Samana Diving - Day Class
Samana Diving - Day Class
Samana Diving - Day Class
5
Scuba & Snorkelling • Lessons & Workshops
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8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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About
Samana Diving is the only PADI dive center in the city of Las Terrenas, Samana (Dominican Republic). Just 30 minutes from El Catey international airport, 60 minutes off the biggest Humpback whale sighting zone in the North Atlantic and one of the most pristine areas in the Caribbean Sea.
Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
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Samana Diving - Day Class
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
5.0
87 reviews
Excellent
80
Very good
4
Average
1
Poor
1
Terrible
1
Greg W
Elliot Lake, Canada4 contributions
Mar 2017 • Couples
My wife & I had a wonderful time diving with "Samana Diving" out of Las Terrenas, DR. We hadn't dived in a few years, but any reservations we had about going again were quickly removed once we met up with Josue & Paola, and went out on first dive with Roy & David (our divemasters). Josue answered any questions we had before we got there (email). They only do small groups (up to 4), and for all our dives with them, it was just my wife & me (and 2 of them). I can't say enough positive things about Roy -- he was excellent; and David was great & attentive also. Since we hadn't dived for a while, Roy made us feel very much at ease with his relaxed & easy going personality. His knowledge, flexibility & "down to earth" attitude in dealing with us quickly brought back our confidence and we had some wonderful dives.
We took advantage of their 2 day X 2 tank dive package on March 29th & 30th (2017). After our dives, Roy talk to us about the "DuDu Cave" dive site if we were interested in doing some more diving while we were in Samana. Back at our resort we decided to do this dive and contacted Josue again to book this dive for the following Monday (April 3rd). Firstly, this dive was really awesome -- something we thought we'd never do (and almost backed out because of more apprehension about diving in a cave/tunnel), but we stuck with it, and again Roy was so reasurring & patient. This time Jay was with us for his first dive with this dive centre, and who gave us comfort knowing there was someone following behind us through the caves. By the way, the cave tunnels are fairly large (15m X 10m), so we didn't feel claustrophobic & coming up into the "cavern" was so cool.
So when we showed up for the "cave" dive, we found out that Josue & Paola had sold the business and it transferred to the new owner over the weekend. We briely met the owner who has another dive centre (Prodiver Maui), and now Samana Diving is a part of this operation, but it appears that Roy will now also take on managing Samana Diving.
Also, we would like to thank Captain Machon who was a very helpful & capable dive boat operater, and Santos (our taxi driver) who was very competent & careful -- we had to drive through a number of busy towns, and up over the Samana pennisula mountain range (you can only know what I mean if you've done it).
And, a special thanks again to Josue, Paola & Roy for setting us up with a great dive experience.
We took advantage of their 2 day X 2 tank dive package on March 29th & 30th (2017). After our dives, Roy talk to us about the "DuDu Cave" dive site if we were interested in doing some more diving while we were in Samana. Back at our resort we decided to do this dive and contacted Josue again to book this dive for the following Monday (April 3rd). Firstly, this dive was really awesome -- something we thought we'd never do (and almost backed out because of more apprehension about diving in a cave/tunnel), but we stuck with it, and again Roy was so reasurring & patient. This time Jay was with us for his first dive with this dive centre, and who gave us comfort knowing there was someone following behind us through the caves. By the way, the cave tunnels are fairly large (15m X 10m), so we didn't feel claustrophobic & coming up into the "cavern" was so cool.
So when we showed up for the "cave" dive, we found out that Josue & Paola had sold the business and it transferred to the new owner over the weekend. We briely met the owner who has another dive centre (Prodiver Maui), and now Samana Diving is a part of this operation, but it appears that Roy will now also take on managing Samana Diving.
Also, we would like to thank Captain Machon who was a very helpful & capable dive boat operater, and Santos (our taxi driver) who was very competent & careful -- we had to drive through a number of busy towns, and up over the Samana pennisula mountain range (you can only know what I mean if you've done it).
And, a special thanks again to Josue, Paola & Roy for setting us up with a great dive experience.
Written May 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VannessaB
Devon35 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
Owned by two Spaniards, Josue and Paola who speak excellent English and take real pride in their customer service. They took great care of my 14 year old son on a 2 half days course with Daniel, first one learning the kit and basic safety in the pool, second one for two boat dives. They delayed the second day to make sure we got the best visibility for him, and my husband went down with them. He was absolutely thrilled with the whole experience and can't wait to do it again. Contacting them in advance is easy via their website, prompt and detailed communication. Definitely recommended.
