know so that you could demand full time of what you paid for. read more

Both my girlfriend and I agree that Dave is the best instructor! This was hands down the most relaxing and enjoyable certification experience my girlfriend an I have had. Dave is very attentive, patient, and caring, which must come from teaching children when he lived in Michigan. He renewed our faith that scuba diving can be fun. I have been and will continue recommending him to everyone who is interested in getting certified. read more

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Great snorkel experience, especially for a beginner. Dave was very very helpful in helping us set up a reservation. Leo was our phenomenal snorkel instructor and he was super informative and helpful for those who were nervous about their first time snorkeling. He helps you get set up with all your gear and then guides you down to the water and tells you about the different wildlife seen. The waters were a little rough on the day we went so we mostly saw sea bass and girabaldi because we didn't venture out to the rocks where octopus and lobsters are typically seen. It was still neat! We will be back to try scuba diving. :) read more

Diving Catalina - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

This was an AMAZING experience!! I'd never scuba dived before and was somewhat nervous but Dave and his team made it absolutely incredible. The training and safety instructions are clear and easy to follow and I felt safe and comfortable under the water. Dave continuously checked in with hand signals under the water and ensured I was safe. I highly recommend Diving Catalina. Thank you, Dave!! read more

Rayne and Lisa were great dives and very patient with my girlfriend who needed some extra help with buoancy and adjusting to a salt environment and a 7mm suit. The gear is in great shape, and the guided dive afforded us to be able to see alot of marine life, including giant black bass. I recommend them for anyone that wants to get the lay of the land. read more

This is not only the best location to dive at, but it is also the best company to dive with. They go over every procedure and safety measure before you dive and you will never feel unsafe or unsure of what you're doing. If it's your first time diving I highly recommend doing the introductory dive! They also provide certifications in all forms of scuba diving if you want to tune up or advance your skills as well. I came for the intro course two weeks ago and I'm back to get certified because this company made me fall in looooove with diving. PLEASE if you go to anyone out here, IT HAS TO BE DIVING CATALINA! Diver Dave is so funny, kind, and helpful, and takes safety seriously, but also allows you to have the time of your life underwater!!! He knows where all the eels, lobsters, and octopus are. There are even giant sea bass! Take a diving course with them and you will definitely get your money's worth! 10/10 would recommend! read more

Diving Catalina - Scuba diving at Diving Catalina, Casino Point - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

Lisa was patient, kind, and such a blast! She taught us so much and we cannot wait to come back for a guided dive very soon. 100% recommend Diving Catalina! read more

My fiancé and I each had our first dive with Andy at Diving Catalina. His knowledge and passion for diving made us completely comfortable while braving our first underwater excursion, and his humor and brevity made us excited to jump right in! The dive site was a marvel to behold. We swam through jungles of giant kelp and companioned a 300 pound grouper as she hovered above the site's incredible reef! We are eager to return to the water and will hopefully be able to do so once again with our new friend, Andy! read more

Diving Catalina - Scuba Diving Near Me - Avalon, California

I have been to Monterey, ca snorkeling, San Diego La Jolla Cove Snorkeling, this is the first time I have experience the worst and inexperienced guide. And to top it off, the customer service was equally as bad... providing miss guided information from former worker, "Julia", and changing our snorkeling times last minute. If you want to go on this tour and learn about the types of fish in the ocean, the wild life you are seeing, or kelp forest you are swimming through.... go some where else. The guide, the only guide they have, literally swims around in his own little world and does not say a word at all, except for, " over here", "don't past the buoy line", "I am going to feed the fishes", " we are done with the tour"... Also, the guides favorite number is 85$.. Don't lose a fin!, that's 85$, don't lose a mask, that's 85$, don't breath!, that's 85$... The fishes and wildlife are amazing. You are better off saving the money from buying this "tour" and using the money to buy your own gear from amazon.com. And snorkel as long and as far as you want. You will have the same experience if not a better experience. read more

