I got my Drysuit cert from Silent World and have done multiple club dives and a recent trip to Vancouver. The shop is fantastic and the staff is amazing. The recent trip was organized by Maddux and her enthusiasm and love of all things ocean was contagious. Everyone who works there is super helpful in terms of equipment and sharing expertise. read more

Just completed their beginner open water diving course and couldn't be happier with the experience. Craig was an awesome instructor, very knowledgeable and patient (I asked a lot of questions) and helped everyone feel safe in the water. The DMs who were assisting were also great. I cannot say enough about the rest of the staff (instructors, dive masters, etc). Every interaction was professional, positive, encouraging and welcoming. I'm talking about Kai, Jake, Maddux, Boris, and especially DMs Leean and Chris who were assisting for the pool instruction and open water dives. read more

This place is great. Friendly staff set me up with everything I've needed and then some.

Great local dive shop with awesome people! They work hard to make sure divers enjoy the local waters. P

Compared shops around the Seattle/Bellevue area for their service of BCD, Regs etc and although I've shopped, trained and generally have a favorable opinion of the shops, Silent World was by far above bar in regards to customer service and quality of work. Equipment needed general servicing and pressure checks. All work and recommendations were discussed before hand and delivered on time in pristine condition. To compare, another large scale shop in the area promised the same work, however upon pick up on date promised, they had not even started nor communicated. Jake completed all the servicing, was extremely thorough, communicated every step and delivered as promised. Gave me a lot of confidence in the work on my kit and it all performed perfectly on multiple 30m, 50+ min dives. Would highly recommend to all! read more

After many years of wanting to dive, we finally got to do it. We could have done it in warmer waters but wanted to do it here at home. We always heard that if you could learn to dive here you could dive anywhere. 4 of us signed up and had a great experience with Silent World. Practicing in the pool helped to ease us into it (we all had poor experiences with crash course styles in the past) and allowed us to have more one on one time. We had Maddux (shout out to Thom, Casey, and Jake, too!) the majority of the time and she was a great sport at dealing with our jokes and shenanigans while maintaining safety and professionalism. When it came to diving in The Sound Maddux really came in clutch for me. As I've gotten older I've dealt with some minor anxiety issues and usually Id lean on my partner for this but he was dealing with ear equalizing issues. Maddux kept me calm and literally held my hand through one of the dives at ~40-50 feet when all I wanted to do was go up. I was able to gather myself thanks to her and continue the dive, and I am so glad. I cant wait to dive again and plan to sign up for some of their other courses to help with my buoyancy+ Thank you everyone at Silent World (plenty of others that i cant remember names of, sorry!). This was one of the hardest things I've had to learn as an adult and it was a wonderful experience. We even made new friends out of it! read more

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Drove the whole way from Seattle to get my airsoft tank filled only takes 10 min I got there 12 min before they close hit traffic the lady told me I'd have to come back and get it tomorrow I said no thanks she said she has a cat that expects her home .. lol put your shop to close at 5:50 then.. i made it on time before close just do your job quick. I coulda left a tip or something for the trouble instead she was cool with wasting my time and gas for her to save 5 min tops.. so for that 1 star .. bad vibes bad energy in that shit hole. read more

My husband and I debated whether it was worth taking a drive to the shop versus shopping online. He explained to me that we would want to get things fitted which I didn't quite understand until I got there. The owner Mona spent 45 minutes with us, hearing our plans and making custom recommendations (and not in a way that felt like she was upselling). Everything that she recommended was great quality. It's definitely worth trying everything on and making sure that it fits as this will be what she described as a lifetime investment if we maintain it properly. read more

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I would recommend you skip Silent World and order from Amazon. As a new diver, the store employees are ego-driven and lack giving time to new divers. I was shopping at the store with my friend and was not impressed with their sales support or ability to educate on options. The staff seemed bothered by having new customers coming into the store. I visited the location 2 times and had the same experience each time. Their prices are also higher than other shops too. read more

I got my first diving license at the age of 14. At Silent World Diving and it was the best time I have ever had. Me and my buddy did it together (same age) and it was definitely the best place I would recommend for a place to get your Open Water License and more. read more

They were super helpful assisting us both times we came in. They offered us tips, recommendations and provided much needed help on proper fit. read more

They never wrote back. I tried calling, sending the emails, and no replies from them. What a waste of time!!!!

