Aquarius Dive Shop

Incredibly knowledgable and friendly. Max had great first hand knowledge and experience diving around the area and was able to answer all my questions. All of the gear they sell and use is top notch quality and they have the staff and support to back up your purchase.

This shop is good to go. Kim was knowledgeable, organized, and easy going.

I do not understand why this shop especially James gets so many five stars rating. I took the open water class from them earlier on in the summer because they had a groupon special they had going. I had Denise and James as my instructor: James seemed more interested in the women in the class more than anything else, and there seemed to be a miss under standing between James and Denise. She would describe what we where going to do then when we went under the water James would have us do different skills all very confusing. After the we finished the class up on Sunday he was gonna talk to me about gear for the advanced class and get me materials since the next class was the following weekend, but as we were talking he answered his cell walked outside and left in his truck. I stood there in disbelief seriously the worst customer service I have every experience. I made two more appointments with him and he never showed up to any of them and it was very frustrating. The only person who seemed to be there was and was chris I think he is the manager, he was the only person at the shop for all of my scheduled at meeting with James. Chris apologized for James but couldn’t really help me because James didn’t tell him what the special price was for signing up for the Advanced class James had offered us. So needless to say never going back to thisplace again.

My husband & I rented some tanks, weights, & a weight belt for a SCUBA dive we planed at Point Lobos. The girl who helped us was nice, fast, and helpful.

I dove with Denise for my dry suit certification at the Breakwater. She was very professional and tailored the course to my level of comfort in the water. The shop was great in hooking me up with gear that fit well and worked reliably in the water. If you are the type of person who is most comfortable in warm water, but you enjoy diverse ocean environments I would highly recommend getting the dry suit certification here. I have lived here 5 years and would have gotten this certification much sooner had I known how much more comfortable diving would be.
After my class I was eager to dive more and asked the shop for an instructor/​guide the following day. Unfortunately it was Father’s Day, but James was still able to help out short notice. We went to Point Lobos for a few shore dives. Afterwards our whole group went out to lunch together.
Overall I was very satisfied with the level of friendly service and instruction their shop provided and would highly recommend them for anyone in the area.

Great shop with friendly, laidback staff. Havent done much except rent tanks but they have always been fun to be around. They don’t work too fast, but I am not expecting super speedy service at a dive shop usually.
Yesterday, I lost or someone accidentally left with my key from the dive shop. I had to make arrangements to get back my problem solved and they were very helpful watching my vehicle and even giving me a quick ride. These guys care about being good to their customers and deserve your business.

KIM IS FANTASTIC. We hadn’t been diving in segue and he patiently explained everything and was so kind and generous.

I came to Aquarius to complete a rescue diver course. I didn’t finalize the reservation so when I showed up there was no rescue diver course for me. The guys at the shop double timed to put together a course while I was still in Monterey. I didn’t expect it of them but I was grateful for how well they treated me. During my course I gained the skills I wanted while having a lot of fun. I enjoyed myself so much I ended up hanging around the shop for a while and doing some extra tour dives with the staff.
The whole staff at Aquarius is attentive and loves to dive. It’s a relaxed place where anyone can feel comfortable. The owner James is very welcoming and has lived in Monterey since he was a toddler. He knows the area inside and out. I’ve visited other dive shops in the area and I feel most at home at Aquarius. Monterey is an amazing place to dive. There is so much life here you could spend a lifetime enjoying the all the sites. I don’t have a better recommendation than Aquarius.

My experience with this dive shop was such a great intro into the world of diving for me. Denise and James were so great at making sure every person was well educated and comfortable going into an experience that is nerve racking for anyone. I will definitely be back to the shop for more courses in the future and have already told friends to go there for any dive needs and I will continue to do so! Thank you so much Denise and James! You guys are awesome!!! ;)

Completed my PADI open water diver course with James, Denise, Scott and Danielle on Feb 22. Aquarius is the shop in Monterey and surrounding area for your scuba diving certifications. The crew (each with unique personalities) was professional. Their instructions were easy to understand and follow. They consistently enforced the proper procedures and corrected our mistakes… I swear Denise and James each have more than a pair of eyes, «Oxg tank is standing up. You owe me a beer!!! Mask is on your head. 6-​pack!» As you can tell, aside from the ability to give clear and concise instructions, and ensured our safety 100% of the time, they also incorporated the 2^nd most important rule to every lesson: FUN!!! =D I came into the course with all sorts of fear. Now, my fears are gone, and I am ready to jump back into the ocean to continue exploring. I truly enjoyed the whole experience – it was a blast, and the people (instructors and people in the course) I met were amazing. Looking forward to future dives with them again. One last input: the shop (including the lavatory) is clean and neat, which to me, depicts the respect management and associates have not only for the shop, but also for their customers and friends.
Keep up the great work, Aquarius!!!
I like to add that I completed Advanced Open Water with Kim Glenn on 29 Mar. He is patient, optimistic, knowledgeable, and friendly. He is one of the finest diving instructors. I will definitely go back to him for future certifications.

