Tofo Scuba - Testimonials

Letters from previous divers to Tofo Scuba:

Hi Nikki

On behalf of all 15 members of our dive party I would like to thank you for everything you and your staff did to make this the best dives ever for all of us and nearly all of the party have dived all over the world.

In particular we would like to thank you for your endless patience during the last day when we were trying to pay the bill, to Tibia for sharing her knowledge and being such a pleasure to dive with and to her and Megan for the good humour they showed while they were being teased by everyone in the group.

You can be proud of all of your staff for the efficient way they handled their duties and especially for their dedication and commitment to us the customers.

Rest assured that we will be promoting Tofo Scuba to everyone we meet on our dive travels. We wish you all the very best for the future.

Kindest regards

John & Tofo Scuba Crew

We recently had the priviledge of completing our first few sea dives (we qualified inland) at Tofo Scuba. We're both glad we followed the advice of locals to go straight to the professionals. From the reception right through to actually diving - we have never met anybody that are so passionate about their jobs. We were both pretrified of diving after a very bad experience in a quarry where our instructor "lost" us. Your personnel put us at ease with their professionalism and encouragement. A special thanks to the girl at reception, Daniel for the lessons on buoyancy and Ruffy for the "babysitting. " You really went the extra mile for us. We went from Tofo to Ponta D'oura and the difference in dive centres cannot be compared. Thank You once again Daniel - we both also now love diving!!

Kind Regards

Sonia & Sanet (PTA, South Africa)

What can we say!

It is not often that we put pen to paper (metaphorically) but having just spent a fantastic time diving with Tofo Scuba, we just had to put down a few words of thanks. It was fantastic to experience a dive operation who treated us highly professionally, but more importantly made us feel really welcome. The quality of the service was second to none, the management of the dives superb and the continual but unpressured adherence to safety was excellent. For me (Sandra) as a sea-sick, qualified, but infrequent diver, Steve deserves a special mention for his enthusiasm, patience and encouragement... I just wish we'd had more time to do more. For me (Graham) I have experienced a few dive ops but none as good as Tofo Scuba.

It's back to diving flooded quarries and the cold North Sea now!!! (it's summer and 9 degrees in the sea at the moment)

So, thanks again to everyone.. you may see us again some day... maybe Graham's instructor training one day??

Regards,

Sandra and Graham

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff, especially steve, carlos, joan and nick whom in their own unique way supplemented the stunning dive experience hosted by Tofo Scuba. We loved it, and look forward to be back there again. Special thanks to you whom literally jumped up from your lunch to help sort out my peculiar request, that ultimately led to my certification with TOFO SCUBA and a memorable experience that made our travel to MOZ worthwhile.

This is a hell of a lot more than what other people were prepared to do!

Sincere thanks to you and the rest off them all!

Hi guys, we're just back in Malawi after fantastic week in Tofo. I wanted to say again a big thank you to Richard, my instructor-you were fab, and to the whole operation who fed us, watered us and even arranged to look after the kids. All the staff were great especially Charles who did more than his fair share of playing with the kids, it was much appreciated. We have already been talking about the next trip! The whole family had a great time, even the baby and the grand parents.

Thanks again,

Rachel and the entire Almeida family

We really enjoyed the trip.Dave and I realised that we had never mentioned a few things that we really liked about the way Tofo Scuba operates so thought we should mention 3 things in particular. We liked the fact that there was plenty of time each morning at the dive centre.We never felt we were being rushed.

We thought it was excellent to have a group safety check (rather like a buddy check) on the boat before each dive.In SA there never seemed to be time to check equipment on the boat.

Having a sweeper on each dive was excellent.Dave had done 300 dives with me and always had to check I was OK equalising .For him it was great to know that he only had to look after himself on the descent.

What we saw was also great!

Thankyou

Debbie

HEY everyone!! Here's a message from a open water diver who wants to say thanks !!! first of all I wanna thank my instructor CARLOS for learning me how to become a open water diver and learning me how to swim like a pro (with my fins ) LOL!!And then there is someone else I should thank:STEVE ( you guy's might wonder why) BUT THE SEASICK TABLETS WERE A BLESSING !!!HAHA!! I also want to thank V for letting me take me time to go down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well you guy's will hear from me because I 'm thinking of maybe being a dive instructor one day !!!Because I really love diving !!! !!! Well I first have to finish school because I'm now just 13 years old but after that you will hear from me !!!!!

