What a great experience. Mike Parker went out of his way to accommodate the last-minute arrangements and helped me fulfill belated plans to go diving with my son. Ten years late, but oh so enjoyable. We couldn't make a scheduled trip, so Mike arranged for open water certification with Dan Fosters dive shop. Can't say enough good things from shuttle service to the dive shop, excellent offshore diving, and hospitality of all involved. Can't wait to go back. read more

Member of the Carefree boat club. Terrible for renting boats. If you want a center consule you will catch hell tring to get one. Its like you have take a center c0nsule on thier schedule IF you can get one and if you do its weeks out and then you sit and wait.... buy your own boat...so we did...best wishes to all... read more

Boutique dive shop. Quite impressed. Just went to free orientation and already looking forward to multiple dive trips w Mike and his team!

Run, don't walk, away from this school. I booked an advanced Nitrox course over a month beforehand as a gift for my partner for a special occasion. I paid $250 which seemed like a good deal. Online it said there may be a couple of additional fees day of. I never received any bill or email alerting me that the additional small fees would be for $400 extra dollars! Even when the Director, Mike, tried to negotiate the rate with me, I was so enraged by this shady underhanded business practice that I simply demanded my money back and cancelled on the spot. He tried telling me that the agreement was legally binding but after taking a photo of the bill and threatening to call my credit card company he agreed to refund me the full amount. I am still PISSED that I booked a trip to DC specifically this weekend to take this class. I have been diving all over the world And am an advanced diver. I have taken DAYS of Padi courses that cost less than this school tried to charge for a few hours and was never treated so terribly and nearly scammed by a dive center with such high reviews before. This school likes to say that the negative reviews are for some other center and the customers are mistaken. F*CK THEM! I'm happy to upload my reciepts to show what liars and scammers this place is full of. There are tons of dive schools. Spend your time and money literally anywhere else with people who won't outright scam you. EDIT: the day after Mike responded to this review, I got a call from Chevy Chase police department about a complaint Mike with this dive school made to the police about my negative review. This should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about this scumbag shop owner. I'll be leaving this experience on all channels about this school. Thanks for making my experience with your school EVEN worse Mike. THE COMPLETE AND UTTER LACK OF EMPATHY FOR A RUINED GIFT FROM YOUR RESPONSE HERE AND THE INTIMIDATION TACTICS TO TRY AND GET ME TO REMOVE THIS REVIEW ARE UNBELIEVABLE. Second Edit: THERES A GODDAMN RECEIPT ATTACHED TO MY REVIEW. But go ahead. Destroy your credibility claiming it's false. read more

Mike and Olga (and our pool instructor, another Mike) were all extremely patient and friendly. It was impossible to arrange pool dives conveniently in DC for our PADI certifications, so they arranged to do it in a private pool. They stayed late and were great to work with. Would definitely send folks their way. read more

Mr. Parker (manager of Chevy Chase SPE school) As I told you in my messages today (you didn't answer any of my 3 calls) I was at your place (very confusing to find as you're aware) at 4:07. You had someone sitting by the door but when I knocked he sneaked away in an embarrassing way... and disappeared. Of course the question is : if you don't have the courage to handle a small problem as a 7 minutes delay, how would you behave in a difficult situation that might arise in a scuba diving exercise ? My conclusion is that you are not reliable and therefore you present a potential risk to your students. I hope you never had an accident but when you do the result could be a disaster. In short: I don't want to reschedule. I think you're not trustworthy. I just want my money back !! read more

Found SPE Dive School thru Groupon & the 3-hr DISCOVER SCUBA. I had so much fun & a great experience overall after learning to trust the gear. We attended the class portion at their Chevy Chase location then given a hour to drive to Dulles for the pool portion due to COVID restrictions. I was a bit peeved when informed I had to drive to Dulles. Was told pre-COVID their pool was 7 min from the Chevy Chase location. I wish SPE better informed us when before we purchased. All that faded when I put the gear on. Fast forward the learning curve of getting over claustrophobia & trusting the gear. They had extra instructors on hand during the pool portion. I'm glad I tried the DISCOVER SCUBA & open to pursuing licensing. FYI - this is an intro crash course in shallow water. Do not expect a whole lot of details & to be certified after the DISCOVER course. Keep in kind my review is based on the intro course! read more

