Scuba Certification Archives - Scuba Adventures

2301 Central Expy #140

Plano, TX 75075

(972) 423-3483

info@scubaplano.com

Mon-Fri: 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Saturday: 10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Why Dallas is One of The Most Popular Places to Get Scuba Certified

When you think of scuba diving, your mind might immediately wander to tropical destinations like Hawaii or the Caribbean. However, you might be surprised to learn that Dallas, Texas, is actually one of the most popular places in the United States to get scuba certified. Scuba Adventures Plano has won “Top Dive Shop” two years […]

PADI vs SDI – Is There A Difference?

If you know anything about scuba diving, or have been researching scuba for the first time, you’ve probably heard of something called PADI. Maybe even before you heard about SDI or it’s hugely popular technical diving agency TDI. PADI started over 50 years ago and SDI over 20 so they’ve been in the market longer. […]

With a centrally located, full retail shop, training center and 16 ft deep pool, our 5-Star SDI/TDI rated facility is the only one of its kind in the DFW metroplex.

Google Rating

4.8

Based on 363 reviews

Scuba Adventures Plano

4.8

review us on See all reviews

Flat Sixer

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I have been diving for 20 years now, and lived in several states and dealt with dive shops all over the world.I must say that the service at SA is phenomenal, there is no such thing as a silly question when you pass the entrance door, and the staff and owner are extremely knowledgeable, patient and friendly.In addition, I really like the transparent way in which they handle annual service of equipment we entrust our lives to.My son got certified here as well and loved the experience.I have not been able to join one of their dive trips yet, but they all look amazing. Hope to travel with them in the near future.Great job Scuba Adventures!

Peggy Wyda

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Barry was an outstanding instructor after not diving for over 10 years, their amazing pool made the skills easy to practice and get comfortable with!!!

Ellen Bracy

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I took snorkeling lessons with Derek who was an excellent teacher. I was a nervous rookie, but he was very patient and encouraging as I was getting comfortable with the mask. I left feeling confident and ready for snorkeling on a family vacation in Hawaii.

Mackenzie Angner

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What a friendly and knowledgeable shop! Everyone on staff is amazing and Derek was the ultimate instructor! He was able to breakdown the science and fun of scuba diving into an easy to learn manner. I had a lot of fears going into this experience and Derek equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to go diving in Hawaii within ONE week! I highly recommend you check this place out!

Suzette Staats

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Best Dive Shop and Trainers! Abby and Berry are Amazing!!!!!

Porche Stovall

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Derek was absolutely awesome with teaching my group the basics! Wendal helped out and explained a lot! Will definitely be going back!

Chas W

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Took a pre-certification class with Derek and Windal and had a great learning experience. They were very patient and knowledgeable!! I’m ready for the full experience now!!

charlie peek

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Awesome refresher! Derrick was very knowledgeable and professional. Will make this my go too for all things scuba

Iftekhar Khan

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Recently completed the open water/Nitrox certification and it was an amazing experience!! Special thanks to Barry, Vince, Abby and Enrique!! All of them were detailed in their instructions and very patient and attentive to the details- could not ask for better instructors. Would highly recommend Scuba adventure to anyone looking to get scuba certified in a proper and truely professional manner.

Joel Sands

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Great time getting certified through SCUBA adventures in Plano. Shoutout to instructors Enrique and Tom.

Joanna Allbright

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I wanna say thank you to Barry, Vince, Enrique, Abby , Bruce !!!!!!! You guys were amazing, I couldn’t ask for a better learning experience. I was scared and nervous and Barry and Vince took there time with me and helped ease me into it , I didn’t feel rushed , they genuinely cared about how I felt. When I wanted to quit Barry offered one on one and it worked!!! After that I was good with the group! I definitely recommend Scuba Adventures for learning/Licenses and equipment. The staff are amazingly nice and caring and because of them I’m super confident and have the knowledge to scuba dive!! Thank you again guys!!❤️❤️❤️❤️😊🥰

