Galveston

[ffbsm85]

Me and my girlfriend are taking our OW class right now and I hope to get certified before Christmas because we are planning on visiting some family for Christmas and New Years in Houston. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me if there's any good diving spots close to Houston, Galveston, etc. I'm not sure what the water temp is like in late December-early January. Should I try to plan a few dives or is the water ganna be too cold??

 

[PacketSniffer]

The shore diving in Galveston is non-existent. Visibility ranges from -1 to 1'. Your best bet is to hop on a day trip out to the Gulf for a couple of rig dives IF the weather holds out. You can read my trip report that was posted today for an operator and example of what to expect.

You could also hit a lake or two. The closest to Galveston/Houston would be Twin Lakes. It's not bad and visbility should be precent decent (~20') since few classes will be going I would think. Check to make sure Twin Lakes will be open before you drive out. It will be cold (down to 55f possible). Unfortunately, you are just a bit too soon for the opening of Mammoth Lake dive park. It's going to be a really nice dive park from the sounds of it. Read about it here, here, and here. It's not set to open until some time next year.

A lot of us travel to other destinations for our dive fix. Houston doesn't offer much except for a good launch pad into the Gulf for liveaboards.