Marin Diving Center - San Rafael, California

michael D.

Top Notch! My family and I got our elearning done here along with the confined space pool work. We also received our OW cert with Marin dive center. Joining in on the monthly fun dives is a blast.

Delta F. 0.

I'm pretty new to diving and I was certified here. I have rented and bought gear from other dive shops in southern CA when needed, mostly weights and tanks because it's easier to get them close to the dive site. But I like this place more. It's a family business and the prices and service are excellent. They also have good deals on second-hand gear, which is a must for newbies. The last dive trip I went on, I rented some gear here. A day or two before I left for the trip I had to change plans and pick the gear up a day early. Then when returning I missed a ferry and had to return the gear a day late. It was lobster season so I gather that they were very busy and maybe rental inventory might get tight, so I offered to pay for the extra two days but John said no, don't worry about it. See ya next time. He knows I'll keep coming back. Love that.

Also the rental prices are exactly the same as they were last year when I did the same trip. While everything else we pay for is going up in prices, Marin Diving Center is trying their best to keep prices the same. I love that too. Name one good or service you paid for last year that isn't more expensive now. I can't, except this place.

Very importantly, they organize regular "fun dives". Weekends when people subscribed to their newsletter meet up for dives around Northern CA. For someone who is new to diving and may not know a lot of other divers to dive with and get experience, this is huge. It's hard to get experience if you know few other divers to go with, so this really helps with gaining experience and meeting other divers.

Edit: now my third year renting gear here for my annual trip (I dive once a year), John mentioned that the rates are still the same. Are you kidding me? Either this business is being run by really good people, or someone here needs to be an economy czar in the upcoming Cabinet because nothing else has stayed the same price. Thanks, Marin Diving Center!

RIVA W.

Great team of folks who really put a genuine effort into running a great dive shop. I'm very pleased to have landed here as my home dive shop.

-photo from final dive AOW cert 2/24 Jonny is a fenominal instructor. The pride in one's work is evident.

Kyle D.

Excellent PADI licensed scuba training! My daughter and I got certified together and it was a great experience! She is 15 and I am 41, it was a fun experience for both of us.
The staff is very knowledgeable and the instructors are very thorough, patient, and safe!

S B.

Great lesson for certification very knowledgeable friendly staff looking forward to the open water dives!

Arnaud D.

Where to start? Excellent shop, always keen to adapt to you and trying to accommodate your needs. I've always been surprised by the spot-on pricing of everything in the shop : you won't find cheaper online and you will certainly miss all the knowledge of the staff.
Being a CMAS certified diver a long time ago, I came to them wanting to start over. Jon first tried to save me some money by accepting the equivalence of my CMAS levels but it was a long time ago and I wanted a fresh start! Since then, I've done a lot of certifications with MDC from Open Water to Tech 50. I'm happily diving with everyone at the fun dives (thank you so much guys for organizing these!!) and I've found a vibrant and caring diving community in our neighborhood.
Excellent instructors for all levels, very knowledgeable staff, excellent prices, a big variety of items in the shop and most importantly: lovely people. What more do you need?

K Z.

I signed up for my PADI open water course here. Along with the registration comes a list of new equipment to buy, including a dive computer. Super “helpful” staff Jon recommended the Pro Plus 4.0 $800 dive computer that screwed on to a regulator for my PADI open water course requirement instead of a wrist computer. I did my own research beforehand but his endorsement meant a lot because I was a beginner, trusting this dive center with my certification and guidance on gear.

Fast forward to every dive I’ve been on - the dive shop staff has to set it up on all equipment. One time I had to go a day early to the dive shop to get my recommended dive computer fixed onto the regulator. The staff at dive shops around the world who are not Jon at Marin Diving Center have no idea what to do with this dive computer, because all other dive computers they’ve seen go on the wrist. One dive shop owner said I was definitely “encouraged” into buying way more than I needed.

While I appreciate the Bluetooth capability and app on my phone that records my dives, another dive instructor told me that he would never rely on anything with a battery to tell him his air levels. It’s been a total pain to install and travel with, but since I spent so much on it, I’m loathe to buy another one.

Chris also recommended a pair of $200 fins For my PADI open water course requirement when $50 fins would’ve sufficed.

If I could go back in time and warn me, a signing up for a dive course, I would whisper in my ear “don’t trust the helpful man at Marin Dive Center.”

Meowski

One stop shop! Fantastic customer service. John was very helpful, informative, not pushy, competitive prices and offered to order things they didn't have in the colors we wanted shipped quickly to the store .

I would highly recommend coming here to try on gear if you can't make up your mind online! They had everything we needed for our trip to the Philippines and more 🙂

Probably 80 different types of masks ranging from budget friendly options all the way up to high-end gear. A large variety of snorkels in different colors, water shoes and just about everything else you never even heard of