Written August 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thank´s a lot!!! we enjoy a lot to dive with him!! I really hope he keep diving!!!
Thank´s for your review! and we hope all of you had a great vacations in Las Terrenas!!
Best wishes!!
Paola, Daniel & Josue
PADI 5* STAR RESORT #24598
Written August 19, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jason H
Fort Atkinson, WI29 contributions
Jul 2016 • Solo
I contacted the dive shop a couple weeks prior to my trip to Las Terrenas and the response from Josue was quick. He explained everything to expect in detailed correspondence.
Upon my arrival I checked in with them and met Daniel. Daniel is a very genuine and nice person. He explained that a dive should be scheduled at least two days in advance. At the time, I didn't have the money to pay so he allowed me to come back later.
The day of the dive we met at 0830 and I met Josue and Paola. These three people run a very nice, clean, and accommodating operation. The equipment I had to rent was in very good shape, instruction prior to the two dives was great, and Captain Machanga knows these waters like the back of his hand. His navigation and help with equipment was exceptional.
Bottled Water was supplied on the trip but if you need to eat, bring something with you.
The diving was very fun. Daniel is a great dive master and one of the friendliest guys I have met. We saw all types of fish, a ray, a black mora eel, and an arrow crab. Very cool stuff!!
I had a wonderful experience and recommend this to anyone looking for a fun dive.
Thank you Josue, Paola, Daniel, and Capt. Machanga. (I'm sure I spelled his name wrong)...sorry.
Upon my arrival I checked in with them and met Daniel. Daniel is a very genuine and nice person. He explained that a dive should be scheduled at least two days in advance. At the time, I didn't have the money to pay so he allowed me to come back later.
The day of the dive we met at 0830 and I met Josue and Paola. These three people run a very nice, clean, and accommodating operation. The equipment I had to rent was in very good shape, instruction prior to the two dives was great, and Captain Machanga knows these waters like the back of his hand. His navigation and help with equipment was exceptional.
Bottled Water was supplied on the trip but if you need to eat, bring something with you.
The diving was very fun. Daniel is a great dive master and one of the friendliest guys I have met. We saw all types of fish, a ray, a black mora eel, and an arrow crab. Very cool stuff!!
I had a wonderful experience and recommend this to anyone looking for a fun dive.
Thank you Josue, Paola, Daniel, and Capt. Machanga. (I'm sure I spelled his name wrong)...sorry.
Written July 9, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Hi Jason!!!!
Thank´s a lot for this review!!! you have to came back soon because we don´t receive the sticker and now we want!! it´s really cool!!!
Lot of hugs from Daniel, Paola & me!!
PADI 5* Dive Resort #24598
Written August 19, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
64juhav
2 contributions
Mar 2016 • Family
Josue and Paola do their work with big heart, excellent service, muchos gracias :) Highly recommended!
Written March 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thank´s for the review Holy Diver!!! :-)
Lot of Hugs from Paola & Me to all your group!!
Written March 31, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kati L
Nummela31 contributions
Mar 2016 • Family
We spent two weeks in Las Terrenas from 25 Feb to 10 March. We were a big group with ten divers, four of those being children. We have never felt so welcome anywhere as we felt with Josue and Paola in Samana Diving. Their customer service is a real top quality and around them was also much fun. Josue and Paola really like what they do and are interested in their customers making they feel home. Also Samana Diving's scuba diving gear is in very good condition.
We did two dives in Las Terrenas. There were not so much marine life in the reefs but many interesting go throughs. Visibility was pretty good. We did two dives in our groups phase and there was no hurry at all. Children were nicely taken into account and were well taken care of.
Josue also arranged us a scuba diving/snorkeling trip to the Lake/Cenote Dudu, which located around 2 hours from the Las Terrenas. This was an amazing experience! I can recommend this beautiful place to everyone even if not diving.
Josue also organized us to dive in Bayahibe, which locates in 4 hours away in the South. I can also recommend Bayahibe as a dive location. There is a beautiful St George wreck for advanced divers for example which is worth of seeing. Travel there was pretty long. I would recommend to stay night there if someone likes to try this too.
Josue is a very experienced diver and instructor. He has also a strong technical and cave diving experience which makes him even better instructor in my opinion. He taught us new things regarding the diving safely and about the cavern diving. It was very interesting and it inspired me to further develop myself as a diver in the near future.
PS. Josue and Paola also know good whale Spotting company Whale Samana, which we can also recommend....
Thank you so much Samana Diving for making our vacation so much fun :)
I am sure we will meet again!
