Scuba Mike

Mike was amazing. I have logged a couple dives and it was my girlfriends first dive. Mike made her feel extremely comfortable and safe the entire time. It is obvious that Mike is very educated and knows what he is talking about. There was no point where my girlfriend felt scared or uneducated enough to make a safe first dive. We loved getting to know Mike and hearing some of his stories. He is a truly one of a kind person and I wouldn’t want to dive with anyone else. My girlfriend and I had a blast and would definitely dive with Mike again if we ever make it back to Maui!!!

If you are looking to do a first time dive, DO NOT have Mike as an instructor! Apparently having been on one dive 26 yrs ago made me «experienced». One of the other guys, I’ll call him «John», in our small group of 4 also dove @ 20 yrs ago so I guess that made him «experienced» as well. My husband was in the group who had a little experience from his teen yrs and the other was a student working towards being a master diver. He was down right mean to John with basically no experience.
Once in the water I couldn’t keep myself down no matter how hard I tried. He would grab me and push me down. My mask kept filling up with water. While trying to get the water out, the strap would come undone! I told him on land it didn’t feel like a good fit but he said he tested it on me and it was a good fit, I was wearing it wrong. Side note… I rented a snorkel mask from Boss Frogs and had no problems with water filling my mask because I was fitted properly. He also told John after the 1^st dive that he adjusted Johns BC «6 or 7 times down there» which wasn’t true.
I was stupid enough to go on a second dive but with a scooter. I thought it would be easier. Well it wasn’t I ended up getting sick from the water blowing out of the scooter hitting my stomach. I lasted almost the entire dive before I signaled to him that I needed to go up and he was not happy. While we were going back to shore, he made a comment that implied he had a bad group of people, me and John anyway. My husband had no problems what so ever.
If you’re experienced he’s probably great. If you are a first time diver, find someone else.

Mike is the very best instructor hands down. I first learned to dive with Mike 12 yrs ago. We did 12 dives in 10 days. There has probably never been a person more afraid of this adventure than me. Mike was extremely patient, but most of all… safety was always his greatest concern. We recently returned to Maui and looked to see if Mike was still on the island. Thank goodness he was! We had a great reunion!!! Mike remembered us as well and he took us out for an amazing 4 dives!!! I considered myself a beginner, as we have not dove since the last time we were in Maui. Mike gave me all the training and reminders I needed. Then as we got into the water, Mike sensed my nervousness and took me by the hand for the first 30 mins of the dive. His #1 priority is his divers safety, then to have a great experience. Those were my priorities too. Mike always has the most cutting edge NEW equipment! We used his underwater scooters on 3 of the 4 dives. Those make the experience AMAZING. I would not dive without them again. Anyone looking for the greatest scuba experience in Maui, they must see Mike. With as many times as we have used Mike as our Master Diver, I cannot understand how anyone can write a negative review about him.

I was so stoked to go scuba diving for first time. Mike was a great instructor but a little rough on beginners. Overall it was a great experience, but scuba diving in Maui– how could it not be good. My issues: he cancelled on us for the original date then put us in a group with ALL very experienced divers. Which might have been a good thing Bc we dove right in. Even for a beginner both dives felt rushed (but what do I know). I enjoyed the scooters. But really my issue is I had trouble equalizing my ears going down and Mike descended FAST, didn’t want to wait. I would use Mike again. And probably will have a better experience now that I have experience!

Mike answered the phone, he was so incredibly rude that we ended up not booking with him, we asked about the price and this was his answer in a very condescending way «a Kia and a Mercedes both have 4 wheels but they have different experiences» not explaining anything else. Terrible

We had a great experience with scuba Mike. He is extremely professional and a great structure. We always felt safe and enjoy the beautiful sites that we had a chance to see. Would highly recommend him to anyone. He is also super fun and a good person to be around. He is always really positive. If you’re planning on getting certified you should definitely go with SCUBA Mike!