Silent World is great. Especially if you're considering this for your adolescent teen. Craig, and Paul were fantastic! So understanding and helpful. Craig is the owner, and he worked it out with my wife so that our kid could do his second dive on a separate weekend, rather then back to back, which turns out to be a little to much for him. Your teen may be fine with it. Craig paired us up with instructor Paul, for the second dive, and that was a perfect match. Paul was attentive, engaging, and fun. Our son is looking forward to future dives. Don't hesitate, you wont be disappointed. read more

We highly recommend Silent World Divers! My wife and I dove twice and our 10 year old got to dive with us too! Christopher did a fantastic job working with our son. We will be back. Thank you! We saw mantas, sea turtles, etc. read more

Silent World Diving Systems - Diving with our 10 year old. - Scuba Diving Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

I purchased a Groupon that could be redeemed for six SCUBA classes. Three in a public swimming pool and three open ocean dives. Unfortunately my experience with Silent World Diving Systems was not enjoyable. I was assigned with an instructor named Cory. He talked very fast during the instruction part of the class and there was no testing of whether you understood and retained these lessons. During the diving lessons he gave zero critical feedback. He also made several inappropriate jokes about how he enjoyed urinating in the swimming pool where the diving lessons took place. I found this unprofessional and offensive. And this entire time they constantly advertised their own goods and diving vacations to the students. And spent significantly more time talking to and instructing students who purchased their gear. After my second class I needed to reschedule for the third session. When I called the Silent World office they told me I would have to speak to Cory directly and he would call me back. I did not hear from him for six days. When he did finally call me back, he informed me about how behind I was on classes and I had missed some scheduled classes and he wouldn't be available rest of the week. I found this pretty frustrating since I had basically missed the classes because he had failed to return my call. To be fair, apparently I could still call back and reschedule my class. But this wasn't offered to me until after they saw a negative Yelp review. The entire experience left me frustrated and I am disinclined to go back. Additionally it was tad annoying to be harangued by the owner to change my Yelp review. read more

Here's how it started. My girls Bucketlist= scuba diving, helicopter ride, Point Defiance Zoo, and on and on and on. We did a helicopter over Seattle, went to the zoo, and I found a Living Social Deal for scuba diving introductory class with Silent World. FANTASTIC. It would be a bday present for my sweet girl turning 12. Her bday is in Sept so I wanted to do the class as close to the actual day as possible....but when I called I learned 2 things. 1. My coupon was only good until Aug 18 (it was Aug 2nd...although they did say they would honor it for the Sept 29th class....I was unable to do that one) 2. They only run this class 1x per month. Ughhhhhhh. I set her up for the 18th and while on the phone was told she needed to be 12. I said the fine print on Living Social said 10+. No argument made, was told all was well, she was signed up and they'd see us on the 18th. Well crap. My daughter ended up with last minute surgery so her brother got to take her spot. Shannon, the instructor, was AMAZING. Beyond AMAZING. What's that word? Idk...FANTABULOUS. I have ZERO desire to scuba dive....but listening to her you can't help but feel her passion for this sport/ lifestyle/ hobby. Makes you want to jump in the water NOW. Her class ranged from age 10-40ish...and she did a magnificent job of teaching to everyone. From the classroom to the pool Shannon emphasized safety, and fun. Everyone did a great job of following her direction due to her ability to communicate well. I really wish my daughter had been able to attend instead of her brother, but he loved it. He wants to buy everything right now and start diving out in the ocean! Not sure why I introduced my kids to yet another very expensive sport....I must be crazy!! But who knows maybe they'll scuba dive together next year in Hawaii! read more