GREETS from a dive freak(LOL)

LATIFAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Steve, Joan, Drew, Carlos, Justine, Gabriel, Jonas, Naomi, Sam & all the TF Crew!

Just wanted to thank you guys so much for the awesome diving we did with you a few weeks ago, and the great start you gave us to our advanced course! Emily and i completed the Advanced course in Cape Town successfully - woo hoo! We got there despite my difficulty with compass use underwater (oops), and having to wear TWO wetsuits - yep we racked up 10mm of neopreme with weightbelts of 9KGs!!! However the magical kelp forests, multi-coloured urchins and starfish made it all worth while.

You guys really are running a top class operation there, with a superb team of people who are professional, competent and friendly. Having just got our open water, we arrived in Tofo very nervous about the next stage of our diving but the support and attention we received with you increased our confidence and enjoyment so much, and really opened up the possibilities of diving in a new way - a sincere thank you for that, you are a credit to your sport and to the incredible ocean you all love so much.

It was an absolute pleasure and so much fun diving with each of you, i look forward to returning one day for that elusive whale shark, and also to dive the sites that got away this time.

Steve i hope you're taking care of that hole in your leg! If any of you need somewhere to crash in London at any point in the future mi casa es tu casa, and you would be more than welcome. I hope our paths cross again at some point.

Thank you all again.

Take it easy

Hi All at Tofo Scuba

We just wanted to say a massive thank you for a fantastic 2 weeks diving! We had big expectations for our holiday and you didn't disappoint. We'll remember our dives with beautiful mantas and mellow whale sharks for a long time and although we have lots of places we want to dive in the world, we may be back in Moz before too long.

Thanks especially to Steve and Nikki for such a warm welcome, to Naomi, Ty, Jonas, Sam, Carlos, Gareth, Richie and Joani for looking after us on all our dives (in some challenging currents and vis too!) but most of all to Drew who led most of our dives and was a great divemaster with endless enthusiam for every dive we did.

Hope Tofo Scuba continues to be a great outfit and that you all carry on having so much fun doing it. Maybe see some of you again?

Take care

James & Helen xx

Dear Nikki and John,

I have just returned home after a lengthy trip to Africa of which a great deal of time was spent in Mozambique at Tofo Scuba and I would like to give you some feedback regarding my experience:

Firstly . I am so sorry we never actually met. I understand that you guys were away from Tofo whilst I was at the dive shop and when you returned my girlfriends 2 vets recognised your lovely dog on the beach and so stopped and chatted to you both - I was sadly not with them at the time which is a shame as it would have been lovely to pass on these comments face to face.

I travel frequently and have dived with many dive companies in many different places and rarely do I feel compelled to write to the owners....but in this case I must.

May I please say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Tofo Scuba mainly because of your staff all of whom I found incredibly friendly, helpful and very professional. My group must have been a bit of a challenge to please . varying nationalities with varying degrees of diving experience, all desperate to see the big stuff, some doing courses, a week of "freak" weather conditions and an older lady whose dream for years has been to dive with Mantas and Whale Sharks but medical reasons prevented her from doing so.....many others would have given up but those working for you did not do so, choosing instead to remain optimistic and always trying to make the best of the situation.

Steve was fabulous he knew how desperate we were to dive . the conditions were against us but he did his best to accommodate us at all times whilst ensuring our safety firstly and fore mostly. It was a good joint call from him/boat skipper that led to a phenomenal almost surreal dive at I believe Giants with Richie leading . a wonderful experience which endorses the reasons why Tofo is on the diving map.

One of my group Claudia who sadly could not dive was persuaded to go on the Ocean Safari instead . she was on a boat with many enthusiastic children and when the sharks were sighted was not quick enough to get into the water and race the children for prime viewing. Leading the Safari Andy who clearly saw this happening diplomatically persuaded the children to let Claudia have the next turn with the whale sharks, an event that made her year. She still talks of how wonderful, kind and informative Andy was!!!!!!

