La Casa Surya Freediving & Yoga School, Tulum

It took a few days to gather my thoughts and to write this review, because to simply say that we had a great experience would have been an understatement. My girlfriend and I had only one week in Tulum before flying out to US. After the initial conversation with Sabrina I was a little bit disappointed that the duration of our class was going to be five days instead of the usual three day class, as this would mean that we only had one day left for all other activities. However, after a few days of researching we have decided that La Casa Surya is the best school for us, we were not wrong. Now that we have completed the course I cannot imagine how it would be possible to process all of the information and training we have received in just three days. Over the last six years my girlfriend and I have traveled quite a bit, and there isn’t a place that we didn’t fall in love with. However, visiting Tulum was special, mostly thanks to our amazing instructor. It didn’t take long to see Sabrina’s passion for freediving, both as an avid freediver and one amazing instructor. I was blown away by her attention to details. Aside from the pool session we have visited and trained at three beautiful cenotes. There were serene moments where we’ve never felt so relaxed, and there were moments when we felt like we got our butts kicked, and had to take a power nap almost everyday after our training. There were many emotional moments too. My girlfriend who was afraid to put her head under water was able to relax at depth and experience freediving for what it’s worth, oh yeah there were some tears of joy. If you can take anything from this review, please take the following. Do not rush your training, while you may be able to pass this class in three days somewhere else, you will have a much better experience and quality training (not to mention less stress) if you do it in five. Be open minded, every instructor is different, so if you learn something other than what you’ve seen on a youtube don’t just give it a try, instead make your best effort to master it, then you can choose later what works best for you. Remember, you’re a welcomed guest at La Casa Surya, so return the favor and be respectful. Be punctual, Sabrina has an elaborate system involving the timing of sequential events ranging from reviewing the material to yoga exercises, to open water training trips. So, if you’re late you will only deprive yourself of the experience you could have received otherwise. Finally, remember Adam Stern’s number one rule of freediving, “Have fun, and always look good!” :)

As another person said, I needed some time to gather my thoughts for this review. My story actually started in September 2021. I had an upcoming trip to Tulum and contacted several freediving companies, one of which was Sabrina at La Casa Surya. I was interested in doing the Molchanovs Wave 1 certification and Sabrina informed me at the time that it would take 4-5 days. Unfortunately I only had 2-3 days and Sabrina said it wouldn’t be enough time. So, I went with another company and I was able to pass the SSI Level 1 certification in 2 days, but I felt that I didn’t learn much at all. Fast forward to May 2022. I wanted to do a level 2 course but I wanted to go with someone that I was confident would be able to actually teach and guide me on technique and improve my freediving abilities. I remember my email from Sabrina last year and based on my interactions with her from before, I could tell that she had her system of teaching the course and she wasn’t going to cut corners just to save time. Based on that, I contacted her to see if I could transfer to Molchanovs and do my Wave 2 with her. She emailed back with some questions about my Level 1 and let me know that it could be done. It would take 5-6 days depending on my current skills and how I would perform so I went ahead and signed up for the Molchanovs Wave 2 course with her. I met with Sabrina as planned and she was extremely nice, professional and straightforward with everything from Day 1. Sabrina is also a yoga instructor which helped A LOT to calm the mind and prepare the body for freediving. Our days started off with a quick yoga/breathing session in the morning before heading out to open water dives. She took videos of me during each of our open water sessions and reviewed them with me to help me improve. We went through theory in the class where she made sure I understood all of the concepts and explained to me the things that were unclear. She was extremely meticulous and coached me through each step of the way on how to improve. She adjusted to my pace and pushed me as hard as I pushed myself but was never overbearing. Both physical and mental demands are required for freediving and you can’t rush it. I’m a former ultramarathoner who works out almost every day but even I was getting drained by Day 4. The other thing that got me was I started to have sinus and minor equalization issues by the start of day Day 4. Sabrina somehow was able to hear me underwater when I first started to have a harder time equalizing and pointed it out when I surfaced. It was only then that I understood why she needed 5-6 days; it’s because of so many unforeseen factors that can come up. In any case, Sabrina was able to coach me through everything and I managed to pass my Wave 2 requirements by Day 5. In the 5 days we spent together, she was one of the best teachers and mentors I ever had, not just in freediving, but in general. She pays extreme attention to detail and sees and hears everything. She has a real passion for and teaching freediving and it is apparent. I can’t recommend her enough. There are other freediving companies in the region but I wholeheartedly believe that Sabrina is the best instructor. She may not have as many reviews as other places and she’s not as big of a shop as others, but that’s not what she cares about. She cares about teaching freediving the correct way to people who have an interest in freediving and she is the only teacher at La Casa Surya. As a bonus, she also gave recommendations on different places to eat, all of which were excellent! I can go on for days but this review is quite long already. If you are on the fence, don’t hesitate. Allow yourself the recommended days required and take your freediving course with Sabrina at La Casa Surya. You will learn all of the necessary skills to be confident in your ability to freedive. I guarantee you will be happy that you did.

