Business Details
40 Years
experience
Your Trusted Dive Shop in Portsmouth, NH
Portsmouth Scuba has been a trusted name in scuba diving since 1986, dedicated to fostering a passion for underwater exploration. Our team of experienced instructors and staff has served the Portsmouth, NH community for over 35 years, offering comprehensive training programs for divers of all skill levels. We specialize in recreational dive education, equipment sales and maintenance, and organized dive trips to local and global destinations. Our four-pillar program emphasizes safety, community engagement, and personalized service, ensuring every diver gains the confidence and skills needed for underwater adventures.With a rich history rooted in maritime discovery, we continue to prioritize customer satisfaction, equipment reliability, and the promotion of New England's unique diving opportunities. Our mission remains to make diving accessible, safe, and rewarding for both novice and seasoned divers.
Services
Open Water Certification
Equipment Rental
Dive Trips
Private Lessons
Gear Maintenance
Enriched Air Training
Rescue Diver Courses
Cold Water Diving
Wreck Diver Specialty
First Aid Certification
Details
- Year established: 1986
Highlights and features
- We offer PADI-certified training programs for all skill levels since 1986.
- Our four-pillar program integrates training, equipment, and dive experiences.
- We provide access to local and global organized dive trips.
- Our staff emphasizes personal and equipment safety standards.
- We maintain a clean, organized dive shop with top-brand equipment.
Services
Open Water Certification
Our PADI-certified Open Water Diver course teaches essential scuba skills through classroom learning, pool sessions, and open water dives. Students receive training materials, gear rentals, and personalized instruction. This program prepares divers for safe underwater exploration in lakes and oceans.
Dive Trips
We organize local and international dive trips to destinations like the Red Sea, Bahamas, and New England's Isles of Shoals. These excursions include transportation, accommodations, and guided dives for certified divers of all experience levels.
Equipment Rental
Portsmouth Scuba offers rental of wetsuits, BCDs, regulators, and other dive essentials. Our equipment undergoes regular maintenance to ensure safety and reliability for both training programs and personal diving adventures.
Private Lessons
Customized scuba instruction available for individuals or small groups. Private lessons allow flexible scheduling and personalized attention to develop specific diving skills or complete certification requirements.
Gear Maintenance
Professional cleaning, repairs, and servicing for scuba gear. Our technicians maintain equipment to manufacturer specifications, ensuring optimal performance and longevity for both personal and rental gear.
People
Dick Scott
Owner
Dick Scott has owned Portsmouth Scuba since 1999, continuing its legacy of excellence in dive education and service. With decades of diving experience, he leads our team in maintaining high safety and training standards.
Questions
What scuba certification courses do you offer?
We offer PADI-certified courses including Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and specialty programs like Enriched Air and Wreck Diver.
Can I rent dive equipment without taking classes?
Yes, we rent wetsuits, BCDs, regulators, and other gear to certified divers for personal use or organized trips.
Do you organize international dive trips?
Yes, we arrange annual expeditions to destinations like the Red Sea, Bahamas, and St. Eustatius with all logistics handled.
What equipment do I need to bring for training?
Students need a mask, snorkel, fins, and booties. We provide rental gear for other required equipment during training.
Are private scuba lessons available?
Yes, we offer customized one-on-one instruction for individuals or small groups with flexible scheduling options.
Do you sell scuba diving equipment?
Yes, we carry top-brand dive gear including complete packages for new divers and replacement parts for experienced divers.
Reviews (7)
Janet Makarewicz
Jun 28, 2021
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My husband & I stopped in to have air tanks filled and a couple diving items replaced. The young woman that waited on us was gracious, helpful and knowledgeable. Good customer service!
Catherine Hall
Nov 30, 2020
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Positive:Communication,Professionalism,Value
We had a great time diving thanks to Chuck. He went WAY out of his way to help ready us for vacation. He was accommodating and generous with his time, experience and even gave me a great deal on some new equipment.
We had a great time diving thanks to Chuck. He went WAY out of his way to help ready us for vacation. He was accommodating and generous with his time, experience and even gave me a great deal on some new equipment.
Jrsapj Jrsapj
Aug 04, 2019
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ABOVE AND BEYOND! We are truly grateful to Chuck. We had a last minute snafu with our SCUBA certification plan down in the Bahamas. Chuck was amazing. He went above and beyond, offering to setup last minute confined diving for our family. We are truly grateful and would definitely send any friends and family to Chuck if they had any interest in getting certified. Thank you, Chuck. We really appreciated your efforts.
Pricediver
Jun 21, 2019
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Great great owner of the dive store. Chuck is one of the most friendly guy you will ever meet! Classes are just fantastic if you wanna be a certified diver. The first impression you will have when you walk into the store is everything is clean and well organized, the shop looks brand new, even though it has been around for soo many years. All the instructors are experienced and have been diving for many many years. So if you wanna explore the ocean, this place is a fantastic starting point of your diving career.
William Scholes
Oct 13, 2018
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I had an absolutely fantastic experience at Portsmouth scuba. I was able to learn a lot of valuable information as well as receive the equipment I needed. I highly recommend coming here and I can guarantee a great experience.
Michael Burby
Jul 02, 2018
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I was visiting Portsmouth in mid May and called for info on easy dive sites and to price rental gear. I was pleasantly surprised when the owner, Chuck, offered to join us! No way i could turn down that offer!!!! There is nothing like diving with a local and Chuck was fantastic. His rental gear was top notch, brand new for the up coming season and priced fair. Terry at the shop was a fantastic help getting us geared up and answering our questions. She was very knowledgeable and fun to work with. I look forward to many more encounters with Portsmouth Scuba. Thank you Chuck and Terry
Karl Lowe
Nov 14, 2017
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I am a diver from England. When I first moved to the US one of the first things I did was find a local dive shop which was PADI. I was met by friendly staff. Which were very informative in lots of aspects of diving. The shop was clean and good maintained and was stocked with good dive equipment. For both novice and experienced divers. I highly recommend this dive shop and PADI dive school to any new diver or pro diver.
