I did my PADI open water dives with Monterey Bay Scuba and, specifically, with Randy Harris. I had…read morea great experience and feel well-prepared.

Amazing personable staff, made Monterey chilly waters a little more enjoyable!…read moreAn experience I'll never forget. We will be back Monterey bay scuba!

I went diving two days in Monterey with two different companies. I must say I was hesistant to go…read moreout on this little red boat, into the cold depths of the ocean, but I certainly preferred this over the giant boat with coverage the day before! (I believe the other group was Monterey Express) I loved the smaller group and getting a tour with a dive instructor! I believe his name was Todd, but he's not much of a chatty guy, but he's really great! His wife's cookies are awesome, and the hot water on board can be used for tea, and recovering from the cold dive. Def recommend the smaller boat and smaller group over the large boats.

I fully recommend diving with Monterey Blue Diving. Todd is a good, careful and a meticulous diver;…read moreso you never feel at risk -but at the same time, he respects your distance and interests so you never feel overwhelm! I dove with him on December 2011 and it was an awesome dive!!! And one very important thing -and one that speaks for himself; the boat is in EXCELLENT shape; no missing parts, no rust, no unnecessary alterations!!! From now on every time that I'm going diving in, or around the Monterey area, I'm going through Monterey Blue Diving and Todd, no one else!

Dwayne and his crew are great!!! Made learning to dive so much fun for the whole fam. You can tell…read morehe 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

Today I did 2 open water dives with Dive to Survive and the instructor George…read more 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.

We have found our Monterey boat. Capt. MaryJo has a stellar set up, a great smile, superb dive…read moremasters, and a 5 star operation. Today being our first trip, we were welcomed by crew and divers alike. She has a wonderful following of regulars you'll want to dive with again. Want nitrox? She's got it. Want to bring your own tank (why though)? Go for it! Cameras are welcome, and treated with care. Have all your techie gear? Bring it aboard. The divers aboard ranged from a rebreather diver to an instructor with a student and it was a wonderful mix we are looking forward to being a part of again. The bitty galley is well stocked for a small day boat, snacks and hot water for cider, cocoa, tea...if you're lucky MaryJo will have made brownies; hers have ruined all other brownies for me! Love this boat, her crew, and will be a repeat diver.

I was kayaking in Monterey when I had dropped my stringer accidentally out of the water. I went out…read moreof my way to look for the boat that went out of their way during their trip to not only look for my stringer but also deliver it to me once I had left the area. I can tell from the beginning that they are all about their safety and very serious about diving safety but at the same time everyone was filled with laughs and smiles! I know for sure when I take my first scuba trip where I'll be headed!

PSD is an outstanding dive shop. Staff are super friendly and they supply you with a container that…read moreneatly packed all of their rental gears. It made it super convenient for me. I signed up for a refresh course and the pool is conveniently located with its own parking lot. I arrived and was promptly greeted by PSD staff and checked in. Jeremiah and Casey were our dive instructors. Both were patient and explained everything in great details. I had a fantastic time. Would highly recommend PSD to everyone.

The instructors are great however management leaves much to be desired and was quite an…read moreuncomfortable experience. Spent over $500 in certification and personal gear at this shop and yet such lack in service, felt treated like a cash cow with disregard to providing a positive experience. They forgot to include my wetsuit in my bin so during my ocean dives in Monterey I had to rent my own wetsuit on the day of my dives. Discussed this situation upon return of equipment and instead almost got charged with $55 for not capping the dust cap back on the regulator. Funny how they DO NOT stress or mention at all upon renting gear - you have to read it in the fine print. Which I feel the owner does on purpose for customers to pay out the extra $55. We ended up "breaking even" despite the huge inconvenience their mistake has brought upon me on my important certification days. Super disappointed with this shop and management. Please bring your business elsewhere.

Brian is the man! He's knowledgeable, passionate and enthusiastic about doing what he loves which…read moremade our first snorkeling trip easy, fun and exciting. From the seals to the otters to the kelp, it was just such a memorable experience and we cannot wait to come back and do it again. Just wish there was a tip option online after the expedition because we didn't have cash and felt so bad not being able to tip. Also he takes some great pictures!

Amazing Experience! We booked a snorkeling tour for my 13 yo child (not certified) as an intro for…read morethem and for myself (certified dive master, ~200 dives) to learn about snorkeling around Monterey. But this was better than scuba diving!! This company was recommended by someone in the Monterey FB scuba group, and they did not disappoint. Because our schedule we were always very last minute and had to try a few times before we could actually book a spot. Brian was very good about communicating and patient with our multiple change of plans. They had plenty of gear, in good condition and the dive shop that they partner with has good facilities at a convenient location. Our guide Fernando, was punctual, clear in communication and good at putting everybody at ease. YMMV, but we saw two sea hares, multiple huge sea stars, plenty of kelp. Water was calm and viz was excellent. Highlight of the tour were the sea lions, seals and sea otters. One sea otter in particular came very close to check us out and then proceeded to hunt and eat close to us. We witnessed it hunt for and devour at least 3 crabs and 2 sea urchins. It clearly could have kept more distance every time it re-surfaced, but it didn't care that we were there. We were in the water over 1hr. Fernando was great at pointing sea life out to us and guiding us in the water. He even hauled plenty of spare gear with him, just in case, and sure enough my child swapped goggles mid tour. I was surprised they did not provide wait belts to make us (more) neutral buoyant vs now I was flopping on the surface a bit more than I liked. We have our own weight belts, but forgot them at home. But it wasn't a big deal and it helped us glide over the kelp better. I didn't even try to free dive. Next time

As a newly certified PADI diver I was looking for a great host to take me into Monterey Bay for a…read morefew dives. I found Jim and MBDC via google and was extremely pleased with our time out in the water. He was not an 'over touristy' guide, he was that great diver and educator you want next to you while diving new places. Very laid back and relaxed day in which we had two 40 - 50 minute dives with some great encounters. I will recommend Jim and MBDC to anyone I can.