In the long periods waiting and hoping to see if the weather would improve or not - I had the opportunity to talk to some of those you employ. As an employer myself it was very refreshing to hear how enthusiastic and loyal they all were. Gabriel talked very highly of both of you and the company, to his credit he doesn't see his job as just a job but as a career, he clearly knew his dive stuff but that aside had some very well thought out and interesting marketing ideas for Tofo Scuba. During my time there I took a number of photographs of the staff and some of guests which you may want to use for marketing purposes and which I promised Gabriel and others that I would forward on and share. I have not done so with this mail as I would prefer to have your permission first . I did not wish to slow down the e-mail facility at the shop and it occurred to me that you may not wish to see them at all?

It was also very warm and reassuring to see that Carlos a "true gentleman" bridges the gap so well between the locals who make up the boat crew and instructors/sweepers gaining respect from both groups and in turn from us guests who as you know never miss a trick.

As for the rest . Drew, Naiomi, Ty, Justin, Jonas, Simon, and Sam .all professional without question but great fun with it! Drew endured substantial banter from me and the girls throughout the week and took it very well and also in the spirit that it was intended . from my groups observations all an asset to you both. Please do pass on my comments and thanks to them all if you think it appropriate.

In essence a very good team . you guys are fortunate.

I do however feel that I have not had my fill of Tofo diving and would like to return someday. Perhaps you would be kind enough to let me know when you think would be the best time of the year to dive your waters?

Finally I would certainly not hesitate to recommend Tofo Scuba to dive clubs here in the UK or elsewhere. In fact just to let you know that during the course of the rest of my travels in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa I met several couples heading to Tofo and pointed them all in your direction so please don't be surprised if you get callers saying the "Indian" girl I met on the plane or bus recommended you!!!!

A big hug and a thank you to all mentioned above from Me, Jess, Olivia, Margaret and Claudia.

Kind Regards,

Janita Patel

Hi drew, gabriel, steve, niki, carlos and all the rest!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the amazing diving experience, it was defonitly one of the highlights of my holiday! i really want to say thank you to steve for marking my exam, drew for the actual diving experience and gabriel- for taking such important notice for me. taking me out on the boat on my own with you. it was very nice to know that I am special!:) hehe! From learning bouyancy to decompression illness and then to doing the real dive in the sea. it really was amazing and made my holiday much more exciting. the first thing when i got to school, i told all my friends-IM A QUALIFIED DIVER! went back to school on tuesday was not very exciting! well i hope you all well. missing you all already!:) if your in cape town we are the first person you will look up ok!!! stay well miss you.

Love Lisa xxx

Dear John, Nikki, Steve, Gabriel, Naomi, Carlos, Jannine, Bennie, Jo, Drew and I hope I have not left anyone out

Thank u for a fantastic diving experience with all of u in Mozambique.

Your dive school is professional, tidy and organised.

I also really appreciated you nurturing the youngsters through their Open Water courses, especially Lisa, for whom you arranged a special trip and Gabriel, in order that she could complete her sea dives - it made all the difference to her holiday and therefore mine as well - thank you.

It was also pleasing to note the correct attitude towards the seriousness of diving SAFELY !

Thank you once again, and if any of you are ever in Cape Town look us up,

fondest regards

Jorn Woker

Dear John, Nikki and all of Tofo Scuba

I just had to write a e-mail expressing how much I enjoyed my experience with you. when i arrived home all i could think about was diving, reefs, buoyancy and mantas. I just would like to say thank you so much for all that you have done. This was not just diving for me-you made it so much more. The people, the laughs, the smiles at 8am every morning....it was amazing.

Please pass on my thanx to Scuba Steve, Angel Gabriel, BOKKIE, Drew, Carlos, Benny and everyone else.

We miss u all very much and hope that if u are ever in need of a place to stay in Cape Town we are your first option.

Sending hugs

Lee Shacksnovis

x x

Dear Nikki,

I wanted to sincerely thank both you and John for a wonderful diving time in Tofo !!

