I came here twice to dive megladon ledge. Ever since then I fell in love with shark tooth hunting!…read moreThey have you meet at bridge tender marina. You cannot park where the dock is, but there are plenty of spots across the street. There are a couple good restaurant's waiting for you when you get off the boat. They being your tanks and load them for you. I also bought my new aqualung dive computer there. They do tend to overcrowd the boat in my opinion and for such a long ride, but they are very accommodating.

Top-notch-first-class-awesomeness! Son became certified with…read morethese folks & we've done 2 charter dives with them. It's been 16 years for me & they really put me at ease getting back into the water. Amazing (REALLY AMAZING) staff, dive masters, boat captains....all of it is just great. Safety is their paramount mission, they are thorough, and extremely attentive to customers. The shop & boats are clean and equipment is clean/well maintained. A few of our favs: Peyton Whisnant & Michael P "MP" dive masters - Summer is amazing too (watched her work with a group on one of our charters). All the boat captains are just fab - please please tip these folks on your next charter! As a side note; we had to wait 15 min for our ride at the end of a charter & these folks SCOUR & clean the boats after each charter. I watched them work and was amazed (we don't always see the extra work before & after we show up-dive-& leave)! Additionally, I had some small issues in the water on one charter & Mike (boat captain) was SERIOUSLY awesome!!! Charter tips: 1) they have bottled water onboard, so don't lug your own unless you're picky 2) beginners or even 'beg-novice' - ASK FOR A FIVE MASTER on your charter, it's not too much to have that extra security/safety & overall guidance. I've been SO grateful I did it these past few dives & until I feel like I'm 'really' comfortable (5+ dives under the belt) I'll keep adding the dive master!!! 3) Liberty & Stone Tug are great for beginners - Liberty due to depth & Stone Tug for visibility....Liberty usually has less visibility near the surface but is a shorter boat ride! Per Dive Instr., Stone Tug & Hyde he said were the most 'relaxing' (best visibility, easy decent/ascent, great wrecks, average depth/not too deep for beginners. 4) bring a washcloth you can toss, great to wipe your face with between/after dives 5) I loved having my small waterproof bag with a towel & my valuables inside. Really worth it to get one of these & a small one will fit under the bench with your gear.

Rented a wetsuit to try surfing. They were very accommodating and helpful, made the process easy.read more

I had a wedding in Southport this weekend and I found myself with free time the day before the…read morewedding. I decided to book a scuba charter and found Carolina Scuba online. This place is awesome. They called me a few times to get information and explained to me where we'd be diving, what things I could expect to see, etc. it was extremely helpful and they had great communication the whole time leading up to the dive. I woke up late and scrambled to get to the dive on time and they were so understanding! The weather was beautiful and the dive was beyond amazing! We went to the Hyde shipwreck and saw barracuda, grouper, sand tiger sharks, and so much more. It was one of the best dives I've done. I highly recommend this place for anyone who wants to dive in the area. They were friendly, professional, and fun. I had the best time!

Captain Lucas brought us on an amazing, relaxing, fun boat tour today. It was a beautiful way to…read morespend the afternoon, Captain Lucas is an expert boatsman and very knowledgeable about the areas in NC. We can't wait to book our next trip...scuba diving is on our bucket list! Thank you, John and Dina

Had a great 3 tank spearfishing trip with Blackbeard! Inman, Capt. Lucus and Dive master Jay were…read moregreat... always help, friendly and knowledgeable... that put us on the fish a d lobster... great group they will not disappoint!

This review is based purely on customer service and not on a dive experience…read more Hubby booked a dive trip for 2 and unfortunately we had to cancel. We gave almost 2 weeks notice of cancellation and they said that they already charged our credit card $50 per person and that due to our cancellation, they would give us the $100 in store credit. Are you kidding me? Hubbie called them back and they had to call us back after talking to an owner. We finally received our refund after the owner approved it. By the way, this is their posted cancellation policy: "Cancellations less than 4 days before a single day trip are subject to the full charge if your spot can not be filled" Hopefully their clients will write some reviews of their dive experiences and drown this 2 star review in a sea of 5 star reviews!