Mike and Roland were great instructors with a passion for the subject that truly shows in their excitement when presenting material. The classes are mainly set up over the course of a Saturday and Sunday and run for about 12 hours. Class starts at 9am and go to 9pm with only one hour break for lunch and no official dinner break (there is a 30 or so minute transit time allowed to get from the classroom to the pool which happens in the late afternoon) so plan your meals ahead. Mike went out of his way to accommodate my wife and my busy schedule as working professionals. Communication before, during, and after the classes have been top notch. Mike was super flexible with the schedule and allowed us to split the Saturday and Sunday courses. We also noticed that some other students split AM/PM classes well. A few folks commented on the 'sales pitch' which I totally understand where they are coming from. If you open the PADI diver manual, which the school is teaching out of, you'll notice that at last half the book is dedicated to equipment and most of the information basically points you to consult with your local PADI dive shop for information/fitting/ect. I think the 'sales pitch' is not necessarily from the school as another revenue stream, but rather something that PADI requires instructors to do since most all of the equipment is basically underwater life support and having the wrong gear can put a new diver in a dangerous situation. I didn't feel that there was direct pressure to buy from the staff, but having the discussion be so open can put indirect peer pressure on students. Some suggestions for improvement: 1) Perhaps have some kind of catered dinner available at the pool. 2) Give students the 'order form' ahead of time and allow us to fill them out at our leisure to turn in at a later time (perhaps during the lunch break). This may help speed up the class room instruction and allow less 'peer pressure' in the process. read more

SPE Dive School - Pool Time! - Scuba Diving Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

I recently got certified through this school. Did the pool dive out by Dulles and then the open water dives in Grand Cayman. Mike and Olga made it all easy and were upfront about what was going to happen and what it was going to cost. read more

Just finished the adv. open water certification with a 2-day intense training and a trip to the Cayman Islands. What a wonderful experience!!! Met some great people who are all so friendly and supportive as we go through the whole course together!!! Now my passion for scuba diving begins!!! For the school, two-day training is intensive and you barely have time to eat but it really feels like the most productive weekend. I've read some of the 1 or 2-star reviews saying the first morning 3-hour equipment selling is a waste of time and pressure on everyone. I sincerely do not agree. I personally think it's very important to have every detail explained esp. about the gear, not to mention it is prob. everyone's first dive try. We are all grown-up people and we can make decisions for ourselves. if you got a personal snorkel gear you feel comfortable, no problem just tell the instructor you don't need one when he asks you if you want to buy theirs. I should say Mike does not push you at all and will even tell you if you are still not sure about making this your long-term hobby then it's more economical for you to just rent the gear. Some students from my class were not sure about buying all the gear, or want to go with the cheapest, or want to use their own gear, Mike was very supportive and completely respected all their decisions. He even asked you to bring the gear for him to have a check. All you need to do is prepare yourself up before the evening pool training, so if you really don't like buying all the gear with everybody, you should do that ahead of time. No push selling at all. Class is planned well and the material is very informative. Roland is very knowledgable and helped us go over the water-pressure level/NDL/surface interval math one by one with 100% patience. This is my first diving try so learning about all the basic knowledge really makes me feel confident and prepared about going for the open water dive. I struggled a bit with the pool training session as my buoyancy control skill is still green, esp. with a shallow pool. But Al the instructor is very patient and supportive with me and helped me go through the skills to make sure I get them. The class is about 14 people and was divided into two groups, each with an instructor to go over the skills one by one. Some reviews say it's a waste of time lining up to practice skills. I should say lining up is the best part as you get to 1) watch how others do it if you are not ready; 2) if you are ready just practice more see if you can do it better; 3) communicate with other students about the struggles/issues/tricks/even expectations for open water dive, I cannot think of a better way to learn this with a group (well not too big of course, 14 is just about right). Next, Cayman. Oh my god! I cannot think of a better way to show my love for Cayman islands. I know a lot of the review says Mike sells too much on the Cayman trip. But it is the best place to dive in the world, with 365 dive sites all year round. If you happen to want to go on a tropical island and get your OWC at the same time, I mean why not. Group discount rate for the hotel, all-day van pick-up and transportation, local restaurants and cuisine guide (since Mike are there in Cayman almost half time a year), every diving activity is planned well and very organized. If you feel you just want to get an OWC at the local quarry/lake, you are rational and you make the right decision for yourself. If you feel it's too pricy during the summer, simply go there in Oct./Nov./Dec, with much less pricy hotel and flight. Personally, I think diving in Cayman is magnificent!!! The diving crew and instructors there (Tasha, Javier, Sam, Caesar, Barbara) are soo passionate and knowledgable. They sincerely care about your experience and are always there for you. I brought a GoPro with me and the instructors always offered to help take pics and videos for me. Caesar helped me navigate and spotted some great aquatic life and creatures. I went there alone but the whole class is very supportive and care for each other. I got a loose tank underwater and a bunch of people from my group informed the instructor before I even realized that. I gained much confidence in diving after just the first 3 tries. Pics below say more about Cayman. read more

