Scuba Diving with a 5-Star PADI Center in Puerto Vallarta

Posted By : Karen_J
Dive master was very knowledgeable and encouraging. Was was cold, and difficult to see distance. Always love the adventure.
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Posted On : 2024-04-17

Posted By : lisakC7896IJ
Find the diving instructor called Gustavo and learn to dive! He is the best. So patient, so kind, and amazing with first time divers!. His English is perfect and he doesn't try to upsell anything. I trust this man with my life. He created an amazing experience for our whole family. Thanks Gustavo!
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Posted On : 2024-02-23

Posted By : danlU9868KR
What a great experience!! Only great things to say! Cesar, Eric & Monica are incredible! I did my Open Water Certification with Eric and he is amazing! I totally enjoyed every minute of my 2 days!!
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Posted On : 2024-01-31

Posted By : leehG6992FE
Roger and Hugo were both terrific Dive Masters. For first timers on any of Vallarta Adventures it’s a little confusing where to meet, also you need a $30 peso port pass (about $3.50usd) for any on the water excursions. Once you get that figured out, the boat trip and dive excursion was excellent. For our trip the water wasn’t as clear as usual but the staff were fantastic, friendly, spoke great English and were very helpful. Would highly recommend. Lee H
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Posted On : 2024-01-03

Posted By : dgatta
Hugo and Nicholas were a wonderful team. They helped us through tough conditions and we had a fun dive! Thank you great memories!
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Posted On : 2024-01-03

Posted By : bodiej108
In short, dodge this diving team when possible. Three different staff members directed me to the wrong Vallarta Adventures dive center after I arrived on time. After going to the separate check-in location and speaking to multiple staff on-site who assured me I was in the correct building AND waiting in line at this (the wrong) location for over 45 minutes (yes, it took them 45 mins to check in two families), they told me the dive had already left. They acknowledged staff wrongdoing on multiple points of contact but offered no refund.
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Posted On : 2023-12-23

Posted By : Z3923MKdonc
If you are serious about Scuba Diving, DO NOT choose Vallarta Adventures (VA). We did a 2 Tank Dive at Marieta Islands in Dec 2023 Main Issues that led to a very poor experience: - Red Tide: I saw reports online about a "Red Tide" in PV. Prior to our trip, I emailed & texted VA asking if the Red Tide was true, would it be safe to dive and if this would impact our dive visibility. Their response was "no issues". I felt this was very dishonest and a real Dive operator would never do this. Once on the boat and being debriefed by our Dive Master, he reported that the Red Tide would make visibility very poor. Once in the water, we barely had 10-ft of visibility, our group struggled to stay together and some people on the dive trip didn't do the 2nd Tank since it was so poor (saying, "its just not worth it" and felt "unsafe"). I don't expect PA to be able control the visibility or conditions, but I do expect a Dive Operator to report the actual conditions to help divers make an educated decision if its safe to dive and worth the time. My questions around "is it safe to dive in a red tide" went unanswered (Red Tide can lead to rashes, irritation, etc.) - Party Boat vs Dive Boat: We ended up on a huge boat of 75+ people combined with day tripers, snorlkers, kayakers, etc. Only 5 people on the boat were Scuba Divers. After 2 underwhelming and questionable dives, we have a 40-min boat trip in a small dive boat to their "private" beach to rejoin the larger boat. All of our things were left on the larger boat, if you can imagine having no hat, sunglasses, towel, sun screen, snacks, etc. and finishing your dive, then blasting through rough waters to get back to your things....it led to a very poor experience. No context was shared about these plans prior, everyone on the boat was confused and annoyed with the logistics of the trip. Once we got back to the Large Boat we ate lunch and had to wait over an hour before the boat left back to the marina. Once moving, the boat turned into a huge party of free flow booze, loud music and a Drag show. We had no idea this was part of the experience (normally I'm one for party and booze but not while I am scuba diving). Overall: This Tour Company isn't serious about Scuba Diving. They are serious about doing free flow booze cruises for Tourists, and tacking on an underwhelming scuba trip to help monetize their boat as another revenue stream. I've been on many dive trips around the world with PADI certified operators and NEVER had an experience like this. Caution, STAY AWAY if you are a serious diver. If you are new to diving and want a booze cruse with your dive trip, then maybe this is the tour for you. I walked away feeling frustrated with their dishonesty and lack of context about how the day/trip would unfold.
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Posted On : 2023-12-18

Posted By : Felicitos_S
Great dive Charlie was a great dive máster Allways watching us Advice to the company Give more Information about whats included
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Posted On : 2023-07-20

Posted By : jeffn971
Vallarta Adventures is great. My 13 year old daughter and I are beginner divers and were looking for a dive that suitable for us. We dove Los Arcos on our first dive. 2 tanks with Juaquin. He was excellent. We were paired up with a couple that just recertified. The dives were excellent, tons of aquatic creatures to see. Very safe, excellent captain. And the crew did everything for us, prepping equipment, giving us food and water, etc. We loved it so much, we dove Marietas Islands 2 days after. This trip we were on a larger boat with a bunch of snorkelers. They dropped us all at the same spot, then we went our different ways. This was a little better than the Los Arcos site. After the first dive, a smaller boat picked us up and took us to the other Marietas island. This was even better than the first. Hugo was our guide this trip and he was excellent. Very safety aware which made me feel very comfortable with our experience level. My daughter lost her mask and snorkel and Hugo put all his gear on to retrieve it as we were gassed. Thank you Hugo!!! The boat then took us back to the bigger boat which was docked at a beach and we got on, had lunch, they. served drinks, then the snorkelers board and we headed back to town with an open bar and music and a live show. So great. Highly recommend Vallarta Adventures!!!
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Posted On : 2023-06-24

Posted By : Explorer38442999783
My family of 5 did this activity. Ages ranging from 55-18. 2 out of 5 of us were certified and the rest were not. We have been scuba diving a bunch and the three other people with us also had a lot of experience. You meet at the port and take a boat about an hour to the island. The boat had entertainment there and back and was an open bar and walked around with drinks. As soon as you get off you dive right from the dock. We did a quick instruction but again we all have been diving in the past and had a lot of experience. The dive was cool. We saw a bunch of puffer fish and beautiful sea life. After the dive they show you pictures. The photo package was 165 but you get 30 pictures in this beautiful book. They edit them to make them brighter and you also get emailed all the pictures and videos the same day. They drop the photos off to your resort. After the dive you get to enjoy the island. By the time the dive is done almost all the chairs will be taken. Luckily my mom did not dive and saved us good seats. You can paddle board, kayak, clay molding, cooking classes, and they have an open bar. They also have these little floating islands you can swim to and chill on hammocks. Be warned they do have jelly fish. It’s not infested or anything but my dad got stung twice while diving and a little boy got stung badly too. They serve a buffet lunch it’s decent. Our waiter Betty was absolutely amazing. We loved her so much. If you have a chance you should say hi. Staff was amazing and the island was beautiful.
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Posted On : 2023-06-15