We did two dives in Las Terrenas. There were not so much marine life in the reefs but many interesting go throughs. Visibility was pretty good. We did two dives in our groups phase and there was no hurry at all. Children were nicely taken into account and were well taken care of.
Josue also arranged us a scuba diving/snorkeling trip to the Lake/Cenote Dudu, which located around 2 hours from the Las Terrenas. This was an amazing experience! I can recommend this beautiful place to everyone even if not diving.
Josue also organized us to dive in Bayahibe, which locates in 4 hours away in the South. I can also recommend Bayahibe as a dive location. There is a beautiful St George wreck for advanced divers for example which is worth of seeing. Travel there was pretty long. I would recommend to stay night there if someone likes to try this too.
Josue is a very experienced diver and instructor. He has also a strong technical and cave diving experience which makes him even better instructor in my opinion. He taught us new things regarding the diving safely and about the cavern diving. It was very interesting and it inspired me to further develop myself as a diver in the near future.
PS. Josue and Paola also know good whale Spotting company Whale Samana, which we can also recommend....
Thank you so much Samana Diving for making our vacation so much fun :)
I am sure we will meet again!
Written March 14, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thank´s for the review Kati!!! We miss all your group, i hope we can see you in Finland one of this years!!
Lot of hugs to all of you!!
Paola & Josue
Written March 31, 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kirsten W
New City, NY5 contributions
Nov 2015 • Family
First things first the shop owners are the nicest people! We were greeted by Josue and his sweet wife Paula. They are super friendly and made the whole experience amazing. We went on 4 dives with Samana Diving and loved every minute of it! The area is beautiful. My favorite dive was Las Cuevas, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Josue is a great dive master; very attentive and great at pointing out things that you might miss under the water.
Just a side note: we had stopped by some other dive shops in the area but decided to go with Samana Diving because of how nice, professional, and reliable they are!
I would HIGHLY recommend that you chose this place!
Just a side note: we had stopped by some other dive shops in the area but decided to go with Samana Diving because of how nice, professional, and reliable they are!
I would HIGHLY recommend that you chose this place!
Written December 8, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thank´s a lot for your opinion Kirsten!!!
Because this kind of reviews we love our work!!
I hope you told me that next time you dive near to New York!!!
Best wishes to all of you!!
From Paola & Josue
PADI Dive Resort #24958
Written December 9, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pavlina F
1 contribution
Oct 2017 • Solo
I completed my four open water dives for my Open Water Diver Certification with Samana Diving, and I had an amazing experience with Ludmilla. She was an excellent instructor and made sure I was comfortable and prepared for all of the skills I was asked to demonstrate. Afterwards, we had plenty of time to enjoy our dives and we hung out in the open ocean while she looked for interesting ocean life to show me. We saw an eel, jelly fish, a puffer fish, lots of other interesting creatures like crabs, urchins and nudibranchs. Overall it was a great experience and I'll be returning there for sure!!
Written November 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martyn G
1 contribution
Jan 2017 • Family
Paola and Josue run a tight ship. They are friendly, organized, personable and take the business of dive training very seriously. My daughter and I took the Discover Scuba course whilst on vacation in Las Terrenas last July. We had a terrific experience so when it was time for us to train toward Scuba Diver PADI certification we wanted to come back to Josue and his team to take advantage of their excellent training and super safety conscious approach.
We both qualified on this trip and are both very grateful to the whole team, Paola, Johanna, Roy and of course Josue for their care and attention their deep, (pun intended), knowledge of Scuba, and their patient teaching skills. Also this dive shop maintains their equipment very well. Everything clean and in good working order.
Thanks to all. We'll be back for sure.
We both qualified on this trip and are both very grateful to the whole team, Paola, Johanna, Roy and of course Josue for their care and attention their deep, (pun intended), knowledge of Scuba, and their patient teaching skills. Also this dive shop maintains their equipment very well. Everything clean and in good working order.
Thanks to all. We'll be back for sure.
Written January 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul L
8 contributions
Sep 2016 • Couples
Only had a chance to dive 6 times with them and they are the BEST.
They want to answer all your request, handle all your equipment to the boat so everything is pleasant. Dive master listens to your request, shows you the best places.
It's like a family affair and everybody really is enjoyable and want you to have the best time.
Also went to Dudu lake for the caves and was really fun.
Can't go wrong with this one !
They want to answer all your request, handle all your equipment to the boat so everything is pleasant. Dive master listens to your request, shows you the best places.
It's like a family affair and everybody really is enjoyable and want you to have the best time.
Also went to Dudu lake for the caves and was really fun.
Can't go wrong with this one !