I purchased the power snorkeling for two via Groupon. Snorkeling itself was amazing! I'd definitely do it again, just not with this company. Our instructor Dave, was completely rude and temperamental. He yelled at us which completely caught me by surprise. He did apologize, but his attitude the whole time was just too negative for me. It just seemed like he wanted to get the day over with. Maybe it was just a bad day for him, but definitely wouldn't come back to the same instructor. read more

I've read the previous reviews which if what made me book this scuba diving experience but sad to say my girlfriend and I did not enjoy our time. Although they did accommodate us in the class last minute even though it was booked (because I bought it on group on) they were nice in the beginning. When me and my girl friend arrived we were provided with the gear, we were excited and ready to go! Once we got to the water it seemed like everything changed with the instructors. Not only was this or first time doing this, we had on gear and wet suits we've never with before so we were looking to the instructors for help and assistance. I got in the water first. It was cold but great! I floated fine (the wet suit keeps you afloat). Once my girl friend got in I could tell she was panicking. The instructors informed us that it was a lowtied and not to flat by the ducks as we could get seriously injured. The water was really choppy that day. As I tried to help my Gf as much as I could, the instructors were no help once we were in the water. Mind you something we've never done before I thought they would be more mindful. My Gf got to a point where she just floated and kept drifting really far n there was so much only I could do with all my gear on. I asked an instructor next to me can you please go get my girlfriend I think she is panicking. They replied to me "well she knows how to swim right, she needs to swim to me". I was furious!! Obviously if she could stun to you she could buy the tide was taking her away and it wasn't easy to swim with the wet suits. After getting an attitude with me he finally goes to get her and drags her out of the water. They said to us we thought your guys could swim. I said of course we can other wise I wouldn't have booked this activity. All in all, I felt that the instructors could have been a Little more helpful, but I won't be booking this any more. It was fun but the way they treated my Gf and another couple was unacceptable. read more

We originally planned to snorkel but opted to go take a private scuba class instead. We were lucky enough to have Dave, the owner, be our instructor. He was friendly and funny, and they even have a cute little chihuahua out by the trailer while you're suiting up and getting briefed on some safety and basics. I didn't get to go in very long because I forgot that I'm capable of getting pretty anxious. When I first learned to drive I'd have to pull over id be so nervous -_- The water was a bit choppy with smaller white caps as well, which I think didn't help it. I was heartbroken because despite going out multiple times I couldn't get myself to calm down enough to breathe through the regulator. I decided to opt out at that point because that way at least he could continue the scuba dive but he was endlessly patient and kind. Afterwards he encouraged me to try again and I definitely will, but maybe in my home town where I can more regularly/easily get private lessons to get a certification. Hopefully i'll get over my anxiousness and come back one day to dive in the beautiful Catalina water :) as its always been a life long dream of mine. Time for me to start swimming again and to stop being such a little baby! But regardless I highly recommend Dave and his services. Don't listen to silly upset reviews, him and his crew are endlessly helpful. He runs a small business with a limited amount of time and services in a day, not a corporation. The rules are clearly stated and you agree to the terms in the act of making a purchase, so I don't understand how you can be upset PS. I have also gone on his snorkel tour many many years ago! I highly recommend it if scuba isnt for you. I know snorkeling sounds kind of lame but the water there is pretty serene and full with life. Even though you're not diving you'll still see TONS of cool sea life :) read more

Not for first timers sadly! We knew where we were going as we had wondered around Catalina Island the day before and there was only one other diving group at the point. We arrived complete with waiver forms, maps, yelp deal, money for the lockers and swimsuits on. The wetsuit, mask/snorkel and fins were part of the deal and there was a brief explanation on everything and into the water we went. Our guide went in the water with a flotation device and fish food and would feed the fish at different points, plenty of fish and we were able to stay in the water afterwards which is nice. But our guide was curt from the beginning two members from our group had issues and they had no help at all. I would not repeat this experience at all and it is a shame that the first time snorkeling for my guest wasn't pleasant. If you have the yelp deal and are comfortable in the water then they are the people for you otherwise go elsewhere which was what i will do the next time I am back at Catalina Island. read more

