Hi looking for somebody to tag along for skydiving this weekend.. also any suggestion for nearest and best sky diving place will be very helpful
Disaster, I'm away this weekend otherwise I'd be there.
I've jumped at Lodi and Tracy, both are good. Not sure if you're doing a tandem or not but jumps are a lot cheaper at Lodi, although I prefer Tracy. It's smaller and more intimate, and the guy running the place is incredibly friendly.
I'm jumping Saturday, probably tracy but possibly Lodi. PM me
Pretty self-explanatory, I want to go skydiving for the first time and am wondering if anyone in SF/the Bay Area have some experience with some of the options in the area. Cheers!
Videos
Hey! First time skydiver here. I am researching for places that are in the bay area, ideally I would like to jump by the golden gate bridge. I wanted to get reviews from fellow r/skydiving followed in any recommendations and experiences they had. :) thanks!
You won't be jumping by the golden gate bridge.
If you are doing a Tandem - Monterey has the most beautiful location.
If you want to learn in a safe, friendly and fun environment - Davis, CA and Byron, CA are the two best places to do so by far!
Don't go to Hollister! The gear, instructors and place is unsafe, and sketchy at best.
Another year comes and goes with new year resolutions here!
Skydiving is definitely on the list but I would love to ask if anyone has safe recommendations for best beautiful dives in the Bay Area.
Willing to drive, I heard about Santa Cruz and Monterey dives being beautiful.
I saw about Lodi, I will not go there, no worries haha 😅
Anyone have experiences to share with skydiving companies? Like SkyDive Monterey or Santa Cruz Skydiving? I'm open to other recs!
What place is known for having a good view and a good safety record?
I live in Livermore.
definitely not lodi parachute center
I used to be an avid skydiver. Don't worry about the view. Your first jump will be so exciting and new you wouldn't notice much anyway.
I knew the guy who owns skydive california in Tracy and I would trust him more than anyone to run a safe operation.
The drop zone in Davis is also good.
Bay area skydiving in Byron is prolly fine but the new owner seems like kind of a tool on fb.
Avoid the parachute center in Lodi. Skydive hollister used to have a bad reputation as well but I think they have new owners, maybe?
Don't have much to say about monterey bay
B license 60 jumps. Need rental gear (a navigator 240 or comparable). Any recommendations?
Prefer a turbine DZ, but 182 is fine.
Edit - if you know if they do balloon or helicopter jumps that would be a plus. As a new B license that would make for a more epic experience
5/6/2025 thanks for all the replies so far. Looking forward to this.
Hello, I'd like to know where I can buy skydiving accessories in San Francisco, such as altimeters, audible altimeters, and similar gear. I'll have one free day in the city and would like to make these purchases there because prices in my country are much higher
Hi, folks! Sky Diving has been on my bucket list for a long time and am planning to go, skydive with 4-5 friends this Sunday ( the day after tomorrow). I checked Groupon and found some coupons for Sacramento, Hollister, and Monterey Bay (most expensive ~$270). Also, I see that all of them charge additional $99 for a photo.
Can you give me recommendations about these or any other places nearby? I'm willing to spend more as this is a one-time thing but if I can save money, that would be great.
Update: We ended up going to Monterey Bay. Booked a week in advance by paying non-refundable $50 per person, then started at 6 from SF to reach there by 8. When we went, there was very dense fog and we were afraid that the dive might get canceled but luckily, as they predicted the fog cleared. The sky was full of clouds though, but the instructors and my cameraman were really good. It was a great experience and if you are choosing Monterey Bay only for the view, it's not that great (Always cloudy! even if weather forecast shows "Sunny with no clouds"). The experience in itself was great and I probably will do it again.
My recommendation is DO NOT go to the Lodi one. It's generally the cheapest but their safety record is terrible.
Definitely do Skydive Hollister.
I did my first jump with them and they were amazing. The coaches have tons of experience and are more than willing to answer any questions on the ground and in the air.
I will say it was a while ago but I remember it being pretty reasonable compared to the other skydiving places in the area.
Also photos are so expensive because it requires a second jumper to take the photos
Hi guys,
I was offered a spontaneous trip to San Francisco by my sister, who is a stewardess!
I´ll be in SF on friday and stay for about 10 days. Im definitely taking my skyidivng rig (and maybe also the BASE if I can fit it in). I´m mostly interested in angles/tracking/tracing.
Im thinking of going to Lodi, Monterey or Davis. What would you recommend? I guess theyre all busy at the weekends, but whats best during the week?
Also will I need a rental car or is it easy to go around with public transport? Where do I get cheap accommodation? -> More dollars for jumping :)
Thanks for your help!
Luke
Id say go lodi. cheapest in the country, free camping and they probably have a tent you can use. lots of great guys over there and ive always had a great time when im there. not to mention the taco trucks are killer in town
Skydance in Davis! They have planes turning all day and you won't find a shortage of people who will do those jumps with you. Just a heads up though, there is lots of smoke in the area right now- may cause for some delays. Enjoy your trip.
Blue Skies.
What’s up r/SkyDiving just recently got my A license looking for other folks to jump with! While I plan to keep jumping at my local DZ Skydive California and making friends there, I am also interested in traveling and jumping with others. If you’re near by or in California or anywhere I suppose let’s jump together!
As an A license, you want to build those foundational belly skills. So go where the organizers are because that is like free coaching. I think Byron has a welcoming environment for that. If you are travelling then Perris(so cal) or Eloy(arizona) also have good organizing for beginners.
One of the tough parts of skydiving is getting through the A license to 200+ jumps part. People are just not good at that level and need mentoring. This is why larger dzs with organizing are good and can mix you in with skilled people doing jumps that might be hard for you but the group can make up for that. It beats out trying to make friends on reddit and then failing hard to learn these basics because you are trying things out with other novices. If you really want to freefly then go learn the basics in the tunnel as you skill up in belly. Once you can do some basic sit grips then try taking that to the sky with others. If you are interested in wingsuits, then focus on the belly jumps and throw in an occasional tracking jump day if you want once over 100 jumps and learn some angles once ready. If you are an aspiring base jumper, turn every jump into an accuracy landing and learn other basic base canopy moves.
I tried jumping at Skydive California for a while but never really managed to make it stick. Seemed really cliquy, everyone already knew each other and had their pre established groups of friends. Couldn’t really make inroads, but I guess that’s just how small DZs are. I came from SDC, so it was a bit of a jarring change.
Eventually I stopped jumping because of it. Sadly Skydive California is pretty much the only game in town if you’re in the Bay Area. Unless you’re willing to take your chances at Lodi…
as title says, I decided to go for my first jump, but I have 0 knowledge what is good or bad, which dropzone is better for starters etc. I am doing my homework, but still wanted to ask here and get first hand feedbacks. Thanks in advance!
[edit] thank you very much for the suggestions! I'll go with Byron, and see how it goes.
What place is known for having a good view and a good safety record?
I live in Livermore.
I'm finally planning my first skydive!
Since it's my first time (and who knows when I will go again), I'm interested in the 18,000ft dive. I have easy access to both Monterey and Santa Barbara, and wanted to see if anyone has recommendation on which is better. I'm most interested in best views and much less importantly on the weather in February (I can bundle up, but not keen on freezing to death).
So I'm gonna book my first tandem soon and I was wondering if anyone has jumped at either location:
skydive California is relatively new, located in Tracy, ca and opened in like 2014.
while bay area skydiving has been around for like 25 years and is not too far away and is located in Byron, ca
Also does anyone have any experience with any of their aff courses, I'm starting to save up for a potential a license if I like my first tandem.