Had an outstanding experience on the Aqua Zoo with Instructor Danny as my guide. I was referred to him by an experienced tec diver with high standards. I'm a new diver and was just hoping to get in a few reps and retain my skills. I ended up getting a ton of great feedback and a big confidence boost. Captain Matt and DM Vincent (I *think* that was his name and also that he did his DM training with Danny) were awesome. The boat was pretty full but everything seemed to run smoothly. Check-in etc. was efficient and friendly. I had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed and showed up at the shop in a foul mood but had an absolute blast. read more

Thanks Capt Matt and CG for the top notch service! Had the best time diving today and can't wait to come back. If you're looking to dive in Pompano give this place a go read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

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Went diving here a few days ago. I recommend! They had snacks on the boat, and the whole crew was very helpful!

Second time going out with SFDQ and it is amazing, as before! Bright and early at the dock and what an amazing outfit! Signing the waiver was painless and off to the boat. The crew was top notch! The boat, I believe Scubatyme III was comfy but when it's packed, it's packed! Still plenty of room to gear up, mingle, rinse masks, the works. First stop was the Copenhagen and it's a fantastic shallow wreck...or what's left of it. Crew was awesome as we boarded from the ladder AND they had snacks. You ever have Oreos after diving? It hits the spot! Next dive was the Nursery. Again, another chill easy drift dive with lots of life on it. 100% a must do if you're visiting and a diver or heck, as a local like myself, it just doesn't get much better. read more

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For my senior project, I chose to get both my Open Water and Advanced Diving certifications--and I couldn't have picked a better place than South Florida Diving Headquarters. From day one, I felt supported, encouraged, and genuinely cared for. My instructor, Paula, was an absolute gem. She's patient, calm, and radiates a passion for diving that's contagious. She creates an environment where there's no space for fear, only growth and excitement. After finishing my Open Water certification with her, I knew there was no one else I wanted to guide me through my Advanced. Paula is the kind of instructor who makes you feel seen, capable, and empowered. Truly the best I could've asked for. The entire SFDH team is laid back, fun, and professional. Every dive crew I went out with made safety and enjoyment their top priorities. As a new diver, I had some anxiety around certain skills, but that vanished quickly. If you're ready to learn, they're ready to teach. I explored some breathtaking wrecks and reefs and encountered incredible marine life--all while gaining confidence in the water. One moment that really stuck with me was seeing the SFDH crew support a night dive in collaboration with Grateful Divers Worldwide, a charity that works with adaptive divers and individuals with disabilities. The compassion and community I witnessed that night were unforgettable. A divemaster even brought a cake to celebrate his student's progress--that's the kind of place this is. South Florida Diving Headquarters will absolutely be my go-to for any future dives in the area. Whether you're new to diving or looking to level up your skills, I cannot recommend them enough. read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Navigation - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

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Wonderful people helped it off a lot friendly great dive sites I'm an older individual. And they were very helpful, helping me getting back in the boat with the tank on my back read more

One of my pledges this year is complete more reviews of dive shops & sites. South Florida Diving Headquarters (SFDHQ) has two locations: Boynton Beach, and the one I used in Pompano Beach. Been with them once before, and the Veteran's day holiday weekend was a good chance to get reacquainted with both them & a dive buddy who lives in South Florida now. SFDHQ has their dive schedule on-line, but for some reason I couldn't make it work. The backup method, by phone worked fine. Their prices are unbundled, meaning that some of the things I would normally take for granted when booking a boat dive was extra, like weights and air tanks. Makes sense, though. The dive boat was pretty evenly split between locals (who presumably have those things) and tourists. And the price was still reasonable (at least compared to Hawaii prices). On the day of the dive, check in was fast. Paid for the dives, love the fact I wasn't required to pre-pay. Not enough dive shops do that these days. If you need to cancel a pre-pay, your credit card needs to be refunded, etc. Made my way to the dive boat, and went to set up my gear. A few moments later, my dive buddy made her way to the boat too. The dive boat and we shortly made it to the dive site. This trip was advertised as two shallow reef dives, but the depths were 50 ft+. Wish I knew that, I would have gotten nitrox tanks instead. Lesson learned, I should just use nitrox for all my dive trips. Ended up cutting the 2nd dive a little short to keep within my no deco limits (NDL). Otherwise the dive operation and diving itself was a breeze. We had to use a dive surface marker, as it was basically a drift dive. Very fun! All in all, very enjoyable! Got to dive with a buddy for a reasonable fee, dive operation was safe and top notch. Will repeat with SFDHQ in the future and especially check out some of the Pompano Beach wrecks. Repeat and recommend! read more

