Marin Diving Center
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Marin Diving Center
Join us for a 7-night trip to what's often referred to as the shore diving capital of the world. It's known for its pristine dive conditions due to many decades of protection. Divers can see large colorful sponges and sea fans, as well as a few shipwrecks and marine life such as turtles, barracuda, seahorses, crabs, butterflyfish and groupers.

Captain Don's is one of the original Bonaire dive operators and offers genuine hospitality and quality service. Included: 12 boat dives over six days, the government tax, the hotel tax, the energy surcharge, airport transfers, breakfast, and, to top it off, unlimited shore diving, tanks, and weights.
Services
Marin Diving Center offers many services, including equipment sales, equipment repair, equipment rental, air fills, local dives, and dives around the world. Equipment Repair - Our service department includes some of the most experienced technicians in Northern California. We are authorized to repair all major brands of equipment.
Learn to dive with the professionals at the Marin Diving Center. We offer the PADI Openwater Certification Course, an internationally recognized diver certification program that we consider to be the finest in the world. Our instructors teach courses that are fun but also stress the techniques needed to become a safe and comfortable diver.
Marin Diving Center has a full selection of products and can order from every major manufacturer. We have all different types of equipment to satisfy your diving needs from recreational diving to tech diving, spearfishing or swimming. Stop in today to find the gear that is right for you. Below we've listed some of the brands that we carry, but if you're looking for something specific, give us a call or come in today!
The Channel Islands are some of the best diving in the world and are known for their kelp forests and biodiversity. Once a month, we host a short trip aboard the Raptor, a 46 foot vessel featuring a roomy upper deck with seating, a camera table, galley, marine head, and a fully heated main cabin for those chilly fall and winter days at Anacapa.
We hold fun dives once a month. They're no charge dive trips to either the Sonoma Coast or Monterey. We welcome all experience levels. Our fun dives are a great way to gain experience with local diving and meet new dive buddies. Below is a list of our scheduled dives, subject to weather conditions.
Reviews (20)
Leicia W.
Leicia W.
Jan 21, 2022
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Truly truly such a wholesome experience becoming PADI certified here.
Chris our lovely instructor was very patient and went above and beyond to assist us in completing our testing.

After having a flat tire the night before heading to Monterrey for our certification in open water, we thought we would have to cancel due to finally arriving to our destination at 3:30 am the day of instruction that was to begin at 7 am. But John, the owner, called us and worked with us to have a later start time that day. This meant pulling an instructor from the original group to assist my boyfriend and I. Luckily
Derek Glazzard
Derek Glazzard
Dec 19, 2021
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Where else would you go for your diving supplies? Psssh. Amazing environment. Staff is o so very friendly! What you waiting for? Huge selection of the best products available.
Kels W.
Kels W.
Nov 25, 2021
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Really great store/community! I joined for a fun dive and everyone was very knowledgable and helpful. John paired me up with another free diver and I had a great time as a beginner. Will definitely continue coming back and will make this my go-to store.
Lisa Pressgrove
Lisa Pressgrove
Oct 07, 2021
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Really knowledgeable, really give the sense the whole shop lives the diving life. Really helpful and accommodating without making you feel pressured. Great shop! Definitely recommend and I'll still be going back for more advancements in my diving career. Catherine, Byron, John, all made my experience awesome! Thank you!!
Tony Archuleta-Perkins
Tony Archuleta-Perkins
Sep 23, 2021
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I have to say Jon & his entire team is pretty awesome! They not only helped us navigate the OW certification, but they consistently go the extra mile to help out! Can’t recommend him enough!
Chris Hunt
Chris Hunt
Sep 22, 2021
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My favorite dive shop. I drive 5 hours round trip to get here and it's worth it. I go to M.D.C because i like the staff they are friendly and Knowledgeable. They don't try to sell you stuff you don't need and they stand behind what they sell.
Patty Wimpfheimer
Patty Wimpfheimer
Jul 22, 2021
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Love, love, love this store and the wonderfully helpful people who work there. Any time I need something water related I know I will find knowledgeable, friendly staff who help me find exactly what I need!
Liezl U.
Liezl U.
Mar 14, 2021
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Thank you, Thank you so much for today's refresher class with Katrina! She helped us out so much to feel comfortable to go diving again!!! All the staff members were amazing and very helpful! Thank you also to John to helping me SO MUCH!! I will definitely come back again to do my advance class.
Sean Brown
Sean Brown
Jan 03, 2021
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Great staff, always able to answer questions. Very friendly and willing to work with folks on what they need to get started, continue or advance their skills. Great gear selection and training materials. This is my go to shop, and I live closer to 3 others (not taking away from them) but will continue to pass them for the great experiences I have here. Even if it's just a short friendly conversation with the staff.
Alondra A.
Alondra A.
Sep 01, 2020
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The staff here are so welcoming and helpful. My boyfriend and I were new to diving and everything was smooth and very comprehensible thanks to John and his team! They allowed us to ask all the questions we had and had knowledgeable answers for everything! Thanks to Marin diving center for helping us get PADI open water certified, definitely go check them out!
J.-N. D.
J.-N. D.
Jul 13, 2020
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Open despite shelter in place restriction (not interested in the safety of their customer!)
lots of lies during calls (not able to go to the shop but we can offer the course)
No respond to emails so that I had to do expensive long distance calls. (not customer friendly)
In the end I got 746.25 USD refunded from 1,500 USD.
Explanation where the money is used for:
- book kits 222.89 for all 3 (understandable, but contains 2 DVD's what no
one needs in these days anymore)
- shipping 50. materials to you (understandable)
- tax 20.06
- pics 226.80 all 4 padi card forms (No idea what this is
Clark M.
Clark M.
Oct 23, 2019
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I have been relying upon Jon for nearly 25 years. He is a great guy, and always fair. He truly cares about his customers, and is always polite. I think it's important in an era of on line shopping to support our local merchants whenever possible. Thank you Jon for all your years of commitment to the industry. I know it's not always easy.
Ryan P.
Ryan P.
Aug 18, 2019
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Excellent operation all around. Daniel, the scuba instructor (for the pool course) is incredible.

