Skydive San Marcos Inc

I’ve done two tandem jumps here (and have a third paid for but need to schedule) so far and love it. The instructors are fun and help you with your nerves.
The only thing kind of «meh» about it is that you can’t bring your own go-​pro cam on your jump, you have to buy their package (a videographer who interviews you on the plane on your way up and who jumps with you. I think the package is an extra $ 100 or so). I didn’t purchase the video/​photo package either time and I don’t regret it.
If you’ve been thinking about skydiving, check this place out.

So I figured I’d give myself a week to come down from the adrenaline high and be able to write a review that wasn’t full of exclamation points, ALL CAPS, or «F&*$ Yes!» peppered throughout.
I got talked into taking a trip out here. Totally would not have gone — not because skydiving wasn’t on my list of batsh! t crazy ideas I’d like to try… just wasn’t really on the list this year. An easy drive from South Austin, we got there just before noon on a Sunday. The brief wait was awesome for a first-​timer to have more time than they need to consider «why the heck am I doing this?»
I was paired up for a tandem with DC. Super cool dude. Cue overload of information during the briefing as you’re getting suited up. All I walked away from the instructional with was
(1) I’m definitely going to have to pee before I go up
(2) He has a vested interest in me not dying since we’re hooked in to each other
(3) Don’t hit your head when you move toward the door once we’re in the plane
Once you’re called you get to chill (under shade, thankfully) with other terrified and some hyped up noobs and watch other folks land safely time after time. I wish I could say this was comforting but my hands were twitching nervously back and forth on my knee by this point.
Once the plane is ready and starts loading your group up, the tandem instructors death grip your harness so you absolutely cannot change your mind and leave, or run into a propeller or something. Then you get to ride about 15 – 20 minutes up listening to really bad skydiving jokes and getting strapped in so tight to your instructor that you’re halfway to pregnant by the end (…mildly comforting however that I wasn’t going to like, you know, detatch from him and the parachute or something).
My «Oh Sh! t» moment came after the first girl went out the door and I got shuffled forward. At this point my stomach dropped out and my heart momentarily stopped. Somehow I wound up not clawing down the side of the plane like a cat about to get a bath. Almost hit my head (#1-#3 were pointless at this point). Got 1 nice look straight down at the ground before launching out the side. Almost barfed. Closed my eyes instead. This whole paragraph may be complete nonsense, actually, as I was also pretty sure I didn’t scream but was told by a friend still in the plane that I most certainly did.
What I DO remember was the most incredible rush falling from 2 miles up in the sky for what was both way too short and such a sensory overload that I started to wonder how I didn’t stroke out. At the point DC pulled the chute I realized I definitely wanted to do this again. Poor guy still wound up getting strapped in to a chick that was overwhelmed and tearing up for the next 5 – 10 minutes (unrelated to the jump). Mad props for not unhooking me at that point…
Turns out, he’s from a town 15 minutes from where I grew up in NC. We were meant to jump together, I think. Helpful tip: bring cash. All I had was a card but they will let you tip the instructors. I didn’t realize this and felt dumb for not, since the day was instantaneously more awesome.
Overall: F*CK YES!!!

I wanted to celebrate my 19^th birthday in a way I wouldn’t forget and so I decided skydiving was the way to go! The staff was awesome and very friendly. They made sure you were comfortable and you knew exactly what you were going to do. I felt safe and the experience was amazing! I’m glad a first like that was in the hands of such awesome people.
I felt that it was totally worth the money and I would go back in a heartbeat!
If you were in the area and were wanting to do something exciting, I would strongly suggest going here!

I had the most amazing experience! From the beginning until the end, I felt amazing and safe… My friends and I already want to jump again, it was the most amazing day ever!!!

Nice friendly Dropzone! Stopped by for a quick jump while I was road tripping in Texas. They had a wide choice of canopy for my gear rentals and have a huge local jumper community!
Luckily I was in the last load of 2014 and Was treated a super crazy flyby of the Otter aircraft!

Great Group of gals/​gals, went out there with Wounded Warrior Project, top notch place, and charity event. Although I love falling from a plane (with a parachute) can be a very expensive habit.