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I'm a frequent local diver, but I have only dived with SFDH once on a bad weather day with terrible conditions, so that wasn't the best time to judge the full capabilities of this dive operation. On my second trip this past weekend, the seas were also pretty spicy, and most ops had canceled their boats. However, SFDH was going out on this day, so I decided to try them. This is a large, high-volume operation, for sure. There were nearly 35 divers on the boat, but these are also large boats, so they are built to accommodate this scale. On this day, it was not an advanced dive, but the boat did attract many advanced, technical, and rebreather divers, presumably because everything else was canceled for the day (That's why I was there). The seas were rough, and the currents were very bad. But I must say that the day's captain and divemaster (a young firecracker named Sky) did a fantastic job. The two of them were pros and did a great job taking care of the divers. The other thing that I liked was that they were very accommodating to the many different types of divers that were on board: buddy pairs, small classes, solo divers, tech, and rebreather divers. Everyone was diving into their own profile, and they managed it just fine. Lastly, despite the high volume of customers, the front office handled everything well. I only had to wait a few minutes to check in, and everything was smooth from there. They probably have the largest variety of dives in the South Florida area, so I will certainly keep them on my list for the future. read more

Another great dive today on Black Pearl, apologies for not remembering names of the crew but a major shoutout to CJ who was my dive guide today. I have been in the water for a least 6 months so I figured it was a good call to have a safety observer alongside. Very professional crew and really watch out for the divers. My two cents worth, if you haven't been in the water for a while spend the extra $$ and hire a guide. CJ was very patient, knowledgeable and great person to hang with. read more

They are so very accommodating when you want to dive, well run boats, enthusiastic and friendly divemasters and instructors, store clean and equipment rentals good. For me, having dived with them repeatedly and just gotten Nitrox certified, it's a 'what's not to like?' Thing read more

Thank you SFHQ for another great adventure. This is our second year (Jan 2025) visiting for 2 days of diving. I can't say enough about the staff there. They all are extremely helpful, supportive and safety focused. Tiffany at the shop does a great job helping you plan a dive, watch out for her attack dog. And if Paula is your dive master know that she will make sure everyone on board had a great experience. Thanks also to Danny, Tanner and others who were also there for us. read more

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Our three days of diving with South Florida Diving Headquarters was fantastic! Tiffany was so helpful with our questions over the phone while planning our trip. It was wonderful to meet her and Bandit at our first check-in and each that followed. Our Captains and Dive Masters for our BB three days/six dives were Tyler & Candace and Geronimo and Paula. They were all professional and saw to it we had a safe and memorable experience. Thank you from Tracey and I!! We can't wait to come back. read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Okinawa wreck dive on 5/31/2024. - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Captain Zolin and DM Ashley were fantastic. I can't say enough great things about these truly wonderful professionals. Captain Zolin put divers right on the reef every time. DM Ashley gave great briefings and assisted divers providing a smooth operation. They were both very personable and made the onboard environment positive and fun. We were on board with them in May when my husband finished his OW training. We're looking forward to going back again soon. read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Great spot! Kenna and Ben were awesome dive master and boat captain. We had an awesome day diving. Can't wait to go back again! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

