I was lucky enough to be able to revisit the wonderful island of Kauai this year. A SCUBA trip is mandatory (in my opinion) when visiting Hawaii and figured I would dive again at Koloa Landing and also decided to go with Scuba Steve again too. Koloa Landing: This site has such easy shore access that it made no sense to me to go elsewhere and get on a cattle boat with lots of people and also take a chance on getting sea sick. I had that experience on Oahu before and did not want to go through that again. There are so many things to see on this reef (like turtles, dragon and spotted eels, starfish, plus so many different colorful fish and coral). The shallow depth here allows for a couple of nearly one hour 2-tank dives. The visibility was good but not great during our dives - maybe about 45'. Lots of critters + lots of bottom time = great dive! I only wish I had worn a few more pounds of weight. Scuba Steve: SS is professional yet has a great sense of humor, he is simply fun to hang out with. He does an in-depth briefing with photos before the dives to go over all the things that are likely to be seen - which so much better than asking 'what was this and that' after the dive. Scuba Steve was so familiar with the reef it felt like we were getting a personal tour of his reef. He also had chairs and changed out the tanks for us between dives. He also had a fresh water shower to rinse the salt water off after diving. Very satisfied with the entire experience! read more

Diving with Scuba Steve was a tremendous pleasure. My wife and I had scheduled several dives on our visit to Kauai! However, the weather was not cooperating on either side of the trip.. we got delayed 2 days by the winter storm PAX... then upon arrival to Kauai local storms and flash floods were occurring our first 2 days on the island. Scuba Steve was fantastic adjusting schedules and keeping us posted on the conditions. Needless to say the diving portion of the trip was abbreviated, BUT Steve went out of his way to accommodate us and I got in the Hawaiian Turtle Observer Specialty. (will finish the specialties on the next trip!!!!) VERY accommodating, professional, and Humorous - cannot get a better combination. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! read more

Scuba Steve's Scuba Shack - Diving Near Me

So my wife Aimee reviewed Scuba Steve's soon after our vacation and gave him 2 star. That is what I'm also giving. That being said, I really like Scuba Steve. He's a personable guy and someone I really got along with. The water was awesome and we saw plenty of sea life which I was and am stoked about. Lot's of sea turtles. However, his response to my wife's review has some inconsistencies that I don't appreciate. For one, he says that she never cleared her mask. I was in the water with her and I constantly watched her clearing her mask. That was not accurate. After the first dive, she told Scuba Steve that her mask leaked and she had to constantly clear it. He pushed that off and blamed it on her high cheekbones and that when she smiled it let in water and to stop smiling. Since he's the dive-master, I took him for his word and to Aimee's fault, she didn't dispute or agree to it. Although after it was all done, she said because of the trouble she was having she was never smiling so what he said wasn't possible. Also, she didn't want to go very deep, because of all the trouble she was having with the mask, but she wanted to keep doing the dive anyway. On the first dive, he asked for us to check our gauge about 23 minutes into the dive. My wife looked down to check, but water rushed into her leaky mask immediately. She finally cleared her mask, but since her regulator slipped out a little, she didn't have any air to clear the regulator and the purge button didn't work. At which point Aimee gave the signal to ascend and they did an emergency ascent. Understandable under the circumstances. He then pulled my wife by her BCD to shore without explaining to me or her why. Once we were on shore he explained what happened and OK, that's fine I guess, but we cut our dive 30 minutes short. When he could have taken us to the surface, let her calm down and ASK if she wanted to go to shore or continue after she settled down. On my training dive on the mainland, that was asked to one of the students as she also made an emergency ascent. After a few minutes she calmed down and we continued our dive. Something that should have happened here. On the second dive we went back out and my wife was shivering so I knew she was cold. She is very skinny and without any fat of course you're going to get cold, but that didn't deter her. 20 minutes into the second dive he asked her if she was cold on the slate and she responded in the affirmative. He never asked if she wanted to end the dive. He just turned around and we slowly made our way back to shore with no explanation. On top of her being cold she still had troubles with her mask and keeping it clear and never went very deep because of it. On shore he said he could tell she was very cold and decided to end the dive. So our second dive ended 30 minutes early. I'll admit that I don't like confrontation and neither does my wife, so we decided to just pay him and enjoy what we did experience together and left. As to the camera, before the dive Scuba Steve and I emailed back and forth where I expressed my interest in having a camera. I'll admit that I forgot about the camera the first dive as I was excited to get out there, but he also didn't bring it up... which you think he would as it's extra money for him and he knew I wanted to use one. Also after the first dive when we were back on shore I told him that I wanted to use the camera. He just nodded his head, but never brought it up and I didn't remember to ask again until we were already under water again. Below is a copy and paste of that email correspondence with phone numbers and email addresses taken out. --------- Scuba Steve 5/22/14 To: 'Dan Evans' No waiting list ... it's ready when you are! SS From: Dan Evans [mailto:Dan] Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 9:52 AM To: ScubaSteve Subject: Re: HD Camera ... Awesome, I think we'll take you up on that. Is there a reserve list for it? From: ScubaSteve Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 6:35 PM To: Dan Evans Aloha Dan! Yes, I have a really nice (EZ to use) HD video cam that will also do still shots. At the end of the dives you get to keep the micro SD card and adapter. Rental is only $50.00 It's always in the dive truck ready to go. Scuba Steve From: Dan Evans [mailto:Dan] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 1:34 PM To: ScubaSteve Subject: Re: Computers ... One more question. Do you offer camcorders that we can rent to record our dive under water? We have one that we can rent here and I don't want to worry about packing it with us. Just curious. Thanks! ------- Overall, not the best experience. Again, nothing against Scuba Steve as he's a very personable guy and we got along with him great, but considering the circumstances, you think he would have given us a discount or something to compensate on half our time in the water being missed. read more