Punisher was my tandem skydiver and he was super cool! No punishment here! There was a solo diver that went ahead of us & I got to shake hands with him while free falling! I’m writing this immediately after my jump. So I guess that’s why I am using so many exclamation marks!!!
The video was very professional and great quality. Definitely recommend getting it if it’s your first jump.
This was my second jump and I would do it again :)

Did my first tandem jump yesterday and had a great time. I’m a male in my mid-40’s and generally a thrill seeker so I wasn’t nervous and there was nothing in my experience there that caused me any concern. I had a great tandem partner, James. Took my daughter along who got pictures and video with her jump and even though pricey, they turned out great and I feel that they were worth the extra cost.
Since it is a bit of a factory line system (lots of jumpers in a day), they run very efficiently with just barely enough time at each phase to not feel rushed. Staff is all very helpful and knowledgeable from guiding you through the video overview, suit-​up, boarding, on-​plane prep, jump, landing and take-​down. If you want a slow, very personal experience, this might not be the best place for you.
My only complaint is that there has to be a better harness system that doesn’t kill your crotch when the parachute deploys and jerks you upwards. Both my daughter and I complained afterwards by how much it hurt.

Do. This.

I’ve done 1 tandem jump and 4 AFF (student) jumps at Skydive San Marcos. I’ve been really impressed with everyone on staff, the gear, and the facilities.
I did my tandem jump with Christian. Really nice guy. Helped me relax, talked me through the dive before hand. Great first time jumping out of a plane.
Chuck taught my Ground School class. He’s a good instructor, through, friendly, and personable. After 6 hours of ground school, I felt confident that I’d get safely to the ground. It was a good mix of talking in the classroom and practicing with mock equipment.
I got assigned Chuck and Rick as my instructors for the jump. I got dressed in a jumpsuit, fitted for a helmet, set up with an altimeter, and got a radio. The instructors reviewed the critical steps and emergency procedures with me to ensure I was solid. And the 2 of them did about 5 complete gear checks on me.
Once I was assigned a plane, we practiced aircraft exit and free fall procedures in the mock plane door over and over. Secured in the plane, we took off into mostly clear skies. High fives, fist bumps and Lifesaver candy occupied the next few minutes. First jump went great with a solid debriefing and discussion afterwards.
I’ve done my other jumps with a combination of Robbie, Rick, Chuck and Joesph. All of them have been eager to teach, happy to answer questions, friendly, personable and very knowledgeable. Rick is my favorite instructor. Calm, confident, easy going, explains everything well, and a really nice guy.
So far I’ve been impressed with every part of my experiences at Skydive San Marcos. The staff, instructors, and other jumpers have all been friendly ad welcoming. And as a bigger guy (215 lbs), they been easily able to accommodate my size.
I’d absolutely recommend Skydive San Marcos for anyone wanting to do a tandem jump or learn to skydive themselves.

It’s a bird… no, it’s a plane… no, it’s Chapel jumping out of an Airplane!
Have you ever felt the need to conquer some serious fears? Like turning 30 for instance? It snuck up on me and for some reason it freaked me out. Then I had a good discussion with myself to put my big girl undies on and deal with it, so I did…
by Skydiving!
What a way to celebrate the big 3 – 0. I was excited all week, can you blame me? Then by Friday I was getting seriously nervous. I had sewing machine leg all day at work. (You know, the leg that goes up and down really fast when sitting. There’s always an annoying person at the movies on your aisle with that bad habit — most likely me.)
I hardly slept Friday night. Come on, excited and nervous… I was aobut to throw myself from a plane in less than 12 hours!
Got up at 6:30. I wore yoga pants, a tank top, and then a t-​shirt over that. A friend who jumps regularly said wear flexible clothes and pick a place that provides jumpsuits for an extra layer to buffer the wind (glad for that advice).
Ate a decent breakfast, which helps to not feel nausiated during the jump. (Although an older friend who jumps says that due to his age he now takes less-​drowsy dramamine to help that feeling as well. — He’s over 50.)
Got there at 8:30 to sign paperwork, didn’t read it all b/​c there are too many creative ways to die listed on that thing. I was conquering fears, not adding to them — sheesh!
Parents showed up, with our dog (pets aren’t allowed, so leave them at home, Dad stayed with her in the parking lot until right before I jumped). Two other friends showed up, hey, moral support and people who know how to work iPhones are needed!
At 9 I was fully suited up by James, had meet Christian who would be my tandem instructor/​jump buddy/​lifesaver, and been interviewed by Connie. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. Incredibly cool, very sweet, truly encouraging and positive, plus Christian made me practice in the room and in the plane to make sure I had it down.
I didn’t really breath a lot in the airplane on the ride up, scarriest freaked-​out 15 minutes of my life. I didn’t even want to talk and as is evident by this post — I can talk! So, that says something. Christian kept trying to get me to breath. Poor guy, he got stuck with a Nervous Nancy.
Favorite part — launching out of that plane!
Everyone should do this once in their life. I’m a complete happy ball of smiling cheesiness. Truly, sooooo happy at that moment. I wish we could have done a longer free fall!
Least favorite part — the last ¼ mile before landing.
For some reason I was really comfortable in the harness until that moment. All of the sudden the full effect of gravitation was really evident. I felt it before obviously, but for some reason right then I was not a fan.
My Dad has jumped at anther location before and had a rough experience, as in he said he wouldn’t do it again. After he watched me with this team at this location he’s considering doing it again! My Mom, who is even deathly afraid of heights and would never consider this before, saw how much fun I had and how happy I was — she now will consider it, but only if Christian is her jump buddy.
(I’m not lying — someone who has jumped since 1990 starting with the military has got to be fantastic, right? He was! Plus, the wind went in my mouth so fast I think I drooled — all I could think was «what the heck is on my face?» then realized it was spit, and freaked out it may have hit him. I’m still not sure if it did — awkward. Note: It is really hard to wipe your nose or mouth when falling that fast!)
If you pick any place, pick this place. The people are professional, the place is clean and well organized, has all of its certifications, everyone there has loads of experience, and it’s fun!