I don't think I've ever posted a review on Yelp BUT I want the world to know how AWESOME South Florida Diving Headquarters is! The dive sites are great BUT what makes them so special is their amazing staff. Dive Masters Danny and Paula, Captains Matt and [another REALLY nice guy, I forget his name!], also Tiffany who handles scheduling, are all OUTSTANDING. Each of them goes so far above and beyond the call of duty, it's incredible. I had an incident a few weeks ago where I *lost* a REALLY (sentimentally) valuable item in the water. Not only was every single one of them tremendously comforting and supportive, but they searched the site long and hard for it that day, and when they didn't find it then, they returned the next day, and guess what?! SUPERHERO Danny recovered it! I was SO happy! They are all amazing. I will always dive with them and you should too!! :) read more

I love diving with SFDH. We have done multiple dives through them, and each experience has been flawless. They get us safely to the dive spot. The take all precautions to make sure everyone is briefed. They pay attention and do a head count. They have snacks and drinks. The boats are in good shape and have plenty of room. Everyone that works there is helpful. The only thing that is annoying is the limited parking, but it is a marina, not a parking lot. If you go across the street, there is a public lot. The dive sites are always well thought out. Usually we dive a reef, then do a drift/boat dive. We always see lots of interesting things, and are happy with the sites. For a South Florida dive spot, as a local, this is my place of choice. read more

The team at South Florida Diving Headquarters is great. The staff is super helpful and they have a pretty efficient system for taking care of their customers. The boat we used was fairly big, certainly the biggest group of divers I had been out with, but the Capt and dive master made it look easy. I definitely recommend using South Florida if you're planning a trip to Pompano Beach! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Dove Scubatyme out of Boynton. My buddy and I were spearfishing. Captain Todd put us on great spots and the DM Matt was very attentive. The boat is comfortable and easy to get on and off of. Safety is definitely a priority. Looking forward to diving with them again soon read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - My hogfish I speared. - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Just finished two days of diving With SFDHQ. Both days were excellent. The check in process was efficient. Dove off of the Goliath both days. First day was with Captain Tracy and DM Zach. Second day was Captain Jeremy and DM Kenna. Boats weren't crowded- probably due to rough waters. Professional safety briefing both days. Got good briefing of the reef the first day, There was a useful laminated card for the Lady Luck, which I drove the second day. The water was rough both days. The captains did a good job of keeping the boats on point and getting us into and out of the water safely. The DMs were pleasant and helpful. Would be happy to dive with them again. read more

I recently moved to Florida and spent 4 days with South Florida Diving Headquarters - Pompano Beach. It's a professionally run and safe operation, good captains, good crew, nice life zone on the reef dives, and the artificial wrecks we dove were also interesting. Special thanks to captains Jason and Brad, along with a great crew; Martin, Evan, Steph, McKenna, and James. I dove off the Black Pearl and Goliath. Although the Black Pearl is a large boat, Brad did a remarkable job placing all the divers based on various experience levels, and gathering us all up safely. I didn't feel cramped. The Goliath is a smaller boat, and Jason had her under control even when we had some chop and wind. The Pompano/Jupiter area is a good dive destination and I recommend you give this area a visit. I'll recommend South Florida Diving Headquarters to anyone who dives. read more

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TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. We could die because of them. We was doing a simple drift diving and we float on the surface about 40 minutes for waiting the boat!!! They saw us at the beginning but keep going opposite direction for other groups. I am an instructor and my partner is a 10-year experienced instructor: we know what we are doing. We brought 3 OW student and they are all out-of-air. After we get on the boat, captain Bard blamed us said we were going too far. He NAME-CALLING us in front of everyone again and again, try to pass the buck to us. Maybe it is because we are the only minority group on the boat and that is way they rather go opposite than picking up us. It's Florida and I'm not surprised. I will never choose this company again. read more