Scuba Steve was an excellent certification teacher! We thoroughly enjoyed our two day certification training and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for dives in the future! He offers great prices with discounts for groups, cash, and other things. read more

Made the decision because of the reviews. My daughters drove me there by the direction of dirt road at the Koloa Landing. Drove down to meet with Steve and his office was a truck with an addition in the back. Okay... I was the only customer there and there were other classes there in their vehicles. So I guess this must be it. Steve went through the orientation and class on safety. As an instructor in the Army, I thought he covered the class on scuba well but I noticed his notes were kind of worn and falling off the binder. Oh oh... Steve is a personal guy and he is attentive on me in the waters. We did the 2 dives and I was impressed. But the thing is that Steve told me the class was from 0730 to 1130 and we were finished by 1030. Hmmm... Other than the worn out flip chart and truck with camper full of equipment and "solar shower", I thank God I was the only student there with Steve's attention. read more

I am a certified diver, but have not been in the water for about 15 years, Scuba Steve took the time to make sure I was comfortable and ready to dive again. My first dive I was a little nervous, but halfway through I was feeling better. My 2nd dive was amazing...played with starfish and touched a sea turtle. One of the best things is Scuba Steve gets there before any of the other scuba companies and gets the best spot with shade, my wife enjoyed that!! Thanks Scuba Steve for getting me back in the water and looking forward to my next dive when we visit Kauai again. God bless, Tod read more

My daughter and I went diving with scuba Steve during our vacation and it was great. Steve was easy to work with and lots of fun. He took time to educate us on the wildlife we would be swimming with. With minutes of entering the water, we were on sea turtles! We saw tons of critters. Scuba Steve used a writing pad to tell us about the things we were seeing. Great dive. read more

Scuba Steve's Scuba Shack - Great dive with Scuba Steve! - Diving Near Me

I've had plenty of SCUBA experience, but wanted to share the joy with my friend who had never tried it. Scuba Steve gave an excellent orientation, covering all of the important safety issues, and took us on 2 dives that were a load of fun. My newly-indoctrinated friend is now fixated on SCUBA and only wants to go where there are amazing dives like Steve showed us. Steve has a great sense of humor, but most importantly, insists on the critical safety elements of a good dive. -Nate read more