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After I did my research, these people seemed to be the best regarded for diving classes and equipment in the Seattle area. Also as a tie-breaker, they offer dry suit training in conjunction with their open dive certification program. This is notable as it is freaking cold as zomg up here and wetsuits are not really enough. Drysuit is, by all accounts, the only way to go. So if you have a big pile of cash, you too can buy your diving gear and enroll in diving classes here. I'll update after I've taken my classes. read more

Knowledgeable, hospitable, and friendly :) My experience started with my girlfriend and I getting our open water certifications here for a trip to Mexico, it was an amazing experience all around. I have found a new hobby for life and have now got all my own gear and am continuing education with Silent World. "The best divers are always learning!" If you're new to diving I would suggest getting drysuit certified so you can use the drysuit during your open water dives in the "brisk and refreshing" Puget Sound, trust me on this! Whether you are brand new and interested in trying scuba or you are looking to invest in a closed circuit rebreather, Silent World has got you covered! Craig and the crew are awesome teachers with decades of experience, you and your loved ones are surely in good hands here! read more

Just did the Try Scuba class with my teenage daughter who was excited but somewhat nervous going into it. Jeremiah and the other instructors helping him at the pool were great! Clear, reassuring instructions, individualised attention and a high teacher/student ratio (3 to 1?) made it a great experience! She went from "What if I die?" to "When can we go again?" on one evening. There was no sales pitch to buy their stuff, just a staff that wanted to make sure we all had the safest and most fun first-time possible. I highly recommend it if you're scuba-curious. read more

Great intro class. Katie (the scuba princess) was very helpful and informative on all that Silent World offers. When we went to the pool, she helped everyone feel comfortable with the scuba gear and made sure that everybody got the hang of it before letting us free swim. Scuba diving is a expensive sport, but I think the experience will out way the cost. We're starting our classes in July and I will update my review if it changes, but so far, so good. I would definitely recommend friends and family to Silent World. read more

I'm a PADI OW certified diver, and looking to expand have some redundant training in order to ensure that I have the fundamentals of diving down (I plan on going the divemaster route). I took a night dive specialty course with Leah. The materials from SSI were very good, we covered the material fairly well (though SSI is wrong on one of them - brand new batteries will always be brighter than rechargeables, but I digress). Since I'm fairly new, I did have some issues with my drysuit. In addition to teaching the class well, Leah gave me a number of pointers, including dealing with excess air in the lower legs that is different than what PADI teaches. I'll definitely be taking more SSI classes through Silent World, and will likely get SSI AOW certification in addition to the AOW certification I'm doing through PADI in a couple weeks. read more

I was getting ready for a Hawaii trip and knew I wanted to get SCUBA certified. Knowing summer time is the busiest times for the shops around town, I was happy to hear that Silent World offered an SDI program that would allow me exactly enough time to finish my certification before I left. I jumped in the class a week late but Cory was a rockstar at catching me up to speed. The class sessions were informational and the pool dives definitely helped me ease into my fear of water. By the time we did our open dives in the Sound, I was feeling pretty confident. Cory did a good job at answering questions and explaining things to people of all level. I would highly recommend this shop to anyone- the staff is professional and Cory is a great instructor. Kudos to them! Mahalo! read more

It seems like a lot (out of the whopping 3) of the reviewers here have been diving with Silent World for quite some time, so here is the opinion of someone who has never done any water sports and went for the first time ever. My boyfriend and I bought the Living Social coupon for the Try SCUBA class. It was just one of those things we both always wanted to do and had 0 experience. It was $25 and the class is normally $50. The sign-up process was easy. The website didn't tell me much so I had to call. They were very nice, but I wish the website was more informative of times, locations etc. Cory told us on the phone that it would be 2.5-3 hours. We first arrived at 6:30 (arrival time isn't on the website so here's your info) and did classroom courses before we had to drive to the Bellevue Aquatic Center. This is another tidbit I wish they were more clear about. I have a car, but I noticed some teenagers took quite a while getting to the pool and I think it was because they didn't have a ride. At the pool, you take turns "diving." The instructors were great and it was a lot of fun. I have no athletic ability whatsoever, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. We spent about 20-30 minutes in the pool, which disappointed me. The class was nowhere near 3 hours long. We spent a lot of time waiting around. I was in the first group to go and even after my shower, it wasn't even 9. I don't know a lot about diving but I feel like $50 is a bit steep. It would be a better deal if you could spend more time in the water. For the deal we got, we were quite happy with our experience. It was a lot of fun and Cory and our in-water instructor were great. I'm really glad I did it and would definitely go scuba diving again. read more

