The Good: Staff, while sometimes disorganized, was all hardworking and very helpful. I really…read moreappreciated their dedication. The high rating is for them. The Bad: Be prepared to possibly dish out another $85 for a weight pouch if you rent a BCD and it falls out during a dive. It does not matter if your Dive Guide checks over everything prior to your dive. It does not matter that they provide zero instruction on its use (design was different than anything I've used). The owner says you are responsible and reminds you are only paying wholesale. After publicly complaining later, they made it right and I got my money back. The charter boat was very late departing. Losing one rented weight pouch mid-dive caused me only get about 15 minutes under water on dive one. Dive 2 was aborted after about 15 minutes by the dive guide due to rough, murky water.

Tyler (our dive guide) and the staff are so kind! They're good at what they do. Service wise, it'd…read morebe 5 stars. My only complaint is that the wetsuits I rented from them were super old and had holes, and were super leaky. It wasn't just me, I noticed the other woman who also was renting gear had a hole in her wetsuit as well. It felt like the wetsuit didn't do much for me- when I got into the water the cold went right through me- and I've been cold water diving before in Monterey and know how it feels when a wetsuit works and hasn't degraded to this point. Renting gear can be a hit or miss- Monterey bay waters are sooo cold! And comfortability during cold water dives matter a LOT - otherwise you just use up a lot of air and get too cold/shivers. I think it's part of the responsibility of the dive shop to make sure that the wetsuits are still adequate for diving, and to rotate in better condition suits and toss the ones that are ready to go.

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.

First Class Service! Wonderful experience on the Beachhopper II. Staff was friendly and so helpful…read more First time I've ever had a dive guide hold open my fins so I could slide in my foot and put them around my heel! They even held our tank and guided us as we negotiated our way back to our set up spot after each dive. I felt that safety was a high concern for them as well as feeding us yummy treats - homemade coffee cake and brownies! With 9 divers on board, we had 3 staff - Capt. Mary Jo, Co. Capt Sean and dive guide Briana. Again, sooooo helpful. Bathroom on board and hot water shower for in-between dives! We also had a great group of people. For our group that doesn't dive cold water very often, everyone was really patient and not snobbish "I'm a better diver than you" mentality. Highly recommend boat dives in Monterey!

I've been coming to PSD for a while now, and it's easily the most welcoming shop in Sunnyvale. The…read morestaff actually knows their stuff. Whether you're looking for high-end gear or just need a quick tank fill for a Monterey shore dive.

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 and Ariella are an amazing team! I cannot say enough about the personal care they take in…read moreoperating snorkel & scuba tours, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Well worth it! As this was my first visit to Monterey, I wanted to ensure I had a knowledgeable guide to see all the local sites. I am an experienced diver, primarily in warm waters over the past decade. To prepare for this trip, I obtained my drysuit certification, but finding actual cold water diving opportunities in Florida is challenging. I was referred to Monterey Expeditions by another diver, and I was fortunate to arrange two dives on Sunday morning. We had the pleasure of diving with Ariella, an exceptionally patient and attentive dive leader and instructor. Given that this was my first experience diving in cold water with a drysuit, it was incredibly reassuring to have her oversight to ensure my safety. She was patient with my slow preparation (any drysuit divers know it's awkward the first few times), and she was over prepared (because sure enough I needed more weight) . Additionally, we connected over our shared passion for marine conservation, as she also has a background in marine biology. If you are looking for a dive or snorkel expedition, you are in the best hands with Monterey Expeditions! I can't wait to go back!

I booked a snorkeling adventure for my family. Brian was extremely knowledgeable, very patient, and…read morethorough. My daughter had never snorkeled in the ocean before and was very hesitant about getting into the water but Brian made it a very pleasant experience for her. He was a great guide for all of us. He really included my daughter in the entire experience which was super awesome. I was worried about having to go onto a boat but you basically just walk out from the beach and snorkel from the beach. We got very fortunate and were able to go out on a day where there was a very little movement and the sun was shining. It was pretty clear and we got to see quite a bit of sea life. I would highly recommend Brian and Monterey expeditions.

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!!!

Sunday I was feeling like a terrible wife because I hadn't made a plan for my husband's 46th…read morebirthday. He doesn't love peopl-y events, and we've been low on funds, including my ATM expiring and we can't find the new one the bank says they sent to the office. Suddenly I realized Sunday was the only real day we could do something, but he was asleep still at 9am. I was racking my brain trying to think of something last minute, but good to do after all. The good news is that last week, I encouraged him to buy a great offer at our local dive shop in Modesto, for unlimited specialty classes, for his birthday, so he's pretty excited about that. So, as I was thinking of all the things I would like, but he wouldn't, I finally got around to realizing, he loves visiting new dive shops! We've only been open water and high altitude certified for a short time, and we've only been to about four shops, including our own. I quickly checked dive shops within two hours of our area, to see what would be open on a Sunday, and a fun area to visit for the day. I woke Michael up, and announced we were going to Sacramento or Santa Cruz to dive shops. He was pleased, we got ready, we hit the road! We hit the two open shops in Santa Cruz and were super happy with this one! The guy working there was fantastic! The perfect mix of helpful and leaving us to look, while answering questions extremely well, making us trust him by sharing his experience with products he likes as well as some he isn't crazy about. The shop is user friendly because things are displayed in an organized way, as well as looking like a store that is fun to find neat things in. The bathroom doubles as a spacious changing room. Because of the friendly, educational service, we were compelled to buy a 1mm wetsuit and a camera. We couldn't be happier with our experience, and will definitely return!

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!