If you’re going to drop out of a plane at 10,000 feet, you better have some trust packed into your parachute. This place was safe, courteous, professional and fun from the start. This was my first jump, and I could not ask for a better place to do it. The DVD and photos (for an extra $ 99) were worth getting because they are high quality and well done.
Safe: My tandem partner, Joe, made me feel calm and excited. He was so patient and collected. He went over all procedures three times to ensure I was clear and confident.
Staff: Everyone from the phone reception to photographer was friendly and cheerful.
Location: Not hard to find; just 15 minutes outside San Marcos (watch your speed coming to and leaving the air field — lots of speeding tickets given out in the area), and about 45 minutes from Austin.
Fun: If you relax in knowing you’re in good hands, the energy at this place will make you feel that much more excited!

I have jumped 3 times from here and it was wonderful! The staff and instructors are friendly and fun. I like the fact that you do not have to take a long learning course beforehand.
My only complaints are the price continually goes up (i know gas prices are probably to blame), and also I have never jumped on time. I always seem to jump 2 – 3 hours AFTER my scheduled time, even when the weather is cooperating, which is kinda annoying.

What a great experience. Obviously focused on safety while making it fun! Recommend to anyone that enjoys a thrill. Thanks to Aaron for jumping with me and Brian for taking the pictures/​video. Already signed up for my next chance to jump out of a perfectly good plane.

Well this was my wife and I’s first skydive experience. First off, it was amazing! Something I will definitely do again. There was 3 of us in the jumping group. We were scheduled for 230 but arrived about a half hour early. The staff had no issue with us being early and checking us in. Right off the bat the desk clerks were friendly as helpful. We filled our paperwork out and got squared away for our manifest check in.
Our names were called relatively quick after that and we headed on in. We met our instructors who would be doing the tandem jump with us followed by our own individual videographer. All of the instructors were friendly, welcoming & treated like we’ve known them for years. They have us step by step instructions as we were suiting up and again before the jump. Once suited up everything went very smooth.
And then the jump came and it was one of the most amazing experiences! People definitely need to do this once in their life and if you’re in the area choose these guys! I would jump with them again!

