Splash is a PADI 5 star dive centre based in Sai Kung, very near to the public pier…read more Splash provides diving courses, from beginner through to professional levels, a wide range of diving equipment, and Emergency First Response training to schools and businesses. The Splash Club also runs dive trips from the beaches around Clear Water Bay, or boats from Sai Kung, for those wanting to try fun diving in HK waters. What really puts Splash a cut above the rest is the expert tuition in English, as well as a number of other languages. Many of the dive schools in HK rely on Chinese instructors teaching in English. At Splash their staff instructors are primarily ex-pat native English speakers, which makes them the ideal place for those needing to learn in English. Splash are also incredibly flexible with tuition schedules and are able to accommodate most student needs, whether it is weekdays, weekends, evenings. The facilities are first rate, with pool sessions taking place in what most consider the best diving pool in Hong Kong, or at least the best hot showers in HK! Open water sessions are either conducted from a shared boat (with other dive schools), or from a private Splash boat on club days. Try and get on a boat on a club day as it is much less crowded (and the instructors always have a stash of post dive beers on board). When booking with Splash, best ask for Darren, the owner and course director. Darren is an expert diver with years and years of experience in the industry. Darren also hand picks and teaches his own instructors, so you know you will be getting the very best in tuition from all of his staff. You should also have a chat to Darren about equipment too, as he is often able to discount name brands, especially if you are already a student with Splash. Diving can be scary enough without having to wrestle your way through language issues, a million of other students or more experienced divers jostling for space in classroom or on a boat. Do yourself a favour and go to Splash for small class sizes, flexible schedules, and stress free diving fun.

Diving Adventure is a full service scuba diving centre and shop in Causeway Bay, and by this I mean…read morethey run diver training courses, fun diving, boat trips, other dive travel and a retail shop. The diving trips they run out of HK are a little more expensive than some dive operators, but they are well organised and don't tend to be too over subscribed. Word of warning, when you dive as a fun diver (especially if you have booked space onto their boat via another dive operator), you will be given a lower priority than their students, and this can be a bit unpleasant, especially if you are tired, cold and wet after diving and have to rest on the wet dive deck, rather than in the boat lounge, which is for their guests only. Where they do excel, is their retail shop. They have an excellent range of products, from lots of different brands. The prices are reasonable, but make sure you ask for a discount, as they are often willing to give quite generously. in fact, the last time I went in there to buy a bag, the shop staff gave me the price, then the discount price in the same breath. I didn't even have to ask for it. If you buy more than HKD2000 of kit, you can join their membership which gives and additional discount (5% on my last visit) The shop itself is a bit cluttered, so you may have to have a good dig around or ask for help, but the staff are knowledgeable, most of whom are divers anyway. They will also bend over backwards to answer the most difficult questions, including searching online and calling the manufacturer - I only asked them about stopwatches! Definitely a good place to shop, but just be wary of their local dive trips. You may have a better experience than me...

Marina Dive is a new dive shop and course provider in Sheung Wan, that is pleasingly punching above…read moreits weight. Started by some of the more experienced divers in HK, who already had a wealth of experience from other dive operators, they (in my opinion) are a welcome addition to the diving fraternity. I don't know a great deal about their courses, and would probably stick to the better known companies in HK. As far as I know they run "freelance" style courses, and buy places onto boats, rather than have their own boats. However, what i like the most is the shop. Despite the shop being smaller than their bigger counterparts in Wan Chai, they are far tidier than the shops in TST. Marina Dive have a managed to stock it well, yet still display the products to their best, making it a comfortable experience for shoppers, so you don't have to literally climb over cardboard boxes of stock to get to the display racks. The shop staff are all divers, so know their mask straps from their line cutters, and are happy to give plenty of advice. They can get busy, so if you do need help, it may be a long wait as the Mainlander in front of your tries on every pink item in the shop so they match. If you need something specific, or advice, you can always take a diving buddy along with you to help. Always remember to ask for a discount, as the prices displayed are rarely the actual prices. You'll usually be able to get 10-15% off.

Diving Express is the big daddy of dive operators in Hong Kong, and by this I mean they seem to…read morehave their hooks in most of the consumer market here. They are indeed big, I believe they own three boats, one overnight boat out two day boats. They also have a shop in TST, but judging by the setup of the shop, you would have thought they are a mom and pop store. Diving express is definitely known for their local dive tours and overseas by travel. Their local dive tours depart from Sai Kung, and every Sunday you can see the volume of customer throughput they have, simply by looking at the number of divers they jam onto each boat. There are many other dive operators in Hong Kong, but you may be surprised to find that most of them book their boat diving on the Diving Express boats. If you are interested in diving in Hong Kong, you are better off making a beeline directly to diving express, as you will invariably end up on one of their boats anyway. They also have a well stocked shop in TST. Like their boats, it is a bit of a cramped space with piles of diving equipment stack up on top of each other, but they do hold many products and most of the brands. The staff are knowledgeable (ask for Denny), most being divers themselves, and are willing to give advice as required. They also have a reasonable selection of diving camera accessories, which can sometimes be hard to find in Hong Kong. The dive kit is reasonably priced, and what they don't have can be ordered. As with many of these specialist dive operators, whether it be retail or travel, you are better off doing some research beforehand, or going with a buddy. Diving express unfortunately suffers from the sausage factory approach, which means as a novice diver you may be somewhat intimidated by crowded boats and shop. Take care, and dive safe.