My experience with Scuba Steve made me feel like he cares only about himself and getting your money. I understand that it is a business, but it is a business focused on creating memorable experiences for people. Scuba Steve doesn't understand that part of it. He is very rude to interact with if things do not go his way. His customer service is lacking to say the very least. I'm sure there are much easier people to work with in Kauai for a dive. He also refused to speak with me over the phone when we had a disagreement. See a small portion of his demeaning email below: "I hope this will help make some sense, but I don't expect that it will satisfy you. It is the best that we are able to do, under the circumstances. Due to these circumstances I think it best that we continue to communicate via email just so there will be "misunderstanding" about what was said, OK? Best wishes. Scuba Steve" It seems to me like by only corresponding via email he is able to find a way to stay out of legal trouble... He didn't respond to the Better Business Bureau either. (Shocking.) But that is just my experience and opinion. Hope this helps any future divers find the right instructor for them and/or helps Scuba Steve see that he's going to need to change something if he wants to keep running his business. read more

So my wife Surabhi reviewed Scuba Steve's about her experience and gave him 1 star. That is what I'm also giving. That being said, based on my personal experience,we both felt cheated,we went for discover scuba and our mere basic expectation was to see some wild life under water and we came back empty handed(it looked like we are here to clear our under water tests of removing mask from the mouth and clearing your eye mask) just seen dirty unclear sea water and my wife even did not enough see below water surface.Pathetic!!!! Sequence of Events as it happened: 1. After the routine surface excercise of under water diving of removing masks ,putting it back and clearing your eye mask(thinking that we need to know in event of disaster),later it came out to be mandatory skills which needs to be cleared or you cannot do even a discover scuba.What???This was a huge surprise as it was no where posted anywhere on his website. 2. As i went with my brother in law for my first dive,Steve asked me to hand over the fins which i did ,later to find that he only asked for one fin.I was surprised(but i took it as mistake on my part) ,but i expected him to look inside the water to search it ,instead he was asking me if i am able to find it.That was a huge blow which shows Steve's ability in his area of expertise.For the records,it was my brother in law who also went on his first dive who found the fin. 3. I completed my first part of removing tube from mouth,then he asked me to put some water in eye mask,trusting on him,i slightly opened by mask which got filled with sea water immediately,worried about my contact lenses ,i came on surface.This was considered a failure by Steve and he brought me back to shore. 4. Steve was adamant that this dive is over for me.My wife gave him enough to pursue for second attempt.Though i again unclear the water from mask was disqualified for any further dive. Summary: If you have no experience of under water diving,try other option.There are many chances that you will return with no experience with Steve suggesting you to try snorkeling.LOL Once in sea,Steve will take all decisions and will not even tell you what he is doing. Me and my wife enjoy adventures locally like skydiving,rafting,kayaking,surfing,snorkeling,zip lining,cliff jumping,for the first time ever we came empty handed with no success at all. Very Well said- "instructor's job is to help the divers and to be CALM enough to handle the situation not to led the divers down and HUMILIATE them . WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. read more

Super nice guy. Really knowledgeable about the wildlife - he has a bunch of funny signs he does underwater to help you notice which fish he's pointing at. My favorites were the nudibranchs! The only bad thing was that he just had a shorty wetsuit for my boyfriend, so he was pretty cold on the second dive. He had a pretty nice set up on the shore - chairs, snacks, water bottles, and a solar shower attached to his truck. I think it cost us $135 each. All in all a good experience! read more

The experience with Scuba Steve was amazing. He explained the process very well and was very willing to work with me and my girlfriend as it was our first time every trying scuba diving. Steve is a very goofy guy (I mean this in a positive way) but he is also very passionate about scuba and he loves the beauty of what he does. There are tests to complete, but if you trust in Steve and in yourself, you will be fine and will see many beautiful things like turtles, turkey fish, helmet conchs, eels, etc. I loved every second of the experience and I can't wait to do this again when I go back to Kauai again. One of the top 10 things I've done in life. read more

