Maui Scuba Diving Introductory Lesson from Lahaina

My 12-year old son had a wonderful first diving experience with Extended Horizons and our terrific dive master, Gustavo. Gu was patient and friendly, and stressed the importance of safety (first and foremost) and respecting the reef. My son felt safe and comfortable the whole time and (of course) now wants to get certified. Terrific introduction to the wonders of diving!

When you go diving, nothing matters more than confidence and fun—and Extended Horizons delivers both in spades. I’ve been diving for over 30 years, and I can say without hesitation that a truly great dive master is never a given. On this trip, we dove with Gus, and he was exceptional: calm, experienced, attentive, and genuinely invested in making the dive both safe and enjoyable. I was diving with my 18-year-old son on an introductory dive, and given the additional logistical challenges off the coast following the Maui fires and limited boat availability, the situation could easily have felt stressful. Instead, Extended Horizons handled everything with grace, professionalism, and expertise. From preparation to execution, the entire experience felt seamless and thoughtfully managed. Gus struck the perfect balance between safety and enjoyment, creating an environment where my son felt comfortable and excited, and where I felt complete confidence as a long-time diver and parent. If you’re considering diving in Maui, do not hesitate. Extended Horizons is the real deal—and Gus is exactly the kind of dive master you hope to find but rarely do. This is your company.

My son and I had a great experience with Extended Horizons last week. We decided to go diving last minute and Eric (owner) was very hands on helping us get everything set up for a beach dive. I've been certified for years but it's been a few years and this was my sons first dive. Our instructor Michael was knowledgeable, thorough, and patient while we oriented ourselves with the equipment and made our initial decent beneath the surface. Unfortunately visibility wasn't great and the current had us working harder than I would have liked, but it still turned out to be a great day! What really impressed me is the service I received after the dive. I reached out to Eric to thank him for his help and let him know about the conditions and he took the time to listen and sincerely shared in our excitement. We've been lucky enough to travel to Maui a few times and I've been diving every time, but sharing this experience with my son made it the best dive yet. The experience and professionalism Extended Horizons brought to the beach that day allowed us to enjoy the dive without any stress or concerns. I can't imaging a better way for my son to make his first dive! When it comes time for my other kids to try diving, Eric will be my first call. I feel it's important to point out that I was not asked to post a review. The last two companies I went diving with in Maui offered me a discount on my next dive if I post a positive review. Eric and his team are the real deal and earned all the positive reviews including this one. Thank you Eric, Michael, and Extended Horizons!

This was something I had been looking forward to for a long time. I finally convinced my brother to go with me. We had very different experiences. Gu was our instructor and he did an excellent job explaining everything. He took his time and added a little humor which was a nice touch. My brother’s experience was great. He was able to complete the dive and really enjoyed it. My experience was not so good. The educational part was great. I felt confident that I could successfully complete the dive. Cue the not so good part. . . When it was time to put our wetsuits on is when things went downhill. In retrospect I should have abandoned the dive right then but because I was determined to finally get to dive I pushed on. My wetsuit was way too small. Like it took 4 of us trying to tug, pull and zip it up!! It definitely was restricting movement and it was hard to be able to breathe normally. When it came time to put our tanks on I wasn’t able to get the waist strap to even come close to being snug. It was huge and offered no support in stabilizing the tank. I questioned this and was told it would be ok. After we got into the water it was difficult to put on the flippers because I was fighting the tight wetsuit and my tank was flopping from side to side knocking me off balance. I was able to put them on without assistance but once on I struggled to get my feet under me. Gu tried to help but the wetsuit was digging into my legs and restricting movement in my shoulders. I was becoming tired from fighting the tank flopping back and forth and trying to straighten my legs out below me and just didn’t feel like I would be able to breathe properly with the suit being tight and going down 30 feet so I chose to abandon the dive. I didn’t feel like it was safe for me to do so. Big disappointment but safety first! I realize that your dive shop was lost during the fire and that factors in to why only one size gear was brought instead of being able to get fitted but it was an expensive disappointment that wasn’t entirely my fault. I was happy for my brother though. He said his experience was awesome! For those wanting to use this company to dive I would recommend them because the pre-dive preparation was very good but I would make sure and be fitted so that you would have the safest and best experience.

We took 2 dives with Mike from Extended horizons this morning. Mike was highly qualified and gave great instruction before, during and after the dives. The water was somewhat cloudy when we went in due to some wave activity but when we swam out, away from shore we could see just fine. Plenty of coral, fish, eels, and even turtles! It was a great experience! The dive location was at a local park right on the ocean. Parking was shaded, plentiful, and there was even a restroom/shower to get all the sand and salt off. When we return to Maui we will definitely be looking to have him take us again. Thank you again for the great dive!

Mike from extended horizons was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and was able to guide first time individuals with ease. He made sure to go over all of the important information and answer any questions that we had. I would 100% use Extended horizons again.

Great experience with first ever dive. Gustavo was very patient and made us feel safe and comfortable. Eric was very responsive in coordinating our trip. Professional operation all the way! Would definitely recommend for new divers!

Wow what an experience. The best time of my life. Kevin and Mike were the best dive partners. So attentive and patient. I loved that they pointed out all the things you'll never see snorkeling. I felt so safe and can't wait to dive with them again.

Overall my trip was fantastic despite some mishaps! We did a small introductory dive with a group of 4 (three learners and our instructor Michael). Michael was very knowledgeable and had a good mix of emphasizing the fun aspect while maintaining an appropriate seriousness towards safety. During the dive it became clear that the other participants weren't able to get a comfortable enough handle on the techniques for moving in the water to be able to safely dive down. As a result, I was the only one who got to actually dive and go through the safety procedures to pass the certification, but the planned follow up dive wasn't able to happen. Michael advised they may be able to set me up with a follow up excursion and that I should call and talk to Eric. After gathering more info about our trip, Eric advised that unfortunately there weren't any more openings that I could slot in for my vacation, but he gave me a generous partial refund of 70% for the trip, despite the fact that the situation was mostly out of their control. I will definitely plan to rebook with them when I get the chance!

Been diving w/Extended Horizons for many years, & they’re excellent. All the dive masters are super friendly, engaging, & really knowledgeable, & this year, I finally took my kids! Michael was super caring, patient, & helpful, both out of the water & in the water. Highly recommend!