Overall I would recommend Scuba Mike. I do have a couple quasi-​complaints and some positive things to say.
When I spoke to him about booking a trip I specifically told him I wanted to go to areas where I could see dolphins in the wild. But he did not bring me to an area where dolphins were known to go. I was hoping to go to La Perouse Bay or somewhere where they’re known to go. But he brought me to Makena Landing instead, which, to my knowledge is not a place where they’re known to go. I know they’re wild animals and there are no guarantees, but I was hoping to go to a place where I thought we’d have a higher chance of seeing them. So that was a little upsetting.
Now, having said that, this was the greatest scuba diving experience I’ve had yet. I saw more at Makena Landing than I have anywhere else I have ever been in this world. I saw pufferfish, turtles and all kinds of other stuff, it was great! The coolest experience though, was scuba diving through caves. One cave we went in there were a whole bunch of Black tip reef sharks, it was fantastic! I will remember this for life.
Even though this was a very memorable trip I do have a complaint regarding underwater photographs. I booked a scooter scuba trip with him and the morning of, I asked if it would be alright if I brought an underwater camera along. He said yes, that’s fine. I don’t own an underwater camera so I had to rent one. So before I met up with him I went and rented one. When I met up with him Mike he kept insisting that I don’t use the camera and that he take photos and video instead. He insisted because it was my first time using a scooter and he was worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle doing both at the same time or that the camera strap would get caught in the propeller. I conceded because he’s the expert and I didn’t end up getting to use the camera I paid for that day, which was not fun having to eat that money. He took some really wonderful photos and video of me underwater! So after the trip he asked me if I wanted any photos and videos he took from the camera, I selected a few but didn’t get my videos, instead I got a bunch of photos I didn’t want because he doesn’t usually give out videos. He didn’t give me any the videos I requested yet, but we’re currently trying to work something out. Hopefully this review isn’t misconstrued as hate or disdain, nothing could be further from the truth. I really had a great time, I just think people should be aware of some things I experienced while hiring him for a dive tour.
Mike himself is witty and funny and will keep you interested the whole time. He was schooling me on life by telling me his life story. I jokingly said that I’d like for him to be my life mentor so I can learn from him and live the kind of life he lives but I was also very serious when I said it too. He’s lived a very interesting life and if you’re lucky enough you’ll get to hear about it and hopefully learn something about yourself while listening. I learned a lot about him and myself by listening.
I think one of the best parts about diving with him is that he takes smaller groups of people. In my experience and research these types of smaller more personal trips cost a lot of money. I was fortunate to dive by myself with just him that day and I felt like I had a better and cheaper experience for it.
Overall I had a great experience, but I wouldn’t recommend people who are beginner scuba divers to dive with him. I think his personality works better with people who are more confident diving. But what do I know? Don’t listen to me. if you’re a beginner you might actually gain confidence simply by diving with someone like Mike.
Thanks Mike, much love!

When I met Mike he automatically test me with what I know. Its a personal reference really on how you prefer your teacher. He’s honest upfront and assertive which may come off offensive to some people. But this activity is life and death for us newbies. He really educated me on the skills and taught me things in my other class that I didn’t even know about. He has good intentions. I paid him educate me and test my skills. That is exactly what he provided us

We had a great experience with Mike. From his onshore instructions to making us comfortable in the water, this guy knows his stuff and he created a fun and safe time.
His equipment was also very good and we had no issues. We highly recommend Mike!

I just recently went on my second dive (5÷24÷13) with Scuba Mike. It was wonderful! We did a scooter dive. He got right back to me after I filled out his reservation request form online. He was extremely flexible with my schedule and worked with me to pick the right date and place to dive (due to some south swells we dove in a different spot). He set up all the gear and explained everything we needed to know. (my first dive ever was with Scuba Mike 2 years ago and he made me feel very comfortable and safe). He even took pictures of us during our dive. We ended up taking him out to lunch because we had such a great time with Scuba Mike and he has some amazing stories and knows the island very well. Each time I have done a dive with Scuba Mike he treats me like a local and like a friend. He takes his job very seriously and will make sure you are safe and have a good time. I won’t dive with anyone else on Maui.

i picked scuba mike based on his clear website, reviews like this, and a phone chat. the experience exceeded my expectations by a long shot. it was an experience, not just a class with a certification at the end. mike answers questions like a professor, ensures the important safety aspects are well understood, and notices everything in/​out of the water. he obviously enjoys what he does and enjoys instructing others to do things the ‘right way’. i appreciated how flexible he was on my schedule constraints. i also enjoyed his insightful editorial discussions on everything from healthy eating to adventures of all kinds. mike is a guy you can trust to be safe and learn as much as you can soak in! my next goal is to come back with my kids and ensure we all get open water certified.

Went to scuba Mike on my Hawaii vacation. The scuba experience was amazing being my first time but Mike is very rude. Not very patient and I felt he cut us short in time. He and his assistant were arguing the whole time in front of us. Not very professional

This was my first dive and I could not have asked for a better instructor, mike is great. My only regret is I didn’t call mike my first day on the island

On our Maui vacation we took 2 dives with Scuba Mike. I am not sure what happened on other dives with Mike but I can say ours was very enjoyable and we had an amazing time.
Scuba Mike was very professional, knowledgeable, fun and took safety as priority. I felt very comfortable diving with Scuba mike. As a first time diver I can say that he insured I was comfortable and helped me face my fear.
I would absolutely recommend Scuba Mike to others!

Mike certified (check out dive) for both of my kids (20 and 17 years) on Dec. 28, 2012. The whole family went diving with Mike on 4 fantastic dives. Saw lots of exciting fish, octopus, ‘cuda’ fish. Mike re-​enforced the classroom work that both of my kids received as well as giving much more information that was delivered by our local dive shop. We enjoyed the 4 dives, we did another scooter dive with Mike a few days later. Highly recommend!!!

More like Scuba Jerk! Mike may be a good guide, but he is a horrible instructor. He has absolutely NO PATIENCE and when I had trouble with my equipment, instead of helping me through it, he yelled and sweared at me to the point of making me cry.
We really wanted to get certified but ending up canceling the rest of our dives and trying to get SOME of our money back. We would NOT recommend him to anyone that hasn’t already had tons of professional training.