Steve is a great instructor and a very earnest diver who loves what he does and it shows. His set up is very convenient and makes the dive experience very smooth. He knows his wildlife and knows the reef like the back of his hand so he can take you to see wonderful stuff. I got PADI certified with him last year and he was fantastic to work with. I have always had one on one dives with him which has been great. This year I went back for 4 more dives and had a blast. Highly recommended. read more

Scuba Steve's Scuba Shack - Steve in action! - Diving Near Me

Long story short - tried to cancel 13 days before dive and was given NO REFUND even though the policy stated you have 10 days. Long Story - My family (2 parents, 2 teenagers) were going to be on Kauai for Christmas and booked with him on Nov. 16th for a Dec. 29th dive. I received an email confirmation with the cancellation terms - "we require a minimum of 10 days advance notice of dive tour and/or certification course cancellation for dives/classes that are scheduled to take place 10 days prior to and 10 days after major holidays, including but not limited to New Year's Day, Spring Break (Easter Sunday will be considered the actual holiday), Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas." On Nov. 27th, I got a call from Steve that he had overbooked the 29th and could we change to the 27th. He sent us a new e-mail confirmation with an additional cancellation policy added to the terms - "There are no cancellations with refunds allowed on all on-line learning certification courses, specially priced dives, tours and/or classes such as Group Discounts, Family Discounts, Early Bird Specials, et cetera." I incorrectly assumed that the small print on the initial emails would be the same. On the top of each e-mail sent was the standard line -"This letter is your confirmation for the dives dates that you had requested. If this is NOT what we had discussed (things can get a bit crazy for both of us during vacation times), then PLEASE let us know right away so we can re-confirm the dates and times !!!" I assumed I was supposed to check the date and time (no mention of price on any of the emails by the way) and didn't realize i was supposed to read his three paragraphs of terms and conditions on each email. We unfortunately had to cancel on Dec 14th and you guessed it - Scuba Steve had charged my credit card for the full amount and said no refund would be issued. It turns out the in the first email inquiry, he was charging us an "unadvertised "Early Bird Special" for the next several days ... and I am going to discount that price down to only $172.50 each !!!" So there you have it. We got an early bird special rate (I since found out the most dives average $170 - $185) and so we fell into his revised terms of absolutely no refunds. You can imagine that if I knew there were absolutely no refunds, we would have waited to book. In the future, I would book through one of the tour companies or the concierge at the hotel for this reason. I thought it would be nice to give the independent operator a chance, but was burned. read more

Scuba Steve was great, and very professional! My girlfriend and I had a great time doing a 2-day certification course with him. Very fun, knowledgable, and safe. He is also great at spotting really cool fish that you would miss on your own! read more

Thanks Steve for my first dive after 12 long years! Steve did a great job getting me back in the water and making me feel comfortable. I felt lucky that I was the only diver that day. We dove at Koloa Landing and saw a lot more than I expected. The first dive was great and I could have gone back there a second time as there wasn't quite as much to see on the second dive. I'm a bit spoiled as I've done most of my diving in Asia. Thanks Steve! read more

Scuba Steve is awesome. He took a very nervous diver (me) and talked me through getting into the water. I'm a certified diver that had been out of the water a long time. He gave a thorough orientation before going into the water and once under the water was very attentive. He wrote numerous message on his writing slate to point out various fish and other items of interest. We went off Whaler's Cove and saw sea turtles, fish, fish and more fish. Definitely enjoyed the dive. read more

He's amazing!! It was my husbands first time and Steve made it fun and easy! We wouldn't dive with anyone else on Kauai! He took us out twice and explained everything on his handy dandy underwater writing board. I wish we could have stayed longer and have gone out again. Fantastic! read more