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I am an experienced diver, but had been inactive for over ten years. I accompanied my son and wife on a basic class to renew my skills. I was impressed with the facilities, the instructors, and the pool time. The ethos at SPE stresses safely, success, and fun over "Gung ho." They make the diving easy by transporting tanks and gear for you. Diving is hard enough work without major logistical hassles as well. This also makes diving accessible to the young, small, older, or less fit. For those that are none of these, it is just much nicer. My wife and I joined SPE for a dive trip in Grand Cayman last week. It was very well organized, we stayed in a nice hotel, ate great food, and had TOP NOTCH dive support. We did 10 dives in three days, all the logistics were handled. We never carried a tank until it was on our backs. I highly recommend this trip for open water checkout dives or advanced certification. Overall, I highly recommend this dive school and their services. read more

Value & Passion!! Two words I would use to describe what I received during my two-day intensive scuba course! With over 45+ years of scuba experience (this is only guessing at ages), there is a certain wisdom that can't be gained through book learning....it comes from time & experience! The fact that Mike & his team could share so many stories & real life examples is because they have LIFE EXPERIENCE! That is value that takes TIME to achieve! I appreciate that they shared that value with me! Passion! Picture a child that has a dream, that is Mike! He has turned a dream into reality for himself & THOUSANDS of people! He is THOUGHTFUL of what people will need to know & he has prepared every detail to help students learn about all aspects of scuba: education, skills, history, equipment, travel & more! Imagine having an interest or a hobby & pouring it into a storefront (in a very attractive area of DC), setting up a classroom, making private arrangements, responding to EVERY email quickly, even when they were sent at crazy hours...that's this guy!! He invests his time, shares his experiences & impart his passion to his students! I'm truly grateful that we found this course! It was worth taking a long weekend to our nation's capitol to participate even though we are not directly from this area! A great, life-enriching experience that I would highly recommend! read more

SPE Dive School - Suited up & ready to practice pool skills! - Scuba Diving Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

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Love this business. The owner and managers are kind and honest and beyond helpful. I did my refresher here and highly recommend the business. read more

Finding SPE Dive School was a spontaneous act on my part. I wanted to scuba dive and found them through Groupon. After using the Groupon deal, I felt comfortable that the team were knowledgeable and focused on safety. One member dove in the pool with the customers to make sure everyone was safe (not drowning). Eventually, I signed up for the certification course. The course will take up your whole weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Apparently, the lecture hours are flexible, but it will slow your progress. Then, you are guided to a heated swimming pool after the lectures. So, be prepared to drive to a second location after arriving to the Dive School. The instructors will work with you at your own pace, but it's a class so be able to go at the pace with the other customers. read more

I took the Open Water Classroom/ Pool portion at Scuba Edu. The Good - Mike Mathis was a wonderful instructor. He taught us how to calculate the amount of Nitrogen in the body post diving,and was the primary teacher for the classroom portion. The pool sessions were good. No complaints. The Not So Good: For this class- I had to attend a 2 hour orientation on Friday night. We went over a lot of the gear and a lot of time was spent on a trip to the Cayman Islands where I could complete my open water dives and get my Advanced Open Water cert. I think the total for the trip was around $850 (not including airfare and meals- just the certs and lodging). So from the get go- I wasn't interested in going to the Cayman Islands. I read the Yelp reviews, and I bought all of my personal gear ahead of time (except for weights which I was charged $20 to rent). If you go online you can get everything you need for $200 and pretty decent quality. I showed up at 11am (as requested in the email) because most students in the class were buying gear beginning at 9am. When I showed up at 11am, they were still in the process of buying gear, but I filled out my forms. At noon, Mike Parker dismissed us for lunch for an hour, which made me mad because this meant I could have showed up at 1pm and done other things with my day. I also don't think his prices were a "steal" by any means, however I understand its a business. . Like a lot of the other reviews said- there was quite a lengthy sales pitch to attend a trip to the Grand Cayman Islands. We watched a video made by SPE Edu on the Cayman trip, and Mike Parker spent time literally going over every activity that the Caymans had to offer. There was also time spent on purchasing Scuba diving insurance which I just didn't think was necessary. We also spent time going over literally EVERY single piece of equipment (BCD, dive knives, pony bottles) which of course, he conveniently is selling in his adjacent shop. But every story about diving situations led back to Grand Cayman. So all in all - This course wasted a lot of my time by teaching me about a trip to the Caymans that from the orientation I didn't want/didn't have the funds to go to. Honestly why can he mention it in the orientation and then have a separate meeting for those who are interested? SPE Edu also deterred students from heading to local quarries and nearby lakes stating that they were very cold and had low visibility. I just completed my open water dives at a local quarry in Haymarket for $225. This included all the rental gear and it was from 9am-1pm Sat/Sun. Yes, it was cold and was a lake, but much more affordable and still left me with tons of time to do things on the weekend. THE COST - The class/pool is $295, but you will need to purchase the manual and DVD (DVD is $50, manual is $50). All in all- it took me about $1,000 to get my Open Water PADI Cert. Bottom line - If I had to do it again, I would have taken the course online and then done the pool version. You will re learn/ learn a ton more when you do the open water dives. read more

