South Beach Dive and Surf Center

We had a great experience diving with SBDs last weekend — they were safe, helpful and fun. Joe and Daniel are awesome.

Excellent experience with the PADI Open Water Diver course. The website’s sign up process is straightforward. The eLearning portion is thorough & easy to follow. It takes about 12 – 14 hours to complete & includes several quizzes so give yourself enough time to spread out the learning. I am giving the center a 5 star rating primarily for the quality of the instructor & my experience with the 3 Day OW diver class. First, the equipment is top notch (most dive operators in Miami also require you purchase the mask, snorkel, & fins so…). My instructor — Daniel — was beyond outstanding. He is a technical diver in underwater caves so safety was his top priority. I’ve taken SCUBA diving classes before and was turned off by the casual attitude many instructors take when reviewing safety procedures & concepts. Many instructors rush over what may seem a trifle, but for a new diver may mean the difference between surviving an emergency and not. Daniel took his time answering everyone’s questions and paced his class to leave «no duck behind.» His infinite patience paid off with everyone & it’s exactly what one expects in this type of class. He’s also fluent in Spanish & English which was great for our mixed group. The first outing was a great location & the boat operators were incredible — super friendly & very helpful w/​gear while being mindful of divers getting certified. I got very sea sick though & that complicated my dive underwater, but Daniel walked me through the fiasco like a champ. I cannot imagine going through that experience under anyone else’s watch & still surface feeling as secure & w/​a proud smile. Second outing was also incredible — the boat operators were just as friendly and helpful. Everyone in my group felt they got their money’s worth, and I feel more confident as a diver after taking this class. I will definitely be taking some of the other classes to continue my training. I would highly recommend this class & dive shop to beginners & divers looking to formalize their training and learn the ins and outs of OW diving. Absolutely take Dramamine.
Thanks for a great experience South Beach Divers!

i had a terrible experience with this scuba school, not worth the aggravation. My family and i haven’t been to Miami in over 15 years we wanted to visit Miami and get our scuba license. We planned everything over the phone and email, we took the online course as the store instructed. we made sure we had everything confirmed and correct to ensure that the transition would have gone smooth.
When we arrive one of the first things we did is stop at the store to make sure everything was good to go and we were all set for our lesson. The guy at the counter told us to come the following day for the scuba test. In case you’ve never been to Miami traffic is terrible, GPS will tell you 2 miles but it takes 2 hours to get there. So we showed up the next day and another person attended us and told us the test is giving at the end of the lesson, we lost the morning with this confusion.
The day of our first lesson we showed up and it seemed like he was the owner of the store had attended us he looks up our name and couldn’t find it and told us we weren’t scheduled for that day. Talk about being pissed off, I asked for a refund which he did minus the $ 50 fee for the online course. They were very unorganized.

I did two day dives. I haven’t done a huge number of dives (~20) but I do realize now that south beach divers is not one of the top dive shops. When you get on the boat, the boats are privately chartered and not their own. In addition they expect you to set up your own equipment, and do not have you do a check prior to getting in. In addition, they expect you to bring everything to the launch pad by yourself. As a 110 Ld female it’s hard to sit up with the tank and get to the launch without any assistance. Not even a quick hand which would be appreciated. They do not even do a quick brief prior to jumping in. I now know what a good dive shop is and in my opinion they are overpriced and not as helpful as a dive shop should be.

Jonathan Cole is an amazing instructor!
He was patient and kind, still kept us safe at all times and always providing great insight into the thrill of diving. What a guy!
The people at the shop were also very nice and helpful. Really nice staff!
I’d highly recommend this place to anyone. I had a great experience in getting my PADI certification.

I have taken both my Open Water class and my Advanced Open Water with them and they are great! All of the staff is really great and I always have a lot of fun on the dive trips! I even had a problem with one of my fins that I purchased and they provided excellent customer service and exchanged them for another pair without any issues.
I highly recommend!

