The reason for giving five stars is not because my dive day was good - it was horrible, a complete washout, no viz, unpleasant swell, just all round yucky conditions.

However, that's nature, and dive operators can do nothing about it. What all dive operators should do is be as professional and customer-focused as the guys from ITB diving.

First thing to note is that ITB is considerably cheaper (by almost 1000.- Rand) than Simonstown operators, which is baffling considering that they also have the transport cost from Cape Town to budget for.

DMs, Instructors and Shopfloor staff are all super friendly and helpful; I even got picked up from my Cape Town digs and dropped off afterwards, free of charge.

On the boat, I saw all the emergency and redundancy gear I like to see: twin engines (VERY important!), Oxygen, comms gear, flares, the lot. Briefings were thorough, and buddy check was insisted on.

The trip to Seal Rock in the RIB was fun in the swell, but when we got there the captain did not let us dive because of the unsafe conditions. Disappointing as this was, he was totally right. Low tide and heavy swells are a dangerous combination this close to the rocks, and as for trying to get back into a RIB in seas like this....
We then tried the PMB wreck, where zero viz and nasty vertical swell separated the group and forced us out of the water after 25 minutes.

The captain did offer to try another spot but was honest enough to tell us that in his opinion it was going to be rubbish everywhere, and so we called it a day.

Back at the dive shop, we were all offered a re-schedule, but as I'm out of time I was given half my money back. I know from experience that this is not the norm in the industry, sadly.

Into the Blue is a top notch outfit that does things by the book, with a strong safety focus and very customer centered, on top of offering reasonable pricing and a fair refund policy. You'll have a hard time to find a better operator anywhere around. They'll definitely be my first choice when I pass through next, and for doing my IDC sometime this year.

Just hope mother nature will be in better mood then.

I booked my Padi Open Water course through Into the Blue and was impressed from start to finish. Easy booking, friendly service and great location. Staff make you feel right at home from the word go, but are professional and always make you feel safe. Small groups helped to get to know people and make new friends from across the globe. Will be back shortly for fun dives and more courses.

I did two fun dives with Into The Blue (plus I also booked the shark cage dive through them) and I had an excellent experience. The communication via email was great and the brunette at reception (I'm really sorry but I didn't catch your name) was very friendly and helpful. My dive guide for the day was Jacque, who was also very welcoming and made the day a lot of fun. We did a wreck dive which was okay and then a dive with seals, and from my 800+ dives it was definitely one of my most favourite so far. JP was driving the boat for us and he was very attentive, the whole dive centre seemed very organised and I would definitely recommend them. The only disappointment from the day was that Llewellyn didn't ask me to marry him :)
Thanks a lot guys!