This was my experience; I called someone the day before to make a reservation. They put me in. Next day I emailed to confirm. When I got there, they said I didn't make a reservation. They fit my boyfriend and I in but didn't seem happy about it. Dave who was our "instructor" was very rude. There was a girl who told him she couldn't swim and he immediately said "Okay, you can't come." I understand that it is a liability and that it is not safe but what I had a problem with was how the situation was handled. 1) The website says nothing about not being able to swim (in fact the website has very little information in general) 2) He could have taken her aside and spoke with her privately but instead chose to humiliate her in front of the whole group 3) There just as easily could have been a language barrier as English was clearly not her first language When my snorkel mask didn't fit, I asked him for help. He gave me one of the most impatient looks I've seen. He told me to suck in which and did and without warning grabbed the mask and jerked it off my face. That was not a pleasant experience. Before I was even ready, he already had some of the people walk with him down to the beach. Forget about the weakest link, Dave won't wait for you and if you are behind, get ready to be yelled at. This guy will either leave you behind or rush you along like no other. Sounds like he wants to get this over with and get paid with as little time involved as possible. There are no change rooms which I had read about and was prepared for, but as a customer service industry, this place truly lacks. As a Canadian from Vancouver, BC. All the water sport operations I have visited and been to were extremely accommodating and friendly. This place does not compare. This may be a good place to do some snorkeling, but you better not come with high expectations. The only saving grace for this place was that I got to snorkel, but considering I paid for it... read more

As a first time snorkeler I had a blast! The instructor out in the water with us was a very sweet lady, I had a hard time at first getting the hang of it so she took my had and just kind of held me up and let me enjoy looking the in water until I got the hang of it. She would always ask if we were all ok throughout the time we were in the water. Before you go wear sunscreen, not very much shade where we all meet up. The gentleman that handed out all the swimwear also went over the basics before we got into the water and he was watching all of us form shore to make sure we were all ok. It was so incredible seeing the fish so close, it was an amazing experience I will never forget! If your worried about the water being cold don't, their swimsuits are very tick and keep you nice and warm. read more

At first, I was a bit skeptical because it's this dinky truck, a shed, and outdoor lockers to the side of the street. Guess I imagined a posh indoor facility to parallel the awesome beachside Catalina view! But, what a great way to spend my 25th birthday and do something new! Some cons about this place: -Lockers cost $2 to lock up your stuff. You're not too far out though and a staff member stays behind so your valuables are pretty safe though. -It's just an outdoor truck and some benches. So definitely part if roughing it up to complete the snorkel experience I suppose. -You do see quite a few fish but the variety isn't that crazy. We saw 4-5 different types of fish. Still cool though. And pros: -The owner and snorkel tour guide is incredibly nice. He did a great job going above and beyond before, during, and after the tour to educate you and make sure you get the most out of your experience. He even remembered my name from the reservation, which is a plus. He definitely made this tour a memorable experience for me. -Fish food. The tour guide has a box full of fish food to attract more fishes on the tour. Just be careful not to be in the midst of all the hungry fish! -Overall, I thought it was a great deal. $22 for a 45 minute snorkel tour (thanks Yelp!) which was a great deal. And don't think 45 minutes is too short! It's sufficient time and you might even feel a bit sea sick at the end, like I did! :( Tip: -Definitely bring an underwater camera, whether just a waterproof case or a disposable underwater camera! read more

Lisa is AMAZING!!! I needed a scuba refresher since my last dive was a year ago before covid. She was so patient, caring, and made me feel incredibly relaxed. She has an amazing attitude and always gives you the best fun facts about scuba ! I learned new things about scuba even though I'm an advanced certified diver. During our dive she even helped another lost diver with a tank falling off their BCD, they couldn't find their instructor. She then also helped the diver up the steps when their instructor seemed spaced out. It was a complete other company and she didn't need to help them at all. She is a ROLE MODEL scuba diver and I highly recommend you take a lesson or a dive with her. Thank you Lisa so much!! read more

