Both my sisters got certified on a dive here via referral on their 4 open water dives. I joined on their second dive and it was amazing. Bill is definitely an interesting person and you can tell that he just loves nature. According to my sister, he has over 9000 dives and is a great instructor.When I joined, I had no issues with renting from them, but the craziest thing was that Bill was showing that he had trained a couple of fish on the reef he frequented that he was able to summon by clanging 2 rocks together! And he was showing off the coral that he helped grow around the area.I loved listening to Bills stories at the end of the dive, and you can still see his eyes glimmer with excitement when he talks about his previous dives, and all of his experience.The only complaint I would have would be that Bill has his own hand signs that he briefs you on before your dive, so just know that you may need to be prepared when he shows them to you!

The lady shop staff is very nice and accommodating. However, the dive instructor is a very grumpy old guy and not too nice. He doesnt have a dive plan which is very necessary for a dive especially for tourists new to the area. Good thing I was an advanced diver so I know what I was doing. He tells you your bad behavior during the dive in a unprofessional manner. Constructive criticism are good if it was addressed in a polite and professional way. The dive experience was amazing but how he treats a customer is unacceptable. Future divers, you judge.

Really enjoyed our discovery scuba here. Bill was a great teacher and the water was very clear. Wish it was longer.

Great place. Amazing price! We have dived in other countries without our scuba cert. Finally decided to get our certification while here on vacation. Bill is a great teacher, very patient and environmentally conscious. He is very down to earth which I like. Best price on the island. On one of our dives we were surrounded by 4 or 5 sea turtlrs, just incredible. We looked around glad we came here. We will come back next time we are here.

Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. This shop is just a few hundred yards away from the Bay, although the diving is best outside the breakwater.

My girlfriend and I took a shore dive with this dive center, and Bill was our dive master. Bill was awesome and you can feel his true love to nature as well as scuba diving when chatting with him. He gave us very useful suggestions and demos, and corrected mu girlfriend’s several bad behaviors. Hope we can dive with Bill more in the future. The rental gear provided by this shop, especially fins, are admittedly a bit old. However their tour as well as rental gear price is not expensive. The lady in the front desk as well as Bill are very nice people. I enjoyed my experience there.

Absolutely the greatest Dive Master ever and a local legend, he has trained and certified over 2400 people out of this very shop since 1982. He has been a part of many underwater movies and has even logged over 30 dives overtop active lava!!! Experience in the water is key to being taught well, and Bill is just the man for this. With his wisdom and years of experience he makes learning any underwater task just a breeze to figure out, since he has seen it all he knows how to correct your movements and reactions before your even do them. A true master in his field and happy to share his love of it with you. He has some very special Grandmaster like ways to really fine tune your bouncy skills and your trim that your not going to fine elsewhere. I couldnt believe my eyes when each place we would dive he had the sea life recognizing him and would come over to play, not only fish but sea turtles too. He is a true ambassador of the sea. I am very proud to say he was my dive master and I fully recommend him to anyone looking to learn. Equipment is kept in excellent shape that is used for learning and all the little tips and tricks to using and properly cleaning the equipment is passed on as free knowledge. The shop is also priced way better than other shops on the island for getting certifications. I am in no way affiliated with this business, just giving my honest review of my experiences.

Amazingly personable and helpful shop owner! Snorkeling gear is a steal at $6 a day. Bill even gave us a bag of home grown tangerines. The old-school authenticity here definitely lifted our spirits after the tourist-eating town of Volcano.

Great, absolutely great!I gave them a call in the afternoon and asked if they did any dives the same afternoon and an hour later I was on the way with Bill. He is an awesome guy, comes across as a bit grumpy at first but that only lasts for a minute. Had a great time with him and good chats on the way to/from and in between the two dives we did. He knows his stuff and is very much into marine conservation. Diving with him was very enjoyable and relaxing. Would definitely go back!!!

We highly recommend Nautilus Dive Center 100%.Bill is the most professional and experienced instructor I have ever had a chance meet !He loves the ocean and that makes him so much more passionate about the whole underwater experience!His wife is the sweetest and most customer friendly person to help you with all the paperwork!!Amazing people!And out of all 10 dive centers I called on the big Island of Hawaii this is the one you should go to!