I did the scuba refresher and the lady was so great. Also very interested in their dive trips :)

I recently took my class with Mike. My cousin and I have done endless searches for top 3 classes in the DMV area but SPE diving school by far has the best and informative class. I've learned so much through this process and I did a "beginners scuba class" while in Greece this past summer so I knew I had to go back home and find the BEST instructor there is. not only did my cousin, Kaitlin and I take this class but my mom and other cousin, Katie did before us and they raved about the process, customer service and it was nothing but wonderful things. you learn so much, you get to actually practice these skills in a pool for at least 8 hours the whole weekend. I had some trouble with certain skills but Mike made sure I got them down and helped me practice more until I got it right. For me that was a sign of a great instructor because a lot of these places now just do it for the money. If I wasn't happy with anything he made sure to fix it fairly. I cant wait until my open dive at the Grand Caymans, my other cousin said it was one of the best experiences she had. I would definitely recommend coming to this class & there's even an orientation class before so you can decide if it's the right place for you (which it will be #Duh) read more

SPE has a very thorough and disciplined approach to the art of teaching scuba. Not only do they do an excellent job in the classroom and pool, but they also have any equipment needed for sale at a discount from retail and arrange for certification dives to Grand Cayman. I whole-heartedly recommend Mike Parker and his crew for any of you scuba educational needs. The entire experience was a once in a lifetime affair and instilled in me a passion for the sport. And safety while diving is their number one concern. Thanks Mike! read more

The weekend intensive course was comprehensive and thorough. While it's true that a lot of each day is spent sitting through sales pitches, the instructors ensure that students have the knowledge to pass each exam easily. I also appreciated their practical advice based on obvious passion and real life experience. Roland was a blast. I did my OW cert during a vacation I had already planned, and felt confident and prepared entering the open water for the first time. read more

A very professional and experienced group. Mike has been doing scuba instruction for a very long time, and it shows. He isn't a big fan of Padi's e-learning approach, believing that small classes are a better way to learn the academic component. Mike is very focused on getting students to have a great diving experience. He strongly discourages people from doing their open water dives in local quarries, and strongly encourages people to go to great tropical locations, his favorite being Grand Cayman. He also pushes people to purchase good equipment, things such as masks, snorkels and fins. While you can rent these at dive locations, the equipment he recommends is better than you can rent at many/most dive locations, but not gold plated crazy expensive/fancy. They also work closely with students to make sure they get equipment that is the right size for them, and allows them to exchange them if they find they don't work for them in the pool sessions. They sell equipment to their students at prices below retail, but if you take their recommendations, you will be buying hundreds of dollars of equipment. The confined water sessions are in a pool at a private school about 20 minutes away from their office and classroom. The pool is quite nice and they have exclusive use of it when they are doing their training. If you don't have your own car you should double check about transport to and from the pool. My son completed first part of his open water certification here, and I brushed up on my 40 year old certification. We both did fine, and were very happy with both the classroom and pool components of the class. Overall, I highly recommend the SPE dive school and Mike Parker. They were exactly the right school and person for our training. He might not be the best for everyone: Mike is experienced and opinionated, and is trying to guide his students to have a great SCUBA experience. The class sessions and equipping sessions do take more time than you might find at other dive schools. If your priorities are a training program that is quick or inexpensive, Mike can work with you with that, but that isn't his top priority and you might want to consider another program. read more