Craig Ellis

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me and my wife got our scuba license at this location. Not only the instructors, but the employees in store are amazing. More than willing to help. We definitely recommend

Hal Wallace III

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I recently completed my Open Water Scuba Diver certification with Scuba Adventures in Plano, and I cannot recommend them highly enough! From the very first pool session with David, I felt welcomed and well-prepared. David’s expertise and patient teaching style made the learning process enjoyable and stress-free.Once we transitioned to the Scuba Ranch, Derek and Bonnie took over as our instructors, and they were phenomenal! Their passion for diving and commitment to ensuring every diver feels comfortable and confident in the water truly made a difference. Each session was filled with valuable tips and hands-on experience, making the entire process not only educational but also incredibly fun!Thanks to the amazing team at Scuba Adventures, I am now a certified Open Water Scuba Diver! If you’re looking to dive into this incredible adventure, I highly recommend Scuba Adventures. You won’t be disappointed!

Kevin Harvell

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My wife and I got scuba certified here and it was an epic experience. We both had ear issues after the first weekend and waited a long time to complete the training. They graciously offered a refresher course before we did the second weekend dive and were completely understanding and accommodating. The instructors (Zack, Enrique, Dave) were fun and professional. I feel ready for the ocean. Thank you scuba adventures❤️

Shannon Schupbach

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My son and I completed our open water SDI certification here. Nothing to say but great things. Our instructors (Jenn and Tom) were patient but made sure we completed all skills. Always eager to help, but also unyielding in making sure we are ready. Just a great experience. Highly recommend this dive shop. Super confident to go explore 70% of the planet in underwater adventures.

Steve Duffy

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Cannot say enough good things about this group. Was a little anxious about diving but wanted to do it. They were patient, welcoming and thoroughly competent. I was quite comfortable underwater by the end of 2nd day and the open water dives were relaxing and fun. Thoroughly impressed with everyone, especially Preston and Will my instructors. Thank you!!UPDATE: my 13 year old daughter certified open water today. As a parent it was tough not be down there with her but the instructors were fabulous and I had no concerns about her safety. This was a HUGE growth event for her, her self confidence blossomed. Thank you Tom, Jenn, Leora and Stanley. Wonderful weekend for our family.

Jennifer Lawler

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Fun and educational open water class with the whole family. Thank you, Scuba Adventures, Jennifer, Tom, & Stanley!

Tammy Lopez

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Great experience.. loved every minute. Our instructors Preston and Vince were amazing. They are very patient with the students and very knowledgeable.. I asked lots of questions and they were quick to answer.. will definitely be signing up for additional classes to expand our scuba knowledge. Thank you for a great experience.

Joe Lopez

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Preston, and Vince were awesome instructors and took extra time to make sure we understood and could complete the needed task. Would highly recommend.

Mitchell Rosenberg

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Had a blast, Dave is an amazing instructor with the patience of Job. Kept us all on track, made it fun and looking forward to taking more courses with Scuba Adventures.

Stephen Tarr

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One great experience for something I have wanted to do my whole life! Dave was incredible with the patience of Jobe. The shop is knowledgeable and willing to help and explain it all.

Mike Buntyn

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Our family loves Scuba Adventures! My son got his Open Water Certification with them. I also sent our crew of 16 scouts and scouters to get their snorkeling gear here as well. They had the best equipment at Sea Base. Hoping to send more Scouts here for their Scuba Certification and Scuba Merit Badge!

Rama Elkayam

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Great instructors in a great adventure. Thank you so much

Trey Cure

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Out of diving for 15 years, we signed up with Scuba Adventures for a refresher course. Derrick did an amazing job and love the program Scuba Adventures put together. Derrick made us put our gear together, disassemble it, reassemble it and check for problems. We hopped into the pool, worked through mask issues, buddy breathing… and stayed 45 minutes late to get through all the information he wanted to share. I could rattle on but what a great place we have here in Plano.