Very knowledgable, patient and accurate. Its clear the entire shop really just loves diving, and wants the best of their customers.

I would recommend this shop for anything. Super cool they offer tahoe as an option fo the open water dive!
Cherie L.
Cherie L.
Jul 28, 2019
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After deciding it was time to upgrade my scuba equipment, I stopped by the Marin Diving Center yesterday and had the pleasure of meeting with Kathryn. I have been diving for many years and I have to say that I learned more in 45 minutes with Kathryn than I have with countless dive masters around the world. She is so knowledgeable and passionate about the sport that she takes quality time to ensure you have the right equipment along with proper training on how to use it! I would highly recommend visiting the Marin Diving Center before your next trip.
Olya A.
Olya A.
Jan 04, 2019
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I cannot recommend Marine diving center as the quality of instruction and attention to students were below my expectations.

I was not able to complete the classroom pool certification course, as two of the instructors were not supportive and helpful (granted I maybe a slow learning student but I would expect some helpful tips from the instructors). For example, I had an issue with a mask leaking water (which I purchased from the same diving center), so I kept focusing on clearing it instead of the course activities. However, both of the instructors didn't try to address this and help out
Dawn B.
Dawn B.
Dec 03, 2018
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Great shop. Very cool people and I very much trust doing business with them. I'm super comfortable recommending them. John, the owner is fantastic.
Christa D.
Christa D.
May 11, 2018
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Just got done trying out our new scuba gear in their pool. Jocelyn went above and beyond helping us adjust gear and giving us helpful tips. As a diver herself, she had a lot of practical knowledge on the products. Best dive shop we've been to in Sonoma,Marin, or Monterey.
Ee S.
Ee S.
Apr 07, 2016
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I love this shop.

Apart from the fact that they're knowledgable and passionate divers, they're generous and kind to work with as well.

While I've been diving for over 20 yrs and am now a dive master, I'm new to diving in a dry suit, and the staff (up to 4 and counting who have helped me) are patient and knowledgable about diving in a dry suit and have been going out of their way to help me learn these new skills.

I really appreciate how many trips and fun dives they coordinate. When I first got into diving in New England I had a shop I loved; the owner became a good friend
Pascal Hang
Pascal Hang
Oct 29, 2015
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This is for our experience in 2014:
Jon (owner) and Silas are both very helpful, regarding equipment and all of the certification details. There is a lot to know about equipment alone, they don't mind going over details more than once.
We visited to get our Open Water Diver Certification:
- On the confined Water (pool) training day, our instructor was Jim. After all of that book studying and DVD watching, we had to go over the important info again in the classroom. We go over a lot of information, it's a pretty long day, but well worth it to be ready for the actual dives.
- Open Dive days in
Michael Morris
Michael Morris
Jul 23, 2013
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I highly recommend this place. John and his team set me up with everything I needed to get certified so I could finally try out diving. I bought a snorkel and mask from the store that have served me equally well for both snorkeling and diving. It made such a difference to be able to try them on in the store, and have them explain what to look for in a mask. I am still going back to rent everything else I need for each dive. The store is also right off the highway with plenty of free parking.
A great resource no matter where you plan to dive. Give these guys a call and they are sure to help you