Got my OW training here. Shop was efficient and I did the online course in my down time. Bill is great and cares about the Ocean and the environment. Just watch him pick up trash in and out of the ocean anywhere he goes. May come off as a little Salty at first but dont let that fool you he is a great guy with tons of experience and isnt going to waste you time or his. No BS and gets right to the point but is patient and helpful. Ill be back for sure. All equipment was well maintained and not over priced.

I got open water certified here. His equipment is all in working order. I felt safe diving with him (I had anxiety). He was very professional. His wife is very nice and helpful too.

In and out in 10 minutes with high quality snorkel gear. The shopkeeper was very helpful and friendly. Pointed us in the right direction for great snorkeling. Easy and pleasant experience overall.

We rent snorkel tool from this shop. He price is very reasonable. The lady is very understanding and friendly.

It was off season so the business accommodated my time restraints. Great personal attention. After 3 years of not diving, this was the perfect experience. Was able to re-learn skill and see some fantastic reefs. They have such a variety of fish and other creatures. Will be coming back for more of the shore dive experience.

We rented tanks, weights, and regulators. It was fine and we were glad to have a place to rent the stuff. -1 for not making any effort at all to be friendly, in stark contrast to the folks at Hilo Ocean Adventures. Also, I have never liked the practice of making customers sign a blank credit card slip to rent stuff. For the curious: tanks $8/day, regs $12/day, weights $6/day.

As a professional local diver having worked in the industry for years, this is the last place I’d recommend. Unfortunately this is one of two places in Hilo to find scuba equipment or rent tanks. Not only does their air taste and smell like gas (leaving you with either a tummy ache or headache) they are incredibly old with their systems. They take your deposit in the form of credit card number, exp date and security code all HANDWRITTEN on a blank check required to be signed by none other than you and left in their possession. When the situation was brought to their attention, the lady gave me 25 minutes of childlike lecture trying to justify their reasoning. Upon returning tanks, the OWNER handed me printed material STAPLED TO MY RECIEPT from other dive shops websites stating that “ID and credit card required to rent” thinking that the dive shops I regularly visit do the same thing when in fact they don’t. Hands down the worst run dive shop with lacking old gear out of my worldwide travel I’ve seen.

Excellent service. Snorkel rent was given to us for multiple days for the one-day price (already super low). Very sweet and nice and helpful!!

Fantastic shop! Bill and the other shop owner are knowledgable, generous, and happy people. Next time Im back on the big island I will most certainly be coming back here!

I had 2 excellent dives with Tom for a very reasonable price. The staff was great and the service couldnt have been better!

I just went in to get a warm wetsuit to wear for lap swimming during the Wintertime at the VERY COLD Hilo Olympic public pool. I received such great personal customer service! The woman there came out, sized me up with one look at me, went to the rack and picked out the perfect size shorty wetsuit for me.This is in contrast to Sports Authority whose staff knew absolutely nothing about what to get. I tried it on, and she helped me put it on, as I was inexperienced and didnt know what to get. It was my first suit, and I didnt know how it was supposed to fit. I didnt realize it was supposed to fit very tight to not allow cold water in, which would defeat its purpose so there was a bit of tugging and adjusting for me. But no problem. It turned out to be the PERFECT FIT for me. Amazingly enough, it also has lasted for 3 years now, even though I wear it all the time in a chlorinated public pool. This Mom and Pop dive shop is wonderful and they are both are very knowledgeable. Im considering looking into taking diving lessons from them too. Ive bought other equipment before.. plus it looks like they have everything there--the tanks, gear, a large variety of high quality masks that dont leak (they will even help you pick out the right size for your head shape), etc. I am a customer for keeps. Mahalo! - Khandita

Very qualified, informative, and personable dive instructors. Good price on snorkeling rentals.

Based in seeing ratings for this place not less than 4 stars, I called to inquire about snorkeling conditions and got an answer, but not exactly a friendly one.

I bought the wrong size flippers and they worked with me to get the right size and help me out with my setup. Thank you

Best Diving Shop, ever! Thanks to shop masters/instructors, Bill and Masako.

Great Staff, Great Rates, Great Dive Site! Thank you Bill!

Great relaxed dive.The equipment is needed, but beginners are now grinding along the ground.Very relaxed, absolute confidence.And there is nothing better than learning from the old hands.I highly recommend this experience.Everything was great and we felt very comfortable.

Dive Master with 50 years of diving experience. We felt constantly super cared for. Very nice experience. Is happy again