Skydive Grand Haven — Attraction in Grand Haven

I was unsure of what to expect when I showed up but I just watched and observed and I was pleasantly surprised. The staff treat each other and the customers with genuine kindness and they show a good role model for what the skydiving community is about. Haley and Dave were the first ones there and were friendly, bubbly, fun, and professional. The place had a homely atmosphere and everyone that was there (everyone who wasn't brand new) all knew each other and were all extremely kind to each other. It was like I walked in to the living room of a big happy family. It's $225 for a tandem jump and an additional $75 for photos. The jump price seems spot on, but the photos are expensive for what they give to you. (Each instructor wears a wrist mounted GoPro, so you're seeing only the typical skydive selfie, not taken from a third party perspective. $40 for photos seems more accurate, but then again, I'm not a regular so I don't really know what the "right price" is.) 🤷‍♂️ I only got a chance to jump with Vadim that day, who was an absolute riot to spend time with. He's from Russia, has over 3000 jumps in but as he says "what number of jumps is not matter, but maybe more of skills." and he did not disappoint. Initially I wanted more explanation as to what we were going to do, how I should land, what do I need to do or not do, but he also said "I don't teach or you just worry. I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it" and we got on a plane. As soon as he told me where to sit and what to do, what signals he was going to give me and how I should respond, etc, it settled my nerves and I saw that he really did have a passion for what he did and had a more than thorough knowledge base as to what was going on. The jump was a blast. I asked for flips and craziness out of the plan and I got a giant smile, tongue out, "hang loose" hand signaled, excited professional who dished out a good dose of craziness. He explained how the equipment worked, let me take a few turns once the canopy was deployed, and chatted my ear off about anything and everything under the sun. We landed 75' from the hangar at walking speed in the softest landing I could have imagined. (in 15mph wind from 10,000', I was pretty impressed.) As soon as we had some down time, Keith, who recognized that I had a genuine interest in learning more, pulled me aside and said "I'm going to dump skydiving information into your head" and took every opportunity to teach me more about "my next jumps". Seeing him promote the sport and teach the safety ins and outs was impressive. Some of the pilots are student pilots for Western Michigan University. You could tell that this made a lot of the jumpers a little apprehensive, but I realized pretty quickly that these guys weren't in a plane for the first time by any means. They're already trained, finished their ground school, spent hours in simulators, and hours with other instructors. They just need to fill out "flight hours". (Three of the jump instructors at least also have their licenses, so we were definitely all in good hands.) Employing them helps to bring your jump cost down, and support local upcoming commercial airline pilots in their careers, in a safe and community-involving way. All-in-all, I'm stoked that I went. Whether you're a grandparent looking to check items off from the bucket list, a middle-aged couple having a unique date, or a college student looking to have some new adventures in your life, I think this is worth the time and money. The only things you will forever regret in life are the ones you never tried....

So incredibly disappointed in this company. My husband jumped with them in 2017 in Holland and loved it. He decided to take it to the next level and do the class to be able to solo jump. After a couple phone calls, a text (per their voicemail) , an email directly from their website, and FINALLY an email from my email saying that I'm trying to get in touch with them, I got a call back from a very friendly, apologetic gentleman. We talked in length and determined that because they don't open until April, we should wait to schedule. I made future calls with no problems and someone answers or called me back promptly. My confidence in them was back :) We scheduled the class at the end of April for today (5/17/19) and the woman that I spoke with assured me that the class would happen rain or shine. I called her yesterday, 5/16/19, and asked her for details since I hadn't heard from them again. She asked if my husband would be interested in cancelling the class because the weather was supposed to be yucky. I said no as he had taken a vacation day specifically for this and asked if he was the only one in the class. She said no and there were approximately 4 others taking the class. She followed up by saying that she would see him tomorrow at 9am. I got a text (a phone call would have been far more professional) at 8:35pm saying that they are cancelling because all the other people had a "medical condition" and had to cancel. She said my husband would be the only one in the class and with the "poor weather" they thought it best to cancel. I responded back and asked for a phone call, I never got one. Super disappointing and won't ever return. It feels a whole like like they cancelled because they wouldn't make enough money only having one person...

I couldn’t be happier with our Tandem Skydive at Skydive Grand Haven. My thanks to Tony, Haley, Jim, Keith, Dawn and all the staff at Skydive Grand Haven for making our day perfect. I am an experienced jumper (1500+ jumps) but have never jumped at Grand Haven before. I was taking a buddy from Grand Rapids for his first tandem skydive and the Drop Zone extended every hospitality to us. His Tandem Master was Keith who is the best TM I have ever seen, and I have seen many in my 28 years in the sport!. Our Videographer was Dawn who did an amazing job of staying with a very fast falling tandem and taking outstanding video. The views of the Lake Michigan shoreline were spectacular – in the plane on the way to altitude, in freefall and under canopy. We had a crew of 6 with my buddy’s wife and 3 children and the amenities for the family viewing were first rate. The Drop Zone excels at all aspects of Safety for both jumpers and spectators. I highly recommend Skydive Grand Haven for anyone considering a tandem jump or just getting into the sport!! And be sure to get the video and stills package – you won’t regret it. As skydivers like to say, “If you don’t have video - it didn’t happen.”.... Martin MacDonald,...