Discover Scuba Diving

Lovely, lovely people! From the moment we made our online snorkeling reservation to departing the dingy on our return to shore, we had an incredible experience thanks to the staff members. Our time on the dive boat was safe and fun, with loads of freshly cut fruit, cookies, and NA drinks to restore energy. We stopped at two spots near Santa Catalinas but waves were choppy from the high winds. Even though the water wasn't the clearest, we still saw many schools of fish, angel fish, and reef sharks. Again, I cannot praise Davide and his team enough!

Incredible experience for my husband and I with Tamarindo diving! We did the discover scuba diving experience which included 2 dives. We had been scuba diving once before and are not certified. They prioritize safety, and provided clear instructions and guidance for us. It was a great refresher! On our dives we were lucky enough to see SO much marine life - colorful fish, starfish, moray eels, sharks, dolphins, and 2 beautiful manta rays! We can’t say enough good things. Thank you for an amazing time!

It was a bit chaotic, not as well organized and knowledgeable as I had hoped. The snorkeling and diving were ok, rough water and limited resources on the boat.

This experience was fantastic. I have PADI Open Water certification and it was my husband’s and kids’ first time SCUBA diving. The instructors did a great job briefing about what to do with the regulators and other equipment. The instructors made sure the kids felt comfortable with everything. We saw dolphins and a sea turtle while in the boat. During diving, we saw puffer fish, a leopard ray, lots of fish, and a white tip shark. I highly recommend Tamarindo Diving Center!

Amazing trip!! David and lily were tremendous guides. My two younger boys went diving for the first time and said it was the best part is their time in Tamarindo. From check-in to boat transfer, to the diving, all was incredible. It’s a must do! Thank you guys for the awesome time!

Instructors: The instructors were knowledgeable, caring, kind and so much fun! They made the entire experience wonderful! They were upbeat, and happy the entire time. You could tell they loved their jobs, and that they wanted you to have an incredible time. They stayed on top of everything, so all we had to do was learn and enjoy our time! We were picked up by lilly, and then met other instructors on board. They were all amazing! Experience: This experience was once in a lifetime!! My husband and I had not tried scuba diving before and we weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we had a blast! We were provided with everything we needed, equipment, scuba suits, and flippers. We were picked up from our hotel, and then driven to the starting point. It was a little uncomfortable in the car as they didn’t account for the number of people being picked up, but it wasn’t a big deal as the starting point was literally up the road. We started on the beach getting signed up, sized for our scuba suits, and flippers. Next we jumped on a smaller boat for a short ride to get us to the bigger boat that took us to the Catalina Archipelago. It was a long ride but so so so worth it. They provided water and smaller snacks throughout the tour. We participated in two 40 min dives. In our group there were 3 of us that weren’t certified so we were paired with 2 instructors, another group were certified and went on a deeper dive, and the 3rd group were snorkeling only. Our instructors walked us very quickly through the important information we needed to know, it was a little overwhelming but they mentioned that they would be keeping track of us at all times and they didn’t want us focusing on things other than our breathing, which took a lot of the pressure off of us for our first time. The instructors took us through safety practices and some skill practices during the first dive, assessing us and correcting us to make sure we were diving safely. They kept track of our oxygen, our vests, and our person the entire time. They made sure we were comfortable at all times, I even got sea sick once I was in open water and I was apologizing and the instructor was so kind and reminded me that this is not the first time someone as gotten seasick and it won’t be the last, and to make sure I am comfortable as that is the most important thing. They made sure we were comfortable in our gear, comfortable above water, and helped us get our bearings in the water. The first dive the instructor held onto us and escorted us underwater, and showed us different animals. The second dive the instructor assessed we were ok to hold hands with each other only, and allowed us to roam alongside them. We explored the ocean floor about 15-20 meters below, had an incredible experience and were so proud we were able to accomplish this and mark it off of our bucket list! We saw so many different types of fish, puffer fish, a shark and dolphins. I would 100% do it again! Things to keep in mind: - If you have motion sickness/sea sickness you are going to get hit with it. Come prepared. I am a pharmacist and asked my doctor to give me some scopolamine patches (which worked, but I ended up getting sick anyway). - As a first timer scuba diving is very mind over matter, if you get anxious or scared I would suggest doing the 2 day option and practice in the swimming pool first. There was someone on our boat that wasn’t able to complete the second dive because their anxiety got the better of them and they used up all their oxygen before going under. - Your mask with cover your nose, so you really have to put your mind to work to focus on your breathing. - The second dive gets easier as your body has already adapted to the breathing techniques - we almost sat it out and are so thankful we pushed through! - The most important thing is to stay calm, the instructors are there for you for everything!

