San Diego Divers

I would give it 6 stars if I could. Rob was a fantastic instructor. Janet and the others too, but Rob was our main instructor for basic certification and he did a fantastic job all around. I thought at first it was strange the schedule was not updated on the webpage and I wasn’t sure how we’d both make it with our busy work schedules, BUT the reason their webpage isn’t updated is because their class sizes are small and students had a lot of scheduling issues. It was the students, not San Diego Divers that upset any chance of a predictable schedule. Our final ocean dive was just us and Rob — really they were so accommodating and gave a lot of personal attention. We can’t wait for our Cozumel trip and should look at more classes with SD Divers. What a great experience overall!

I needed to get some tanks serviced and headed down to San Diego Divers with my 4 year old daughter. The people running the shop were awesome! I was able to get professional advice, services, and even a lesson on how tanks are hydro tested. Janet was patient with Ellie and showed her around the shop while I talked with Malcolm and Lonnie. I immediately knew that this is my local dive store for life. Great prices, knowledge, service, and people.

My fiancé and I recently went through SD Divers for our Naui Basic Open Water Certification. We had researched a lot of different places throughout San Diego and we were extremely happy that we went with SD Divers. They offer the best priced package and there were no corners cut. The instructors are very professional and they do an amazing job representing Naui Worldwide as a scuba organization.
The overall curriculum moves pretty fast between the classroom, pool, and ocean sessions, which is nice because it doesn’t drag out. The classroom sessions are very informative and concise with the topics covered. The open water dives went great and the dive instructors were really patient with the group that we had.
I highly recommend them for getting your dive certification. The shop makes getting your equipment and tank fills really convenient. We look forward to going through SD Divers for our Advanced Open Water and Nitrox Certifications in the near future.
Thank you so much to Rob and Janet!

5 stars for a 5 star dive shop. These guys and girl (Janet ;)) are all super knowledgeable about all and every aspect of diving, are very friendly and willing to take the time and share their info whenever you enter the store.
The shop offers every level of equipment from beginner rental to advanced rebreather’s.
If you dive Nitrox this is definitely the place to get your refills as they’re the only shop to offer partial fills and charge accordingly.

Great place. Friendly. They treat people with great respect and give great advice. I will be their customer long as I live in San Diego.

SD Divers is my favorite local dive shop. I am a resident of Irvine, CA, however, I am a grad student in Marine Biology who does research off Point Loma and La Jolla kelp beds. I found this shop last summer and now visit for regular gear maintenance, tank fills, and honestly, advice for anything dive-​related or life-​related really :) The staff is extremely knowledgeable about anything from recreational to technical diving and they truly care about the service they provide. I had a tough time with the purchase of gear from another diver recently and all I can say is that I would forever come here because of the kind and generous advice and help I received from them. They will always be my dive shop in San Diego, particularly as I continue to dive into technical training (pun intended). Thank you Lonnie, Janet, Joe and crew!

I found this place because I wanted to get my fiancé his Open Water certification for this birthday. I’ve been a NAUI Master Diver since 2007, so I’m a definitely biased towards their training program. I also steer clear of PADI because it always seems like their classes are overcrowded. San Diego Divers was one of only a few shops in San Diego offering NAUI classes.
On the phone and via email, I had dealt with Lonnie and Janet – they were nice, informative, and prompt with email replies. Their location was pretty easy to access – right off of the 5 so I didn’t have to deal with any La Jolla traffic.
My fiancé loved the course. They were able to accommodate his busy schedule by letting him do a hybrid classroom with online learning at no extra charge (I think PADI charges for this). The class fee also included gear rental, so the only thing he had to buy were dive booties. The class was small (about 5 people) so he was able to get ample one-​on-​one time with his instructor, Rob… I consider this to be very important for beginner divers! They even let me tag along on the last day of the dive certification! I got to observe firsthand that these folks know what their doing and care about proper dive training. They offered a lot of advice and suggestions without the b.s. Not once did I get the feeling that they were trying to get us to spend money where we didn’t need to.
I definitely plan on coming back here to get my dive gear serviced and my fiancé cannot wait to get his Advanced certification!

San Diego Divers is like a diamond in the rough! I recently had my primary regulator have a pretty bad leak on a dive. I had heard about SD divers from a few friends but never actually walk through their doors. It was like a breath of fresh air!
Malcolm fixed my reg right on the spot! He was even kind enough to teach me a little about the different kinds of regs. It was so wonderful and he was so kind to me. The entire staff is amazing and so nice and has lots of knowledge and experience share.
I have gone to many chain and other shops and have got poor fills. But SD divers made sure that every fill I had was above and beyond. I highly recommend getting air fills here!
I highly recommend that you come here! Everyone here is wonderful and kind and provides excellent customer service!

San Diego Divers is a breath of fresh air! I’ve been a diver since 2006 and this shop is by far the best I’ve been to in San Diego.
Unlike some other big shops in the area, SD Divers has the customer’s best interests in mind. No high pressure upsells, no attitude, no stress.
With an emphasis on safety and customer service, I wouldn’t consider going anywhere else. They’ll fill anything, fix anything (if not, then it means it can’t be filled or fixed) and teach you everything. Prices are very fair.
I’ve come to the shop a few times with various equipment issues, and each time I was pleasantly surprised that everything was fixed while I waited! Their nitrox policy is the best in the business: they charge by the cubic foot, not by the tank, so a fill card lasts much longer.
And on top of it all, everyone who works there is pleasant, friendly, and loves to dive. Scuba is a ton of fun, especially with a shop like SD Divers behind you.