Marisa Martinez

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Owner told me they take pictures of our gear when it’s being serviced, but I’ve still yet to receive a single one. Now I know why. I pulled my regs out of the box a bit ago and found that they’d damaged the rear cover/writing slate of my SPG console. No one said a thing about it to me.Fleshing out my initial review from a couple days ago: my fiance uses a dive shop out of state and had the exact same services done that I had done. Total cost was under $100 and included replacing two O-rings. That invoice total came out to hundreds less than I paid the crooks at Scuba Adventures. This dive shop also said that it was Scuba Adventures’ responsibility to register my gear with Aqualung.What an unbelievable lack of integrity.

Marisa

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*UPDATE, response to owner’s reply:Ma’am, I’m not sure how you so completely missed the points when they were so clearly laid out, & I’m not sure how to dumb it down enough for you to understand when it’s already so elementary.I was told “any needed parts” would be charged in addition to the initial quote, & I readily agreed to that because my equipment is a year old, & nothing was needed beyond *maybe* some O-rings. The parts you returned to me look new, so replacement parts clearly were NOT needed. Yet, you charged me for multiple parts kits & basically replaced new parts with new parts. That makes no sense.The final invoice details the charges but has nothing that legitimately justifies the parts kits, & it was only provided to me after I asked for it. I still don’t have a single photo.You failed to address a single actual issue in your reply to me. And you made similar comments to another reviewer a year ago but apparently still haven’t updated practices you said would be improved upon.No, I didn’t purchase my gear from you. But I was excited to make you my dive shop for ALL future servicing needs & gear purchases & was preparing to book myself & my fiancé for classes with you.You lost a ton more money than you scammed me out of. This is what happens when you cheat people.———————-Scuba Adventures is running a low-key scam w/ maintenance services. Beware hidden fees & unnecessary work, & question *EVERYTHING* in the fine print. If you want to label me unrealistic, check reviews left by Christopher DeRusha & Bill Holley. Their & my experiences speak to a dirty little pattern.I had SA do the 1st annual maintenance on my Aqualung 1st & 2nd stages, octo, & BCD & was told any needed parts would be in addition to the quoted price for service. My equipment is only a year old, has a total of seven dives on the clock, & is well-cared for, so parts needed should have been limited to a few O rings at best & no more than about $20 in parts at worst. I was shocked to find the final total was *more than double* the initial quote. The “invoice” I received had no detail whatsoever outlining the work performed, showed “Estimate” instead of “Invoice”, & was more advertisement than anything else, so I was sure there was a mistake. Turns out I was charged for kits to replace all parts, which was wholly unnecessary because, again, everything is a year old with just 7 dives. Not only is it not possible that anything more than a few O rings on the regs needed replacing, there was no indication on any of the limited paperwork I received that anything did need replacing. Why would anyone replace parts that are still essentially new?! Fine print at the bottom of the quote states “all regulator services will have standard manufacturer parts kits added”. Lesson learned: this apparently doesn’t mean kits will be added only if needed, which would be common sense; it means kits will be added whether needed or not.Not only was the final “invoice” I received by email a joke, the phone call to inform me my equipment was ready to pick up was just a quick automated message. So much for a personal touch.Unfortunately for me, Aqualung seems to have fallen on terrible times, & it appears they’ve removed public access to their “free parts for life” program, so I can no longer register with them in order to get refunded my out-of-pocket costs.Unfortunately for SA, I found a shop out of state that has taken my business from them. This shop spent an hour on the phone with me & provided a plethora of wildly valuable information … including the fact that Aqualung doesn’t require full service at the 1st year mark to keep the warranty in effect – you just need an inspection. It would have been nice if SA had offered that up. And you can’t tell me they don’t know – the owner told me I have to be registered with Aqualung’s “free parts for life” program to actually get the free parts. If they know this much, they should know the rest.I had high hopes for a long-term relationship with SA. That’s simply not in the cards now.

