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.

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.

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 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!

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 recently got my PADI scuba diving certification here and the instructors were wonderful…read more Passionate, fun, personable, patient, and serious when it comes to the training material and safety. If you want to get certified and are willing to brave the bulky gear and cold waters that is Monterey Bay scuba diving, this is the place for you.

From the owner: We are the Central Valley's Military Dive Shop. Located on the Presidio of Monterey. We offer…read morecourses, retail and rental gear. If you are military, veteran or have access to get on base come and see us inside the Outdoor Rec Center.

I did my Open Water certification with Nani, and I couldn't have asked for a better instructor…read more She's incredibly professional, responsible, and knowledgeable, which made me feel very safe the entire time. Nani is great at breaking down skills and patiently helping you practice until you really feel comfortable and confident. She explains things clearly and makes sure you're actually doing them correctly--not just going through the motions. She pays attention to how you're doing in the water. What I appreciated most is that she genuinely cares about her students. She focuses on helping you become a safe, confident diver who makes good decisions, rather than just rushing you through for the sake of getting the certification. That made a huge difference for me and my confidence underwater. I highly recommend her for a scuba instructor!

Nani is the best, not only did we have an amazing time diving with her, but we also felt safe the…read moreentire time. She was also very knowledgeable, knowing all the best dive sites in the area, and what the conditions would be depending on the day and time. There is no one I would rather dive with.

We had a great time. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, the scenery was incredible, and they…read moretook every effort to make the trip enjoyable. Trisha was our Zodiac captain, and her knowledge of the area and the wildlife and their behaviors was priceless. We saw several pods of Orcas, a pod of Humpbacks, and another of porpoise. She's a excellent captain and her knowledge and command of the boat and the weather and tidal conditions made for a very enjoyable trip.

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!