My wife and I decided to do a bit of snorkeling off of the beach. While planning to buy the gear, we decided to rent some first just to see if the investment was worth it. We were directed to this store. What a terrible mistake. When we initially came in, we had to wait more than 20 minutes to be helped. The reason we were given was that we couldn’t be helped until one of their tours went out and our cashier literally sat there trying to figure out how to divide a group of people into three vans, while another tried to figure out who paid for their trip and who didn’t. The whole store was chaotic and disorganized. When we tried to ask questions about snorkeling off the beach, the cashier seemed confused and couldn’t provide any clarity about local spots. Lastly, when we returned the equipment the manager refused to take it back because there was sand in it. We had to walk five blocks to rinse it off. He was quite unpleasant. For future reference, the store should include that in their rental contract or actually train their staff to share this information. Lastly, as we later found out, the store is overpriced. Similar products can be bought in the area for cheaper. Also they were very pushy with their GoPro cameras. I think they forget that some people enjoy looking at sea life and don’t need to record it.

Incredibly unsafe and disorganized; I wouldn’t dive with them again.
I went on a Key Largo dive with them. I am an experienced diver with an advanced open water certification, but had not dived in twenty-​four months, so they required me to take a refresher course and pay a whole lot extra to have a private guide dive with me.
But they didn’t provide this person. Instead, they paired me with a kid who had never dived before in his life and one of their employees. So I wasn’t really getting the private guide dive-​buddy I paid for.
And their employee, Tomas, was reckless.
During the refresher in a swimming pool, there was a leak at the connection between my regulator and my BCD. I could both hear the air escaping and see the bubbles when we were underwater. Tomas said it was no big deal and he tried to fix it and later ignored it when we went into the ocean the first time as it continued.
I pointed this out to the ship’s co-​captain and she flipped out and leant me a different octopus. This was one of many arguments the co-​captain got into with Tomas. The ship we go out on isn’t run or owned by South Beach Divers. The ship is run by a woman who is a master diver and an Irishman who captains the ship.
Tomas not only never did a buddy check on me, he didn’t do one on the new kid. I had to check his tanks, pressure, regulators, belt, etc. and explain how to use the BCD (don’t inflate it to ascent, only when you reach the surface, inflate it before you jump into the water so we can swim to the mooring, etc.).
On the first dive, my belt fell off during the descent (a proper buddy check would have helped with this), and I had to return to the ship. While I was waiting — the co-​captain didn’t want to let me return to the water on my own — Tomas returned to the surface alone with the missing belt, in the process leaving the brand new diver along on the bottom of the ocean. This resulted in another scolding of Tomas by the co-​captain.
Later, on the second dive, Tomas, who swapped my tanks, again did not do a buddy check and was rushing me into the water. The co-​captain gave me a quick look-​over before I dove in and noticed my air tank wasn’t turned on, resulting in another scolding for Tomas.
She also noticed at the last moment before new guy entered the water for the second dive that his tank was really low on air and had to be swapped.
Tomas also explained to us that we would do a decompression rest pause but then didn’t actually do them and lead our ascents directly to the surface. We only dove to about sixty feet (using the Christ of the Abyss as reference), but I believe a rest pause is good practice. And why explain them and tell us what they are and not actually do one?
Also, there’s a serious problem with their mooring lines. After my first dive, I noticed my hands were bleeding all over. I had sliced my hands badly on the barnacles that had grown on the mooring line. There were cuts everywhere and, because they’re on a part of my body where the skin is frequently moving and stretching, they took a long time to scab and heal. I’d say there were about eight or nine slices all over my hands. (Tomas had gloves on… new guy and I did not.) The mooring lines need to be replaced.
After all that, this seems like nit picking, but Tomas incorrectly told me I could park for free in the residential area behind the building. This is not true; you can’t park for free until the time we would return, you need to park in a garage.
Another note: there is a 10% discount for booking online. The day before my dive, their website wasn’t working. I pointed this out and asked the Cuban girl who was the receptionist for the 10% discount and she told me it was only a 5% discount. This contradicts what is on their website.
Everything felt rushed and unsafe, and I wasn’t given the private guide I paid for. I am requesting a refund to at least cover the private guide.