Trace Wilkins

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My wife & I got our open water/ Nitrox certifications from Scuba Adventures, we went in before class to purchase our personal equipment (masks, snorkels, fins etc.) the staff was incredibly helpful in explaining the differences between brands, helping us getting our sizing for fins and it was honestly the best customer service experience we’ve had in a very long time. When it was time to dive for class Brent & Derek were our confined water instructors and they were extremely diligent in making sure whatever questions the class had were answered, making sure whatever skills we needed to improve on or we did correctly they supported where needed, and celebrated the wins with us! For our open water classes we had quite a few instructors diving with us, Zack, Elon & Tim and it was an incredible experience! As new divers we were excited & nervous about our first dive, but the scuba adventures team went out of their way to make sure we had all the information we needed to have a safe and fun experience throughout the whole weekend! Zack even stayed behind after we were officially certified to dive with me again at my request!!Throughout the certification process the Scuba Adventures instructors/dive shop have very quickly became family to us! They will have our business always!! Thank you all for such an amazing experience!

Wendy King

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I had an awesome experience at Scuba Plano. I took a private refresher course since I hadn’t been diving in awhile and Leora was awesome. She went over everything I needed to know and made sure I was ready to dive again. Sarah spent extra time with me going over my gear to make sure everything was still in good shape and helped me upgrade some of my items. I highly recommend this place.

Snehansh Sati

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Absolutely fantastic experience with a Scuba Adventures! Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. They made the entire process smooth and enjoyable.The open water scuba certification class was exceptional. The instructors(Tom, Elon, Stanley) were incredibly patient, professional, and passionate about diving. They ensured everyone felt comfortable and confident in the water. The small class sizes allowed for personalized attention, and the hands-on training was thorough and engaging.I can’t recommend Scuba Adventures enough for anyone looking to get certified or just wanting a fantastic diving experience. A five-star experience from start to finish!

Timothy Yoder

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Tom, Elon, Stanley, and everyone else were great instructors. I’ll definitely use Scuba Adventures for my next classes as well!

Scott Morrison

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I and two of my kids did the open water scuba certification classes through Scuba Adventures. We did this in April and May of 2024. The process was easy and straightforward! The email and phone communications were clear and timely. The instructors were terrific! I would highly recommend going to the pros at Scuba Adventures for your scuba training and gear needs.

Andrew Quant

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I really can’t say enough to state how wonderful of an experience I have every time I interact with Scuba Adventures. I’ve taken 6 courses with them over the past 2 years with my Son. Autumn and Sarah who work the front desk really are special and make me feel like family every time we speak. The instructors I’ve dove with (Windal, Enrique, Elon, Dave, Leora, Shug, Preston, and Brent) all have a penchant for safety, yet still make it exciting and fun. I’ve always felt incredibly safe every time I’ve been underwater with them. The owner, Brent, has done an exceptional job of filling his roster with staff that are enjoyable to be around and learn from. I send everyone I know to them for this reason.

Brasco M

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Awesome place awesome teachers. They help you all the way through.

patrick foster

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I enjoyed taking the open water course. The instructors worked with me and helped me over come challenges. Nice and clean store, pool, and class room. Would recommend.

Keith Knight

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I completed the open water course today and had a fantastic experience! I got certified so that I could join my Boy Scout son in Florida this summer. My son took the class from Scuba Adventures previously and has already been diving. He learned so well that he wants me to go and for us to have a lifelong passion together while mom hangs at the beach! Scuba Adventures techniques are to promote the positive while training everyone to be comfortable with how to handle gear, support your buddy, and of course know what to do in tricky or emergency situations. There were some parts that were challenging but all the instructors – Tom, Bonnie, Brent and Paul were patient, kind and fun to work with which made things easy! I now have a lifelong skill that I can use with my son or anyone that wants to go and have fun while seeing an amazing underwater world. I highly recommend Scuba Adventures!

