Recently I decided to get my PADI certification. After looking at options in the metropolitan DC area, I decided to give Atlantic Edge in Gaithersburg, MD a try, and I'm so glad I did. My dive master, Terry Wells, was amazing. He gives the right amount of attention to detail, ensures your learning is registering so that you remember it long-term and tests you with the right blend of challenge and encouragement. When you're finished, you have the confidence you need in your abilities to enjoy safe diving experiences. As for Atlantic Edge, they provide good quality dive equipment for your learning, and make it available for your closed water and open water tests. The prices are reasonable, and they offer multiple locations to choose from in order to complete your testing. Good people and a sound business operation make this a scuba center I recommend to all!

Great experience getting open water certified with Atlantic Edge. The instructor to student ratio was great and made me feel extremely comfortable on the training dives. The out of water instruction was easy to follow and well laid out. Instructors were very willingly to cover any questions and very enthusiastic about helping people enjoy the sport.

This is a great company. I have taken (and passed) three certifications from here. The instructors are top notch, the DM's very helpful and the atmosphere is perfect for learning and honing your skills. They have a full service dive shop filled with everything you may need at comparable prices to anyone else. You can stop in, chat, learn about the equipment, and plan trips that they take through the years. Knowledgeable staff and the owner, John, is always available to talk. Would recommend them for your beginning into diving or your continuation with your skills, I certainly will. They have my business and respect.

I have taken two Scuba Refresher courses from Atlantic Edge at various times over the past few years. They offer the course at a local Arlington high school which is convenient for me as a NoVa person. The classes were very helpful in getting me ready to go back in the water after a bit of time away! Also did the Baltimore Aquarium dive with Atlantic Edge. fun times! Seems like a well run shop. I hope I can get to do more stuff with them.

Amazing dive shop/school! We’ve done many classes with them from open water, to AOW to many specialty classes. We’ve loved every instructor and dive master we’ve dealt with. They are all very nice, knowledgeable and passionate about diving. We did the dry suit class with them and when we went to put it to use in Iceland, the instructor there told us he was very impressed with how well we handled it and couldn’t believe we were new divers. He said many experienced divers seem to struggle with dry suit but we must have had an amazing instructor, which we did, Terry is wonderful. We did the aquarium dive with them and it was amazing. We went to Curaçao with them and it was hands down the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever taken because Debbie planned everything and gave us clear instructions on what we need to do which made the trip very stress free and the diving there was amazing. We bought a lot of dive equipment from there, all of it is great quality and you get great advice and recommendations for what will work best for you. The prices are very competitive and comparable to Amazon, so I’d definitely rather give Atlantic edge my business. I consider it great luck that we ended up with them; we live about an hour away and I had called several shops to inquire about getting certified and whoever answered my call was so amazing that we decided to go with a shop an hour away rather than a closer one. I can’t say enough good things about this place. If you’re not sure who to use for classes or equipment, give this place a shot, you won’t regret it.

Completed the open water scuba certification with Ciara. She and all the dive masters (Debbie, Steve, and Benoit) were wonderful instructors. I had an incredible experience and a fun time learning. They made it very easy to follow and enthusiastic about teaching. It made the entire learning experience so easy and fun. Highly recommend and will be looking into doing more advanced courses in the future.

I finished my open water certification with Atlantic Edge last weekend. Ciara, Debbie, Benoit and Steve were all fantastic and I highly recommend them. I cant wait to go diving again and I look forward to learning more from them!

Not only did I get my PADI recreational diver certification through Atlantic Edge, but also attended one of their dive trips recently (Blue Heron Bridge). The shop staff, the instructors, and dive masters I've met, have all been very knowledgeable and really nice people. Not only do they make diving safe, but fun as well. I highly recommend Atlantic Edge to anyone in need of a shop, certification, or continuing education.

Great place to learn Scuba diving in DMV area. They were very patient and methodical in training Scuba diving. I had to go the 2nd time and they were very helpful. With 4 dives on open water, I become certified diver within 4 months. I would have given it 5 except my experience with one instructor on my 1st session. However, Atlantic Edge Scuba took care of it on next session and the instructors were great.. Awesome experience and completed diving course and became a diver. I highly recommend them.

I have taken two courses--peak-performance buoyancy and nitrox-from Atlantic Edge and done one National Aquarium dive (and am scheduled to do an aquarium photo dive in September). All have provided exactly what I wanted out of the courses and I recommend them highly. I am getting back into diving after a break of a couple of decades, and have resolved to "shop" local dive stores to get a sense of what is available and experience a variety of instructors and instructional styles. I still will do that and have taken classes at other shops as well, BUT I rate Atlantic Edge a first-class operation, regardless.

This trip was a bit different than any other diving trip I've taken over the last 30 years b/c I wouldn't be doing it with my husband, aka my life-long dive buddy. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous but quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. Why? Because Ciara Michaud, our fearless dive master, trip leader and organizer, had already strategized and worked out every. single. detail. I wanted to dive the Blue Hole, requiring Advanced Water certification. Ciara was on it. I got through the online coursework before traveling to San Pedro, and she seamlessly helped me knock out each underwater requirement throughout the week of varied locations. I never missed out on doing what the other divers were doing and the Blue Hole was better than I could've imagined! I also wanted to get Nitrox-certified. Again, Ciara knew when to implement that into which dives when appropriate. She made it all so easy! She brought a lot of enthusiasm, curiosity and BIG SHARK ENERGY to our dives! She's done over 2k dives and it shows. She generously shared her insight and expertise on currents, sea creatures and the reefs. So much with diving is logistics. Ciara is the master. When the resort made a mix-up concerning my room, Ciara didn't say, "Oh well, sorry." Hell no, she tenaciously got them to fix it way beyond my satisfaction. The dive operation itself, too, was top-notch. That was from Ciara's capable and experienced vetting. I'm so thrilled with my experience diving with Ciara and Atlantic Edge. I can't wait until I can take part in another fantastic adventure! Thx Ciara & Atlantic Edge! 🤿🐡🐠🐙🐬 🐚🦪🐟🦞🦀🦑🦈

I absolutely loved my trip with Atlantic Edge! The dive instructor and trip leader Ciara was so attentive, knowledgeable and made the experience so great along with the other participants! She managed the entire group seamlessly and catered to everyone's needs. It was my first-time diving and I felt so comfortable, and self-assured the entire time. Will definitely be diving and traveling with them again!

Atlantic Edge is terrific! I started going on group dive trips with them back in 2009 as they were at the forefront of eco dive travel (coral restoration, lion fish eradication, etc.) always with education and the environment at the heart of their work (often in partnership with the National Aquarium). From the Bahamas, to Key Largo to Bonaire and beyond these trips have had a huge influence on me, my life and my ocean conservation efforts. I've met some pretty incredible people - brilliant aquarists, world renowned divers, and people who are making a real difference in the world (eg. Her Deepness, Sylvia Earle, and the now famous Ken Nedimyer founder of the Coral Restoration Foundation who has influenced coral rescue efforts around the world). Recently Ciara Shams has taken over the coordination of most of their trips and she is the best dive trip coordinator I've ever met. Her attention to detail is beyond compare, communication is fantastic and she chooses amazing locations (we just got back from Belize and upcoming trips will include Iceland, Croatia, the Maldives and more!).

Ciara is one of the best instructors I've interacted with. She was very patient with my daughters and they look forward to doing more dives with her.