My brother and I had a great experience at Gotham Divers. We loved our experience from our first email till we passed our PADI confined water section. Tim, (who I assume is the owner) was always available and quick to give email responses as my brother and I stumbled through the e-learning portion. When we began our sessions we had Michel, who was an instructor in training being supervised by Edwin. Michel was not just knowledgeable but was kind and engaging. I personally had some fears going into diving, but the relaxed energy Michel displayed made for a comforting and safe learning environment. I highly recommend Gotham Divers. Especially if you have a New York mentally. They respect your time and are efficient with the courses. read more

Is this store still open? Stopped by during open store hours (per Google and Yelp) to try and see if I could try on dive masks before a trip. Noticed that the shop was closed with a lot of mail piled up. Not sure if anyone else knows anything about this. read more

Perfect place to get certified in the city, highly recommend. They are no nonsense but also chill

Took their open water dive course; first half was classroom and second part was in the pool. Highly recommend using them for your certifications. Highly knowledgeable and great teachers. I struggled with the pool part and the breathing and the instructor Edwin was a great help; advised i just come in the pool take it at my own pace and do what i as conformable with. Everybody needs to take it at their own pace. In the beginning i didn't think i could ever breath consistently through a mouthpiece but by the end of the class i found it very easy. I will be going back to re-do my confined pool section but there is no way i would be even thinking about scuba still had it not been for Edwin. Highly highly recommend. read more

I had an incredible experience with Gotham Divers completing my Open Water Part II. They structured the weekend to complete 3 dives on Saturday and my 4th dive on Sunday. Edwin and Alex were incredible instructors, made me feel safe/comfortable. Both are extremely knowledgeable, patient and I had no trouble learning everything required to obtain my certification. There are plenty of dive shops in the city and I had a horrible experience with another dive shop for my Open Water Part I. I had lost hope in the city dive shops until I met Tim from Gotham Divers who proved me wrong. These guys are 100% about teaching scuba and don't bother with the sales pitch that you normally might get from the other city dive shops. Thank you thank you again! read more

I came here to get my scuba certification. They have you do an online course beforehand which isn't too bad. Then you do a quick classroom section where they teach you how to put all of the equipment together and play a few videos. After that, we did the pool session another day with Edwin. It was great. He did a fantastic job making sure everyone felt comfortable, mastered the skills they needed to, and still had fun. I highly recommend taking the pool class with him. He was a very patient teacher. Tip: if you're planning on renting the scuba gear including the fins, mask, and snorkel when you go on vacation make sure you order a set on Amazon first. They push very hard in the classroom portion for you to buy gear from their shop, but it's very expensive and I didn't see myself lugging it around on a vacation. read more

Instruction is great and prices seem good. However I came away extremely dissatisfied with their billing practices. Gotham does their open water portion at a quarry in PA (warning: the quarry charges $75 for entry). On the particular day I went to the quarry, I was not able to dive due to breathing issues. So I got out of the water, dried off, and thought "no big deal I'll just do the open water portion at my travel destination". I received zero instruction and only briefly used a wetsuit. When I returned to the shop to get my referral letter, they declared that I owed them the full price of the open water dive process--over $300!!! I resisted, but I couldn't get my referral letter without paying Gotham Divers for a lesson I did not receive. I guess it's my mistake for choosing to learn such an expensive sport. But I'm adamant Gotham Divers could have been a little more understanding (or even a little flexible!) when I clearly don't have money to throw around. read more

I did my PADI open water certification here and had a great experience. The shop is super responsive with email and registering, and the course itself was well taught - informative and thorough for both the classroom and pool sections. I felt super prepared when I went on vacation with my open water referral. I'd go here again for advanced certifications or anything dive related in NYC! read more

I've been coming to Gotham Divers for all my dive needs for a few years now, Tim makes an effort to make the shop feel like home rather than simply a place where currency is exchanged for goods and services. When I moved back to NYC, I knew I needed to transition to technical diving, and Tim has been 100% supportive the whole way. I've never felt like I was being upsold or pressured to buy, and Tim has gone out of his way when I came to him looking for gear he didn't usually carry. Whether it's to start the certification process, transition to Northeast diving, or find a trip to the Doria, Gotham Divers will be your go-to to get everything done. read more

My husband and I just recently did our Open Water training through Gotham Divers and I can't recommend them more. They were helpful and personalized from start to finish and our instructors Edwin and Michele took so much time to really explain and show skills and make everyone feel comfortable. Very thorough in the best possible way. In such a big city we are always getting stuck these days with super corporate outfits that are more interested in selling you stuff than teaching you as an individual and a human and I was so beyond pleased to find Gotham Divers was primarily interested in helping you become a safe and skilled diver and recommending gear based on your individual needs. A rarity in the city these days! read more

This a a great Dive Shop! I go to them for tech diving needs such as gas fills for trimix bottles, regulator service. Good guys working there and their customers are treated well. read more