Pro Dive is a scuba diving shop, conveniently located in Wan Chai on Lockhart Road. It's tricky to…read morefind, up on the 2nd floor of an old building, but now you have a reason to prowl around Lockhart Road! Pro Dive used to be a full service dive centre, offering training and dive travel, but this seems to have petered out recently. But this is probably a good thing, as their local trips were always via another dive operator, which meant a mark up for no reason. What is good to see, is that Pro Dive have concentrated their efforts into providing a good retail experience. They are by far the biggest shop in HK, commanding an entire floor of their building, and as such they have utilised this real estate to properly display their products. You will thankfully not be tripping over BCDs and scuba tanks in an effort to get to the wetsuits. The product range is very good, with plentiful stock across a number of brands. The prices are reasonable, or as reasonable as can be in HK, which seems to be quite an expensive place for scuba kit. There are the occasional discounts, but these tend to be on a particular product (end of line stuff or dated stuff), rather than blanket discounts on all masks, for example. I am a bit disappointed with their staff. It's fine if you are know what you want, and can make a bee line for it, but if you need advice, the staff are less knowledgeable than some of the other stores and dive centres. I have had run ins with the staff too, as they can be somewhat surly. However, the actual store managers are very friendly, if somewhat patronising. If you know what you want, by all means get over to Pro Dive. You will get good products at a fair price. If you're not sure, perhaps take a buddy or ask your local dive school for advice.

I would rate them a zero if could…read more Deal with caution. Sent in a friends dive watch for a check after a failed battery replacement through them less than 6mths ago. Scuba pro had no rec, and watch guard cracked. To think we had bought two complete dive sets through them a month back, and they wouldn't issue a receipt! Insisted we use our credit card charge slip as proof of purchase.... Seriously....

Gigasports is a mega store for sports goods, in fact it is a giga store for sports goods (that's…read more1000 times better than a mega store - whoop!). I particularly like the location in Pacific Place, as it is large, carries a good stock, both on display and "out the back", and often has sales on, on top of their regular discounts. The store stocks all types of shoes, clothing and accessories for sports, primarily; running, fitness, basketball, racquet sports, swimming (which many other sport stores don't cater to), footy, and general outdoor (hiking, etc). It is mainly shoes and clothes, with some things like bags, swimming goggles, medical supports. They don't stock a great deal of kit like balls or tennis racquets, so if you need specific sports equipment, you may have to look elsewhere. The store is well laid out, by sport, department, and brand, so things are easy to find. Staff are on standby to help, and can be helpful to the point of pestering, but they do have to make a buck I suppose. When you buy, always ask for a discount. Nine out of ten, they will apply the 5-10% membership discount, regardless of whether or not you are a member. This store in particular, impresses me with their range of swimming gear. As well as swimwear, they have loads of goggles, including prescription lenses, waterproof mp3 players, and floats and accessories. The stock is large compared to other stores. They also have a dedicated kids department, and a good Columbia concession with loads of wicking clothing.

I was at Pacific Place today looking for a few fitness clothes, as I need to 'renew' my closet for…read moresports clothes. I had been looking around Wan Chai for some of those but the best deals I could get were still not that great value for money (okay design and too pricey for their quality). Wan Chai has great stores for branded trainers; prices are half the ones at Giga Sports, but I suspect they're also from previous collections. However today I was after some tights and sports bras. I was impressed by the size of the store: they have a few sections by brand and sport. There's a specific one on fitness which I went to check out. Unfortunately they only had a couple of tights from Adidas, but they were around 250HKD, which is much cheaper than other stores. Their range of bras is great though, and they have the same price (so it's pretty much average). There were some more clothes on the running section and even the tennis one, but for the size of the store it didn't seem much. They're not a specialized store. Instead they have multiple sections with a few items, including swimming and golf, and a corner devoted to hiking products. There is way too much staff in this place though, but nobody approached me to help, which was fine as I could find what I was after quite easily. I picked up a brochure I saw at the fitness section and I'm browsing through it, got hooked on their Adidas tights and will come back for them!

Rose Sports Goods on the Causeway Bay/Wan Chai border, is a fairly well stocked sporting goods…read morestore. They sell everything from rucksacks, to trainers, to wicking clothing, to tennis rackets. Their product range is quite broad, and they hold a lot of the better known brand names. There are many stores in Hong Kong that sell similar products, but Rose Sports Goods specialise in a couple of different areas. First; they have a good clothing range for sports, second; they specialise in racquets and all things racquet sports related. They even have in-house racquet stringing service, which I suppose is the primary reason for reviewing them. The prices are reasonable, the staff are friendly and courteous, but perhaps not hugely knowledgeable. This store is a little bit cluttered, see you do have to have a good rummage around to find what you're looking for. However, all in all, if you know what you want, it's a fairly easy shopping experience.