state side diving

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

TyGuy

TyGuy

Contributor
Messages
109
Reaction score
0
Location
Connecticut
# of dives
50 - 99
being a college student i dont have the money to spend for a 7 night dive trip to bonaire, maldives, the galapagos or any other far away place ive read about in magazines. this summer and spring i do intend on spending my weekends diving around new england (and if im lucky) make a trip to north carolina. what i want to know is if theres any really great dive sites on the east coast that wont break the budget?
 
Check out the wreck diving off of Moorehead city in NC. Great, interesting diving.

It must be said though that sometimes a week of diving with hotels and rental cars in the US can be more expensive than someplace like Bonaire or Cozumel. The flight is more, but other costs are lower.

Good luck finding something you like.
 
I've hears good things about Coastal Scuba in Myrtle beach, SC--but recently read on their site that their scheduled charters don't start until April then go almost every day.
 
I don't know why people spend money going diving in Curacao or whatever. US diving is just as exotic as anywhere else in the world.
 
I don't know about North or South Carolina diving but if you take Southwest (no charge for baggage) down to Lauderdale out of NY there's all kinds of diving around there, cheap cars to rent at the airport and some cheap motels to stay in. If you don't want to rent a car you can toke a cab to a motel within walking distance to a dive shop. Usually about fifty bucks for two dive trips if you reserve for three days. If you want to go further down to the Keys it's only a hour and a half drive to Largo. Florida is actually cheap for diving if you look around and don't need the five star stuff.
 
Garrobo:
I don't know about North or South Carolina diving but if you take Southwest (no charge for baggage) down to Lauderdale out of NY there's all kinds of diving around there, cheap cars to rent at the airport and some cheap motels to stay in. If you don't want to rent a car you can toke a cab to a motel within walking distance to a dive shop. Usually about fifty bucks for two dive trips if you reserve for three days. If you want to go further down to the Keys it's only a hour and a half drive to Largo. Florida is actually cheap for diving if you look around and don't need the five star stuff.
Click to expand...

True. I think the absolutely cheapest way to do this kind of trip is to use Priceline to get a hotel in FLL and then take the city bus (almost as quick as a cab) to your hotel on the waterfront. You can also use the bus between your hotel and dive shop if it's farther than you want to walk. I did this and would then rent a car just on my last day to bum around the Miami area.
 
you live in CT so you have LI Sound and Rhode Island..Neither will have the visibility you can get in the islands,but both can give you a lot of intense experience.Shore diving available in Rhode Island so all it costs you is gas ,air fill and maybe a campsite to keep expenses low.
To go to North Carolina and get in some diving can be as expensive or more than a trip to Bonaire.If you figure in the costs to get to NC and then a hotel and diving on a per dive basis it can costs you $1,700. to get in a week of diving there.That is only IF you do not get blown out by the weather and get to dive a 2 dive boat charter for 7 days.That gives you 14 dives at a cost of $121. per dive..Go to Bonaire for as little as $1,400. at a location like Liz's at GRI and dive 4 or 5 times a day.Over 7 days that costs $40.-$50. per dive..Spend a little more,as we are with a group in April, to be on the water and on a per dive basis it can come out to $48.-$60. per dive.
 
Or. a little closer to home, there are lots of wrecks to be dived off NJ & Long Island or head north to the St. Lawrence / Lake Ontario.

Here's an interesting link http://njscuba.net/sites/index.html
 
Last edited:
I've ehard wonderful things about North Carolina, but I also suggest the Thousand Islands. The temperatures in the summer are warmer than diving off NJ/NY, and you're pretty much guaranteed better visibility, too. See Thousand Islands Dive Tours to give you a taste of what's available there.

There's some great diving in Florida, too. I've had some great dives off Ft. Lauderdale, but the Florida Keys, especially Key Largo, is wonderful. Not a lot of apres-diving activity, though.
 
Last edited:
TyGuy:
being a college student i dont have the money to spend for a 7 night dive trip to bonaire, maldives, the galapagos or any other far away place ive read about in magazines. this summer and spring i do intend on spending my weekends diving around new england (and if im lucky) make a trip to north carolina. what i want to know is if theres any really great dive sites on the east coast that wont break the budget?
Click to expand...

The "east coast" kinda extends from Dry Tortuga, Florida to the Canadian border with Maine. Could you be more specific?

N
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RealDiver81
Cost of dives in Fiji and advice – is it really worth it?
2
Replies
11
Views
2,393
mikeisthesquid
M
Collin O'Brien
Question BAJA in MAY 2024 (NEED ADVICE)
Replies
1
Views
458
Manuel Sam
M
G
Dive Computer advice please
12 13 14
Replies
134
Views
7,781
OMyMyOHellYes
OMyMyOHellYes
TabeaK
Which ops do daily boat diving these days?
2
Replies
11
Views
900
TabeaK
TabeaK
DivingChipmunk
Late December Diving Destination: Palau, Solomon, Philippines?
2
Replies
16
Views
1,933
Doc Harry
Doc Harry

Back
Top Bottom