Many thanks for both your hospitality and warm welcome back, and the gift of one of your t-shirts, which I very much enjoy wearing! I am missing the warm Mozambiquan sun and your sweet crew already.

I had a fantastic time, and look forward to diving with you again in the future!

Hopefully not before long.

Kind regards to both you and John, and the rest of the team,

Sanne

To The Tofo Scuba Team,

My girlfriend and I recently spent an awesome week diving with you and we would like to complement all the staff at Tofo Scuba on their professionalism and their commitment to safety while still maintaining a fun and friendly environment. Having dived many destinations around the world we found Tofo to be one of the best destinations we have visited.Apart from the amazing diving, what impressed us the most was that it is still an owner run shop which is hard to find these days. Keep up the good work guys!!!

Lots of bubbles.

Ian and Sarah.

PS: see u next April.

Dear Nikki, John and Henry,

I really want to thank you guys for getting me through my PADI open water course.Henry you have the patients of a saint. Thank you for all the extra effort you put in,especially in the pool when I was ready to give up.You guys really run a great shop and the diving was stunning, how many students can say they had a sighting of a whale Shark on scuba on their second dive!!! I hope to see you soon for my Adavnced course can't wait to dive Manta Reef.

Love to all.

Jessie. London, UK.

Hi Gang,

Well finally made it back to the freezing winter in Canada, can't stop thinking about the Manta's and Whale Sharks, have already sent lots of people your way.Having dived with the other shops in Tofo, I can say you guys are simply the best.Well done to all of you and good luck with the new boats.

Happy Diving.

Arnie and Claire.

PS: will e-mail the best of the Manta pics.

Dear Tofo Scuba in Mozambique on Tofo Beach,

We had a wonderful experience wile diving at Tofo Beach in Mozambique. Thank you for the wonderful time, we still cant believe that we saw all the best diving spots while diving at Tofo Beach. Scuba diving in Mozambique at Tofo Scuba was the best diving experience we had.

All the best and see you soon.

Simon and Jane Smith, California USA

Dear John and Nikki

We always seem to be in a rush with Pete and Nes when leaving Tofo and n ever seem to get a proper opportunity to say thanks.

I seem to have always been lucky with my diving at Tofo - but of course its not all down to luck.

Nothing would be possible without the huge amount of hard work you do and have done in the past.

There is no dou bt to me that you exceed your mission statement in every way.

There is no one thing that makes diving with you so good it's the all round experience.

Quite simply diving with you guys is just the best I have experienced any where in the world and by a long way. I try and tell my fellow divers back home what they are missing out on but they just don' t seem to believe it. 42 Whale Sharks in one day , 3 Whale Sharks on a safety stop with 6 huge Mantas playing below. I suppose it does sound like I have made it up.

Still their loss.

Anyway a huge thanks to all of you for another stunning weeks diving. Only problem - I'll be back!

PS. We named Pete's new dive site as 'Pete's Marlin Magic' I think It's about 3km SE of Giants Castle - but Pete should be able to give you the GPS.

Tim Toohig

Hey All @ Tofo Scuba,

unfortunately i didnt come by the shop on saturday to say my farewell. i watched sa take a beating from australia in the tri nations and this coupled with the idea that id be leaving back to freezin jhb led me to be consoled only by a long lie on the beach and numerous swims in that beautiful big blue that is ur 'office'.

so i write this email quite sad to be back, yet refreshed to take it all on again. its amazing what a whale shark/ manta ray/ dolphin and humback can do for ur spirits. (its also amazing what tipo tinto can do to ur hangover.)

but the reason i write this email is to thank u all for another great dive experience and for just being the hospitable and friendly people u all are. i was thinking that tofo scuba is a real world class dive center but when i actually analysed it (im heading toward becoming a CA so this is the kind of thing i like to do) tofo scuba is not a world class dive center its actually the worlds classiest dive center.

so good on u all.

good luck at the new shop, take it to the next level.

i look fwd to being back there asap, hopefully i can do my rescue or jsut some more diving, who knows!?

sending peace and love from the land where there is no ocean

Justin G

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