My very first snorkeling experience was amazing. Tim the guy that helps to suit you up and explains everything to you is not only knowledgeable but funny as hell. The gear to rent is not expensive as some of the other snorkeling touristy places on the island. We went out for a little over an hour.. Rented winter suits (looked silly trying to put it on) and flippers and the snorkel equipment. Tim taught us how to enter the water and explained everything in detail to us about snorkeling. To enhance your experience I suggest buying some of the food that they offer here for only $3. It was so much fun.. I am not the snorkeling get in the water and wet my hair sort of chick and I was a little concerned about renting a wetsuit that has been previously used.. BUT.. I saw Tim cleaning the suits used before us and the snorkel gear as well. For the two of us our rad snorkeling adventure ran $40 and some change!! read more

Jeff is awesome and I will never forget him for this excellent scuba diving experience. He spent 3 hours with us, we had very little swimming experience, had a hard time breathing underwater, and struggled terribly. Jeff kept calm and had the confidence that we were going to be alright. He exposed me to the underwater world of sea life. This was such a breath-taking experience (no pun intended). He only charged $99 a person. Trust me, if it is your first time diving, avoid going in a large group of divers BC you will not receive that one on one time that you'll need. Instead, book early morning with Jeff and you will love it. And FYI for you 1-star reviewers, when you pay a deposit, it is expected that there is a cancellation policy you have to abide by, that's a common business practice. Don't blame the owner for your stupidity. read more

I tried this out through Groupon and have to say I feel like I got ripped off a bit. I showed up on time with my girlfriend, but we didn't actually go into the water till almost an hour later. This is probably my largest issue. In that time, there wasn't any training or prep it was just disorganized. The group was huge, felt way too big for these guys to manage. Now before we got into the water they did take about 5 mins walking us through safety items. But even that felt so rushed. I also felt like they rushed the entire experience when we finally made in the water. I forsure won't try this again with them. I recommend anyone interested in doing this just buy the snorkeling gear and go on your own. It's a better investiment. The pros: The staff was friendly. The water felt great. read more

This was overall a fun experience. Our group started late because of some people having problems presenting Groupons on their phones because THERE IS NO CELLULAR RECEPTION AT THIS SPOT (sorry for the caps, I'm not mad. I figure it'd be useful info). So save yourself the 10 minute walk back to the main area to find reception. As for the snorkeling, our guide was fun and showed us a great tour. Right when we got out to the water we saw a lot of fish! Each group usually has about 20 people so sometimes you will bump into each other since we're all just staring down into the water! After the tour you can borrow their equipment for however long and just snorkel on your own around the area. Other tips: Lockers cost $2 No changing area so bring a towel and a friend to help cover you if you need to change into your bathing suit. Location of this business is the truck in the road. We were a little confused at first. read more

Bought the 90min Snorkeling Tour from Groupon. The thing is, the boat ride to Catalina is the most expensive thing about going to Catalina Island, and once you get there, you are committed to staying there until your boat leaves. Excited to do the snorkeling on a Sat., the day before Father's Day, and the weather is beautiful. Arrive at the meeting pointing (behind the Casino) and a random guy flags me down and says the dreaded words, "We had to CANCEL the trip today". I did not understand, the weather was great - yeah, the ocean was not as smooth as a baby's skin, but hey, it's the damn ocean. It was getting rough, but that is normal about afternoon time. So, these guys just CANCELLED it on me and did not offer any recommendations, any type of accommodation, and plainly said, "You can get a refund from Groupon", and went on their way. Oh, okay buddy! Now, they might have had to cancel because of horrendous ocean conditions, but consider this, they cancelled because not enough people showed-up for the tour, not enough to meet in min. capacity for a tour, too many scuba divers being trained on that day, so many factors, and to get the bad ocean conditions excuse was not sitting good with me. Now, I've been swimming in the ocean and can tell you that it was not soo bad to cancel the trip, especially considering people spent a lot of time and money to get out there to do a snorkeling tour with your business, they least you could you is to give people more options. I ended up going snorkeling by myself in the same spot and the ocean was not so bad. The visibility was probability not the best, but that was okay. I did get to see the fish using my own mask and snorkel (thank goodness), so it was not a complete waste of time. Scuba diving with this outfit might be a completely different experience, but my snorkeling experience was not good here. read more

