Ocean Friends Diving and Freediving

Ocean Friends runs a genuinely dual-discipline operation from Los Abrigos, on Tenerife's southeast coast, teaching a full SSI, PADI, and SNSI scuba course ladder alongside a structured Apnea Academy freediving programme. Boat dives for certified divers depart from Marina del Sur in Las Galletas harbour, a short drive west of the shop, while shore dives run from the home base. The team describes over 30 years of combined diving experience, though no individually named owner or instructor appears on the pages available. Freediving covers static and dynamic pool sessions through to open-water depth training, with relaxation and apnea-specific yoga, compensation technique, and rescue/self-rescue work built into the course structure. The centre is authorised by the Government of the Canary Islands and has signed the region's Charter for Sustainability of Tourism, working alongside Turismo de Tenerife. Beyond diving and freediving, the same team runs guided snorkel tours of a volcanic bay with turtles and stingrays, private snorkel trips, and small-group whale and dolphin watching, positioning Ocean Friends as a broader marine-experiences operator rather than a straight dive shop.

Google rates Ocean Friends 4.8 from 56 reviews, and TripAdvisor carries the same 4.8 score across 112, though most of the TripAdvisor volume covers the centre's snorkelling and eco-boat-tour products rather than scuba specifically. Across both platforms, reviewers repeatedly single out the volcanic bay's underwater landscapes, close encounters with turtles and dolphins, and a guided, small-group format that keeps things calm for nervous participants. Two more mixed notes sit alongside the positive pattern: one reviewer described a cancelled trip with no refund, which the centre says it has no booking record for, and a separate first-time snorkeller described an instructor as unsupportive during a moment of panic. Neither dispute is resolved here; both are part of the public record worth weighing alongside the broader positive pattern.