I had a great time doing my open water certification course with SPE and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning how to dive. SPE owner Mike Parker is friendly, engaging, very responsive, and extremely passionate about diving. He really wants his students to be as excited about diving as he is and his enthusiasm is really contagious. Mike very clearly laid out for my wife and I all of our options and all the various costs associated with diving and, having shopped around before enrolling, it was clear Mike was giving us good information. His class sessions were engaging and informative. The other course instructor, Roland Arnold, was excellent, clear, knowledgeable, and entertaining. Mike and Roland really made the class time enjoyable and educational. I came out of the course feeling like I understood all the basics of diving and also excited to read more. SPE also gave us a good run down of equipment and costs. It should be no surprise that diving is not a cheap hobby. Mike does sell equipment as well but he's very flexible about whatever the customer wants to do. Don't feel like buying anything just for the class and prefer to rent? No problem at all. Mike even was careful to recommend when people shouldn't be buying something yet. Lastly, items Mike did recommend seemed to be very good quality, but not the priciest and most flashy items on the market (I was doing a little comparison shopping online during the lunch break, and it was clear Mike was being fair and open). I purchased only a mask and snorkel at reasonable cost and they both work great! SPE also runs excellent pool sessions, offered the same weekend days as the class time. This makes it possible to complete everything but the open water dives over a single weekend, which is very useful for people with busy schedules. But SPE is also flexible and allows you to split up class days and pool sessions over different weekends if that works better for the customer. The pool sessions are held in a large pool in a separate location in Washington D.C. and is reserved just for the class. The pool instruction was excellent and the instructor, another Mike, was patient and clear. The course size was small enough that Mike could devote the time necessary individually to each student to make sure they understood and could perform the skills necessary. All in all, learning with SPE was a great experience. I'm really looking forward to completing my open water dives with SPE next month on a trip to Grand Cayman, and then to continue my diving adventures in the years to come. read more

I feel bad giving such a low review because Mike is a nice guy, but it's sort of dishonest the way he runs this school. First off, the actual class portion is really good. But that is about 25% of the class. The rest is basically a lengthy sales pitch to buy extremely expensive equipment and to go on a super expensive scuba diving trip organized by the school. And this all happens before you even set foot in the water. He also employs some unsavory tactics, like calling each person out by name, asking them if they want to purchase a particular item. I believe he does this so that you feel ashamed for being frugal if you pass on a particular item. You basically could succumb to social pressure and end up spending over 1000 dollars. Easily. He did mention the negative reviews here (on Yelp) in his class, and claimed that they were phony reviews made by their competitors. Obviously, this was a lie, as they are totally accurate. I took the course in 2011 and the negative reviews are completely truthful. I would not go as far as to call it a racket, but it's certainly run in a way to squeeze money out of people in a manipulative way. If you do go to this place, my advice is to RENT EVERYTHING; don't buy a thing. Even better, tell him that you've bought all of your equipment and it's being shipped to you in a few weeks, so you have to rent. Good luck. read more

I have been an open water diver for years, but needed a diving buddy. So what a better way to go than get my wife open water certified! After attending an orientation, we decided to go with a three day MLK open water course for her. The reasons? One, they teach PADI the right way, going through all the correct material, not missing one thing of importance, and throughly make sure you understand what you need to do to dive safely and have fun. The courses are taught by people, not by a TV. The classroom is nice, clean, and a great place to take the course. So why four stars and not five? Well, here are a few things that you should know before going in with SPE Dive School, or any dive school for that matter. 1. The first half day of the course is Mike selling you equipment. It's not a go over on the equipment, it's "To take my class, you need to buy the mask, snorkel, fins, booties, weight belt, etc." Yes, its on the orientation slip. Yes, if you are diving, these are good things to own. But Mike was pushing unnecessary stuff. For example, a weight belt. Most dive shops around the world just have these lying around. Or a marker to put your name on your equipment. Fine. But, he does this as part of the time you are taking your class that you paid for. If you dive 5 + times a year, this stuff is good to have. But, I am a guy who will buy when necessary. Starting off with diving and buying all your equipment up front is unnecessary, you can easily rent and then make an assessment if you need it. 2. The pool, from what my wife tells me, is okay. It's at a school, so there can be loud kids there. In fact, my wife said she saw kids hair, skin... you know, kids are just not as clean as adults. But it's chlorinated, and chlorine kills everything anyway, right? Mike is great, and the school is well done. But Mike really needs to come up with a better way to sell his equipment rather than doing it during class. read more

This scuba diving course was a birthday present from my fiancé (now husband). We had a great time and learned so much. Mike and Roland are fantastic instructors and are knowledgeable and experienced divers. If you are thinking about scuba diving, do it! Mike and his team made learning fun and were extreme helpful in choosing gear and accessories. read more

