Feb 1, 2025
Incredible staff! - We had an amazing experience with Diving Center Santa Maria. We went on four beautiful dives, and each one was a fantastic adventure. We have seen sharks, balloon fishes, trumpet fishes and moray eels. The instructors are highly skilled and well-trained, and the staff is incredibly helpful. It's great that multiple people accompany you on the boat to guide the dive, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience. Additionally, the price for a dive is very reasonable, making it an excellent value. Highly recommend Diving Center Santa Maria for anyone looking to dive in Cape Verde!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 31, 2025
Good dives, helpful guides, lots of puffers! - Good diving trip! The seas were a bit rough, so keep that in mind during the windy season, but the dives were great, regardless! The ship wreck was super unique with literally hundreds of puffer fish in schools!
Review provided by Viator
Sep 29, 2024
So good! - This was a wonderful activity provided by a wonderful company. Loved every minute underwater. The sites were full of underwater life!
Review provided by Viator
Sep 28, 2024
Excellent! - Excellent day out on the water. Friendly and multilingual staff. This tour was flexible with regards to weather! Overall, excellent:)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 11, 2024
Outstanding Dive Center and Wonderful World Class Diving! - Wow, could not be more impressed with the dive centre and quality of diving at Santa Maria Dive Centre. We were looked after right from the point of booking - Xavier, the owner, contacted me via WhatsApp and maintained communication during our trip preparations, advising us both on the local diving conditions as well as the local area, culture, restaurants and more. Super helpful comms to have even before travelling! The dive centre is well resourced and the team were outstanding looking after our every needs from finding perfect fitting equipment to literally lifting it onto our backs and buckling it for us before jumping in. In over 300 dives, I have not seen a more helpful and friendly team anywhere. The dive conditions were excellent - water in August was 25c meaning the 5mm wetsuits we rented were more than capable. Visibility 20-30m on every dive with a little current and surge to keep things interesting without being a struggle. We saw Turtles, sleepy Nurse sharks, huge stingrays and a schools of Puffer fish, and millions of other fish of all shapes and sizes on virtually every dive, all within standard Open Water 18m depths. It was great to see such healthy underwater environment. Can highly recommend 3 caves and Santa Antao wreck as two fantastic dive sites, the latter an enormous wreck sat in just 12m - accessible to all. We were joined on the trip with 2 friends brand new to diving who were understandably nervous about doing their first certified dives. The team were completely understanding and supportive, and the dive leader Fernando dedicated himself to looking after them underwater from start to finish. Suffice to say they absolutely loved their diving experience and come away completely hooked. All in all this was one of the best dive experiences I have had in recent years and can highly recommend to anyone keen to explore underwater!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 24, 2024
Great first experience of diving - I did a first try dive here. Very knowledgeable and friendly instructors, I had a great time and saw a lot of different fish. Wish I had more time to do more dives here!
Review provided by Viator
Apr 19, 2024
Must do - This was the best tri ever great teachers good company and a fantastic dive experience recommend a must do on everyone list my thanks to the instructor 100% safe and secure training good clean equipment and best ever time well done all
Review provided by Viator
Apr 5, 2024
Just simply great, honest, simple solid dive center. Highly recommended. - I’m an experienced diver and I have a young child did a try dive with, Joana Santos, the owner of the dive center. I communicated with Bea few weeks before our trip to organise everything. She was prompt and kind and easy going. All prices was fixed and no surprises. Joao picked me up from the hotel and back to the dive center to get kits all sorted. Everything was organised and we only had small group. I did two boat dives with Fernando and we saw countless of fish, a few large lemon sharks, turtles and stingrays. The small cave dive was simply great. Fish everywhere and don’t move and no stress like the locals on land. It is not a luxurious pimped up dive school but solid authentic dive school who knows their stuff. If you are expecting a luxurious yacht and aircon transport this is a center not for you. I love everything about them and my little boy felt confident and safe in Joao’s try dive lesson. It was almost two instructors to one for my son which I cannot ask for more. When they both surface with a beaming smile on their faces I cannot be a more happier mother. Thank you Joao and your team. You’ve made our holiday special and some great memories.
PS we have a dive center right by our Hotel Meliá Dunas and I carefully weighted up and went with SMDC due to their friendliness and focus on scuba diving rather than hard selling other trips.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 11, 2024
5 quality stars out of 5 stars. - I enjoying diving with this dive center. They are very good and reasable in price. They empasize safelty. The staff are very nice.
I can recomment this dive center. / Jens- Frankfurt/ Germany
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 9, 2024
Cancellation without any explanation - They cancelled on me few days priors without any explanation. I booked in advance though…I tried many times to reschedule or rebook again but no luck. Too bad.
Review provided by Tripadvisor