I took the beginner open water dive course at the shop and while I am glad that the class was informative and I had a great experience diving with the instructor and other students, I was very disappointed in the program overall. I'd estimate the class was 80% actually relevant information and 20% sales pitch. I have taken a scuba class before when I was a student in CO so I do have a point of comparison on this, and I do think this shop or this program laid the sales on exceptionally thick. For example, I had to purchase dive fins in order to pass the class even though you can find suitable rentals at most dive shops. I would recommend finding as much personal gear as you can before the class starts, either used or goodwill as I did. My classmate asked how much she would need to spend on gear to pass the shop's gear requirements, and they estimated $200 before she signed up. She ended up spending $220 on fins alone, and almost $600 overall. As another example, we were told to be at the shop at 1 PM for class on one of the pool session days, but they had intentionally scheduled their swim school to last until 2 PM and so they would have time to parade us around the store to tell us about the latest features and pricing options on each and every piece of gear you need (and dont need) to scuba. I don't like writing bad reviews of mom and pops shops and I hope this review will help them tamp down their sales pitch and focus on the customer experience people get while attending their classes. My instructor was knowledgeable and was enthusiastic about letting us enjoy our time in the water as well as passing our skills.

Had the absolute honor and privilege of doing my side-mount course with Jed of Santa Barbara Aquatics. We started with a comprehensive pool session that covered the equipment configuration in detail including, set up and personal fitting, from there we jumped in the pool for final adjustments and some drills that we were scheduled to do the following day in open water. On the second day of my training I met Jed on the Spectre Boat in Ventura harbor (great boat, awesome staff) we headed out to Channel Islands for the day. Jed guided me through the day’s schedule and what needed to be done, we got to work right away. On the agenda we had three boat dives that included all the necessary drills and knowledge needed to complete the course and then some. Ive been looking for someone to do recreational side-mount course with for a while and everyone in the industry recommended I should go speak with Jed. very glad I did. I learned so much on my training, Jed is very passionate about diving and side-mount in particular. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Both Andrew and Jed of Santa Barbara Aquatics did an all around phenomenal job, I am a customer for life!!! THANK YOU !!!

The worst shop I have worked with. I was not sent paperwork right away and am being charged 250 dollars for the online course and cannot even scuba dive because if you mark yes to anything on the medical record you need to see a primary care physician to get the okay. The manager did not work with me even though the cancellation was out of my control as most primary doctors cannot see you in just days they take time to schedule. I will NEVER again be coming here and make sure that moving forward everyone knows that they just care about getting their money. I did not even receive the paperwork with the medical screening until days later. If you can dive with another company do it. They are not worth it.

I took my PADI Open Water and Advanced certifications with SB Aquatics, and could not have had a better experience! Carlos, my dive instructor, is extremely knowledgeable and made the class so much fun. Maddy and all the other staff members were also extremely helpful when explaining all the dive gear necessities, and made sure that I picked out the best gear for me. SB Aquatics made me a confident diver in no time! Highly, HIGHLY reccomend.

Sent me the wrong part through eCommerce, when I finally opened the package (months later) and sent a message they responded immediately. After so many months I was surprised at the super fast resolution. Obviously a reputable shop who cares about their customers.

Awesome dive shop! I have gotten my open water and dry suit certification as well as gear from this shop and I can’t recommend this place enough. Jed and John are super helpful and knowledgeable about everything scuba diving. Highly recommend checking this place out for all your diving needs!

This place is amazing from the owner's to the associates,to the instruction. My daughter took the course there and I couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable or helpful set of instructors. Thank you for giving my daughter the gift of dive.

Fantastic shop with everything you need for diving. The owners Jed and Andrew are both enthusiastic divers and always ready to give you time to explain the gear, and time to consider your purchase with no pressure. Their instructors are fantastic, my fiancee and I consider the two that we've trained with, John and Nicole, to be friends and we love saying hi when we run into them teaching a class at Refugio Beach. I won't consider going to any other shop for instruction or gear.