I took Mike's open water PADI course this past MLK weekend and was immediately impressed by Mike's thoroughness and attention to detail. The class consisted of 2/3 classroom and 1/3 pool and Mike covered everything from equipment, different PADI courses offered, marine environment sustainability, to "what to expect in a drive trip." With over 40 years of diving experience, he's seen it all. Scooter, our other classroom instructor was extremely knowledgeable and personable and made the PADI lesson plan entertaining and easy to understand. The pool classes were really great. I was nervous going into it, but by the end of the last pool session, I felt completely comfortable and in control. I highly recommend this class. read more

We just finished the two day weekend course for the open water dive certification and we are so glad we went with Mike and his team. We will never regret making the decision to educate ourselves on the safety and physiological effects that come with diving. We were able to tell that the whole team was genuinely interested in educating us about diving rather than selling the business or products. We appreciated Mike and Mr. Arnold's enthusiasm, patience, and honesty. We didn't feel judged or pressured in any way; rather, we felt as though a good friend were providing sound advice and feedback. We highly recommend taking this course and take the grand cayman trip with his team! read more

If your looking to get certified and want to spend time in a classroom with a great set of instructors then this is the place for you. They go over everything in detail and answer any questions you may have. Just to give you some more background. Its a huge bonus i you already have your snorkel, mask and fins. Like the other reviewers have mentioned there is a portion of the first morning spent on selling you this stuff if you don't already have it. I understand why this is necessary so I don't count it against them. We only had two things we really wish were different: 1. We weren't a fan of buying the weights when doing the pool sessions. You have the option of selling them back but you don't get what you paid for them. 2. When we went on the open water certification trip we really expected to have Mike with us on the boats and taking us out for the dives. We worked with a great group from the Cayman Islands but we just wish Mike would have mentioned he wouldn't be leading the dives as that is what most people expected. read more

I learned so much during my open water dive course at SPE Dive School thanks to Mike and Scooter! I know one option is to do the self study, but I really liked how both instructors provided real world examples and tid bits of how their experiences have been SCUBA diving. I know some of the reviews discuss having to purchase gear while you are in class that day, but I think it's a good thing for your personal items. I purchased a mask prior to the class for $80, and then found out about the magenta lenses for a few dollars more and wish I purchased my mask from the class rather than on my own. I also purchased my snorkel prior to the class and mine was $6 more than what Mike had in his shop and didn't have the removable mouthpiece so I was kicking myself! I am glad I bought my booties, fins and an awesome dive bag for my items as well from class. I came home and showed my fiance my volo power fins who has been certified for years and he is going to buy some as well he was so jealous! It was really helpful how Mike explained what type of gear to get, and what to look for when buying. He is upfront and lets you know that SCUBA is a very expensive recreational activity so you know before hand. You do have the option of renting your equipment as well like skiing so that's always an option. This sport is just like skiing in terms of cost. Most dive shops I called during my discovery require you to purchase your personal items (mask, snorkel, fins and booties) prior to being in the class as well. Mike has been doing this for so long I trust his recommendations. After the class I did some research on the stuff I bought and my fins were about $20 cheaper through Mike than selling online as well as some other items. If you bought your own personal items you don't need to stay for the first part of the course. Just make sure you know you get what you pay for in some instances. Mike gives you several options, from basic, middle to upgrade so the choice is yours. He does this with fins, snorkel and the dive bags. The upgraded dive bag was awesome because without it I was carrying so many different items to the pool. Plus it fits 2 people's personal items so we can take it on vacation with us. I found this not as a sales pitch, but more educational because I am new to diving and know nothing about it so I liked learning what everything was. Also, all of the little accessories were super cool, I wish I bought my log book there too because it's waterproof and all the ones I searched for on Amazon were $3 + more expensive plus shipping. The classroom learning was great too, I loved learning about the dive tables and the knowledge reviews were helpful in passing the exam. Scooter is a great teacher! The pool was also really helpful because it let you practice necessary skills that you would need in open water. I am glad I learned how to react in stressful situations i.e. mask comes off, regulator comes out of your mouth, you run out of air, etc. I feel SO much more comfortable now! In terms of the Cayman trip, he does mention it a lot during orientation and a few minutes during the class, but it sounds awesome I am glad he did! I would be going if we weren't doing the open water dives on our already booked honeymoon this year. You can get your basic and advanced certification in less than a week! Thank you guys for a great course, I would definitely recommend this course and hope to be able to do my advanced certification in Cayman! Kristin read more