I became certified with Silent World in 2013. I needed something positive in my life and craved a new challenge. Craig, Corey, Shannon, and everyone else at Silent World have become what I consider friends and a part of my bigger family. Yes, they ask that you buy things there, but then I don't mind supporting local business and like the service and advice I receive. Now, I am a regular diver. I have confidence in my abilities due to expert training and look forward to each new opportunity to dive in wonderful places with my Silent World friends. read more

Update and improved rating deserved due to the excellent response to the problems we experienced. Manager (Katie) called me the day of this review to apologize and get the facts straight, offered to make things right. Owner (Craig) called the next day to follow up, also to discuss procedures changed in the shop and with their outside repair guy to prevent these problems from happening again. He offered more compensation than was deserved, we ended up agreeing on finishing the repairs of last 2 hoses and a free refresher course. Any group can give a bad impression due to one or two individuals' performance, and mistakes can happen. How people respond in those situations is more important than the problems. I didn't hear any excuses, just sincere interest to fix problems and make things right for us. I can see my 4 star rating changing to 5 if we get this resolved soon. Thanks! read more

What a great store and staff. Been going there for 14 years. The very best place to learn to dive or to get support once you are diving. Their instruction is personal, safety oriented and fun. They don't just take your money and leave you on your own. After the basics they provide all sorts or support and opportunities to keep you diving, whether it is in our fabulous NW waters or dive trips to some of the best dive sites in the world. They provide the best in service and advice and equipment. I would not entrust my expensive dive equipment to anyone but the experienced staff at Silent World. The very best dive experiences for me have been with Silent World. read more

I have been a customer of Silent World for over a year. Air fills, trips, equipment, classes... I've been through most of the services they have to offer. I will say that I am in general, more impressed with silent world than most other dive shops I have been to. They provide good, timely service on gear. They provide good recommendations on equipment: rarely have I been lead astray. I have enjoyed the trips they have recommended - - shore dives, boat dives in Tacoma, and larger trips in BC. My only (minor) nit pick is communication - - this is an area they could use some improvements in. Specifically: - Email communication before a class or trip about what's needed, reminder of the details, etc. How many tanks? What material should I have already reviewed? - I have sometimes gotten phonecalls, but that's more disruptive than helpful. An email a few days before would likely work much better. There may be some automation which could help with something like this. That said, I have referred several friends to silent world, and they have also had good experiences. I have had good interactions with: Katie Craig Cory * Curtis Brian Tor Julie * Even if he pees in his wet suit. read more

Awesome! Hubby and I really enjoyed an intro to diving class we took with these guys. I am a certified diver, but it had been years since I strapped on any gear. My husband had always wanted to give it a try, so when a Groupon for the intro class came up I had to bite. It was a basic intro and some time in the pool. Nothing amazing as far as diving, but a great way to try it out and spend an evening goofing off in the pool. The staff was fun and knowledgeable. Hubby is now thinking of getting certified, so the class must have made a good impression. read more

Silent World has all but been my gateway drug to diving. I took my open water and dry suit classes with Curtis. The classes were fun, laid back, but still full of information that left me prepared. I appreciated the option to go to the pool on additional nights if you wanted or needed more time to get comfortable with the equipment, even if I didn't end up using it. The open water sessions were great and I always felt safe and well monitored. Enough so that I decided to take the night/limited vis class led by Tor and Leah. Again, really knowledge people who are all genuinely excited to share their passion with you. Even more so, after having some buoyancy issues on my first dive of the evening and getting a little frustrated with myself, Leah was super positive and offered constructive feedback in such a way that my second dive was spectacular. After some hemming and hawing on my part, I decided to go out with Silent World on one of the Bandito charters, and now I'm totally hooked. I honestly can't think of a single bad thing to say about any of these folks and I know exactly where I'm going for all of my future diving needs! read more

