Best Diving Center Lowell Near Me

Brent Mahan: Mike has been awesome. We achieved our open water dive certification. He was incredibly flexible around my inflexible schedule, was professional, focused on safety, took the time to make sure we understood the training truly (not just checking boxes), had a private warm “indoor” pool, good equipment, and provided us many nuggets of wisdom. Highly recommended.

John Cassell: Mike and Sue are great! I spoke with them before signing up for my class and they fully explained how the class worked and what to expect. I took my son, brother and cousin with me to the classes. We completed the online portion of the class and then the in person pool and open water dive portions.One thing that I was looking for was safety, having never been diving before I was concerned about how I would do as well as my son - who was 10 at the time. Mike took very good care of us and instructed us to the point where we not only understood the system of diving and what we needed to do but also why we needed to do it. We went over the skills in the pool together, practiced by ourselves after we were comfortable with the skills and then went to the open water to demonstrate our skills. Mike paid close attention to all of us and gave me instructions on how to dive with my son in order to keep things safe when we dive.After the classes, over the last 3 years, I have taken my son diving in Aruba, St Marteen, Hawaii, Florida and Costa Rica, as well local dives. Many dive masters have commented on how well my son and I perform while diving and I give credit to Mike for the instructions, guidance and care to safety. Mike also helped us get fitted for gear, how to properly use the gear and safety procedures for using the gear.My brother and cousin also enjoy a high quality of enjoyment while diving. Top notch place and I recommend then anyone who is willing to dive to go here.

David Czapiga: My family and I received our open water certification from Mike Nalen back in November. I contemplated just moving on to another dive shop and never looking back, but decided I needed to share my experience.We first went to aquatic escapes during a discover scuba experience and had a great time. We then signed up for the open water class and paid in full. After completing the online portion, we completed several days of in pool training. When signing up for the class we were told we would have a private class. This was untrue, several classes had as many as 5 other divers in the pool with us. Not the greatest to have 9 students is a small training pool. We were surprised at the first class to find it was a different instructor than the one we enjoyed during discover scuba. Each in pool session began with Mike demonstrating a new skill and setting us loose in the pool to practice. We were then left to our own devices to perfect the skill with little to no feedback from the instructor.When completing the open water dives in the ocean, Mike apparently forgot to teach us a very important skill, regulator recovery. We were shown this in a few quick moments is shallow water then expected to perform at 25’ in 42 degree water. As could have been expected it didn’t go well for my 12 year old son.Once done with our OW dives, we were told we passed and headed back to the dive shop. Once there we were given documents to sign indicating we completed the required dives and skills. Would have been nice to see that earlier in the class to know expectations of skills necessary. When calling Mike less than a week later he was noticeably agitated when I asked for a dive log documenting our dives ( a requirement of dive resorts I had been contacting ). He proceeded to argue with me that I didn’t need a dive log. After pressing Mike he agreed to put together dive logs for my family and me.We then reached out to another dive shop and got further training for my wife and kids to be more comfortable with diving. Had a great experience in Nashua. If you are looking for scuba training I recommend looking elsewhere..

Jerry Catt: My first dive experience was a resort course in Grand Cayman with Tortuga divers, a quick safety class in the pool and printed material, skills demonstrated and off to the ocean. Three enjoyable dives. No complaints. Back in New Hampshire I did my open water paying attention, reading and understanding the provided materials and paying attention in class. Not everyone in my class did so but they were able to pass as they were able to demonstrate the required skills. I could list the negatives but I think my experience was typical. I then moved on to my new. Dive store Aquatic Escapes to do my advanced open water and discovered everything that was missing in my previous training. Mike not only explained what but why each skill was needed and ensured I was proficient in every one. I feel fortunate to have found such an inspiring and capable instructor and would recommend both him and Aquatic Escapes without reservation.

Michelle Czapiga: I was very disappointed in the education and training I received from Mike Nalen, owner of Aquatic Escapes Dive Center in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Even though he boasts 20+ years of diving experience, it doesn’t make him a good teacher or instructor. He was neither enthusiastic nor helpful.We were told what was included and what to expect upon signing the contract and paying for the program, but our experience was nothing like what was promised or what we signed up for.In the end, I graduated this program with my scuba certification feeling inadequate, and my two children, ages 15 and 12 , graduated this program feeling shamed.I would never recommend Mike to anyone who is excited to learn about scuba diving, and wants to become certified. He is unprofessional and shows little interest in the success (or failure) of his business or his students.

