Pura Vida Divers™ opened more than 2 decades ago, with the goal of offering the Palm Beaches a unique dive operation focused on customer service, safety, community, and conservation. Now, we are proud to be an industry leading operation and recipient of 7 SCUBA Diving Magazine’s Readers Choice awards!
Every year, SCUBA Diving Magazine surveys divers from around the globe. They rank metrics to determine the “World’s Best SCUBA Diving Operators.” In 2025, Pura Vida Divers™ received recognition in all 7 categories for the United States and Canada, including Best Overall! When it comes to choosing a dive operator, Your Choice Matters. We thank you for choosing us!
Readers Choice Awards: United States & Canada
Quality of Dive Boats: 3rd Place
Customized for drift diving in the Palm Beaches, vessels Aurelia and Marin sport Christmas tree style ladders and specially fabricated handrails. Every modification is made with diver comfort and safety in mind. Both boats feature extensive first aid equipment and emergency oxygen, along with amenities to enhance your experience, from Stream2Sea reef safe defog to hot and cool freshwater showers, and more.
We love to see the crews hard work recognized by this Reader’s Choice award.
Attention to Safety: Top 5
Safety is paramount at Pura Vida Divers™. We lead by example, implementing new procedures and advocating on behalf of the dive industry to improve best practices. Whether you are gearing up to explore the Blue Heron Bridge or to dive offshore, we complete a comprehensive pre-dive safety check before every dive. We reward divers by offering incentive to guests with active dive accident insurance policies, like discounts on dive charters.
Quality of Training & Courses: Top 5
As a PADI Titanium Career Development center, we train divers of every level, from Open Water students to seasoned professional candidates. We are the only dive shop in Palm Beach County approved for VA educational benefits through the State of Florida. This means that veterans can use their GI Bill or VR&E benefits to complete career dive programs.
We custom build classes, like the Blue Heron Bridge Diver, Coral Reef Ecology Diver, and Goliath Grouper Diver specialties, with the goal of turning students into ocean stewards. These PADI distinctive specialties educate divers about local ecosystems, reinforce best practices, and create better divers committed to protecting important marine resources.
Quality of Staff: Top 5
We hold our PVD Pro team to the highest standard. Captain and crew complete comprehensive safety training every month. Dive pros stay up-to-date with industry standards. Instructors complete an annual standards exam and undergo 8 hours of continuing education training each year.
We support team-led initiatives, like beach cleanups and fundraisers, and encourage our pros to pursue their areas of interest and further their skills. Our team loves what they do, and we are proud to see that recognized with a Readers Choice award.
Quality of Rental Gear: Top 5
We rent the same reliable, high quality snorkeling and scuba diving equipment that our pros dive with every day. Our rental fleet features top-of-the-line gear from trusted brand, including Atomic Aquatics, BARE, Dive Rite, Fourth Element, Garmin, Shearwater, TUSA, and Zeagle.
We conduct comprehensive checks and inspections on rental gear, both monthly and before every use. This ensures every piece of equipment is 100% functional and ready to go. When you pick up rental gear before a dive, our experienced pros walk you through every facet and feature. You get hands-on practice with rental gear before it’s time to use it in the field, including specialized equipment for local diving, like Surface Marker Buoys (SMBs). Rental gear is thoroughly rinsed and sanitized after each use, and stored indoors in our climate controlled rental room.
Quality of Facilities: Top 5
Our love of diving, the ocean, conservation, education, and community inspires us every day to offer the best possible experiences to our guests. We work hard to keep the shop clean, organized, and stocked with quality gear. Comfortable classrooms make learning from our top notch Instructors even better.
Sustainability runs through every aspect of Pura Vida Divers™, down to tiny details like sourcing sustainable cleaning products from Grove Collaborative. We even stock eco-friendly toilet paper in the restroom (thanks Who Gives A Crap!). Learn why Your Choice Matters, and how we support conservation initiatives on local, national, and global scales.
We are honored to be recognized for the work we put into every facet of Pura Vida Divers™, and humbled by these Readers Choice nominations from our incredible community of divers!