Just came from Scuba Steve and it was the best scuba experience I have had. First He has an amazing personality and that just makes you feel safe and calms your nerves. Second the guys truly cares about your experience and wants to make sure that you have the best time possible. Third the guy is extremely experienced and I wouldn't trust no other person to teach me to scuba dive. Fourth he knows the water like the back of his hand and you don't ever have to worry if he knows where he is going. If you want to go scuba diving definitely, definitely, get Scuba Steve, he is worth every penny I Promise. Thanks scuba steve you really made my trip. read more

Scuba Steve was a great combination of humorous, safety-minded, and experienced. His equipment was current (better than what I was certified on 6 months ago) and he was efficient in his instruction in order to get us the most time in the water. During the dive, he showed his familiarity with the area and balanced showing us around and letting us explore on our own. My only regret was that I couldn't dive with him a second time before I left the island. I'll definitely go with him on my return! read more

Scuba Steve was a great guide to our dive today! He was able to get my friend and I in with another two people for an early morning dive. As I walked up to the dive site, many scuba companies were waiting for their guests to arrive. I walked to the wrong group and said that I'm actually with scuba Steve. The guide for that company said "ohh, well you are lucky. He is one of the best." That was start in itself. Scuba Steve made sure we were comfortable and safe at all times. We went on two dives in different areas. He had a lot of cheesy jokes which broke the ice. In addition, he also gave us some background and history in the dive site, which was great. The gear that we did borrow was all in good condition, too. I RECOMMEND SCUBA STEVE! Mahalo for making this trip even better :) read more

We booked with Scuba Steve early in the the trip because of good reviews. Due to weather, we had to cancel. He was honest about conditions and experience. His goal was to provide our "Discovery" diver the best possible experience, and he did. He was fun, personable and safe. I highly recommend. read more

The 1st thing I said to my wife when i was done with my dive was "WOW!" I had such an awesome experience with Scuba Steve. Now 2wks prior to going to Kauai I was really sick. I had a terrible cough & I was scared I could not be able to dive. I called Steve & he told me just wait a while before canceling. 5 days before my dive my cough & congestion felt worst & I called Steve again. I was told to go to a doctors & check since of course "he's not a doctor, he's a scuba diver" well long story short I held off & my cough turned into a mild cough when it was time to dive. We went through the training of the dive & he taught me all the signals of diving & what the equipment does & how to use it. He made it VERY EASY & FUN. He also taught me how to cough underwater if i ever needed to, which worked out great & took away all my worries. While down in the water I saw a lot of very healthy coral, turtles, helmet snails, brittle stars, frog fish, an eel, & of course lots of different colored fish! I mainly wanted to see turtles I believe me YOU CANT MISS EM! He me took down to were the turtles sleep & I probably saw like 15 honus! Anyways, what i liked a lot about diving with scuba Steve is that he took a board during our dive that allowed him to write on while in the water. He would point things out that I wouldn't have noticed at 1st hand & write what it was so I can know. I thought that was cool. Another thing that I liked is that our tour wasn't as packed as the other guides there. which allowed more dive time & an over all scuba experience. Steve was patient & always cracking jokes too. It seemed like he really enjoyed what he does & sharing it with others. But just an FYI there were 2 dives. The 1st dive has an open water test in the beginning of the dive. If you can't grasp the concept of breathing through your mouth you will probably fail which means NO DIVE FOR YOU. I noticed Steve is all about safety & that also made me feel safe with him. The open water test is nothing hard either. It's just a review of what he taught you prior to going out. ANYWAYS.... Do yourself a favor & book with SCUBA STEVE! You will not regret it.... I PROMISE! read more

Scuba Steve's Scuba Shack - The board he used to describe what we saw in the water. VERY COOL! - Diving Near Me

See all

Our group had a fantastic time with Scuba Steve. Not only was he extremely professional, but also very easy to work with. His well timed puns along with his knowledge of the reef and local aquatic life made our experience one we will never forget! I highly recommend anyone who is certified to go on the two tank creature feature adventure dive, our group saw an abundance of sea turtles, reef fish, and coral. Steve always put safety first, and I will definitely be going back next time I'm in Kauai. read more

