Taino Divers

More like 2.5 stars because Taino made a good effort to make things right. My partner and I booked our dives with Taino a week in advance. After calling the dive shop and speaking with Christina, we were told to book via a link she sent via Whatsapp rather than on the Taino website. It took a great deal of back and forth to get scheduled (i.e., wrong number of divers on initial booking, asking for credit card information via text, etc.), but we were eventually booked correctly. The night before our dives, we contacted Taino to confirm arrival time in the morning. We did not receive a response. My partner and I arrived at the shop to find it closed with no staff present. We called and texted several times before the shop owner contacted us, apologizing and stating the girl who was supposed to take us out this morning had a family emergency. While we understand that things happen, this ruined our last day of diving. It was too late to book anything else (Taino had us arrive at 8am, most shops would have already gone out) and bad weather was rolling in over the afternoon. The poor communication of the shop left something to be desired. Fortunately, the owner was very kind and understanding. He fully refunded us for our booking, and even made an effort to contact nearby shops to see if they could take us out. We very much appreciated the effort, but we will not be rebooking with Taino in the future.

We went snorkeling with Cristina, and it was a fabulous day! She was very attentive to us, explaining many interesting facts about the sea.

The Experience: Please note this review is strictly for the snorkeling excursion, as I did not use their dive shop operations. The snorkeling here in Rincon is nice, but you can easily access this exact reef from the shore for free. If you are nervous, the provided dinghy and guide are helpful, but their rental gear is poor quality and fits terribly. I highly recommend bringing your own gear if you go. Additionally, the scheduling was disorganized. We were told to arrive at 10:00 AM but were left waiting in the heat and mosquitoes until past 11:00 AM while they waited for a separate scuba group to return. The Deceptive Billing: My biggest issue is how management handles billing mistakes. Our group leader had already pre-paid for 15 slots, which included me. Unaware that my spot was prepaid, I went to the counter and paid for myself and three of the kids within the group, one being my own. The cashier knew 15 spots were already pre-paid, and there were only six of us in the room at the time. If she had simply spoken up, she would have realized the other kids with me belonged to parents whose spots were already covered. Instead, she stayed silent and took my money. Taino Divers ended up collecting money for 19 slots, even though only 17 people from our group went in the water (and several of those were parents using their own gear who had just paid for a separate dive). The Customer Service & Resolution: When I called to address the overcharge, the representative was highly defensive. She literally told me it "was not her job" to communicate with me and blamed our group leader. It is hypocritical to boast about great customer service while telling a paying customer communication is not your job. Initially, she refused to return any money at all. Shockingly, she tried to justify keeping the extra cash by complaining that their guides only make $10 an hour. I want to be clear that our single guide was lovely and did a great job. However, having 17 people in the water instead of 10 did not require extra manpower, as we still only had that one guide. Management should pay their staff fairly instead of using their low wages as an excuse to double charge customers. Eventually, she reimbursed the group leader for two tickets. I am perfectly fine with the group leader getting the refund instead of me, I was planning to pay for my experience either way. However, management's follow-up message was incredibly manipulative. She claimed she adjusted the booking and kept my payment because I needed to pay for the "four in your family." I only had two family members on this trip. By falsely framing the narrative this way, she made herself look accommodating while forcing our group to sort out her billing mess internally. Bottom Line: Save your money, bring your own gear, and snorkel the reef on your own. If you do hire an outfitter, support a business that values both honest billing and fair pay for its hardworking guides.