I had several experiences with Scuba Now before I decided to offer a review on them. While visiting…read moreWilmington I decided to look into dives in the area and called a few local shops. Overall everyone was very friendly but the folks at Scuba Now took a little extra time to educate me on the dives in the area that would be of interest to me and the current conditions so I knew the best day to go. This was really cool for someone who doesn't know the area and that little bit of extra service is why I chose to go with them. I went on two drive trips and both went great, the folks at the shop were friendly and helpful to the out of towner with virtually no gear. The crew on the boat (Ron, Pat & Dave) were awesome. Offered tons of info on the area operated a fun and friendly boat while still making sure we were safe. I've gone to a lot of places I didn't know and booked dives. It can be challenging to know who to trust for the best sites and conditions and who needs to fill a boat for the day. A+ experience thanks everyone.

Absolutely the best fishing and dive charter on the market. They are not like some of the…read more"cattleboat" charters. More intimate groups with more flexible plans. Great team with great clients. Can't recommend them enough.

Divers all know the tough part of diving is lugging their gear and tanks. Especially for days with…read moremultiple dives. The boat gets back to the dock and you rush to the dive shop to get refills for the next day or pick up tanks you already left the previous day. What if you didn't need to do that, that you showed up and your tanks were already filled, already loaded on the boat, along with your other gear? Sounds like a dream? Its a Reality!! Instigator Dive charters! We dove with them for three weeks. Every night they took the tanks and had them filled, checked, and loaded back on to the boat. Gear like BCs, Dive crates, Wet suits could remain on board as well. Everything was hosed down and ready for the next day when we arrived onto the boat in the early hours of the day. The team is deep, not just 2 or 3 people. We dove with at least three teams to support us, assist with gear, etc. Cindy and Ryan talked with the divers, understood their ability, their interest in the dive, and their Dive Plan for the day. Cold Water was provided, the team made sure you stayed hydrated. Instigator really provided a dive experience above any other I have had to date. Thank you Instigator Dive Team!!

Very disappointed all around. When my daughter was 8 months I purchased 6 lessons for her. After…read moretwo of which she cries the entire lesson i decided we would call it quits and explained to him I didn't want her to get a bad feel for the water and we would just give up for now. Never even asked for a refund for the 4 other classes. Fast forward now my daughter is 3 1/2 and I have a 2 years old. Purchased 6 lessons for each for about $1200. When I asked about bringing their puddle jumpers he confidently said no you can throw them away as if they would never need them again after 6 lessons. That's a joke. The one instruction seems bored to tears and annoyed when my toddlers didn't follow exact Instructions and even said she couldn't wait to leave so she could go get drunk. Yesterday's lesson she had a face full of make up on and was annoyed her eye liner was running! Also the male instructor who I will say was incredibly sweet with my 2 year old was constantly being corrected by the other instructor as if he wasn't trained properly. Today was the last lesson and god forbid dad forgot a swim diaper for my toddler. He went to two stores and couldn't find any so she had to miss the lesson. The instructor said bc she peed through her diaper outside the pool the day before she had to have one on... swim diapers don't trap pee! So we lost an entire lesson bc of a swim diaper. The owner stated he had to pay the instructor so tough luck pretty much.. well if that's the case then that instructor should have stayed and helped with my older daughter instead she left! So now I've paid for a total of 5 classes I didn't use! Pretty poor way to do business in my opinion! And my older daughter who finished all 6 lessons certainly still needs her puddle jumper! Waist of alot of money!

The helper girls did a great job but the owner tramautized my son who by flipping him on a surf…read moreboard into the water with no warning multiple times during two lessons. We went from an eager learner to a child who is fearful of the water 2 years later and recalls those days.

I can't say enough how much fun I had learning how to scuba with Eric. He made sure everyone was…read moresafe and kept the course fun and energetic. Thankfully, we stayed at a hotel for the two day dive so I recommend you get some rest between dives. The price is well worth it and you will have a life long scuba buddy at NRDC.

I'm a new diver, and came in to speak to someone about local diving, training and equipment. The…read morestaff and customers were very welcoming and helpful. I had lots of questions and ended up being in the shop for about an hour and a half. I highly recommend New River Dive Center to anyone interested in learning more about diving. I never felt pressured to buy anything or sign up for training that I either didn't need or wasn't ready for. I am excited to dive with them in the future!