El servicio web funciona bien, los instructores hablan varios idiomas y son buena onda.
La empresa que te lleva a hacer las inmersiones son medio mala onda, pero capaz dependa quien te toca. Entiendo que esto ultimo no pertenece a la empresa de buceo. Los equipos estaban en buenas condiciones.

I just left this place like 10 minutes ago. We were trying to sign up for some diving and buy two diving computers, but waited around 20 minutes for the staff to provide no service at all! I mean he didn’t even bother listening to what we wanted, he kept taking in costumers that arrived after us so we decided we would leave since he did not seem interested. I am Very disappointed and will find somewhere else to go spend our money.

I just finished my open water dive certification with south beach dive and surf today. I had an marvelous time. Jonathan was a great instructor. All the staff are very pleasant and friendly. I’m a new bee when It comes to scuba diving and I can be very undecided when I come to picking up stuff to purchase, especially when I have no prior knowledge about what I’m buying, but John (Juan) was very patient and helped me all the way with big smile. I’ve always wanted to scuba diving and I know I would love but my instructor and everyone at South beach surf and dive made it a even better experience. Thanks guys.

Great place! Friendly and professional people all the way to the diving spot, particularly in the store and on the boat. Would definitely recommend anytime!

My boyfriend and I went on a snorkel trip to Key Largo with this company recently. I was not a huge fan of the way it was set up. The trip was clearly more focused towards the divers, not the snorkelers. Also, the water was pretty choppy so several people on the boat got seasick. I would recommend motion sickness medication even if you are used to being on boats. If you do get sea sick, you’re stuck out on the ocean all day.

I am taking my ‘Advanced Open Water’ Scuba course with SB Divers and am having so much fun. The Staff (Megan, Simone) are just great and helpful. They took us up to Molasses Reef in Key Largo and it was one of the most amazing dives I have taken (Including Cancun, Hawaii), I saw dozens of varieties of colorful fish, a Sea Turtle etc.
The people I went with were so much fun. I needed a little catch up on some diving concepts and Simone was nice enough to take us out to a pool for some quick training. They really go the extra mile. The equipment is top rate, and the whole place is just so much fun.
The Boat we took out was well staffed with Dive Masters who knew all about the Reefs, even the Captin of the boat was helping us out. It was a huge boat and I never felt crowded. I highly suggest booking your Dive Tours with South Beach Divers.
Why, I have tried the others, Calypso (the Worst) come to mind. South Beach Divers does all the work for you, you get to relax and just be with nature, see the Beauty of the Reefs, and they get you home safe! I can’t tell you how nice that was!

I love this place. I am so grateful to have had Alvaro and Diran as my instructors– they are both total rock stars. They are extremely patient and know how to teach novice divers, putting them at ease in the open water. Not to mention they have extensive knowledge and experience in what they do. I could not have accomplished my certification without them.
I also want to mention that on my last dive, I had the pleasure of meeting another rock star instructor, Sam, who was giving underwater tours and helping everyone get ready to dive.
I highly recommend SOBE Divers for any of your diving needs and can’t wait to plan my next dive trip with them.

Excellent dive shop! Knowledgeable, full-​service store, great dive trips, including to Key Largo and the Neptune Memorial Reef, which is a must-​see for divers visiting Miamj!

This review is for the retail store only, as I have never gone diving with them. That said, this shop is one of the best I’ve been to. The employees are extremely knowledgeable, and very thorough. There was a small hiccup when ringing me up, and the owner came out from the back office and went out if his way to correct the problem. Excellent products, and stellar customer service? What more could I ask for…

I just got certified as a PADI open water diver this past weekend with South Beach Dive and Surf. My experience was awesome! All the staff was extremely nice and knowledgeable about everything involving equipment, gear, and technical stuff regarding diving. I highly recommend this place for anything you might need either purchase equipment or getting certified as a diver of any level. They are extremely polite and knowledgeable in all areas of diving and surfing :) I couldn’t be happier with my experience there.