✨What an amazing, transformative week it has been! ✨ My heart is full with joy ❤️ I first met Sabrina Meyer several years back when I took a one day freediving discovery course with her at La Casa Surya where I learned to face my fears and start to conquer my fear of swimming. I immediately fell in love with freediving, and although I had several opportunities to take a freediving course at other locations - Something was telling me, wait until you can take the course with Sabrina. So a few years and one pandemic later... And OMG I am so happy I waited 😁 For anyone wanting to experience freediving for the first time, get your certificate, or perfect your technique and improve your dives, I wholeheartedly recommend her as an instructor. Small groups, with patient instruction and heavy focus on perfecting technique before moving on to more difficult dives. Soo happy to be part of the Molchanovs diving system, and proud to report the I am now wave 1 certified.

Amazing teacher and experience. Sabrina is very encouraging, passionate, patient and skilled. This made for a more easeful and enjoyable experience while challenging myself to reach new depths. I really appreciated her focus on different techniques and relaxation. Courses are well paced to ensure a safe and successful experience. For a beautiful free diving experience and to visit some amazing Cenotes I highly recommend La Casa Surya :)

For years, I had been dreaming about Freediving. I thought it would be a perfect practice which would combine nicely my love for the underwater world, my personal practice of yoga and meditation. In 2014, I did a course in Thailand which ended up being slightly traumatic and definitely frustrating as I could not equalize the pressure in my ears and had to quit the course. 8 years later, I am so grateful to have contacted Sabrina of Casa Surya. From the beginning of our communication, Sabrina was the most attentive and supportive guide offering me tips and exercises to understand better the mechanisms of equalization. I had already gained some confidence before starting our first in person Freediving day in Tulum. We went to two very unique cenotes. In the morning, we worked more on technical training with free immersion on the line. Sabrina helped me to find more ease with the equalization and gave me a lot of great pointers to help my very poor duck dive technique. Even if there was a lot to integrate, I never felt overwhelmed and could enjoy every moment. We had a short but helpful yoga session at her studio before going to the water which, I believe, helped setting the tone for the day. We were only two students with different levels but as we alternated the practice while the other was resting, it felt more or less like a one on one instruction. We had a very comfortable lunch break back at Casa Surya studio with a pretty yummy healthy meal. Then, the afternoon was more of a fun dive session in an extremely beautiful cenote where the mangroves offer a great habitat for a diverse fauna. Still, Sabrina kept giving us helpful pointers while taking videos of our dives in idyllic spots. It was truly magical and inspiring. After this discovery day, I decided to take the level 1 course. It is offered as 5 half days instead of 2 (sometimes 3 days) advertised by other companies. I know that I personally can learn and integrate better at a slow pace. I am looking forward to be in the magical cenotes again soon. I definitely recommend Casa Surya for whoever wants to experience Freediving!