I have taken 8 dive trips with Steve. I would not use any other company. This guy is very knowledgeable, and above all else keeps the safety of his divers in mind at all times. All these people pissing, moaning and complaining are seriously brain dead. He is nothing but professional and courteous. I can't even believe that anyone would have one bad thing to say about Scuba Steve. When I read some ones bad review, I want to slap you and your momma upside the head. Get a life. This guy and his company are AWESOME!! 5 Stars!! read more

I thought Scuba Steve was very professional, good natured, and funny. My boyfriend had never been diving before so he did the non-certified diving experience and while Steve was going over the information, I listened. We got lucky because it was just the two of us signed up for that morning. In the water, he was very patient about my boyfriend going through his skills. Steve made sure that he was comfortable enough to start the dive even though it took a couple tries to do the mask clearing. Being certified myself, he still made sure I passed my skills test in the water. During the dive he pretty let me do my own thing as long as I stuck semi close and he would point out the turtles, fish, starfish, and other sites. The gear was in good shape, and the type of gear was high quality. I really enjoyed the dive experience and would definitely recommend diving with Scuba Steve! read more

My wife and I had the pleasure of doing a 2 tank shore dive with Scuba Steve on Nov. 22, 2016. From the second we arrive until we left the experience was great. Our gear was set up and ready to go before we even arrived. Steve provided information on the critters we might get to see and then we were I'm the water on dive 1. Both dives were great and we got to see the 2 dragon eels which are beautiful!!!! Thanks Scuba Steve for 2 great dives!!! read more

My fiance and I went diving for our first time with Steve. He was AWESOME! Highly recommend! It took me a couple tries to get used to being in the water with tanks and he helped me get comfortable. Our dive was incredible! The sea turtles were just beautiful. This was the best activity we did on our visit to Kaua'i and we did pretty much everything! read more

Absolutely the best experience I could imagine having. First of all, the man himself Scuba Steve is a really nice guy who made our group immediately feel 100% comfortable diving with him. Not only that, he knows his stuff, both in terms of dive technique and local wildlife - he pointed out many tropical fish by name during the dive which I thought was pretty impressive, and he was consistently on top of the group's air pressures, comfort level, and even recommended a couple of PADI courses to complement our basic skill set. If I'm ever back in Kauai I will hit up Scuba Steve with 100% certainty. read more

Scuba Steve was amazing! I've worked with many instructors, not nearly as good as him. I had a few horrible experiences under water and get panic attacks, and he made diving so easy, I surprised myself at how well I did! His gear was nice quality and the dive site was extremely easy to go in. We saw a giant turtle bigger than myself and the small ones would come up to swim by us. It was an amazing time! read more

I've been diving for a while now, and have seen a variety of divemasters, both good and bad. Steve is among the best. First, let's talk about professionalism. Kauai, as you perhaps know (or will soon learn, if you come to visit), is called "The Garden Island," and a significant source of that garden is the copious amounts of rain that they get. Steve's divesite in Koloa Bay happens to sit near the outflow point where the local reservoir dumps its surplus water when the rains are too heavy. Consequently, Steve has to make a choice: cancel dives because visibility suffers during these outflows, or plow ahead anyway and get paid. Steve chose to postpone/cancel several of our dives, rather than take us in on sub-optimal days. That kind of ethic and commitment to quality is hard to find nowadays, so five stars right off the bat. Oh, and bear in mind, Steve called to notify us the evening before of the cancellations, not at the last second, so we were able to plan other activities. Next, when the weather cleared up and we were able to go, Steve has the best setup at this site (yes, there are several other operators who use it). His battered-but-beloved Grumman delivery van has about a million compartments on it, with every piece of equipment one could want. He sets you up with a nice set of folding chairs, and goes through a thorough briefing on what you will be doing on the dive, including about a dozen hand signals of his own creation for various creatures, whose shape, size, and behavior he describes. The launch site is a rocky beach, so be sure that your fins have the boot-style, or it's going to be a tender walk in and out of the water. Steve has them for you if you don't, and his rental gear was good quality and in excellent condition. When my girlfriend lost one of her fins in the choppy swim out to Steve's buoy, he helped me search for it, and then saved our dive by swimming to his van and getting replacements. His pace of the dives was excellent; not too fast, not too slow, and he was able to spot scads of well-camouflaged inhabitants (octopi, eels, rockfish) that we would have missed without his skills. He clearly both loves and respects the aquatic dwellers of his workplace. The takeaway here: Scuba Steve is a top-notch divemaster, who will give you a fantastic dive. read more

