Alton's Dive Center

This was a great dive center! First time I've ever been "fun diving," and it was amazing!! They take care of you right from getting you the right size equipment and weights, setting it all up on the boat for you to taking you on a great dive every time!! Very accommodating when my boyfriend decided to do his advanced after we got there. Brandon (Dive Master) was so full of energy and enthusiasm it made the dives so much better! Ryan(Dive Master) was just as great as well and made sure our last dive was a good one! Harry was Matt's trainer for the advanced course and was a great instructor and diver.
Rooms were very nice as we had a private room.
Have an outdoor kitchen under one of the buildings where you can prepare your own food if you wish. Only minutes to various restaurants and the main beach.
Office staff is very friendly, accommodating, and knowledgeable.
The sun sets are to dye for here
Overall, this was a great experience, one I will never forget!! I would recommend them to everyone!!
Thanks, Altons Dive Center!!

I did my open water license at Alton's with instructor Dario and then decided to do the advanced course straight away.
Dario is a wonderful person and instructor who teaches you to dive with a lot of patience, passion and fun.
When I was supposed to dive in shallow water for the first time and breathe from my tank, I couldn't last 3 seconds without panicking. Dario gave me the time I needed to calm down and try again and again until I managed it all at once.
I always felt safe with him and it is very special how much value he places on team cohesion with all the students in our course. We were a group of 3 students and all had such a great time together! 🥰 It's incredible how quickly I made progress thanks to him and I was able to really enjoy all the open water dives without any problems. The advanced 30m deepdive and the night- and wreckdive were great!
I would choose Alton's again and can highly recommend it. The accommodation included and the breakfast and lunch options are very good. The location and the whole team are fantastic! 🤩
Many thanks for everything! 🫶🏼 I hope to be back soon! 🤙🏼🤗

We showed up with zero experience with SCUBA and despite delays due to several days of pretty crap weather, a brief sickness, and our own personal & extreme anxieties/fears of diving, we still somehow managed to have a GREAT experience at Alton’s!! From start to finish, this school is top. Steve is the manager, and he’s quick to respond to questions via email, Kris was our classroom instructor & he is precise and thorough (and funny!), Dario was our practical instructor and his capability to patiently explain technique while also motivating & coaching are really incredible! I can’t recommend the team at Alton’s enough. Truly special! All of the dive schools in Utila have a unique flavor, but I can say this, if you want to feel safe, if you want to gain some real knowledge, and know you’ve earned your certification - go with Alton’s. Additionally, the dorms are spartan, but clean! The bar/restaurant is a real treat! Great food, drinks & value! There’s good camaraderie, the atmosphere is bit more on-the-level because they take diving seriously, but it is a good time in and out of the water. I noticed all the dive-masters have a real passion for the reef and reef life & that made diving with them a pleasure every time.

Alton’s was recommended to us by another traveller and it did not disappoint! Good vibes and very professional staff. Special shoutout to our instructor Pete. I did both the open water and advanced open water certification with him. He is very experienced, knows how to handle the group, got me over my initial panicking and made me fall in love with scuba diving! Also a special shoutout to the ladies who prepare breakfast and lunch everyday: simple, delicious and not expensive. No need to hesitate, go to Alton’s ☺

Simply the best place where to get your diving licence in Utila. The staff is super professional and super friendly! After few days we become a small family, was so nice! Super thanks to Pete, our instructor. With his sympathy and knowledge we easily complete the open water course, and even the advance! The facilities are well kept, dorm rooms clean, kitchen is ok and the scuba gears is in very good conditions. The vibe at Alton’s during sunset time is amazing!

I got my PADI open water certification at Alton's with my diving instructor Pete. When I walked into Alton's I immediately noticed how professionally everything was arranged. I never felt stressed for a moment and always felt safe. Pete can respond well to the different needs of the group and knows a lot about the ocean, the animals and the ecosystem. After the PADI the course the team and Pete are very flexible to meet your needs, for example I could change my two fun dives into a night dive. Thank you so much Pete and the team, I had a great week!