I've been diving for 16 years, locally and around the world. For me, Silent World is the best dive shop in the area. They sell quality equipment, and they stand behind what they sell. Their instructors are top-notch at all levels of instruction, from open water cetification to rebreathers and technical diving. They also offer a wide range of diving trips, from local guided beach dives and local dive charters, to some of the most exotic dive destintions in the world. And they are just really nice people all the way around. They love to dive and it shows in everything they do for their customers. My specific experience with them includes training for multiple dive certifications, 2 rebreathers (sales, training and maintenance), 2 drysuits, at least 3 wetsuits, numerous cylinders, several regulators, BCs, fins, masks and just about every other piece of dive equipment you can think of, and several trips to exotic locations. I've never been dissatisfied with anything. That's a pretty good track record. read more

Hi Silent World Members and fellow On-lookers, I decided to write a response/review to Craig's business, Silent World for Ian's seemed logically, vague and not helpful. Silent World is completely and utterly fantastic. They are premier in teaching the SSI trade for diving at all levels from Open Water, Nitrox, Advanced all the way up to Dive Master. Many of his students have went on to assist and be employed by the business in teaching classes. My experiences for learning were superb. All instructors know where you are in comfort level with new dive training & Do not let their students proceed onward until proficient. If you want a wham bam thank you mam for learning to dive, look elsewhere, but know this - you'll never get the expertise like you'd receive through Silent World. In regards to service/repair/equipment sales, Craig, the owner & Staff are straight forward & honest for what is best suited for you. Whether it's from your starting point in Scuba Gear purchase, i.e. Regulators, Dry Suits, BC's, even down to a snorkel & mask - it's employees & owner take care of you as if you were a family member. Repair/Service is paid for when complete, not before it starts. Thank you Shannon (Dive Instructor) as well for being awesome! One last thing, Silent World is a blast for taking dive trips with, without a doubt, Craig takes care of most the leg work for it's travelers/divers. Thanks Silent World! read more

Great intro class! A friend and I have talked about trying scuba forever, and then low and behold, a Google Offer did appear! For $25 we got into an intro class where we were showed the basics, and got some time in the pool to figure things out and get the hang of breathing underwater. As other reviewers have mentioned, we could easily have spent longer in the pool, but it was a great intro and definitely got us excited about scuba-ing more! Definitely have to give a shout-out to the instructors -- Bryan and Evan were our main teachers for the evening, and both were fun, funny, knowledgable, and obviously love what they do. Other staff that was there (helping with gear, etc.) were all great at explaining the know-how and equipment functioning to everyone in our group (which included all ages). I would readily recommend to anyone who wants to give it a try! As for my fr read more

Just finished the Open Water and Dry Suit classes with my son. They were quite accommodating regarding our start date as we had some scheduling conflicts. We had a few instructors: Curtis, Leah, and Martin. One word: patience. They all were very patient with us and took the time to explain and show us the skills we needed to learn, more than once. They were all cheerful and fun to boot. Classroom instruction was followed by pool time at Bellevue Aquatic Center. Our dives took place at Alkai and Edmunds on the weekends. We had 8 or so people in our class and never felt ignored or unsafe. Quite a few times my son and I had an instructor all to ourselves even. Thanks to the wife for getting us a Groupon for this, though it did not include the Dry Water course. They pushed that during the orientation but we were planning on taking it anyway so it was not an issue for us. read more

I love the way Craig and staff treat you as a customer. They were highly recommended when I said I wanted to learn to dive and I am not disappointed. The lessons are paced right, give you time to learn and absorb the material and then put it to practice. I have dealt with Craig, Katie, and Corey so far and they are all awesome. Highly recommend them for you dive lessons and dive needs Gerry read more