Skydiving was not something to scratch off of my bucket list. Being airborne was a state of being that I was meant to exist in, yet somehow the Goddesses fucked up and made me human.
I have made every single person i have ever dated, ridiculously nervous, anxious and panicked about how ledges don’t scare me. When i’ve had a bad day, i break into some randomly chosen, really tall building — i find my way to the roof, walk to the very edge, swing my legs over and sit. I watch the sky, I watch the cars, I see people as ants and I’m reminded that whatever I’m feeling is so small, and will pass.
Way up high… it’s home to me.
So, around my birthday — there was a guy. And he tells me, «so, you’ll be getting your birthday gift in about 2 weeks.» i’m not a big gift person, so i was like… whatevs.
Present-​giving day arrives… and I’m nervous. There’s only ever been 2 guys in my life who have ever NAILED giving me a bday gift I actually enjoy. So, I’m nervous and I’m trying to practice my…“oh, this is amaaaaaaazing… thank you soooooo much” fake thank you in my head.
And then he turns into the driveway of Skydive San Marcos…(which is marked by a plane that has crashed nose first into the ground.“
From this point on… I enter a state of zen. For some reason… every time I know I’m about to achieve great heights… I get eerily tranquil. The process to actually jump takes a bit longer than our actual appointment — -but you know, I can appreciate that the folks responsible for me plummeting to the Earth while strapped to a stranger want to make sure that conditions are favorable before we do so. Thanks for that guys!
The time comes for us to jump and they’ve paired me with the cutest instructor in the building. (They were all cute and lovely.) His whole vibe, is friendly, goofy, energetic, funny, charming… and also clearly NOT single. Woe is me. :) Regardless though, I knew this man was helpless to stop what was going to inevitably happen. I was going to fall in love with him on the way down from this jump, and I knew it.
Gifting a woman who thinks she was incorrectly assigned the species of human over that of bird, with the opportunity to fly… yeah, falling in love was inevitable.
So, we slip into neon jumpsuits… walk to the plane (last one on jumps first, just FYI)…and we start making our way up to our jumping height. I swear, the higher and higher we went, the calmer and calmer I got. So, by the time my instructor strapped me in, and walked me to that door — I am almost certain that i’d reached nirvana.
This experience that lasts all of like, 7 minutes… felt like a 20 minute ride to me. I didn’t even realize that i was laughing and giggling until my instructor commented that I had one of the best giggles. And that’s when I became aware of the HUGE smile plastered to my face. i’m fairly certain I said a million inappropriate things to him about being in love… but we’re going to forget about that. He made some comment while pointing to the horizon where he asked me what i thought about his office — I’m not sure what came out of my mouth as a response was said in ‘human’ or in ‘squawks.’ And then… he said, «I think you found home.»
I think I did too. There was a reason I’d never gone skydiving before this. It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t the fear. It was that I KNEW I’d become addicted.
I’ve skydived twice more since then at other locations…
BUT, your first skydive place is sort of like your first lover… It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined it… BUT I’ll always remember it and nothing can ever touch it.
ps; the instructors here are ALL AMAZING! Please remember to tip. My guy got a $ 50 tip from me… and it was WELL earned!

I’m afraid of ledges, but not for the reason you would think one would be afraid of ledges. It’s not the vertigo feeling you get by looking over. It’s the dialogue within my brain that says, «Jump? Don’t Jump? Jump? Don’t Jump? Jump? Don’t Jump?» Freud was right when he wrote about the death wish. I just don’t like putting myself in that type of situation knowing that the one thing between me and flying off the edge is a nervous twitch.
So, one would naturally think I would be too scared to jump out of an airplane.
I had a friend who deserved an awesome and memorable birthday present. I told her I was taking her to San Marcos, but didn’t say what for. She was the kind of person who could sit on ledges and think nothing of it.
It took a while after we showed up to get us signed in and into our jump suits. But after we got into our suits, it took minutes to get 10,000 feet into the air. It was a tad surreal as the door came open for us to jump. Life seemed to speed up really quickly and there was no room for turning back. My friend said she could hear me as I duck walked to the edge and fell off the side, «FFFFUUUUUUU…»
Life slows down as soon as you start falling. It’s like your brain switches off for a few seconds and you fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, and fall… then reality kicks back in and you think, «Shouldn’t the parachute have opened by now… well it looks like I’m gonna die … …,» And then the chute opens and your harness cradles you by the balls and you float the rest of the way like a baby in a papoose.
It’s truly a great feeling and a good gift idea too.

Well, my review is in two parts, I’m reviewing the Skydive experience and the service.
The service, the support staff seems cold, distant and just not interested. My schedule appt is at 10AM, but because it was cloudy, I didn’t jump until 1:30PM. The staff seems annoyed with me keep checking with them and keeps reminding me that I can reschedule if I want. I’m not going to reschedule because 1) It is an hour drive 2) It was my first time and I’m going through it no matter what. So giving that experience, I give the staff services a 2 star.
Now, the JUMP. My instructor is AWESOME, he really relaxed me. Yes, he said some not so political correct jokes which I countered back, with him, I really feel like I’m going to a bar with an old buddy instead of testing out gravity. If you don’t like jokester, remember, for your first jump, do you want a straight face serious instructor or you want someone that makes your crack up? For my first jump on Saturday, I’m going with the jokester.
You can also buy your next jump for $ 99 after you jump, I bought mine and looking forward to it.

