Rainbow Reef Dive Center Caribbean Dr (Boats), Key Largo FL

The dives felt very rushed and nobody was coming around to do safety checks on the boat or in the water. I could barely keep track of my own gas and NDL trying to find where the guides had gotten to even after I had said something about their pace. They were hyper-focused on nit-picky boat rules that had nothing to do with safety and actually made things less safe in some cases. They also went out of their way to try to blame customers if anything went wrong and were not particularly friendly. They didn't even bother to tell anyone the names of the fish species we saw. The changing stalls were disgustingly dirty and unlit. However, the shop was very accommodating in terms of reservations and any requests and they took care of my husband who got sick snorkeling.

World class diving, reasonable prices, flexible scheduling and cancellation policies, and great dive masters. Leverages the range of local dive sites and skillful divemasters to cater to a range of divers. My then 10 yo daughter, new to the sport, had a great experience. I appreciated that the divemasters kept the dive at her level and gave her the support she needed. Later my wife and I visited Spiegel Grove and appreciated that the staff adjusted the operation to match the higher experience level of those aboard.

Did 21 dives here in September 2023 over 2 weekend trips. Great experience all round.

Scheduling, reminder calls, check-in staff, Captains, Dive Masters, and dock personnel were all kind, helpful, energetic, and professional.

Everything went as smooth as the weather & visibility allowed. Would recommend for new and experienced divers looking for a well run, professional, zero hassle experience.

Discovery Scuba
I can’t begin to express how amazing our experience was. Our instructor Matt was awesome and made the experience more knowledgeable and comfortable. The dive shops employees are super helpful and you can tell that everyone loves what they do. The boat crew and instructors were super friendly, well informed, helpful and all the above. The 2 dives lived up to what we imagined and more. If you’re looking for who to go through while you’re in the keys; look no further Rainbow Reef is everything you need and more! Thank you Matt and Rainbow reef!

We dove with tem for the first time this morning. They were fantastic! We have dives booked with them the next few days and I will hopefully have some photos to post.

I changed it up this year and went with Rainbow. No regrets. The staff was friendly, the pricing for diving a whole week was great. Then you have Sharkys next door, which is a great place to eat. It's a win-win.

TLDR: Came here to complete our PADI Advance Open Water cert, would highly recommend Sam R. Great Cpts. & Staff, awesome dives, good equipment.

My wife and I visited to take and complete our PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW) certification which includes a few specialty skills. We did rent octos and bcds both days, a flashlight for 1 dive and computers for day 2.

We were partnered with Sam Rosengarden who was EXCELLENT. Sam, although newer to the Rainbow Reef team, was one of the best instructors we've had in our PADI journey. Not only was he phenomenal to work with as an instructor, but he was also a very fun, energetic, and careful person; he was also mindfull of our "class". The class was the wife, myself, and a third individual who had already halfway completed her AOW, but the weather prevented her from completing her deep dive.

Sam was able to make it fun for all of us even though the third person in the class had already done her navigation dive.

We did 5 dives over 2 days. 2 shallower reef dives and 1 night dive on day 1, and then 2 deep dives to the Bibb and Spiegel Grove on day 2.

The night dive is worth it. If you're getting your AOW do a night dive (it seems scary but it was probably the most exciting dive we've ever done).

Specialities we completed were Peak Performance Bouyancy, Night Dive, Wreck Diver, and Nitrox (added this on prior to the deep and wreck dive on day 2 for more bottom time and was only $100ea).

Sam's attention to detail was incredible and if I could give him all of the referrals I would.

We will visit again, whether it be to add additional specialities certifications to our list or just to have some fun dives.

Thank you Rainbow Reef for having an amazing team and giving us an amazing, memorable experience.

After diving with Rainbow Reef for 4 days, here is a breakdown of our experience.

First impression: A great shop with friendly and knowledgeable people that work great together like a well oiled machine.

Final impression: We won't be back. A few dangerous practices and all short dives crammed one right after the other with so many people on the boat that you're herded like cattle.

The Good:
Great people that worked hard and knew what they were doing (except for one)
They provided a water cooler and paper cups on the boat
They provided reef safe sunscreen and baby shampoo defog
They were great at keeping everyone moving along well on the boat (too well. See below)
They provided good pre-dive briefings
Most of the DM/Guides were very knowledgeable and helpful

The Bad:
The boats were way over crowded. We always felt like we were being herded like cattle.
They do not help with your gear like most dive operations do. They'll help fix an issue but you're responsible for your own gear and setup.
They do not store your gear overnight or provide a place to store it.
There are no lockers available to put things in overnight or while you're out on the boat.
There is not a fresh water rinse bucket for masks on the boat.
There is not a fresh water bucket for cameras on the boat.
They have very little fresh water for rinsing off on the boat.
They do not provide between dive snacks like most other operations do.

The Ugly:
They only give you 45 minutes between the morning dives and when you have to check in for the afternoon dive. This only gives you about 15 minutes to eat lunch after getting off the boat, getting somewhere to eat, and returning in time for check in.
The dives averaged around 40-45 minutes each. You usually needed to be back on the boat before 50 minutes.
Sometimes you would have to come up after only using half of your tank.
Second tank dives were sometimes as soon as 10 minutes after the first tank dive.
Some of the DM/Guides went very fast, even in strong currents, and didn't make sure they still had all of their group before moving on to the next area.
On more than one dive, when we were in a current, the DM/Guide just left people behind. When you're struggling to keep up the entire dive, it's not even worth going because you can't enjoy it.
The worst one was a high current 110 foot deep dive where the DM's plan was to notify them when you got to 1500 psi (at 100' away from the descent line) before they were going to turn around. That doesn't give you enough air for the return trip and they don't lower an emergency tank at 15' for the safety stop either.

The crew is topnotch, though they are a bit too popular for the area - boats might be crowded from time to time. Rentals are OK, though might be a bit dated, so check before you take it, lol. Dove a few days with them (deeps / reef / night), great experience!

Some weeks ago i made my diving here. First day motion sickness hurts me hard and i leave my fins on the boat. Next day i figured out that and went there. $200 fins is not something i was ready loose. Captain and the team told me that my fins are not on the boat. And when i asked manager to check the video cameras cause we step out from the boat right in front of the camera - they say me NO!
Next time i would try to find another place!
Bad experience (

Great second trip to dive the Keys. Dustin, our guide, was a legend and is the fastest O-ring replacer this side of the Mississippi. He also has a cool beard, so there’s that too.

This was my second time with them and it was a much better experience. The crew was well organized and were able to deal well with the combination of divers and snorkelers. Dove at Pickles reef and Snapper Ledge and had a really great time!

Rainbow Reef is amazing! My 12year old son and I did 4 dives here and everything was perfect.
The diving is excellent for beginners. Pickle barrel was our favorite dive sight. They have more advanced dives but I was with my kid. That said I had a really enjoyable dive, loads of fish life and lots of bio-diversity. Good times all around.
The staff was great. They are always accommodating, professional, and good natured with a bit of Florida style humor.
I highly recommend Rainbow Reef diving.

Divers and snorkelers were in our group and everyone had a great time. They are customer focused and very helpful! Checking in was super easy. The captain and mates on the boat were THE best!

Best, most professional dive shop I’ve ever encountered. Believe they are the largest in the country. They have the best dive boats (Newtons) which will get you to your dive site as fast as possible. Great captains and staff and good rental equipment. You can’t do better.