We took an excursion for motor snorkeling in January 13, 2020. Our leaders name, I forgot but he was absolutely amazing. He made sure we were all warm and taken care of and safe. I highly recommend this excursion I highly recommend this company. I highly recommend this leader of our tour. I am dying to get back and try this excursion again. It was ice cold water but they're very heavy weighted wet suits keep you as warm as possible. I look forward to doing this excursion when it's nice and warm. a happy custom read more

Definitely recommend, the staff are super supportive to new divers. A must do again once I get more comfortable in the water!

I have Snorkeled at various places around the world and this is an average place. There is too much of see weed so you cant see much of the ocean floor and it gets hard to navigate. They just have one guide for a lot of people(20). They don't take you into to the ocean, you just swim next to the Island. I did the power snorkel here with my wife, she does not know swimming so the wetsuit they gave was helpful to keep her floating. And the power fan, is very helpful to navigate if you don't know how to swim. It was fun, non swimmers don't need to fear. read more

I'm really conflicted with this review. Basically, I had booked a bunch of stuff to do in Catalina a few months back. As plans changed, and they tend to, we decided against snorkeling that day. We walked over to the trailer to inform the owner that we couldn't make it and to get our deposit back (and to think we thought we were doing a good thing, rather than taking it up with our credit card company later at home!) I believe it was $90 for two people or thereabouts. We went over as quickly as possibly (not much transportation here unless you rent one of those golf carts, which I would recommend, by the way!) and found most people dressed and some halfway there. We told him that we would be canceling and would like the money credited back to my card. Well, this guy apparently does not know how to talk to people or how to do business, because he flat out said that's impossible, that's how he's been doing business all these years and it's worked fine for him, etc. I looked around to see kids looking at him startled, and not in a good way. So, in other words, the pleasant owner of this places wanted to keep our money without having given us ANYTHING in return: no snorkeling, no snorkel gear, nothing, because we didn't go snorkeling. Is that even legal? Nope, it's not. His excuse is a million page document he has you sign digitally, along with payment, which states in 1 point font that canceling has to be done several days in advance. Look, I am not rating on the experience because I didn't have one, only on the rude owner who will raise hell if you deviate from his perfect plan. If all goes well, I'm sure you'd have a blast, but if something goes a little sideways, and things tend to sometimes, you're in for a hell of a time. Oh wait, no, just hell. read more

From the first 2 seconds of meeting Dave, I knew I was in good hands. I hadn't gone on a dive since I was certified ~4 years ago. He was very helpful when it came to assessing my knowledge and reteaching things I had forgotten. The dive was so beautiful. Thank you so much for the awesome experience you provided. I would highly recommend Diving Catalina! read more

Wife and I went to Catalina for vacation and decided to look up some activities to do, and found this place and decided to try it out. They seem to always have deals which is always a plus in my book. We purchased the 45 minute tour for $22 a person, and now looking back it's a total STEAL. You get a FULL wet suit, snorkel, and flippers. First off, try and get there early because this place gets packed fast, and it's pretty small and can get very hectic. I showed them my purchase through my phone, filled out paperwork and waited for Dave (the owner) to give us a quick safety lesson. Dave was pretty awesome and funny. This 45 minute tour was pretty awesome because we saw lots and lots of fish. If you are scared of fish stay away from Dave because he is constantly feeding them, and some of them do bight! I will definitely look into this place again for different activities. Have fun! read more

It was just hard to find. (they should have clearer direction on where to meet) Which was a truck with all the gear next to the water. Oh, and my wife's snorkel had a hole in it... so after 30 min, we had to return and get a new one. So if you go, make sure you check your gear in the water. It's not like snorkeling in cancun or hawaii, so you won't see TONS of variety of fish. but it was a simple fun experience. The wetsuits kept us warm and afloat and had our names written with chalk so that was nice. read more