Had a great week diving with Alton's over New Year. Very professional outfit while also making the diving fun. I was mainly diving with Brandon who was fantastic and always full of positive energy. My girlfriend did her Open Water with Kris and couldn't speak more highly of him. The food/drinks at the bar area were always decent as was the 24hr drinks fridge.

Couple of points to note:
- The rooms are very basic! Guess that's part of the package with diving but really was a box with a bed in it and a wonky fan.
- The open water course was in the sea from day 1 rather than a pool. Possibly the norm in Utila but I was surprised given I liked the comfort of trying on the kit etc first time round in a swimming pool (in Egypt!).
- the centre down the road had a bigger bar, volleyball court, generally seemed more social / evening activities if that's important to you.

Not meant at criticisms - still definitely a 5* experience for both of us and would use Alton's again should we ever return.

My friend and I had a great open water course! All the staff is really cool, but especially Pete, our instructor:)
We even saw a shark and so many other cool animals. Thank you so much for this experience!

My partner and I did four dives with Alton's. We dove with Brandon on both days and he was awesome. The dive crew was all very laid back but still very strict on safety and going over equipment with us which we really appreciated. Our trip to Utila was a quick one but our experience with Alton's was next level. Highly recommend!

I recently completed my open water at Alton's and loved it so much that I went straight into my Advanced Course, all thanks to my instructor Pete! It was my first time ever scuba diving, and Pete made the whole course enjoyable while teaching us everything there is to know to have good scuba diving skills. He made the whole course feel safe, and therefore, I was really excited for my first open water dive. He was also really knowledgeable about the reef itself and even found us a Nurse Shark at one reef!

I would definitely recommend Alton's to anyone who is thinking of Scuba Diving while in Utila.

We have been here nearly two weeks and I can’t speak highly enough about Alton’s. Total professionals in everything they do, such good fun, on and off the boat. It’s a lovely family business with a great vibe.

My partner was super nervous and at one point decided she couldn’t finish the open water she was struggling with feeling anxious but the incredible team at Altons not only got her through the open water with a great big smile on her face but she also went on to do the advanced open water and has gained incredible confidence from the whole experience.

Their patience, understanding and caring nature really shone true to us and we cannot thank them enough for just an incredible two weeks!! We will definitely miss the place when we leave in a few days and we look forward to diving with Alton’s again in the future.

Thanks again everyone in Alton’s Dive Center

Spent a week at Alton’s and had an incredible time. Steve responded quickly to all emails and was easy to book, accommodation was nice and lunch at the bar was great. The dive course was excellent, special shout out to our instructor Kris who was amazing, he is extremely knowledgeable, prioritized safety but made everything fun, his passion for diving is infectious. Also did a dive guided by dive master in training Tommy who was excellent. The whole team at Alton’s were friendly and everyone’s passion for driving really shines through. Can’t wait to come back for more courses.

We completed our PADI Open Water course here. There’s a lot of options on the island and we deliberated a lot but left feeling like we definitely chose the best place for us. We were a bit nervous about diving when we started but our instructor (AJ) was extremely professional, patient and calm which helped with our confidence and got us through! We’re not experts but the equipment seemed in good condition and all dive masters/instructors/boat captains/dive shop team were clearly experts so we get safe and trusted the equipment and team. As well, the accommodation is quite new and in great condition (we stayed in a private double, no a/c, shared bathroom) so exceeded our expectations there. Bed and pillows v comfy too! Bathrooms always kept clean and the showers were hot with great water pressure. Also great vibe - social in the day/early evening around the little cafe/chill area but tapers off/people head elsewhere around 7pm so it’s quiet for a good night sleep. Only thing to improve is the kitchen… we’d hoped to cook but the kitchen was often not super clean, lacked equipment (literally one bowl for everyone!) and the fridge doesn’t seem well managed as a lot of old food. But everything else was perfect!