I wish there was a six star rating! Wow! a truly wonderful experience.
Scuba can be scary…
pool classes are great, but when you get out there in the real world, it can be
a bit intimidating…
With this group it was fantastic!
I felt so protected, well informed and safe with my dive instructor Rob Brauer– He knows his stuff! And teaches in a way that is easy to follow.
Rob wants you to know what you are doing, and you WILL learn, but with a smile and sense of humor too. I appreciate that!
I also had the pleasure of having two other instructors on the dive, Griff Nosenzo
and Janet Pinterits… both very talented, knowledgeable, helpful and encouraging!
I felt confident walking away with my temp license, that i had learned quite a bit, had a great experience, and I can’t wait to jump in and start diving again!
p. s. It was sooo worth it to see the amazing and unusual under water animals… fantastic huge jellyfish, clingy ink-​squirting octopus, Underwater birds! sneaky sand covered leopard sharks and angel sharks…
(I fear sharks, but these didnt bother us at all… they were little ones… and actually kinda cute!)
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is…
Look no further– You’ve found the right place!
thanks so much San Diego divers!
your fan from San Francisco!!!

I signed up to take a class in September for one in October, but the shop never called me back to confirm or tell me the details. I called them again in October, to asked what happened and they put my name down for the same class offered in two weeks. This time they said they would call me the week before the class started to let me know the schedule for the class. Once again, they never called me. I guess I’ll just go to their competitors, because they obviously don’t want to get any new customers.

I like this shop. Tech-​level staff who don’t talk down to rec divers. How refreshing. There’s a serious level of professionalism going on here that anyone can appreciate.

San Diego Divers is an Outstanding dive shop. Now that I am slightly more experienced I feel like I can give an even more amazing review.
To start, Advanced NAUI and NITROX certifications were really insightful. Lonnie Sharp taught the class and it was an incredible, professional class and was very interesting, it definitely made me a better diver. All you have to do is ask and Lonnie will teach you more than you could even imagine about dive physiology and gas and the truth about the RGBM model. I now actually feel like I understand what is going on! To say the least, Lonnie is on the NAUI technical training advisory board.
Brent once again was a great knowledgable instructor. If I can put his teaching style into as few words as possible it would be Thorough, Detailed, Entertaining, and Extremely Safe. He blends In Techniques that were above and beyond the scope of the class. He never hesitated to help and answer all questions and give us personal attention needed for the night diving and deep Wreck diving we did. He taught us all about navigation, and believe me that can be the difference between life and death. He is the Man!
This shop has all the cool gear ANYONE could ever need, rebreathers, dry suits, oxygen clean regulators, techie harness backplate systems and so much more i probably don’t even know about yet. I have now been into almost every shop in San Diego, there is nothing that you need that this shop doesn’t have. Attentive staff and incredibly fast turn around time for tank fills as well as ANY Nitrox mix you want, not just EAN32 or EAN36 like most shops. Safety and patience is their game. I cannot say enough good things about this shop, they introduced me to a whole new world. No surprise they have all 5 stars on Unilocal.
Thank you Rob, Lonnie, Malcolm, Brent and anyone else that contributes to this great team.

Wonderful very professional shop. This shop is operated by experienced and knowledgeable divers. They quickly learn your name, how you dive and what you need.
This shop is also not biased by the PADI (worthless specialty certification sales and travel sales emphasis) sales hype model. They focus on quality gear and training!
Great shop, highly recommended.
It appears that they do all their service/​repair/​testing work in house. This demonstrates a level of knowledge quite unusual for most dive shops!
I will be going back again and again

Very helpful and friendly staff. A little tough to find, but once you know where it is, you’ll keep going back!
These guys are enthusiasts. Very knowledgeable on basic and advanced topics. A very comfortable venue to ask questions.
Also, they are able to fill high-​pressure tanks (4500psi).
Very convenient location for anyone working in the Sorrento Valley area.

I came here to get my old Aqualung regulator setup serviced.
I worked with Malcolm, who proved to be quite knowledgeable, practical, and polite. The parts kit for the older octo on my setup proved to be difficult to find, but he handled the situation very professionally and got it all taken care of.
They also gave me a very good price for a few tank hydros. They aim more for equipment rentals than equipment sale, but they do have a good selection of masks, tanks, as well as some assorted ScubaPro gear.
My roommate also came here to get NAUI certified. He had nothing but good things to say about the staff and the cert program overall. From his experience, I’d recommend it if you’re looking to get certified.
TL; DR: The staff here is great and the service prices are inline with what I’d expect; I will definitely be coming back.

Wonderful, knowledgeable staff with competitive prices on all your scuba needs.

After OEX (bad) and Sport Chalet (good), decided to give San Diego Divers a try. Very impressed. Great and friendly people, professional service, awesome prices. Highly recommended!!!