Being a fairly experienced certified diver I was extremely impressed with not only Steve's professionalism but also his desire to make my dive as safe and interesting as possible. He is the first divemaster that I have encountered that not only checks out your gear but also does a thorough job of informing you of the various specie of marine life that you may encounter. He even told me about a local turtle that, after allowing you to swim and photograph him he will "flip you off" when he has had enough. Sure enough, I was "flipped off" by the turtle! I highly recommend Scuba Steve whether you are an experienced diver, a novice diver or just beginning. The man knows what he is dong. read more

My wife and I decided to book a non-certified session with Steve. It started out with about an hour of Academics, Equipment Familiarization, and History of Kauai. It was very informative, and took care of any questions we had. He was very safety oriented, and made sure we understood how to use the equipment, and what was expected of us to complete the dive. We then entered the water and completed the practical exercises on how to clear your mask, how to find your regulator, and how clear your regulator. He made sure we were competent at each task before taking us down. Once we started the dive, Steve pointed out so many things that we would have otherwise not seen. He knew where to look, and had a few things we could pick up and touch. We saw approx 6-8 turtles! The first dive took approx an hour or so before we came in. Steve had some water and snacks for us to enjoy while he swapped out our tanks and set up for the next dive. We geared back up and entered the water for our second dive, which also took about an hour. Overall we had an awesome time, and felt very safe the entire time. Steve did a great job of keeping us entertained with his humor during the academics and was a pleasure to have as a guide. I highly recommend Steve, and had heard nothing but good things about him prior to our dive. He exceeded our expectations and provided an excellent scuba diving experience! read more

Did my first dive ever with Steve at koloa landing. I must admit i was a bit nervous at first about it but Steve took the time to make sure I was very comfortable in the gear and under the water. Steve is a very outgoing person and welcomed me with a smile and a hand shake. I really enjoyed the history of the dive site and Steves possative and humorous personality. I had the rare opportunity of diving with Steve in a one on one basis which was very nice especially for my first time. Steve is a great dive partner and a blast to be around. I will be booking Scuba Steve for my vacation dives next april as a certified diver this time. I would like to thank Steve for opening my eyes to the underwater world. Once you try scuba your life will never be the same. Absolutely awesome. Thanks Steve See you in April read more

Today my three kids and I had an incredible experience diving with Steve. It was our first time and Steve took all the anxiety out of it. He is experienced, personable, ultra organized and intuitive to our needs which was huge in giving us the confidence we all needed. Safety is preached and practiced throughout the session. Furthermore, his gear is all top notch which removes any of the trepidation one might get from seeing rusty tanks at other outfitters. If you are looking to dive, and in particular with young teenagers, then Steve is a great choice. Chris Sainas, Vancouver B.C. read more

I reserved the "no certification" dive for my son and daughter for my son's upcoming birthday while we were on Kauai for vacation. We were a bit apprehensive because of our lack of experience with scuba but Steve immediately put us at ease. Steve's focus on safety impressed me and his sense of humor helped lighten the mood. As Steve pointed out after the dives, we seemed a bit "quiet" at first.....fear will do that. After going over all of the basics with Steve explaining everything we needed to know and what to expect, we suited up with what looked like new equipment and walked carefully into the water where we spent time going over everything in shallow water until he was satisfied that we were ready to dive. Away we went, slowly descending along the rocky edge of whalers cove. It was like swimming in an aquarium!! I could not believe all I was seeing!! Turtles, eels and the most colorful fish I could ever imagine. At one point I rolled over to look up and see two snorklers about 20 feet above on the surface and couldn't help thinking "what a couple of poor saps, swimming in the kiddie pool"!! I cannot recommend Scuba Steve highly enough. We will likely come back just to dive with Scuba Steve. read more