Love the crew and experience! Great dives, real people helping us to have a good time. And super patient! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Had two days of great diving joining the crew for the nursery, copenhagen, and other dive sites. The shop staff were friendly and helpful for our equipment rentals. The boats crews were great guides and support on the dives. Marty went above & beyond when we expressed interest in lionfish hunting on one of our dives. All the equipment worked well and we had some great dives with this outfit. Know that they are a large group outfitter taking 30+ people out on each boat. Would definitely recommend diving with them. read more

For 20 years we have been diving with South Florida Diving Headquarters. Why? Because of their unwavering focus on safety and fun. This trip was no exception. Our three days of diving were exceptional and we walked away as always making new friends. Check-in was friendly. The captains dropped us on the reefs with precision. The dive masters were so helpful with grabbing our fins and equipment to make getting back on the boat easy. Tips for a great trip with SFDH: 1. Arrive early. Boat departure is on time. Plan on 30 min early at the minimum. If you show up at departure time you will not have enough time to get checked in and get your tanks and equipment on the boat. Not the first impression you want with your fellow divers. 2. Be proactive and own your diving. The captains and dive masters are extremely helpful, but they are not babysitters. If you need tanks, ask for tanks. If an O-ring messes up, ask your dive master. If you need someone to guide you underwater or put your gear together for you, hire a guide. 3. Tip well: the dive masters and captains work hard protecting you while underwater from other private boats and making sure you can safely and easily get on and off the boat. Before and after the dive they are lugging heavy tanks for you. They earn every dollar you give them. Can't wait for our next return! Thanks SFDH for another amazing week! read more

Completed my open water certification today diving off the Aqua View. Boat Captain, Dive Master and his assistant were awesome, their names escape me at this point. Very organized and efficient providing excellent instructions, guidance and diver assistance when we came out of the water. Highly recommend. read more

My wife and I wanted to get Open Water Certified while in the Pompano area for the week. We called several dive shops in the area to connect with an instructor. Jeremy Simms from SFDH was the ONLY one who called back. I was immediately able to connect with Jeremy and make arrangements to start our personal instruction. Jeremy was AMAZING! Incredibly personable, professional thorough and patient. Jeremy was committed to making this a fun experience while ensuring a safe learning environment. Additionally the staff captain Geronimo, Divemaster Sky and all the staff at the shop were fantastic and super accommodating. 10/10 experience and would recommend anyone seeking to get scuba certified to connect with the team at SFDH! We will be back for future dives! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Dive Master Instructor Jeremy Simms - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Went out to the Okinawa with Jason and Sky. Had a great time! They were both super helpful and knew the area well. They provided information on the wreck we were diving and pointed out things to check out while diving. The reef drift dive was beautiful! I definitely recommend diving with them while in the area. Can't wait to get back and dive with them! read more

Just did a two tank dive with Steph and it was so much fun. It was our first dive in Florida and I was a little nervous about getting set up and in/out of the water. She was really great, helped when needed but let me do my thing for the most part. The captain gave great info about the two dive locations before we got in the water. Steph and the captain made it a safe and fun dive trip. Would definitely go again! read more

I booked a dive the day before due to a cancellation from a different dive shop. I'm happy I did, the crew was professional and really made the trip enjoyable! To add to this, they are charitable and give back to the community. Can't recommend enough. read more

The only reason they get a 1 is because zero was not an option. Our dear very unfriendly from first encounter Kate, to our last very smug encounter was top notch representation of this South Florida dive shop. . Ms. Kate makes a terrible assumption I was high on marijuana before my dive. Then decides as opposed to asking me she had me prematurely kicked of the boat after charging me. Mind you this was a trip I only planned to get my special person a final dive before going of to C.A. on a diving extravaganza. 16 hour drive and 1,000.00 dollars waisted. My girlfriend and I are now not diving together and now do not get to enjoy what was supposed to be an awesome experience . I am very disappointed in this outfit. I would not recommend them to any one. pay more for a better shop. Better people., Better vibes. Keep your diving a happy place. read more