Written September 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Colin R
3 contributions
Jun 2016 • Family
Mido took great care of my two boys by both spending extra time in the practical testing as well as the discovery dive to make sure all aspects of their experience was first and foremost safe.
The awesomeness came naturally after that.
Will be back.
The awesomeness came naturally after that.
Will be back.
Written June 19, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Me gustarÃa recibir información sobre el buceo con vosotros. Gracias. Saludos!
Andrew
Arlington, VA1 contribution
Hello,
Do you have options for non-certified divers to do a morning intro class followed by an afternoon dive?
Thanks,
Hi, Andrew!
Vannessa makes a great explanation, usually, we make it in two days or a complete morning because in the afternoons, usually, we have more wind than in the mornings.
But if in the afternoon we have not wind and we think you are going to get a great time, we don´t have any problem to make it!
If you have any question just write us by email or on the contact page!
Best wishes!
Josué Zarco
PADI IDC STAFF #289289
Carolus_11
Florence, Italy7 contributions
Hola!!
He visto que El previo es de 30 mil colones (costarricensi) eso que incluye?
Buenas tardes
Sobre que producto estas preguntando?
Respecto al precio, trabajamos en US$, € o RD$ :-)
Un saludo!!
Chino B
Chascomus, Argentina15 contributions
Buenas noches gente!, el 4 de enero del 2016 voy a estar por Samaná por una semana, hospedandome en el hotel Portillo. Estoy certificado como Open Water y haciendo actualmente el curso Advance. Me gustarÃa poder planear algunas salidas de buceo. Estuve leyendo los comentarios y parecen realmente recomendables. Me podrán dar un poco mas de información de las salidas, equipos, costos, etc?
Muchas gracias!!!
Buenas tardes Chino!
Muchas gracias Yolanda por la recomendación :-)
Como bien te cuenta Yolanda, en función de lo que te guste y de la experiencia que tengas podemos hacer unas u otras inmersiones.
Si tienes el Open Water te recomiendo "Las Cuevas", "Piedra Marcel" como imprescindibles, sencillas pero con mucha vida. En las cuevas veremos morena verde, peces leon, bancos de peces en espacios pequeños, y nos meteremos en pequeñas cuevas, muy sencilliitas, con no mas de 7 metros de profundidad pero con gran cantidad de vida. En piedra marcel lo mas interesante son 2 motos de agua que hay en el fondo, son curiosas de ver...
En caso de que tengas el avanzado ya podrias plantearte ir al pecio Dolphin, bajar a ver los corales de Coral Reef o ver la acumulacion de crangrejos de craps point...
Los precios los tienes todos en la web, perdona pero no me permite ponerte el enlace, si pones en google samanadiving, luego pinchas en tarifas y esta toda la info.
Ademas alli tienes desde dibujos de los buceos hasta las preguntas que mas nos hacen los clientes :-)
Las salidas son siempre a las 8:30 de la mañana y siempre hacemos dobles por aquello de aprovechar el tiempo. El clima siempre es mejor por las mañanas.
Los equipos como te comentaba Yolanda tienen menos de un año, teniamos otro centro de buceo en España pero practicamente todo es nuevo y la idea es ir cambiandolos cada año :-) Ademas cada mes hacemos un chequeo completo a todo ya que somos tecnicos de las marcas que trabajamos (aqualung, scubapro, subacqua y mares) asi que por eso no te preocupes :-)
Y poco mas, cualquier cosa no dudes en escribirnos al mail que garantizamos respuesta en menos de 6 horas jeje.
Un abrazo!
Josué Zarco
PADI IDC Staff #289289
PADI Dive Resort #24958
pd: Eres de Buenos Aires? mi bautismo hace 20 años fue en Puerto Madryn!! Yo soy español, pero mi mujer, Paola, es de Buenos Aires :-)
Abrazos!
JohannaNivelles G
Nivelles76 contributions
Bonjour, pourriez-vous me donner une idée des prix demandés? Nous fêtons nos 25 ans de mariage mais par agence toutes ces superbes excursions sont hors de prix. Avez-vous de bons tuyaux à me proposer? Merci d'avance
Bonjour,
Merci pour votre message et pour vous intéresser à Samana Diving.
Nous pouvons vous proposer des packs de 4 ou 6 plongées
-4 plongées, matériel compris 155 $
-6 plongées, matériel compris 230$
Nos prix pour une sortie composée de deux plongées, plongée double, est 80 $ + 10$ pour le matériel
Nous espérons vous voir bientôt chez nous pour vous montrer la beauté des fonds sous-marins de Samana.
Merci et à bientôt