David Bloomfield in the last week Gotham was a great source of personalized instruction and advice. Tim was regularly available by phone, answering all questions in an informed, clear manner. John was a superb instructor, in class and in the pool. I did my open water dive elsewhere and that was fine with them, never a hard sell. read more

I tell all my friends that my favorite thing to do on a Friday night is to hang out at this shop with Tim, Alex, Peter and co. I came in here once upon a time looking to be open water certified, and I stayed for the great stories and even better company. The open water certification course took me three non-consecutive days to complete, but it can be done in one week if you want. I got the Monday evening classroom and Thursday evening pool sessions done together so I could stay with my "class". John and Peter were my instructors. I recommend that you clear your entire evening for the pool portion because it can run late into the night. Also, bring bottled water and grab dinner beforehand because you'll be learning skills without a break. I finished my certification in Belize through SSI, and though John teased me for that and for getting my all-pink outfit online, I don't regret it because I saw wild dolphins and I look awesome. I can say that my Belizean instructor was really impressed by how solidly I had my skills (mask clearing, etc.), thanks to John and Peter, so getting through my first four real dives was a total breeze. I also recommend this shop if you're a working chump, like me, who prefers 7:30 pm classes. Alex, who taught me Nitrox, is willing to meet later. Really accommodating folks. Check this place out for any and all diving needs! read more

I spend my Saturday at Dutch Springs, PA, a place I have intentionally avoided for over 25 years. I drove out there this morning because I was required to get a rescue diver certification by the NY Aquarium. For the past 2 plus years I have been part of the Volunteer Dive Team and I was overdue to get this done. I chose Gotham Divers for 2 reasons. First and foremost they were recommended by the Aquarium dive safety instructor, a man that has forgotten more about diving than most of us will ever know. To paraphrase he said that Gotham really knows what they are doing! The second reason was just convenience that they are close to where I live. So off I went this morning with very low expectations for the day. Consider that I have been open water certified since 1990 with hundreds of logged dives but NEVER took another class. I always felt it was a waste of time and money as could do any type of diving I wanted with just the open water c card, and I have! But this class is not about specialty diving. This class is about diving safety and extending ones training to help another diver that is in trouble. I feel as I owe it to my fellow aquarium divers as well as everyone I dive with to be rescue certified. But still had very low expectations for the class itself. We did 3 dives today. All of which were challenging but fun at the same time. Our instructor, John, devised countless distressed diver scenarios for us to manage but also made it incredibly fun at the same time. There is nothing fun or funny about rescuing a fellow diver. But the class was serious and focused when it needed to be but at the same time lots of fun. I strongly recommend a rescue class to any diver who has yet to take one. If you decide to take it, do yourself a favor, sign up at Gotham and request John, it's a blast!!!! read more

We decided to take a refresher course with Gotham Divers before going on vacation to the Maldives so we were ready to dive comfortably when we got there! We were slightly disappointed in the course we took on June 12th. Both instructors were great instructors but there was a lack of coordination and/or planning in our minds. We were placed with two beginner divers who were just learning the ropes, which skills can always be quite challenging the first few times around and is understandable. But we were left waiting around in the pool the majority of the time while the two ladies were getting acquainted taking masks on and off etc. We unfortunately had to ask multiple times for some guidance as to what to do since we started to wait too long. Ed gave us some skills to practice on our own but it was honestly not a training or refresher course by any means. Towards the end of the night we decided to just call it quits before everyone was out of the pool because we felt like we were wasting too much time. When we got out it must have been obvious that we were lacking something as one of the instructors came over to ask "are you okay...do you feel like you got your monies worth?". We didn't want to be rude but we honestly don't feel like the course was worthwhile at all given the lack of direct instruction from the great instructors. I also emailed the shop the same exact feedback with no response. I would choose another dive shop to do any of your diving instruction as this shop is purely not organized. The pool also isn't the cleanest and it gets kind of hot in there in summer months. read more

Awesome shop! Great service, training and gear selection. Safe and thorough instruction.

I did part one open water and Tim was super helpful throughout the process. The instructor John was very professional and I feel very prepared to take part 2 when I go on vacation. read more

I came to Gotham Divers for my SSI SCUBA Certification, and though I never write Yelp reviews, I couldn't help but write one for these guys -- I feel that strongly. It was an overwhelmingly great, informative, and positive experience for me. Tim was the main contact at the Gotham Divers shop, and went above and beyond to help me through my certification and work with me to have it expedited before my trip, even during off-hours and on weekends. And, in addition, my SCUBA instructor, John, was exceedingly professional, helpful, and made me feel so comfortable in the water and in the classroom. He was an all-star teacher. I can't recommend these guys enough. read more