My fiancé and I went scuba diving today for the first time. Ryan was our guide. I was so nervous but with his calm demeanor and knowledge I was able to overcome my fear and complete the dive, and I was so happy I did! The fish we saw were amazing and it felt great after I relaxed a little. Highly recommend! read more

Avoid Scuba Steve. I didn't have the "pleasure" of diving with him because he was off island when I was visiting. Fortunately, he set me up with Kauai Down Under Scuba which went extremely well and who I'd strongly recommend. My issue is how he handled the fact that my wife couldn't dive because she had a cold. The folks at Kauai Down Under Scuba were extremely helpful when I called the day before the dive to let them know that my wife had come down with a cold. After discussing, we agreed that it didn't make sense for her to dive the next day due to her cold and the fact that she is not certified. The customer service person from Kauai Down Under Scuba was very helpful and told me that I'd need to get in touch with Scuba Steve for a refund. Kauai Down Under Scuba offers full refunds if dives are canceled within 48 hours of dive time and a 1/2 refund for dives canceled within 48 hours but before day of the dive (which was the case here). I emailed Scuba Steve to let him know the situation and after a couple of emails back and forth so he could get all the facts, I received a very rude email back from him letting him know that I would not be getting a refund. He (correctly) pointed out that his cancellation policy is essentially "you're screwed" and that I should have checked that before booking. Essentially, once you book with Scuba Steve, absent a natural disaster, there are no refunds no matter how early you try to cancel. That would be bad enough but he then went on to question whether my wife was actually sick. Here is his email verbatim, you tell me how you'd feel if you got an email like this: EMAIL FROM SCUBA STEVE BELOW: What I was asking about was the "reason" for the date change. Generally speaking, the dives are non-refundable except for verifiable medical emergency (well, a suddenly discovered pregnancy would qualify for a refund but not be considered an "emergency") or a verifiable trip cancellation. From the information that I have received, it would appear that your dive buddy may have simply changed her mind about wanting to try scuba for the first time ... I have been told that she had a "head cold", but she had just arrived on the island when you first called Kevin about re-setting the date, which he graciously offered to do, but then she did not show up for the dives the next day, either. And, from the dates that you gave us on your online booking form, it appears that she would be leaving 2 days after her re-scheduled dive. Dives that are re-scheduled are still subject to the Cancellation Policy and other relevant Terms and Conditions of the original dives. So, the reason I have been asking for your explanation is that generally speaking, if a person is well enough to fly they are well enough to scuba dive. Both events require the ability to equalize the sinus and ears, and if your dive buddy was too sick to scuba dive on the 8th is seems like a trip to the doctor for treatment to allow her ears and sinuses to clear up prior to flying off-island would have been appropriate. As a certified diver you would be aware of this and it seems that if "equalization" was a serious concern, a trip to the doctor would have seemed a prudent action. This was covered in your online booking event and you had "checked the box" as having read, understood and agreed to the terms and conditions of the booking, or the system would not have allowed you to complete the reservations. According to the reports, a copy of this Cancellation Policy was sent to you on March 1, 2017 and it was opened on that same date. Let me know if you have any other questions .... read more

I know Steve is retired now, but I just wanted to make a comment. I finally got certified this year after doing some discovery dives with Steve years ago. The instruction that Steve gave prior to those discovery dives was extremely thorough. It was an excellent foundation to getting certified. Sad that Steve's no longer running his shop. Thanks Steve. read more

Not only a great value but a great guy who is very patient with beginners. You aren't going to find a guide that is going to care as much about you having a good time as him, Thanks again Steve read more