If you are a backpacker, Alton’s is by far the best choice to do your PADI Open Water on the island.

Unlike other dive shops, it is small enough that you get to know everyone very quickly, and the courses are small and don’t feel rushed. The accommodation is also at the dive shop, which gives it an awesome hostel vibe. The instructors and DMs tend to hang around after the dives too so it always has a fun atmosphere! And they really focus on safe and quality diving and you can tell the instructors and DMs really care about the underwater world and want to share it with you.

The accommodation is clean and comfy, and if you are a couple and both diving you can get a private for free which is awesome. They also have one of the only kitchens on the island which helps keep costs down if you’re on a budget.

Couldn’t recommend it more!

My fiance and I went to Alton's Dive Center to get our Open Water Certifications as a 30th birthday present to myself. While we were looking forward to the trip, we didn't really know what to expect. Upon arriving at Alton's Dive Center - everything was extremely seamless and the staff there were extremely friendly. Our dive instructor was Pete and he was phenomenal! He was very knowledgeable and experienced, but still cracked jokes throughout our training to lighten the mood. My fiance and I are deaf and Pete was very accommodating (turning on the captions for all the videos, speaking louder, repeating things for us) and made sure we felt included. He was easy to understand when we were under water and very supportive. We're so glad we were put with Pete and we will be recommending him and Alton's to everyone we know!

We decided to do the PADI Open water course after checking out a couple of different dive schools on Utila. At Alton‘s we were very happy about how professional everyone was and that they showed us around and explained the structure of the course. This greatly reduced the anxiety of my girlfriend, who was very hesitant to do a dive course at all. The course itself was good too: you watch some awesome, interesting and exciting training videos, go through all quiz questions with your instructor and then train some skills in shallow water (where you could stand if necessary) before you go to the reef into deep water. Our instructor, Harry, was awesome. He made the course fun and safe and you can tell he has a passion for diving. Can highly recommend Alton‘s and Harry!

We had a wonderful time at Alton’s dive shop in Utila! I got my open water and advanced open water diver certification here with instructor Pete. Pete was funny and made sure all the divers had a good time in and out of the water. His passion for the reef and reef life made diving with him special. The food and drinks at the tipsy turtle are well worth getting. Everyone at Alton’s was friendly and went beyond to help us with travel schedules and planning. Thank you Alton’s dive center team!

Alton's is a very professional dive shop and I am very pleased with the experience they provided to me and my girlfriend. My girlfriend got her open water PADI certificate and I did the fun dive package for the week. I have dove with other shops on the island and they simply don't compare to the experience I received at Alton's. Its very apparent your safety comfort and enjoyment is on their top priority at Alton's. I had never been to the north side of the Island prior to diving at Alton's. Other dive centers wont even leave the south side of the island. They took us to the north side almost every day! My girlfriends open water instructor was very thorough and he actually taught me a few things I didnt know about when I sat in on one of her lessons. We got to swim with wild dolphins thanks to their boat captain for spotting them. The food they have is very convenient economical and good. Their boat dock and patio is a very nice place to relax and the rooms and bathrooms are well kept. I have 0 complaints for Alton's. If you're reading this review I wouldn't even waste your time researching other dive shops just book with Alton's you wont regret it.

Stayed here and did about a week's worth of fun dives. Really appreciated that they took the time each morning to head out to the North side reefs, they did a good job pairing up divers of similar skills and certifications to maximize our time under water, and everyone was friendly with a good sense of humor.

I had the best few days at Alton's! Having not dived for several years before I arrived, I was pretty nervous about getting back into the water but the instructors put me at ease instantly. A big shoutout in particular to Ryan and Nate but all the staff - from Steve who runs the place to Carey the skipper and the lovely cooks - are friendly, easygoing and a good laugh. I can't recommend this place enough, I'll definitely be back soon! Prices are very fair, the food is great and the accommodation is decent.