Instructors: The instructors were knowledgeable, caring, kind and so much fun! They made the entire experience wonderful! They were upbeat, and happy the entire time. You could tell they loved their jobs, and that they wanted you to have an incredible time. They stayed on top of everything, so all we had to do was learn and enjoy our time! Experience: This experience was once in a lifetime!! My husband and I had not tried scuba diving before and we weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we had a blast! We were provided with everything we needed, equipment, scuba suits, and flippers. We were picked up from our hotel, and then driven to the starting point. It was a little uncomfortable in the car as they didn’t account for the number of people being picked up, but it wasn’t a big deal as the starting point was literally up the road. We started on the beach getting signed up, sized for our scuba suits, and flippers. Next we jumped on a smaller boat for a short ride to get us to the bigger boat that took us to the Catalina Archipelago. It was a long ride but so so so worth it. They provided water and smaller snacks throughout the tour. We participated in two 40 min dives. In our group there were 3 of us that weren’t certified so we were paired with 2 instructors, another group were certified and went on a deeper dive, and the 3rd group were snorkeling only. Our instructors walked us very quickly through the important information we needed to know, it was a little overwhelming but they mentioned that they would be keeping track of us at all times and they didn’t want us focusing on things other than our breathing, which took a lot of the pressure off of us for our first time. The instructors took us through safety practices and some skill practices during the first dive, assessing us and correcting us to make sure we were diving safely. They kept track of our oxygen, our vests, and our person the entire time. They made sure we were comfortable at all times, I even got sea sick once I was in open water and I was apologizing and the instructor was so kind and reminded me that this is not the first time someone as gotten seasick and it won’t be the last, and to make sure I am comfortable as that is the most important thing. They made sure we were comfortable in our gear, comfortable above water, and helped us get our bearings in the water. The first dive the instructor held onto us and escorted us underwater, and showed us different animals. The second dive the instructor assessed we were ok to hold hands with each other only, and allowed us to roam alongside them. We explored the ocean floor about 15-20 meters below, had an incredible experience and were so proud we were able to accomplish this and mark it off of our bucket list! We saw so many different types of fish, puffer fish, a shark and dolphins. I would 100% do it again! Things to keep in mind: - If you have motion sickness/sea sickness you are going to get hit with it. Come prepared. I am a pharmacist and asked my doctor to give me some scopolamine patches (which worked, but I ended up getting sick anyway). - As a first timer scuba diving is very mind over matter, if you get anxious or scared I would suggest doing the 2 day option and practice in the swimming pool first. There was someone on our boat that wasn’t able to complete the second dive because their anxiety got the better of them and they used up all their oxygen before going under. - Your mask with cover your nose, so you really have to put your mind to work to focus on your breathing. - The second dive gets easier as your body has already adapted to the breathing techniques - we almost sat it out and are so thankful we pushed through! - The most important thing is to stay calm, the instructors are there for you for everything!

Mario was great, helped tell us what was needed with no prior experience. Even though I got a bit seasick after the first dive, it was still a wonderful experience!

The team were great. Even though I have scuba dived before and am certified. I had asked to me treated as a newbie due to it being over 15 years since I had been. The discover scuba diving course was great. Instructors checked on you constantly and your well being came first. I was a little bit uneasy about not having a depth gauge. But I guess for a first time diver that just gives more to worry about. Overall a great experience we did end up down at 60ft so bring a go pro housing. I thought we were only going to be at 30ft so I killed my go pro. (my bad for not asking) Got to see eel snake, puffer fish, white tip sharks. I wore a shorty wetsuit and was very warm the whole time. I forgot his name but the guy from Italy was our instructor and he needs a pay rise. :o)

Got dizzy, 2 boat rides, one in a very small boat then into a bigger boat for 1 hour drive. Instructor doesn’t speak and explain well in English.