I did my open water certification here and I believe they are great at what they do.
I felt at ease with my instructor, both in the pool and in the ocean 60′ down. I believe that that is extremely important when training for certification (as sometimes I do get a little anxious). They also have a great selection of gear and a very knowledgeable staff.

Great shop and service! Web site is great and office staff are helpful and awesome! My son and I were taken to Key Largo. We had bad conditions so we didn’t go to the original planned dive site, but instead taken to a reef area. Even though the conditions were not ideal saw some of the best fish and coral in my 20+ years of diving.

In my continuing quest to conquer the elements, I came to South Beach Divers to take on Water. Yes, I wanted to breathe underwater, communicate telepathically with marine life, possess sonar, be immune to pressure and ride sharks. While there, I was informed that only one of those tasks was accomplishable, which shattered many a childhood dreams, but it’s a good start!
South Beach Divers is ideally located on Washington between 8^th and 9^th street and is a Padi-​designated dive shop. Aside from having a surprisingly nice selection of dive gear for such a small shop, it also provides nearly daily dive and snorkel trips to nearby locations from the Keys to Jupiter for a range of expertise levels. Don’t have gear? Not to worry… they can rent you wetsuit, regulators, BCDs, tanks, etc. Just make sure you know how to swim! Their website is an excellent source of information and has their dive calendar and you can sign up for a trip right online, without any hassle whatsoever. Being where they are located, the trips tend to book up quickly with tourists from all over the world, so booking early seems to be the best option.
But the best part of this shop is not the snazzy location, shiny gear or even the affordable outings. For some reason, South Beach Divers was able to hire the nicest, coolest, most helpful staff anywhere in South Florida. If you can’t appreciate how rare that is, you must be new to Miami! The staff is knowledgeable and makes sure that your experience is always memorable. From training to purchase to transportation, it’s a white-​glove sort of place. This is the major reason that I keep coming back to this place again and again.
So, while they do not yet offer courses in telepathic underwater communication or shark-​riding, if exploring the awe-​inspiring majesty of some of the most incredible coral reefs and shipwrecks in the world is on your list, you can’t go wrong with this place.

I was certified in 2004 back at home. It was in the middle of November in a quarry that had absolutely no attraction, therefore my motivation to dive was gone.
Here I find myself almost 9 years later terrified because I thought I had forgotten everything.
I found the perfect course for me at South Beach Divers in Miami. They have a refresher course that includes time at the pool to have all the basics come back and 2 dives at Key Largo. I didn’t find the course pricey for what it included. All the gear you could need, transportation all the way, 2 dives and instructor.
Key Largo was amazing, really worthy of the trip.
My instructor was great, couldn’t have had it better. Laurent Baczynskyj was always making sure that I had the best experience I could have. He made sure that I felt comfortable during the pool session and gave me the confidence to move on with the dives.
He’s really invested in the people that he has and wants you to enjoy the best experience that you can have. Making it a personal goal every day. Very knowledgable in basically anything you want to ask him. He definitely made the experience better than I could imagine.
The staff at the shop was also very cordial and attentive. I’ll definitely be back on my next trip to Miami.

I dived with SBD for the first time 3 years ago. I have always had a great experience and the customer service received was second to none.
I truly trust them.
This weekend my 12 year old daughter and my 10 year old son got their Open Water PADI certification.
In other words I trusted SBD with 2 of the people I love the most in this world (I have a 6 year old and a wife).
The experience for my children was amazing. They were thrilled. They were in awe of the whole process. One of them said «it was like being in the fish tank you always dreamed of having but a million times larger».
I was personally impressed with their instructor Laurent Baczynskyj. His title is «Dive Master» which is undoubtedly true. He knows his diving inside out. However after seeing the way he interacted with my children, his patience, his loving firmness, and his true commitment to their learning makes me see him as a «Teaching Master». A true professional and awesome person. I could not have asked for a instructor for my children.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Laurent and everyone at SBD for all you did for my kids.
Sincerely
Victor Gospodinoff