Verified Company
Update 2025 to two stars: I never received any of the photos and the dive shop didn't take responsibility for our guide's rude conduct.
Original July 2023 review below:
PADI Divemaster here with 150 dives over 7 years.
My partner (new OW diver) and I dived with Poseidon for two days.
Firstly, parking is a little tricky but doable, the beach is nice (and pretty busy), but it was easy to find and their gear and physical shop amenities are all pretty good!
There was lots of space for equipment, and we were able to leave gear overnight. Their gear prep room is a little wet/smelly but this is sometimes the case with scuba.
Our first dive was alone on the shore so my partner, a new diver, could get their bearings. Our subsequent three dives were on the boat. It is nice that they schedule the boat times and you can just opt to "come along".
It seemed like the ratio of guides to divers was good on the schedule, but this started to fall apart the moment we got on the boat. Let me say some of the staff (Pecu, Carlo) were really wonderful, but our decision to dive alone *on the beach* somehow left us diving alone later *on the boat* at new dive site, without a guide.
Spain has choppy seas and the nearby dive locations don't have any cover from the waves, so the boat is very rocky and could make a newcomer sick if you don't get in the water and descend quickly.
On our second dive we had to pick and spot animal life from other divers and guides because we were in the water alone.
I spoke up on our third dive "we need a guide" and were assigned to Lutz for the dive. He agreed, we hopped in the water and headed down. My partner's ankle got snagged in some fishing line while troubleshooting ear issues and once she was freed, he took her to the surface, told the boat what happened (why?) and sternly reminded her not to get caught in the fishing line (as if it were intentional).
We proceeded to dive with Lutz and his demeanour was not very helpful, and I, the customer, was the only one to find any small or notable sea life (a nudibranch). It didn't really seem like he was looking.
My partner consumed their air faster (understandably) so we surfaced after 35min. We got on the boat and Lutz asked me "How many dives does she have?" I told him just a few, and he acted surprised, nearly rolled his eyes and walked away.
Deciding that no guide was better than a poor guide, we did our final dive alone and had a good time spotting wildlife on our own.
This left us feeling demotivated, like Poseidon was not the place for new divers. I am a divemaster but cannot teach and guide my partner in a new dive site single-handed. This left a bad taste in our mouths.
I emailed Lutz later and am hoping he can at least share some photos from our dive.
I believe there are great people at Poseidon, but we definitely drew the short straw. Thank you Pecu and Carlo for the wonderful, personal service while in the shop.
Reply from Poseidon Diving & Boat Tours
2023.08.09
Hello Arden, I'm sorry hearing about that. Some days, specially this july, weather can be not very easy for everybody. We had strong winds and also strong currents this days. Even diving with an instructor can be complicated, we try to make the best for our clients as much as we can. Also this day we had the incovenience having a fishing net, we didn't expected, around the reef, that was making the dive even more difficult. I apologize for some uncomfortable situation about your guide. In spain where we dive to have a guide is not mandatory. But in your case, as you are divemaster, you can guide your partner without it. But yes we give as an option for the people who wants to have a easy dive, spot more underwater life and don't care about navigation. Anyway I hope next time you can have pleasant time with us. I will try to get some pictures of your dive. Many greetings.
Verified