You won't find a better facility than Gotham Divers, nor a better instructor than Tim, both in terms of technical expertise and attitude. My wife and I needed to get dry suit certified under a very tight deadline for an upcoming trip; Tim made it happen even though conditions at Dutch Springs were some of the worst we've had to deal with in 25 years of diving (air temperatures close to 100F and humidity through the roof). He stayed good humored and enthusiastic throughout; when my wife started to show symptoms of heat stroke he dealt with the situation efficiently and sympathetically. Can't recommend him highly enough. read more

Great dive shop! Did my open dive certification with them and was extremely happy with the support they provided. Completed the dive at Dutch Springs, where the water visibility was extremely low, not the best conditions for a new diver. Tim and Rob made sure I gained experience in all the required skills, despite the challenges. I highly recommend working with them. read more

I am so glad I chose Gothamdivers for my certification. Diving is definitely so much fun but it can be very difficult to master considering breathing under the water is not human natural instinct. I struggled with the mask exercise in the pool portion of my certification.Edwin and John assured me feeling comfortable and encouraged me to keep trying. I was nervous to go to the Dutch springs for my open water part 2 but happened to have the best time. The organization was superb, Tim and his team were so on point in bringing everything together and meeting all of my needs. Edwin took some one on one time preparing me for my dive so I could feel more comfortable. The whole team was so much fun to be around but what I respected even more was how meticulous and strict the certification was. Those guys are not joking around when certifying you and I have so much appreciation for that since I really had to deserve it. It felt so amazing to do it! You are not just getting certified but also entering a big Gothamdivers family with the opportunities to keep diving together and all the support and care that can ever exist. read more

Gotham Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Manhattan, New York

Recently took a dive refresher course with Gotham Divers after having been originally certified about 14 years ago when the shop was under different ownership. Tim, the owner, was very professional and excellent with communication. He was amiable and went the extra mile in helping my partner and I to ensure that our certifications were also registered and up-to-date online since it had been years since our last dive. Our pool instructors, Michel and Edwin (one of the instructors who originally trained us in our basic cert and various specialty courses all those years ago) were our instructors. They were: competent, patient, kind and experienced. Edwin, in particular, has a passion for diving and gift for compassionate, thoughtful leadership. We ended up re-entering the world diving and enjoying numerous cyclone-season-difficult dives on our vacation because of how well-trained and confident we felt thanks to Gotham Divers. Not only will this shop ensure you are very well-trained, but they are also easy-going and accessible. I highly recommend Tim and Gotham Divers and look forward to training with them for additional specialties in the future. read more

I just returned from a 2 week vacation to Thailand where I got to scuba at some of the most beautiful underwater points in the world. Less than 2 months ago, I had zero dive experience. My friend invited me on a last minute scheduled trip to Phuket and surrounding islands and suggested that we could go on dive excursions, but I would need to get certified. I work about 50 to 60 hours per week in New Jersey and was in a frenzy e-mailing all local schools to see who could get me certified with my limiting schedule in such a short amount of time. Tim was consistently the fastest in e-mailing me back and answering all my questions thoroughly. I try to be an adventurer in my travels and life, but I was definitely scared in pursuing this certification. Gotham made every effort to help me feel at ease and gave me the attention I needed to practice comfortably. I love Gotham and I'm very much looking forward to the warmer months when they bring their divers together on weekends for dive trips and summer barbecues. I can't thank Tim and John enough for all their help. read more

I completed my open water diving certification through Gotham Divers last weekend. My instructor was John, who taught both the pool course as well as the open water course at Dutch Springs. I also purchased my mask, snorkel, and fins through Gotham Divers, as that equipment is required to do the pool course and open water course. All the equipment I purchased is excellent and John spent a ton of time making sure everything fit properly, was the right size, and was comfortable. In both the pool course and the open water course, John was very easy to follow and communicate with under water. I didn't feel rushed to hit the depths or equalize my ears and I feel confident in my ability to check my equipment, assemble it, and have fun dives. If you're looking to get dive certified, I highly recommend Gotham Divers. I did have a small freak-out underwater as I went to complete the final dive before certification. Apparently John's training was effective as I was able to signal that I was having problems and went through the things I learned to try and calm myself down while under water. Since I didn't feel I could successfully complete the dive right then, I waited on the dock for a little bit while John completed the dive with the other students. Once he returned he asked me if I was ready to do the checkout dive. He was very reassuring as he told me multiple times he knew I was able to do it, and he had seen me do it even though I was panicking. Basically, if you are concerned about diving not being natural and having issues, John's training will get you through it. Review of review - go to gotham divers to get certified, do your open water with them, buy your equipment from them. They're great and a nice group of people. They even have bbq's at their shop to get all their diving buddies together during random points of the year. I wasn't even actually getting certified when I first stopped by for one of these. Tre cool. @ Gotham Divers - when Glenn W decides to professionally dive and/or instruct for you, you need to give him a job. read more

the instructor John is very VERY bad！he never care about student's learning process.he only care how to sell their products. And the learning pool is very dirty. after my first class，my skin was turned red and getting itch. NEVER waste your money！！！ read more