Collin Linebaugh

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I got my certification here. It was the most professional well prepared well taught course. I have no complaints. They told me everything upfront. Dave, you are a great instructor. Keep on teaching. I love the owner and Everyone at Scuba Adventure 🫵🏼✊🏼🤿Keep up the good business. 🤙🏼

Caleb Czimskey

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Hayden Smith

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I had the most incredible day at Scuba Adventures in Plano, Tx! Taking their scuba discovery class was an absolute blast! Breathing underwater for the first time was beyond cool – it felt like diving into a whole new world of wonder.Brent and Autumn were fantastic, guiding us through every step with patience and enthusiasm. Learning how to clear my mask and mastering the art of descending and ascending in their 16ft heated pool was both thrilling and empowering.I can’t thank the team at Scuba Adventures enough for such an unforgettable experience. It’s definitely a day I’ll cherish forever. Highly recommend to anyone looking to dive into the underwater world!

Robert Earle

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My first interaction with Scuba Adventure was getting them to do my annual equipment maintenance. The service was outstanding, and the staff was very friendly. I recently completed the Advanced Buoyancy Diver course. The experience was amazing! David Filas was the instructor. He presented the material in a clear way during the classroom session and taught the techniques with practical methods during the heated pool work. Highly recommend the course!

Jacob Ribbe

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I did open water certification up to the open water dives, and then got a referral to finish on a vacation I was doing shortly after. I really enjoyed SDI elearning. It is very user friendly and well written. I felt overly prepared in knowledge before suiting up in the pool. After the confined water skills at Scuba Adventures, my dive instructor in Honduras was very impressed with my abilities right out of training, a testament to the quality of the training program at Scuba Adventures. I look forward to doing more specialties and certificates with this shop in the future.

Luc

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Took the Discover Scuba course as part of a team event for work. Had never had much interest in scuba prior to the course, but after taking it, a lot of my team (myself included) are interested in becoming fully certified!The experience was so much fun from start to finish. Brent and Autumn were awesome instructors, and made the course extremely educational but so much fun at the same time. I’m really looking forward to going back for more advanced courses!

Kleine Powell

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Scuba Adventures in Plano is the place to be!! My coworkers and I did a Discover Scuba class led by Brent and Autumn and had so much fun. Definitely will be returning to get my scuba certification! Shoutout to Scott Berry at the Dive shop for setting the whole thing up and for always going the extra mile for each customer! 5/5 stars- I wish I could give more!

Saskia Hamilton

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Jeff Peeples

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I’m not a social media or reviewer-type guy, but I just felt a positive review was warranted in this case. We just finished the Hogarthian 1 training class with SCUBA Adventures Plano. Brent was an excellent comprehensive and patient instructor and we learned SO much more than we were expecting or thought we paid for! The Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) learning path is an intriguing one and we can’t wait to practice and develop our skills. Scuba Adventures Plano will be our choice for instruction the whole way.

Adam Parsons

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They are no longer the same friendly shop that they used to be.

A T

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I wish I could give Scuba Adventures (“SA”) in Plano more than 5 stars. I completed my dive certification and SA was such a great place, from the great facilities to the professional staff. SA stressed safety and skill training. I especially enjoyed our open water session with Sarah and Vince who were not only friendly and patient with us, but were both so professional. You could tell they wanted each of us to have the necessary skills to complete a recreational dive in a safe manner. All the other students felt the same way. I am recommending SA to my son and his girlfriend to get certified at the SA facility. I am unable to think of a single complaint. Thank you again to all the staff, especially Sarah, Vince and Tom. Thank you for a wonderful safe open water weekend!! Andy

Jennifer Lewis

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Great dive shop. Vince is an amazing instructor. Highly recommend using Scuba Adventure for your certification.

Randy Sanovich

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Great group of people from the instructors to the employees. Great knowledge of products

Aaron Crossley

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Kevin Khuong

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The friendliest, most professional and helpful scuba shop I have visited. The sales and support teams are extremely helpful and know-ledged. Had my Halcyon BCD donut wing bladder replaced here. The indoor pool is also 15″ feet deep and is warm.Highly recommended for equipment sales, support and diving certifications. A+++