Where to dive in LA area?

I have a basic open water cert and about 35 dives. I'll be visiting LA on business the last week of April and was hoping to do a dive Saturday, the 28th.

Can anyone recommend a good diver operator and some interesting sites? I only have a 4/3 wetsuit and no reg or BCD so I'll need to rent equipment.

@dam,

Welcome in advance to So Cal. I'll suggest you look at the sticky posts at the top of this forum for a lot of good general information.

But to help you out- LA is a big place, so where will you be staying? How much are you willing to travel? There are a number of operators that will be running Saturday boats. There is also the option of diving Casino Point on Catalina Island. Cost will be about the same as a day boat from the mainland.

Unless you are very cold tolerant, you will need at least a 7mil for any So Cal diving right now. Temps will probably be in the mid-50's at any depth.

Where have you been diving before? Some of our dives are not the best for divers with no cold water/kelp experience. Others are fantastic for newer divers.

Let us know a bit more about your experience and expectations, and I am sure you will get plenty of advice. It would not surprise me to see you get some invites to join some locals on their dives.

Ditto everything Mike said above.

In order to answer your question at all, the most important thing for the people in this forum to know is: where have you done your 35 dives? The responses will be completely different if your dives have all been warm-water resort dives led by DMs, vs. shore dives in cold water doing your own navigation.

If you've never done beach diving, this would not be the time or place to start - cold water, occasional heavy surf, kelp, bad vis.

Anyway, tell us more about your diving experience and what you are looking for, and I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions.

Try California Diving News - Dive Trips - Search for dive boat options

learned to dive in Indonesia (Gili Islands). Diving close to shore but in calm conditions. Then I did a live aboard on the Great Barrier reef. Then a little diving in the Galapagos. Then a gap of a couple years, and 2 months ago I did 14 dives in Cozumel (just checked my log- I'm up to 39 now). This included two cave dives and many dives over 90'. All drift diving, but in calm conditions. It also included a couple of shore dives. There was a current, but you could swim against it and then drift back. I have 4 or 5 night dives, too. Oh yeah- I have a couple of dives in a big spring in New Mexico. That was 60 deg water and I was comfy in my 7mm suit, but wished I had a hood.

No cold water...no kelp. I want good vis and lots of wildlife.

Thanks so much for the help!

You want good vis, eh? Well then, you're coming to the wrong place! Compared to Cozumel, this is going to feel like black-out conditions on our BEST days.

I would encourage you to book a trip on one of our fabulous dive boats. Geoff already gave you a good link - here's another that compares all of the boats: California Dive Boats : The Official Page

You may also want to book a private DM. I know that in Coz you're talking all DM-led dives, where you don't have to worry about your own navigation. The thing you need to know about diving in CA is that, unlike so many other dive destinations, our boats do NOT send you off with a DM. The DMs generally don't even get in the water. You are on your own. Every diver is expected to bring their own gear including tanks and weights (some boats do offer gear rentals, most don't). You are expected to plan your own dive, dive your plan, and get yourself back to the boat. They will not buddy you up - you are expected to come with your own buddy (although most DMs on a boat will help you find someone on board to dive with, even if it's joining as a third person - my husband and I have been asked on more than one occasion to bring a solo diver with us). The divers on the boat don't all go off together - they do their own thing. You will get a good briefing from the onboard DM, but you will not get guided, unless you hire one to dive with you for the day.

Alternatively, you can connect up with someone on the forum here who is going out on a boat that day and is willing to dive with you.

You should also read up on diving in kelp. There are all kinds of resources on the web - just google "diving in kelp" and read some of those sites. Kelp is not dangerous if you know a few basics (e.g. it breaks if you bend it, not if you pull it, and NEVER twist around), but we have lost more than our share of tourists who came here having never dived in kelp or done any reading on it, and got caught up in it and didn't know how to get out.

If the coldest water you've dived in is 60F, you are going to be surprised when you hit the water. 60 is downright balmy around here, and the water temps won't hit that lofty height for several more months. The water temps will be in the 50's, possibly even the low 50's. 7mm wetsuit, hood, and gloves are absolute essentials.

Vis is not good around here, in comparison to some of the places you've been diving. 15 ft vis is considered a good day. Anything more than that is considered a GREAT day.

But diving around here IS very beautiful. There can be lots of life - but not the brilliant colors you're used to seeing in the tropical waters you've been diving in. No coral. Rocks, kelp, lots of fish. Beautiful nudis, if you take the time to look for them. Kelp forests are magical.

Hope this helps!

Leejnd:

You want good vis, eh? Well then, you're coming to the wrong place! ...Vis is not good around here, in comparison to some of the places you've been diving. 15 ft vis is considered a good day. Anything more than that is considered a GREAT day....

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Come on LeeAnne don't try to scare him off too much. 15 ft viz may be good on shore dives but I'd consider 15 ft viz on boat dives to Catalina or the other Channel Islands to be a really bad day. 25 - 35 ft is probably typical and we do get a number of 50 - 60 ft days. Last time out to Anacapa a few weeks ago we easily had 60 ft viz at Underwater Arch.

Yeah, maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Although I honestly can't remember the last time I saw anything near 60ft vis around here, even on a boat dive.

As I recall, Galapagos wasn't the best vis either. So maybe our new friend won't be too disappointed with the conditions around here.

7mm, hood, gloves, boots minimum
no one baby sits you
boat takes you there and back. little more.
you jump in, navigate on your own (with your buddy hopefully) with a very general summary of the terrain at the dive site, climb back onto the boat (no assistance with gear, well maybe, fins), then they take you back to the a mainland
it can be beautiful. just don't expect hand holding.

@dam:

I have a basic open water cert and about 35 dives. I'll be visiting LA on business the last week of April and was hoping to do a dive Saturday, the 28th.

Can anyone recommend a good diver operator and some interesting sites? I only have a 4/3 wetsuit and no reg or BCD so I'll need to rent equipment.

Click to expand...

If you have the money you can take a boat over to Catalina and go to the Avalon Dive Park (Casino Point) - the visibility there is usually pretty good, and the entry and exit is easy. They have gear for rent here and can fill your tanks too.

There are also dive charter boats that go over to the Island; I like the Sundiver Express.

If you don't mind doing a shore dive and can make it to Orange County Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach is a pretty easy dive (just follow the reef). There is a dive shop right up the street to rent gear !! Enjoy your visit to L.A.!!!
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