I sure took my sweet time updating this review. My original review was based on their old owner (ignore reviews from 2013 and back — those were from old ownership) and all I can say is the new ownership has revitalized the shop in every way.
The new owner and staff are all very friendly and happy to help. They rent drysuits and undergarments and can fill air, nitrox and argon (not sure about trimix but I don’t think they get too much tech business here). I was pleased to learn that they bank 32% so you do not need an O2 cleaned tank to get nixtrox fills. They are the only dealers of DUI in Monterey as well as being dealers for Bare and Scuba Pro amongst others.
I think fill prices here are a tad bit high (and argon was outrageously high — get that filled else where) but I’m nit picking now. Aquarius is friendly, helpful and conveniently located just off the freeway on your way to Carmel or into Monterey Bay.

Aquarius Dive Shop provided a safe learning environment that allowed my boyfriend and I to get PADI open water certified. The staff was very friendly and welcoming! I didn’t realize how awesome a dive community can be until I came to this shop. Our instructor Denise was top notch! She made us feel comfortable throughout the entire certification process and was very accomodating toward our schedule. She is patient beyond words and you can tell she is very passionate about diving. Everyone at Aquarius is passionate about diving!
Great owner and great rental gear at an affordable price! I highly recommend Aquarius Dive Shop!

aquarius deserves 5 stars and more. I took the padi open water certification course through aquarius and they were amazing. Scott and max were so helpful in the shop picking out gear to purchase and rentals. They really make you feel like you are best friends right from the start. Our instructor denise was and is beyond phenomenal. She is very patient with you if you are struggling but not too enabling. Very well balanced. James (the owner) was also pretty patient and thoughtful. Like I said, you feel like you are part of the dive shop family the moment you step in the shop and the entire time in the pool and ocean. You are well taught and taken care of. I was very nervous about everything and the team was great answering a million questions and not treating you like you are crazy :)

I don’t write many Unilocal reviews… So why write a review about Aquarius Dive Shop?
Because I started diving in 2009 — I got certified through SSI via Bamboo Reef in San Francisco. What did I learn? From the instructor on-​site that taught us in the pool and with the book? A good amount. The ‘in Monterey, real Ocean dive instructor’? — Not so much. Enough to pass the examine and get excited about Scuba (trust– I talked a friend into getting certified and unlike me he did not run out and buy all his own gear a week later for $ 5K, he stopped after 7 dives so I don’t think the instructor played a role in my excitement because we both had the same guy and he passed my friend who couldn’t get his reg back in his mouth!!).
Noted above, I LOVED Scuba Diving SO Frigging much I went back and bought all my own gear about one week later (so after about 9 dives total I owned my own gear, 6 dives later I bought a computer!) and I dove nearly every Sat and Sun almost all of 2009 (some of 2010).
Fast forward to today. Life changed (job, relationship, living location, etc.) and I had not dove since 2010 and now it’s the END of 2014 and I’m going to Maul, Hawaii (YES!!) for the first time EVER — flying out this Sunday for a 9 day trip.
I could have spent $ 75-​$ 85 w/​Bamboo Reef or $ 95 w/​Aquarius to have a ‘Dive Master’ dive with me for 2 dives one day this week (I’m on vacation already) but after speaking with both Dive shops, and especially with James the owner of Aquarius, I decided I’d rather spend $ 350 and get a private «Advanced Open Water Certification» class done in 5 dives over 2 days.
Mind you– I spoke to James once over last weekend and then again (because I had to think about if it was worth the $$$ but I want to do advanced dives in Maui) this Monday at nearly 6pm (closing!).
He called one of his Instructors who happened to be free yesterday and today and we squared it all up with CC over the phone and then I went home & started the long process of making sure I wasn’t missing anything (scuba wise).
My instructor, Paul Warren, was hands down the MOST Amazing instructor ever!
Now — let me be fair — I’m sure Aquarius and other Scuba Dive Shops have other equally excellent instructors. This is just my personal experience with Paul.
Let me back track just a bit — I’ve already logged (before 2 days ago) 50 – 55 dives. I’ve already done night dives, dove to 95 – 100 feet ~10 times and 100 – 120 feet ~5 times (and I used my compass down in the Catalina Islands). So let’s just say I thought I already ‘knew’ everything I was going to be taught and was looking at this as more of a ‘refresher’ and to add 1 more cert. to my belt.
Then I met Paul Warren!!!
And yes, the first dive was to some extent partially a refresher (and Fish Identification) & not just that dive but EVERY dive I did with Paul I learned a «LOT» — not just «A BIT» like I did during my Open Water Class w/​Bamboo Reef.
Paul was SO knowledgable about ALL things Scuba and equally as important to me «Safety» (I think he has a background as an EMT and more). Not only did we go over exactly what PADI (the Org) requires for me to attain my AOW Certification Paul went the extra 100+ miles with me and kept asking me to come up with questions, or did I have any questions, or here’s a better way to invoke that particular skill.
And seriously, unlike Bamboo Reef (Sorry Aquarius, not trying to scare off customers — just being honest) — if I couldn’t perform any of the 5 requisite dives properly — Paul was «not» about to just simply pat me on the back and ‘pass’ me because I had paid for the course.
Now that being said, if you just finished your Open Water Certification and, in my humble opinion, have 2 – 4 more dives under your belt, you could pass this class if Paul is your instructor — you just may not learn as much «extra» stuff as I did because I came in loaded with a ton (to me ha!) of dives already under my belt (I think more than most peeps acquire in 1 year of diving but ?..).
Also let me just tell you that Paul was so awesome, he went easy on me til ½ way through the first dive so I could get re-​acclimated to being under water and then started kicking it up. He was 150% aware of me, our surroundings and the environment at all times. He politely critiqued the gear Bamboo Reef sold me back in 2009 for safety reasons but NOT in a condescending «I’m better than you» way but rather in a «hey, it’s your life so I suggest you swap out this and into this» (speaking about my alternate).
On the land he was SO VERY thorough both before the dives with our briefings and post dives with our de-​briefings.
The owner James rocks too. He provided Paul with hot coco, hot water (to pour in our suits), and healthy snacks which even though I brought my own water and bananas — I really appreciated!
If your new to Scuba and want to ‘up your game’ or if you’re like me and have a bunch of dives & want to take it to the next level — call Aquarius and ask for Paul Warren!!!

