From a heated Bay Area pool to Monterey's kelp-draped canyons and clear tropical reefs beyond, Bay Area Scuba has been launching divers on a lifetime of underwater adventure since 1985.
Bay Area Scuba has been training divers in Burlingame, on the San Francisco Peninsula, since 1985. Pool sessions take place in a heated 84-degree Olympic pool, with open-water certification dives completed at Monterey or at warm-water tropical resorts through the school's international affiliate network. Classes are kept deliberately small — just six students per instructor — with flexible scheduling across seven days a week, including Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, and the option for private, semi-private, or corporate instruction at the student's own pool. The course catalog spans first-time pool introductions through professional Divemaster training, with Rescue Diver, Adventure Diver, and specialty programs in between. What sets Bay Area Scuba apart is its mobile, student-first philosophy: instructors can travel abroad with a group to complete certifications in warm tropical water, and the shop maintains a network of NASE worldwide affiliate resorts for referral completions. Equipment rental — BCD, regulator, tank, wetsuit, and weight belt — is covered during pool sessions on the Open Water Referral course, and personal gear is available for purchase at student discount rates through the shop, which also offers air fills and equipment repairs. Beyond local training, Bay Area Scuba organizes worldwide dive travel and can connect graduates with dive destinations in Hawaii, including a six-bedroom vacation home in Kona available for groups looking to pair their certification completion with a full dive vacation. The combination of flexible scheduling, small group sizes, and global reach makes this a practical choice for Bay Area residents facing last-minute travel plans or non-standard work schedules.
Burlingame, United States
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