The best place to get scuba certified. I started out my scuba hobby with zero knowledge. I got my certification there, and that was what impressed me first. Mike and his Team are excellent instructors, incredibly knowledgeable, warm and friendly, impossibly patient and just fun people to be around. I recently went on one of Mike's trips to Grand Cayman with my husband, and had one of the most amazing vacations of my life. I would strongly recommend this school to anyone who is looking to learn this amazing skill, and I'm actually trying to convince several friends to take up the sport and go to SPE Dive School to learn. Choosing them was the best decision I could have made. read more

Mike and his staff are utterly passionate about what they do. Mike literally is a fish and feels more comfortable under the H2O! Scuba diving is something I've always wanted to try (as has my BF of 2 years) so we grabbed a groupon and away we went. While I can relate/understand how some people view some of the presentation as sale-sy, having a) gone on the trip, b) gone on websites to purchase gear I realize 2 things. Scuba is expensive. It requires a lot of gear adn I don't know about the rest of you, but I do not relish the thought of breathing someone else's spit 100 feet below the surface with a leaky regulator. Mike's prices are the lowest you'll find and he only suggested items you actually need (having BEEN under the h20 and realizing OH. really glad I have the wet suit, etc). Anyhoo. The classroom was LOTS of repeitition. It was WORK. BUT. when I went to a strange place, 100 feet down, breathing out of a tin can, I felt safe. Because I remembered the drills/cheat sheets. Hands down, trust Mike and his crew with my life. And I wouldn't have changed our trip--Grand cayman IS the best place to do your first dive with the lack of current, amazing views, etc etc ETC! I've referred a number of people to SPE Dive and have no reservations about attaching my reputation to them. KUDOS to a great team and an incredible experience. read more

Having just gotten back from getting my Advanced Open Water Certification in the Caymans I cannot express what a great time and experience it was. Quite frankly, I was a little shocked at the negative reviews given to SPE. Before getting into my complete review I would like to remind everyone that this is business. Mike Parker (Owner & Instructor) is extremely transparent in regards to whether you should buy or rent the equipment and freely asks for feedback and criticism. I do not fault Mike for his business model as I knew going into the class this was going to happen (it says it on the website). If you don't feel comfortable buying and just want to rent, go up to Mike in the beginning and let him know. He'll excuse you from that portion of the class, no big deal. On to the review: Firstly, I will readily admit that if you are planning to buy equipment and go on the Grand Cayman dive trip it can be a little pricey. Between gear, school fees, travel costs and dive costs you could easily spend up to $4,000. This should not detract anyone from taking this course, but you should be aware. Mike and the instructors at SPE, in my opinion, are some of the best in the business and well worth the cost! The classroom portion of the course is extremely well done. The instructors take their time, answer every question and are extremely knowledgeable from in the field training and experience. This also applies to the instructors who help teach the pool sessions with Mike. Every single one of them were professionals and took the time to explain everything. Their instruction was impeccable and made the actual Open Water certifications a cinch. The best part of SPE was going to the Caymans with Mike and my classmates. Mike is kind of a local celebrity down there and it shows by how well known and regarded he is. Personally, Mike really makes this trip. He goes above and beyond the call of duty to accomodate every students needs and concerns. Outside of being just an extremely great guy, he truly cares about making sure you are comfortable and feel safe with the dives. Also, the dives in the Caymans were AMAZING! If you go for your Advanced certification one of your skills is a deep dive to 100-110 feet. This was by far my favorite and most exhilirating dive. Plus you are surrounded by every single type of beautifully colored fish you could imagine! Moreover, the instructors that you train with along with Mike in the Caymans are amazing. Elsa and Stephen get a particular shout out for being so great! All in all I am extremely satisfied with my experience and plan on going for my Rescue Diver with SPE. Again, the people that give low ratings based on the equipment sales portion of SPE are being a bit unfair. This is a business, and the objective of any business is to make money. Despite that, Mike is more concerned about you being comfortable and enjoying the class. So if you think you might be bothered by this, just tell Mike and he will bend over backwards to accomodate your wishes. read more

Mike is a knowledgeable instructor with a great team. We had a positive experience doing our test and pool dives. A lot of attention and care went into the sessions. Most importantly I felt we walked away with the skills needed to dive confidently and safely. It helped that Mike had a lot of experience and examples of what to do and what not to do. They also did a good job sanitizing everything for COVID. Would recommend! read more