Thanks Aaron for an awesome time on my first jump!
My girlfriend surprised me and got us both tandem jumps for my birthday on a recent visit to Texas. This review is for the tandem jumps, and I highly recommend this place. The whole staff was very professional and made the whole experience fun while putting any worries you have about jumping out of a plane at 11,000 feet in the air and free falling at 120 mph behind you. I wasn’t nervous at all once I met the staff and talked with Aaron, my tandem jump instructor. The view was amazing, we couldn’t have picked a better day. I’m so glad I went, I’m already thinking about my next jump. My girlfriend was equally as thrilled with her jump and said that her instructor, Connie, was also amazing.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: I’m not a fan of heights. Not that I’m scared to fly in any sense, but standing on the edge of a roof is not my favorite place to be.
So it would seem odd that I’d be willing to stand at the open door of an airplane flying two miles above the earth. Yet it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and as I just checked off yet another birthday, I figured I’d better do this thing before I lose my nerve.
So off I went to Skydive San Marcos. Reserving a jump time online is easy, and I foolishly took 8 am Saturday thinking I’d beat the crowd. No chance of that. All they do is check people in for 90 minutes until they have their 18 jumpers, or close to it. So here’s a tip for you fellow newbies: Reserve a slot for 9 am… you’ll save yourself an hour of sitting at a table in the white-​walled café listening to jumpsuited regulars and staffers in wraparound sunglasses converse in skydivin’ jargon.
Though we arrived just before 8, we didn’t get called to gear up until 9:30. Prior to that, you’ll fill out a release form that basically amounts to four pages of legal warnings itemizing how you may be irreparably harmed or killed by what you’re about to do.
There’s a separate room where you slip on your jumpsuit and harness, and that’s where I met John, the instructor assigned to me. Understandably, instructors prefer smaller, lighter cargo. Their job, as John later told me, is to ensure we both survive the jump. And that’s easier to do when you’re toting a 68-​pound eighth grader instead of a not-​tiny man who is wearing what passes for an orange Elvis suit.
I’ll admit here to being nervous, but the process happens whether you’re ready for it or not, and after what seemed like just a few minutes in the plane as we climbed to 10,500 feet, there I was at the door. John barked a few orders at me and then suddenly we were falling. It’s something of a gift that the first few moments are spent concentrating on your form, bending back into the instructor, keeping your arms out and your feet back, and generally not panicking. I say it’s a gift because if you didn’t have these things to focus on, you’d notice the 33-​degree air, the fact that somewhere in the past few seconds you lost your hearing, that your teeth feel as if they’re frozen, and that you’re falling at 120 miles an hour.
I relaxed a bit during the freefall. Rob, the friendly videographer assigned to me (a DVD package is $ 99 extra and well worth it), shot some terrific footage from his helmet-​mounted camera and captured dozens of stills. He jumped out just a moment before us to record our exit, and at one point, he was directly below us, looking up and smiling madly. He also managed to get above us and next to us at various points. The resulting video is excellent.
In his 6,400 jumps, John’s primary chute had failed to open 15 times. Those struck me as pretty good odds, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near his 16^th tug at the safety chute. Let some other schmo have the unique adventure of hearing John pull on Ripcord One and then drop the f-​bomb when nothing happens.
Of course, our chute did open, and the chaos of freefall gave way to almost total silence. The float was pleasant overall, though John had us spinning quickly and often to steer us toward the drop zone, and that left me pretty woozy. Skydivers are like the kids who could last all day on those old playground carousel things that spun around caused everyone to throw up or worse.
John said we had a fast landing. As a first-​timer, you land on your butt, literally, and are dragged along the ground until you stop. It’s over quickly.
Would I do it again? Probably, if Total Woman or Niblet really wanted to do it and if they wanted me to go with them. The spin-​induced nausea took a few hours to subside, but as I look at the video Rob shot, I’m surprised at the amount of joy I can see in my face. And though the risk of death feels immediate and very real when you’re hurtling toward the ground, I know I’m far more likely to meet my demise just driving to Home Depot. Thing is, I can’t get to Home Depot in only four minutes — unless I go by parachute.