Patrick Wark: Sue and Mike at Aquatic Escapes were nothing but awesome from the moment I reached out with my inquiry to the completion of my course. They were very friendly, very helpful, very patient, and very flexible to my circumstance and schedule.Their prices are very fair as well. Even if other certification providers had gotten back to me as quickly and surely as they did, the best deal was still with AE.I did my training dives with Mike, an expert diver and great teacher with decades of experience. I highly recommend him for any dive training/certification you have in mind.Back Story: About a month ago, I realized I had the chance to go after an obscure bucket list dive I learned about years ago, but I only had a few weeks (in the middle of winter) to get my dry suit diver certification, which is required for it. I was pessimistic about the possibility of getting this done, but I still contacted every dive training service in the region just in case there was a chance. Aquatic Escapes was the ONLY place to promptly write me back with optimism and confidence that we could easily get it done in time. And because of them, I was able to work around my busy schedule and get the certification completed just like that. Now I'm ready to check a very cool dive off of my bucket list later this month.

Shawna Marks Campbell: Mike and Sue are the best. They feel like old friends and are great instructors. Very knowledgeable about equipment too. If you want to learn how to dive, this is the place!

Matthew Gish: Bought a swim mask which leaked,tried to return and was denied. Store claimed something about the mask being like underwear and blamed it on the state of nh. Buyer beware of this place

James Roth: Super friendly people, great equipment for rental, new tanks, etc. Decent selection of the bare necessities onsite. They are not priced high like some dive shops, everything is reasonable and they are happy to order things for little markup. Would love to take courses here or go on a trip, seem like a good shop to dive with.

betty mccbribe: NOT A FAN OF THE MISERABLE CAPTAIN JAROD.NEVER AGAIN.

John Mackey: Great customer service from Sue and Mike.

Gottlieb Stoll: I was looking for a scuba shop to certify my daughter while I got a refresher so we could dive together. Mike and Sue were very friendly and helpful through the entire experience. We have continued to visit their shop for our equipment needs and additional training. I highly recommend them for any diving needs. (Bonus points for the heated pool!)

Nick Lang: Great people, lots of knowledge fun to talk to

Laurie Ann Keough: Very knowledgeable and made me feel at ease. Signed up for Try Scuba! Can't wait!!

Christina Ptak: Called to inquire about Open Water certification for my boyfriend and a refresher course for me. Sue was friendly, patient, and informative spending time to explain the different options and even making recommendations. I’m so excited to have found a great dive shop and community in my own backyard!

Bill David: Best service around. Extremely knowledgeable. They know customer service. Worth a visit.

Harrison Chambers: Came here with a few friends to learn more about diving, their classes and costs. The owners were very friendly and had some interesting stories as well. We arrived close to closing time and we weren't hurried out past closing time. They answered all our questions and welcomed us back anytime.

Roland St Germain: Looked around to learn to dive and chose Aquatic Escapes due to their extreme flexibility with the classes. They worked the classes around our schedules, which over the summer were not consistent. Then they were EXTREMELY helpful when purchasing equipment for the class - never once pushing to purchase a more expensive or extra item. On the 4 open water dives, Mike was great and made sure everyone was comfortable and could do the skills being tested. Even giving extra time and opportunities to get them done.I could not have been happier and cannot recommend them high enough. Any additional classes I take will definitely be through them.

Nolen G: Rented some tanks here recently. They charged 12 for the tank rental and then you have to pay to fill them,7$. It was nearly 40$ to rent two tanks. Thats a rip. My local shop rents for 12 and includes air .

Joe Lafrite: It takes only 100 dives to become a dive instructor, and all agencies have dumbed down their curriculum so badly that tropical resorts are able to certify new divers within a week. It's reckless. Find an instructor like Mike who has thousands of dives, and a lot of experience to share. Pricing for gear is good too, and can compete with the online retailers.