Just took the "Sea Lion Encounter" and had the best dive of my life! It's an early meeting time,…read morebut well worth it. The highlight had to be the 8-10 sea lions that dove, spun, and circled us while we just held onto a rock and enjoyed the entertainment. Jim was a personal and fantastic guide, I can't imaging diving with any other company in Monterey. If there's availability on the Sea Lion Encounter, I highly recommend you secure a spot.

I signed up for my Advanced PADI course through SF Scuba Schools and ended up with John from Carmel…read moreBay Divers. We spent the weekend in Monterey with a cozy class of 3 students. For the Advanced course, Saturday was a long but low-stress 8am-10pm day, and Sunday was 8:30am-3pm -- including time for meals and chillaxing. -Before the course:- I was nervous about various things including buoyancy skills, night diving, not getting enough attention from the instructor, getting too cold in the freezing Monterey waters, and falling behind everyone else in terms of skills. By the end, I wasn't worried about any of the above. -About the instructor:- John was insanely helpful, attentive, and experienced, and made me feel at ease the entire weekend. His down-to-earth attitude and humor definitely kept me going through the difficult sections of the class. -Before each dive:- John made sure that we understood exactly what we were going to do. He was always happy to answer my overly-abundant questions, and gave excellent instruction on what to do underwater, from the technical aspects to the emotional/mental ones (Settle down. Think warm thoughts. Fun is mandatory!). -During the dives:- I finally got properly weighted during our buoyancy checks, and IT FEELS SO GOOD! My buoyancy skills improved dramatically over the weekend. John was incredibly patient underwater. When I messed up one of the underwater navigation skills, he helped me through it again and helped me adjust where I went wrong the first time. Night diving was my biggest fear going into the course, and I wasn't even scared going into the pitch black ocean with John at my side. The ocean life is completely fascinating at night, and I'm excited to say that I'm not (as) scared of that crazy dark ocean abyss! -Between dives:- We had plenty of time to warm up, and I never once felt rushed. He even brought a tub of warm water for us to pour into our suits afterwards. -Last thoughts:- If you're looking to take any kind of scuba certification class, John is your go-to guy. I feel so much more confident in my diving skills after this past weekend. Already looking into taking another course with him (probably dry-suit because I'm a weenie when it comes to cold water). Thanks dude!!

WOW - what can I say?? If you are researching places to get PADI certified- GO HERE!!! Stop your…read moresearch now or you'll be sorry! The company is run by John Foxhall, a master diver with over 30 years of not only diving experience, but TEACHING experience. Other places may have similar COST, but they will guaranteed have a sub par experience. John is incredibly patient and compassionate for all his students. He is passionate about diving and ensures you not only have the skills required by PADI, but FUN IS MANDATORY. :) He is very accommodating to personal anxieties (of which I had no shortage), injuries/sore muscles (which i also experienced) and fitness levels (I'm average). He also has excellent equipment for rental and purchase and can explain the differences between bottom shelf, middle and top shelf products. My husband and I used John's course to prepare for a dive in the Cayman Islands and even though we will be "first-time" divers there, we feel confident we could keep up and/or lead among other divers. John has taken our skill sets from zero to extreme confidence in our ability! *****GRAB YOUR DIVE BUDDY AND A COUPLE OF FRIENDS AND GET CERTIFIED HERE.****** Also, if you are looking to take your basic certification to the next level, you want to do it with John. He has too much knowledge to keep all to himself!! Also, if you are averse to cold conditions, John has frequent certification classes further South which is also something the other places will not offer you. Can't recommend highly enough. Thank you John ad Carmel Bay Divers!!!

Nice little place and the guy behind the counter went out of his way to help me. Great business to…read moresupport vs online or cheap big box.

I was stoked they had the fish stringer I've been looking for. Nice and hot looking tender that…read morehelp me too.

We came in to refill our air tanks and the employee was really chill and helpful, helped haul our…read moretanks over the back wall and bring them inside, then gave us a time estimate of half an hour. While we were relaxing in the car, they got off their shift but saw us and told us our air tanks were done. The guy at the register was also really friendly and chatted with us about today's rare visibility. overall really nice employees and fast service

My partner and I came to this location to complete our open water check out dive, and had a great…read moreexperience. All staff members were kind and answered all questions we had. They set up the rental gear easily, and made sure that we had everything we needed. Mark led our dive, and was patient and charismatic! We were excited to learn from him, and hope to come along on future dives. We are very happy that we got certified with this shop!