The people at silent world are great as long as you are buying their products, like classes, trips, gear, etc. However, everything is designed to get you to spend more money. Not everyone can afford to blow $2k-10k a year on this stuff. Many businesses located between Bellevue and Redmond (like the Bentley dealer 600 ft away) have this attitude, and it gets tiring quickly. Diving is an expensive luxury sport, but like any other luxury, you should shop around, and be careful when shopping in the "Beverly Hills" of Washington. read more

My husband and I have wanted to get certified for year, and when the deal came along on Zozi, we couldn't pass it up and we are so glad we didn't. I wanted to go to a top notch training center for my diving, as I know there are a lot of half assed places out there who do weekend crash courses. I have been nothing but impressed with Silent World through the whole experience. Their prime focus is making sure you are comfortable with the equipment and being in the water prior to going into the open water. They make themselves available for evening practice in their training pool so that you can go as many times as you need to before your open water dives. Their instructors are very experienced, many of them having surpassed the 1,000 dive mark, but they still make the main focus of the class having fun and enjoying the water, as all the instructors are passionate about diving. My husband and I have crazy schedules and had to reschedule one of our open water dives and they bent over backwards to accommodate us, it was amazing. Leah our instructor worked so hard to get us in on Labor day which was the only day we had, and went out of her way to make it possible. She also rearranged a dry suit class and came in on her day off so that we could get our dry suit training done when my husband had last minute business travel come up. They are safe, extremely nice, offer helpful info on equipment, and are not pushy. I would HIGHLY recommend going here if you are interested in getting certified! Silent World rules! read more

I have dove with Silent World for close to 20 years now! Wow! The experience has been top notch. The staff take their positions very seriously. Safety is number one. And it shows in everything they do: providing high quality equipment, the highest quality standards in training and well-planned, fun diving trips/vacations. They all continue their education to stay current with new trends which enable them to provide expertise to their customers. They offer a lot of local dives and trips to various parts of the world. I've done many of them and they have all been stellar! I caution those searching for cheap and fast with SCUBA training - remember this is a life support system. Your life. If you want proper training that will allow you to feel comfortable so you can enjoy a lifetime of fun, then Silent World is the place for you! I highly recommend Silent World. read more

Best diving in the pacific Northwest! They know it all and you get the benefit of their experience! Most impressed!!!!

My wife and I got certified with Silent World In January/February of this year with Cory. Right from the start Cory made the class fun and enjoyable. We had a trip planned to Thailand in March and wanted to dive when we got there and Cory made sure that we were ready to "get wet" when we were in Thailand. The whole certification experience was one that was fun, enjoyable and most of all very informative. My wife and I both agreed that we felt safe in the water the entire time. During the process of certification and than when I was ready to start buying gear I had looked at other dive shops in the area (Seattle/Bellevue) and at the end of the day I was back at Silent World where the staff was eager to help, answer questions and take the time to figure out what was the best fit for my gear. I have taken numerous continuing education classes, Dry suit/Deep Diving with Cory, Navigation and Night with Leah and Nitrox with Curtis. Everyone of the instructors was professional and great to learn from. They always ensured that the material was understood and you were able to actually demonstrate the skills. If you want "pay to get a c-card" this is not the place for you. If you want to learn to dive with passionate professional people this is the place to go. You will find many people that say they love to dive and also enjoy diving in the Puget Sound which is cold water diving but the team at Silent World doesn't just enjoy diving cold they love it and their passion for the sport of diving is clear in everything that they do from the chatting in the store to the dive trips they run all around the world. read more

I was very satisfied with the level of training I received as an intro diver. Tor and Julie were excellent instructors and Katie was super professional and cool with advice. I felt comfortable and well prepared when I did my open water dives and really had fun on my first open water dives, both off Alki and in Tacoma with Bandito charters. I went to Hawaii and did several days of diving and was as savvy as anyone diving with me due to my excellent training. I overcame my personal fears and now I'm addicted and can't wait to go out again. I really like the people and and am happy that I chose to dive with them. I am psyched to advance in my training and am planning to go wreck diving in N. Carolina in the spring and will be doing the local dives with these people as much as possible locally. Craig, the owner, Corey and everyone else are cool people and I think this has been a terrific experience for me and I recommend it to you as well. read more