Diving Anchorage, Alaska

Perusing a number of threads here, I see a number of posts asking about diving in/around Anchorage by people who are passing through. For my own purposes, I worked up a little chart to indicate the costs of diving in Whittier - I thought I would post it here in case it is useful to anyone. Use or lose as you see fit.

The cheapest, most simple thing to do is to dive in nearby Whittier, at a place called "Smitty's Cove". It's about 65 miles from Anchorage and requires a drive through the Whittier Tunnel. For more info about diving there, read this article.

Overall cost information is attached in the charts, for 2-tank and 3-tank diving. It assumes splitting fixed costs with a buddy, that you're not renting a car, you have no extraordinary expenses, etc. The most variable part is the cost of a room, which can vary wildly, depending on what time of year you go. It's a good estimate anyway. What it indicates is that if you own your own gear, you can get a cheaper cost per dive by going just for a day. However, if you have to rent a full set of gear, you get a cheaper cost per dive by staying for the weekend (even if your overall costs are higher).

Of course, you can save money by traveling back and forth every day - but then it's not really a "weekend away" as much as it is two seperate dive days that happen to be on the same weekend.

You can of course also lower your "cost per dive" by making a third dive. It's only another $10 per day in expense for a rental tank, but can have a significant effect on the cost per dive.

Why rent a hotel room. Whittier is only 1 hour from Anchorage. I have easilly done two days of diving and drive back in the evenings to spend the night at home.

Thanks. Someday I'd like to dive Whittier.

akdeepdiver:

Why rent a hotel room. Whittier is only 1 hour from Anchorage. I have easilly done two days of diving and drive back in the evenings to spend the night at home.

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Sure, that's one approach. You can certainly save a little money that way. Using the figures I quoted, on a per person basis (assuming a 2-way split), that's $20 in cost, whereas just staying there is another $30 more. For that little, a lot of people would rather avoid having to make an extra drive back and forth. Personally, I HATE driving the Seward Highway in the winter. It's full of ice, snow, and people who can't drive. If I can avoid an extra trip, I'm all over it

FWIW, whenever we have done a weekend of diving in Whittier, we have always just stayed the night to aviod hassle and to get a little more sleep the next morning. Plus, it lends to the feeling of "getting out of town for the weekend". If you come back Saturday night and go back to Whittier on Sunday, you lose that effect.

But OK, point taken. I've modified the expense chart to include this option. For the gear owners, it's just like any two random days. Nothing special about the fact that they are together. For the gear renter, there is some cost savings over making dives on two separated days.

Nice summary. I am sure those who ask about this information will find this very useful.

Just to add: One of the LDS's in Anchorage, Dive Alaska regularly schedules trips down to Whittier with transportation. Currently, I think Scott charges $35.00 for their van shuttle to the site. Just check their website for their upcoming events or schedules.

That's true. But that is WAY more expensive than driving down yourself - esp. if you split the cost with your dive buddy. For two people in the van, it's $35 each. Two people splitting the driving costs, it's more like $25 each - plus you're in complete control over your coming and going. IMHO, the cost of the van would have to be more like $10, MAYBE 15, to make it worth it.

NudeDiver:

That's true. But that is WAY more expensive than driving down yourself - esp. if you split the cost with your dive buddy. For two people in the van, it's $35 each. Two people splitting the driving costs, it's more like $25 each - plus you're in complete control over your coming and going. IMHO, the cost of the van would have to be more like $10, MAYBE 15, to make it worth it.

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You do make a good point... hehehe... In the middle of winter, I just hate driving anywhere. My car just isn't made for it, and well...i'm a sunny californian at heart, so driving anywhere in snow or ice when I don't have to is kinda stressful for me.

Not to mention, when the roads are clear, if you don't watch your speedometer, you'll get dinged pretty hard for speeding due to the drive to Whittier is mostly in that safety corridor. I got nailed for $305 ticket doing maybe 15 or 20 mph over a couple summers ago on a mtn biking trip to the Russian River Trail....hehehe so I try not to drive too much through that area anymore.

Bacstar:

You do make a good point... hehehe... In the middle of winter, I just hate driving anywhere. My car just isn't made for it

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I hate it too - esp. on that road - but my vehicle is definitely made for it at least.

Not to mention, when the roads are clear, if you don't watch your speedometer, you'll get dinged pretty hard for speeding due to the drive to Whittier is mostly in that safety corridor.

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Cruise control....

Oh my GOD the viz in Whittier was so good today!!! I think it is the best I have ever seen in Whittier. It was also pretty cold. When my face hit that water - whooooooo, baby!!! Did see a seal though - first time I saw anything "big" in Whittier