Skydive Monterey Bay

I have absolutely no prior experience to compare this place to, so please keep that in mind before you take this review too seriously.

Pros: All of the staff, were extremely friendly and laid back and even though you know they've done this thousands of times they still seem to get genuinely excited, especially when they find out it's your first jump.

My Instructor Jose was from Portugal and spoke with a lovely thick accent. He spoke slowly and told us to let him know if we didn't understand him. He was very good at explaining where to put our hands, what to do and when. I had no problem understanding him and he was very reassuring, he kept reminding us to smile and have a good time. We were also the first pair to jump from our plane so I didn't have time to get nervous or scared. If you're feeling like your resolve (or legs) are a little shaky, ask if you can jump first before you get into the plane.

The Gal filming my jump ( I can't remember her name so as soon as I have a free minute I'll call them to get her name so I can add it to this review) was just a sweetheart! She had such good energy that I felt like I was the first person she had ever filmed before. She was also super cool mid jump, she made some little hand symbols so I could mimic them which made the video really cute. If it has been up to me I probably would have just flapped my arms like a bird and drooled on myself. We didn't talk about this beforehand at all, she just improvised which I'm really appreciative of because I sure had no idea what the heck to do. It's pretty difficult to think of interesting things to do at 15,000 feet.

Pricing was more expensive than other locations but less than some (and who wants to go skydiving in Davis or Lodi anyway, bleh?).

Cons: There is a lot of waiting around (They DO tell you expect to be there 4-6 hours, so it shouldn't be a surprise but it's still a long time to wait for basically a 5 minute fall). I wish they might consider some ways to reduce the wait time. Maybe put all the waivers on-line so people could have them filled out and signed when they arrive? Some of the waivers tell you to consult a Doctor or Lawyer if need be, but you can't exactly do that in the hanger so it would be cool to have the forms ahead of time in case you did need to talk to a professional. Maybe for first time jumpers, have someone explain what to expect from start to finish so us newbies understand everything that is happening? Maybe a larger TV to watch, or some decks of cards to play with?

About 5 seconds into our jump my ears popped really painfully so the rest of the way down I was in pain which was a bummer because it distracted me from the awesome view. Also for the first few seconds of free fall, air was rushing up my nose and burned (it felt like when you accidentally snort a little water at the swimming pool). I've always had problems with my ears and sinuses since I was a little kid, but it didn't occur to me to mention this on a questionnaire they ask you to fill out of medical problems so they had no way of knowing. No way it's their fault, but I thought I should mention it in case you are like me and have any issues with your ears or sinuses. No one else in the group had anything like this happen to them and hopefully you won't either.

All in all I'm glad I tried it at least once. Bucket list...check. Skydiving...crossed off.

Thank you Rowan and team for making one of my great life experience so smooth, exciting and fun. The calmness you brought to such a thrilling experience helped me enjoy to the fullest. Hope to come back again and get the adrenaline rushing!

I had done a a tandem jump before and had thought I had checked that box. But my first was so much less exciting than my experience with Skydive Monterey Bay. Why? They go higher, you get more freefall and the views are spectacular. Plus the folks are great. I especially recommend Kyle who I dived with and was awesome.

Chris

Bradon made my jump so much fun! Great staff, felt very safe and fun. Will definitely be back!

It's been 4 years, but I was finally able to come back and skydive at Skydive Monterey Bay!

I wanted to give an update because lots have changed in 4 years, but nothing has changed at Skydive Monterey Bay! They are still full of friendly, professional, friendly, caring, and helpful people! They are so organized and made sure everyone had a great time! Safety is also so important in an activity like this, and I felt safe from minute one. You can tell they are meticulous with completing every part of the process and everything works like clockwork!

If you go, definitely get the video and picture package with your own assigned videographer! It is not an experience you want to forget, so let them document the whole trip for you!

We were very lucky the day we went because the weather was perfect! We checked in at 10:30, completed all the waivers and paperwork, chose our jump, our video package, and was told to wait about 30 minutes while they create the jump lists. The lists came out at 11:15 and we were immediately introduced to our jumpmasters to get us ready! That's how organized and efficient they are!

My jumpmaster was Alzir and he was phenomenal! He was so friendly and encouraging and I would definitely jump with him again. He had great energy and totally made the experience a million times more fun!

The only thing I was wondering was that it shows on Yelp they have a check in offer where they give you the USB drive for free, but when I got there, the lady said they don't have any offer like that. However, I heard another customer talking about it with his family later and he said he got the offer. In the grand scheme of things it's not a lot of money, especially when you compare to what you're spending on the jump and video package, but just wish it was more consistent with all customers. Either way, I don't take anything away from the review because this place is just a 10 star company!!!!!!

Woooo!!! I finally did it. I'm actually very scared of heights but I went by myself and I did it. I had sooooo much fun.
It was so much adrenaline and I found it quite relaxzing when you're floating in the air and take on spectacular view from above.

Thank you "Rowan" You've brought this unforgettable experience to me. Even though, I screamed a lot but I loved it! You're the best Jumpmaster.

Thank you "Skydive Monterey Bay" You guys are amazing!

For someone who is scared of heights, skydiving was still something on my bucket list. Skydive Monterey was an interesting experience- I felt like it was a little unorganized in the sense that they crammed as many people as they can in one day to get as many jumps in as possible because we spent over 3 hours just waiting for our turn to jump.

They switched my instructor at the very last minute as we were boarding the plane and during the entire ride up, that was when I was given new jump and landing instructions, which made me super nervous cause they were different from what the previous instructor had told me.

Nonetheless, this was still a great experience!

Really enjoyed the world's highest tandem skydive with Josh. It was my second time skydiving. Condition of equipments - be it parachute, plane etc - was very good. Josh was very friendly as well, and did a few safe tricks on the parachute as well as during the free fall.

Only thing I didn't like was how slow they go through the paperwork, how much time they take to make the manifest. I think there's a scope of improvement there.

Had an amazing time! The instructor, Brandon, was awesome and made the experience easy to follow/pleasant! Would do it again and recommend to any friends!

Definitely one of the greatest experience you can imagine! If you haven't done it before and want to do it I definitely recommend doing it at skydive monterrey bay!! The instructors are amazing, David was my instructor this time he was very professional and fun at the same time! I definitely will do it again. I'm here for a great time not a long time! Life is too short to be scared so DO IT!

Let me start with this, if I ever do decide to do this again, I'm coming here and only here. Myself and group of friends all came out for 18,000 jump and were treated well. It seemed that all of the instructors we'd be jumping with were all veterans, with 10+ of experience and fascinating stories as most were international! We shared stories and had a great time. Definitely try this once in your life