Capt Ben and Candice are true professionals and even better dive leaders. A must if you love diving or just started diving they have everything you could dream of and the dive spot to match!! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Lady Luck Pot of Gold!! - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Great experience! Went snorkeling on the weekday morning trip to the Copenhagen wreck. Water was a bit cloudy that day (would have been great if I was doing scuba) but had a fun time. Our captain and guide were excellent, told us all about the background of the Copenhagen and always looking to help with anything we needed. I would definitely go back and next time have a scuba cert to try out all the different trips they offer. read more

In business it is never how you manage things when everything is fine, it is how you manage a situation when it has gone awry, with an open ear and mind to listen to your clearly frustrated customer and understand the faults in your operation to come to a common ground resolution. However, at SFDH, this isn't the case, as you'll soon realize this operation is poorly run by people who lack basic customer service, and safety, skills. Its worth noting, you may believe you're in a T-shirt shop instead of a dive shop. I called and talked to Mike, who I guess is the owner/manager (or at least acted like it), because I was more than angry about the crew and the operation in general, but Mike doesn't like "cuss words" (tip for ya, most adults use the word "Profanity"), but he and his crew should check their language in front of everyone too, especially since the expletives were flying out of their mouths in front of a child who was on the boat! I chose the words I did with him because there was simply no other means of describing the operation. But I get it, Mike tried to control the conversation he was having with me, to be in control. Sorry, I know the tactic and whenever someone implements it you prove you're in the wrong and unwilling to hear the ever present problem with your operation, especially when a clearly frustrated customer is on the phone, this is a poor tactic in regards to customer service. Set aside their rancid business practices and horrible customer service, this operation is dangerous, they simply do not care about safety. I have never witnessed such chaos on a boat in my entire life, I now understand why this operation has sank more of their boats than any other dive operator here in South Florida, it all finally makes sense to me (don't believe me, look it up). What makes this worse is no employee is wearing anything which would elude they're staff of SFDH, and when you're waiting on the dock to see where to go, or when to board the boat with your gear all around you, the staff just walks by, ignoring you. How can you tell who actually works there? You can't! No uniforms, no single piece of clothing common among the crew, you'll love being ignored and confused. On the boat they had passengers doing crew work with the lines, ladders, and all other things, I was half expecting a passenger to take the helm. Worst of all, they do a half baked roll call at the start and never do another roll call again, even after a dive, it truly is a wonder they haven't killed someone yet, but the day isn't over. There are complaints about them calling a dive over trivial means, and I will second the complaint. The young and incompetent captain called the dive down to Lady Luck because one diver didn't just drop negative and descend, like the gentlemen before him, to a depth where there was zero current. The current at the surface you ask? Easy, ~1 knot, nothing more, a child could counter that; however, since the passenger came back on board whining and complaining (I'm not exaggerating) they "called the dive". Seriously, we drop negative all the time in WPB and hit the wrecks perfectly, even in ripping currents, but this is assuming the captain knows what they're doing, and young lady who was captain simply does not know what she is doing. I got a tip for them, drop further south, have the divers drop negative, and they'll descend right onto the wreck, we do it ALL the time in WPB, literally, ALL the time. I have to make mention on the use of a tag line, this isn't normal when you're in these waters due to the effect of the Gulf Stream nearby creating a north bound current. Every dive operator just positions the boat north of us on surface, gets close enough to us, and calls us into a short swim to the ladders with the current pushing us to the ladders, even with a catamaran. SFDH deploys the tag line so it has to go with the current; thus, you're going to be fighting the current to get back to the boat, on the tag line. When we did the shallow dives closer to shore, where the current was about 4 knots, its tiring and lots of divers had issues with using it. One final mention was how divers became entangled in the tag line while climbing the ladder, the crew simply had no clue what they were doing, this is super dangerous. To wrap it up, they smoke and vape on their boats, even around cylinders with 100% O2, think about that for a second. We watched someone smoking around the cylinders and you can even spot cigarette butts on the boats themselves. This place simply isn't worth the money, or your life for that matter, you have many other safe and professional options. read more