SPE Dive School is a great place to get certified. Mike and his staff are incredibly nice, comforting, and knowledgeable about diving. The weekend course is a great way to get it all done quickly. It may seem like twelve hours a day is way too much, but it really isn't. Mike and his staff make it interesting and entertaining. I also liked that Mike provided the whole package. Not only do you get your certification course-work and pool-work done through the weekend course, but he also offers regular trips to the Cayman Islands to get your open-water dive done. I did one of these trips, and it was great because the diving was amazing and the whole trip was nicely organized for us. In addition, Mike sells all equipment necessary for diving, so you can purchase everything from him during the weekend course and not have to go out to a bunch of different stores looking for what you need. So basically, if you sign up for a course with SPE Dive School, you'll get everything you need to become a certified SCUBA diver. Overall, I would definitely recommend SPE Dive School! read more

I really learned a lot. Mike Parker is a very kind man and a good instructor. I would recommend this school to any one who wishes to learn to dive. read more

I wanted to get certified as an Open Water (OW) Diver in preparation for a trip I was planning to take. I thought this would be an efficient use of my time towards that goal. Unfortunately, the negative Yelp reviews are correct. Mike is a nice guy when you talk to him but his sales tactics are manipulative and high pressure. You know going in that the weekend course at the school is for the class & pool work only and that students will still have to do OW work elsewhere. However, Mike talks trash about doing it in a quarry (the only way to do it within weekend driving distance), speaks dismissively of doing it in the Florida keys, and pressures students to sign up for HIS trip to Grand Cayman. Several hours everyday were spent listening to the sales pitches: equipment, insurance, wet-suit, and his trip. I took this intensive weekend class/pool lesson because my time is valuable, and Mike wasted far too much of it with his sales pitches. Furthermore, he tries to get you to buy as much equipment as he can up front. It's not a cheap hobby, but that doesn't mean a business should pressure you into buying all the equipment in the first three hours of the first day. I wish I had done what another reviewer recommends and "RENT EVERYTHING [...] tell him that you've bought all of your equipment and it's being shipped to you in a few weeks." Good advice. Even after I finished the course, and was looking to transfer the credits to a school that would do the open water dives in a quarry (I did it in over a weekend at Lake Phoenix. I found several great schools that offered open water dives there, and while not the Carribean, it was nothing like Mike had described it) he kept trying to manipulate me, gaving me grief about doing the OW dives in a quarry and about potentially transfering the credits to an SSI school (in the end I went with a PADI school, because they were closer to my house). I'm glad I got my OW, but I wish I'd started with a different school. read more

Absolutely the best experience I could have imagined. The class was a 24 hour course over a weekend that included classroom and pool education. There was plenty of times for questions and getting fitted for the proper gear. By the end of the class I felt very knowledgeable about the basics of diving safely. I even signed up for the Grand Caymen trip to get my open water certification! I ended up doing a couple extra dives and got my advanced!!! Mike Parker is the man and I will send all my friends! read more

SPE Dive School - Scuba Diving Near Me - Chevy Chase, Maryland

Best experience of my life! Mike Parker is so knowledgeable! The classroom part of the course was better than expected. I have learned so much and now I feel confident I will be a great diver! If you can, take the trip to the Cayman Islands! Amaaazing! Thanks so very much Mike and Rowland for all your help! See you soon for some advanced courses!! read more

This was a wonderfully in-depth yet condensed PADI open water SCUBA course training class. Initially I felt a bit overwhelmed but after everything started to "click" I started to get very excited to continue with the book material as well as get in the pool. Both Mike and Roland were fantastic teachers - very patient, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and I can't wait to put my new skills and gear to the test. I highly recommend!! read more

This review is for the open water certification class. I attended the 2-day weekend class including pool certification. There is a lot of information packed into 2 days, but the instruction was thorough and I appreciated the time Mike took to discuss options for diving gear. Compared to friends I have who took the online PADI course, this is much more affordable and more thorough. Mike has been an excellent communicator as we prepare for our trip to Grand Cayman for our certification dives. Would definitely recommend this shop to others! read more

Purchased an Open Water Certification Course as a gift for my girlfriend. I did a ton of research to find the best local dive shop. SPE has better pricing than the other schools, a class schedule that's easy to accommodate, and working with Mike Parker is an absolute joy. They sell quality equipment at wholesale prices, and their Cayman dive trips are incredibly priced because of their long standing relationships in the Caymans. Our hotel was $230/night compared to about $750 online. Mike took time to make sure I knew all of the costs that would be covered under my gift certificate would be, and walked me through what is included in certification process. This takes some planning, you need to devote a weekend to it, but SPE makes the process so seamless and painless. read more