Review is ONLY for summer camp. I don't know anything more about this business as we only used for…read more1 week during summer 2023. SUMMARY: It was not what we were expecting. I was hoping they kids would get more out of it. Especially from early interactions and enthusiastic communications with the instructors. However, kids not wanting to go back on day 2 imo is disappointing because i was really excited about this for them. As a parent to a young teen with ADHD, I was also proud he at least tried but based on feedback he felt it was an experience for maybe a younger audience of learners and he also didn't feel comfortable at times so on the last day I let him skip and he at the very least had a nice 4 days at the pool with his buddies and a couple of other kids he had met over the summer from other events (so I've updated my rating). As a parent, and as an aside, I was disappointed with some of the comments i learned were passed & about discussions related to politics. There's a time and place. I didn't address it because I learned about it after camp concluded. PRICE POINT: IMO, overpriced for what i understood it actually ended up being. No certification is included and that's important to know. Somewhere along the line that did not translate well and maybe I misunderstood the last day would offer an opportunity to sign up to continue for a certification that was optional. While we didn't opt in to this for those interested: If so, you must pay additional for this extra time and a test. Also- recommendation/tip: You need to buy stuff like fins, masks, snorkel etc and while they say they have these things they did recommend to get our own for sanitary reasons. I searched a few places including pro shop as suggested including getting a starter set for $60-79 at a larger sporting store chain. BUT- I'd recommend using the used items if you are uncertain if your child will enjoy this unless you don't mind. Send them with some sanitizer wipes if it brings comfort. LOCATION: Someone's Backyard pool. When I enrolled I was told by a guy referring to himself as a captain that they use a pool at a beach club in the Wrightsville surrounding area. I'm not as familiar with the area as at the time I was new to the area but when we got the location it was a private home/pool. This was a random location (though nice neighborhood) near Masonboro loop. While closer for us not for others we referred. For some kids this is probably more comfortable vs in front of others so to some this could be a pro. COMMUNICATING: I kept checking for updates. I enrolled very early on to be fair so there was quite a bit of stretch in time too. A lot of forms we had to complete including indemnification of injuries, medical disclosures etc. So please read thoroughly. We got ours when I inquired a few days before camp week started and was told they used wrong email for me. Meanwhile we only use one email so I'm unsure what happened. That said they didn't require a doctor form be signed etc so we lucked out there or we would've not been ready. PHOTOS: Was hoping for some photos to share here to give a sense of what they did. I was told they had so many photos but it's been several weeks now and we've recvd none. Ever though i was told they were included. I followed up again recently but instead of photos of my child, i received an invite to join a local business networking site to write a recommendation for them. So at this point assuming there aren't any photos included. If there are and i get some for us, I'll update this section, as applicable. Overall experience rating I must attribute to my not doing enough up front research and didn't take a big piece of advice I usually give many other families (especially having run one of the largest parenting networks in the northeast for years!!) so I'll close my review with that.... "Simply speak and ask other parents about what they or their kids thought of the entire experience before enrolling." Parents are WONDERFUL resources for honest feedback from interactions through participation.

WARNING: Owner is highly unorganized, irresponsible, and unprofessional. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME…read moreHERE. I was previously employed and the owner Brian ghosted me after I had completed a boat detail job. Not to mention the scuba cylinders were not functioning properly and tasted like chemicals!! NOT SAFE AT ALL. I'm still owed hundreds of dollars for my work!!

This was an afternoon filled with tons of fun!…read more We were in the area for vacation and OIB has the usually beachy entertainment options. This one was a refreshing break from mini golf and arcades and fun for both kids and adults. We had a pretty large group and some did the zip line course and some braved the adventure park (aka ropes course). We had lots and lots of fun, overcame some anxiety, and had a few sore muscles to show off our achievements. I also owe a big shout out to George, who was amazingly patient with my crew and helped coordinate the outing so that we all started/finished around the same times. I also heard from the kids that their guides were fantastic. They were especially impressed that they remembered every single person's name for an event that lasts only a few hours.

My family's experience with The Swamp Park Zipline tour was great! All of us did the Zipline and…read moretwo of us did the Free Fall add-on. For the Zipline tour, we had Jesse, Margaret, and Lacey as our guides and all of them were great! Jesse is very fun and funny, Margaret is super sweet, and Lacey had amazing knowledge on fun facts throughout the tour! The zip lines were very fun, and all three guides took every measure to ensure our safety, creating a good sense of trust. We all felt like a group of friends by the end of our tour. They also take photos at the beginning, middle, and end of the tour with specific spots for photo ops which I truly appreciate! (You do have to pay for the photos.) I will absolutely recommend The Swamp Park to friends and family! We plan to come back and try the ATV tour next!