High pressure steel tanks filled to 3500? That’s pretty sweet. Altogether my buddy and I rented everything you need to dive and all of the gear was just great.
The staff was really friendly, their diving conditions hotline is super helpful.
I also forgot my dive computer at the shop (and drove back to Berkeley) and they promptly shipped it to my address. I paid for shipping, but seriously, I had it the next week– that’s amazing service. Thanks Aquarius!

Just received our certification through Aquarius Dive Shop. The staff was remarkable!!! The owner James is a Saint in disguise, Chris is very knowledgeable, Liam is a great young man who is striving to learn the business and is eager to help. Met Scott one time. Due to some personal issues on our end we had to use two instructors. The first and last one is, simply put, a joy to learn from. Denise is
her name and teaching’s her game!!! What a wonderful experience to have had her as our dive instructor!!! Now we come to Kim… our middle of the week instructor… I was having some issues and could not finish the pool dive so James hooked us up with Kim. Who is an angel in disguise…
I actually think Kim is the Dali Lama of dive!!! Our overall experience with Aquarius Dive Shop and their independent instructor’s was delightful, I highly recommend this fine group of folks!!!

I came to Monterey with a couple of friends and we booked the two-​tank shore dive and full rental gear. We are all certified divers but one friend and I only had about a dozen dives under our belts so we aren’t the most experienced. We were greeted by super friendly staff who not only helped us pick a dive spot, they even got us into Point Lomos without a reservation. The rental gear here is really good including split fins which I’ve never seen for rent before! BCDs were very new and good quality. The staff were patient as we all tried on multiple items to find the right size.
Denise was our guide and she was amazing and patient. She brought a flashlight and showed us amazing stuff. She was encouraging when people had trouble and even brought hot chocolate and snacks for us to enjoy between dives! Plus — we were having rental car troubles so she arranged a ride for us and our gear to the dive site and even suggested we have the rental car company meet us at the lot after our dive. Just outstanding customer service.
I hope to be back to Monterey again soon and I will definitely be diving with Aquarius again! Thanks for everything guys!

This is a well stocked dive shop. Lots of nice toys, good selection of scuba gear for sale and rent, free diving gear, and drysuits. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. The new owner has turned the shop from what it use to be. We would definitely be coming back.

Love. This. Shop.
If you have not been to Aquarius lately, go again. I had a number of poor experiences with the old owners and vowed never to return. A friend of mine uses this shop regularly and I grudgingly gave it another go.
I was pleased to find that rather than my usual experience of being totally ignored (even when I was the only customer in the shop) I was immediately greeted by James, the new owner (you might know him as he worked for the previous owners as well). He is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and a great instructor and diver. He has business acumen, excellent customer service, and it is fun to see the changes and upgrades he is constantly making to the shop each time I go in. If I need a product they find it, even if they don’t have it in stock, it is always, «we’ll get that». Air fills are fast, done in water and topped off. Chris is friendly, remembers your name, knows the product and is always ready with a smile and happy to help. Rental equipment is better quality than most and is in great condition.
There are other dive shops in town, and some of them are great too, but James and Chris want your business, are willing to earn, it and you will become friends in the process, so why not give them a try? All the old reviews that don’t rate this shop are in regard to the previous owners and are well deserved but NOT APPLICABLE to the shop under James and his team.

Our favorite dive shop in Monterey.
Unlike most places, when you rent gear here, they make you try it on and test it all out so that you don’t end up having to come back for something missing/​poor fit. We appreciated the extra attention and will miss this place when we move to SoCal.