I am a new diver, seriously brand new, and have been on just a few boats around this area and never have I felt unsafe until I decided to book on SFDH. The cost of the dive is was lured me in, at $85 its about $15 less expensive than some other dive boats in the area; however, you will absolutely get what you pay for. I was on the boat the same time there was some other people on here who I befriended, I won't reference their names, but I am noticing a weird and troubling pattern with SFDH. For those of you who are looking at the reviews for SFDH, please take notice that when a disgruntled customer leaves a review you will almost always find someone just magically puts up a new 5-star review. The fact Yelp hasn't yet figured this out is befuddling, but whatever. Take an objective look at their reviews and the pattern of reviews. As a new diver I understand I may not always have my hand held, but I expect the basics of safety and responsibility to be followed. They play music on the boat the moment we leave the dock, so loud you cannot hear the instructions the dive master was diving the captain as it relates to distances from obstacles to clear when leaving the dock. The music is so loud you simply cannot hear yourself think, let alone have a conversation with the person sitting next to you, this is dangerous. They don't put a dive guide in the water, but the dive master will let you know they're the dive master on the boat. This is in stark contrast to other dive boats I have been on, where they put a dive guide in the water. Along with these strange practices the dive guide and captains are unprofessional and rude. I thought one of the guys on the boat was an extra dive master, but he informed me he was just a passenger and that he was helping because "this is what you do". I'm sorry, this isn't what you do and I will be contacting the Coast Guard to see if there are means for me to complain about this operation because they're operating in a reckless manner that will get someone seriously hurt. I will second what others have said about not knowing who actually works there, no uniforms are worn and their behavior is not indicative of someone you expect to be in charge on a dive boat, you can akin it poorly mannered high school kids. Their dives are inexpensive, but the way this operation is ran you may end up paying with your life. Go elsewhere and I hope the Coast Guard takes notice and disciplines this operation, if not shut it down completely. read more

Great day on the water! Brad and Brad were professional, informative and entertaining! Would definitely recommend.

Super glad we found this organization! The crew and I he dives were great and quite reasonable affordable. Clear instructions on safety & also on the dive sights. Since we own a condo locally we will be back most definitely! read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

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We dived with that outfit recently.. Too crowded which makes it difficult to kit up.. Also there is a mix of novice divers ( reef) rebreather divers and tech divers ( deco ) which produced a long surface interval and waiting in the water for pick up... Very disorganized. BUT DM and captain were great in those circumstances.... one more thing.. They do not warn you when you book that besides the dive cost and tax, you will be charged a credit card fee..there is no disclosure before. Frankly for the same price, there are many other outfits that dive the same sites with better organization. Those dual hull boats are not great for rough seas either. read more

Snorkeling trip with South Florida Diving HQ on November 8, 2023. James & Captain Brad were fun. Snorkeled a couple of Pompano sites & others aboard did some first-time Diving. Neither habitat was good on our day, very little to see, but that can happen. Lighthouse Ledge might be a bit more exciting & colorful. Talk to Mike if you want to book a trip. Try "Discover Diving" if you dont have 3 days to invest. A short pool session & they will allow you to dive "once" on that same day. You will not earn Scuba Certification but you can try ocean diving. Snorklers, ask for a floatation vest if the water is too rough. Bottled Water onboard. No alcohol. Very cool shirts for sale at the HQ! read more

First dive trip in over a year for me along with my first dive in Florida. Rented gear from another dive shop but had a great experience. Did the four hour afternoon dive and had two full tank dives. Only about $75 for the two dives. Our divemaster was Martin and he was full of energy and very knowledgeable about diving. Definitely the best divemaster I have had. Suggest to all who want to have a great dive trip with awesome staff. read more

South Florida Diving Headquarters - Boating Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Another great dive w ScubaTyme in Boynton Beach. Capt. Alex and DM Kenna are fantastic. Boat is clean and spacious. Alex does a great job dropping divers right on reef, great dives, great people on boat!!! read more