Diving in San Diego (or surrounding area)

The wife and I will be arriving in San Diego (or near) June 29, 2013. We're riding the bike out west and figured we'd try to get some bubble time while in the area. Both of us were recently SSI OW Certified and looking forward to getting more dive time and experience.

Hoping some folks could provide some suggested places we could get in a quick day dive, either boat or shore. Looking for a shop that could rent everything since we're traveling via bike we will not have our gear with us.

We're on vacation, so we can dive pretty much anywhere West Coast, however we'll most likely be in the Southern Cali and hope to find something nearby if possible that is not above our skill level.

Any insight and suggestions appreciated.
Thanks,
Kerry

Dive Ops & Rentals:
San Diego Divers | Sharing Your Passion For SCUBA Diving Tel. 858-458-1348
Unified Team Diving - Progressive Training & Equipment
san diego, scuba dive - Google Search

Dive Boats:
Marissa;
Humboldt (Waterhorse Charters);
Lois Ann

See near bottom of following link:
http://www.californiadiveboats.com/

Appreciate the reply, however I am looking for opinions of local outfits. I can google search, but want feedback from those that have used these outfits.

It would really help to know something about your dive experience, especially whether you have dove in cold water, with limited visibility and/ or kelp.


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Check out this dive group: Power Scuba (aka Scuba Diving in San Diego County) (La Jolla, CA) - Meetup or here Power Scuba . VERY active group and I am sure can help you find gear and buddies to dive with.

fisheater:

It would really help to know something about your dive experience, especially whether you have dove in cold water, with limited visibility and/ or kelp.


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Funny you mention cold and low visabilty. We certified in 62 degree water with less than 1' visabilty, at times 0 visability.

merxlin:

Check out this dive group: Power Scuba (aka Scuba Diving in San Diego County) (La Jolla, CA) - Meetup or here Power Scuba . VERY active group and I am sure can help you find gear and buddies to dive with.

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+1 on PowerScuba. At this point they don't have anything going on the weekend of June 29 according to their Calendar. However, you might keep an eye out as a new MeetUp can pop up at any time. For the time being - if you want to be proactive - you might want to 1) Sign up for the group then 2) go to their Message Board and post exactly what you've posted here and ask if anyone wants to meet up for a shore dive in the Member-led dive sub-forum (not now but closer to the time when you're coming otherwise...well...people sometimes have things come up that prevents them from diving). Make sure you explain your dive experience and why you might be looking for a dive buddy (from out of town and not familiar w. the dive sites). If someone wants to join you, make sure to get a cell phone number of the person as sometimes finding each other is the trickiest part. Almost all shore dives are at La Jolla Cove or La Jolla Shores (and its getting more and more crowded as summer approaches. Parking can be a major problem if you go at the wrong hours).

Regarding boat recommendations, there was a recent but not very robust thread HERE.

If you're up for it and can get here by June 27 and are willing to pony up the $600/person charge, the best dive boat in San Diego is going on a 3-day Southern Channel Islands trip. You'd be getting the best diving So Cal has to offer, and you wouldn't have to pay for lodging for 3 days.

Other than that, I'd say just check the calendars for Waterhorse, the Marissa, or the Lois Ann. Those are local day dive boats.

For shore diving: La Jolla Shores just north of San Diego. The Shores is a training site and there's lifeguards there. You should probably stay out of the canyon at your experience level. Easy beach entry.

Another option is La Jolla Cove. My buddy and I did one of our first 10 dives there alone years ago. You can get out into the Giant Kelp Forest from the Cove but it's a 400 yd. swim. You may want to hire a guide for that. Plus they know where the better stuff is. Vis at the Cove can range from poor to excellent - depends on the swell/surge. Often sea lions come out to play also. There's other sites in San Diego also - some details: Dive Sites

OEXpress rents gear in that area and does escorted diving also. Parking will be an issue at the Cove on weekends and later in the day most of the time. Although less so for the bike. There's also parking about a block up the hill in a garage in downtown La Jolla. The stairs just past it lead right down to the Cove. San Diego Dive Sites - OEXpress We've rented from them. Another option nearby is the Sport Chalet at University Town Center.

My suggestion for a dayboat would be find one that goes out to the Coronados Islands. It's shallow diving with lots of sea lions. Since you're on the bike one that rents/provides tanks on board. Humboldt, Lois Ann, Hydro Diver do. Lois Ann or Humboldt do day trips to the Coronados also - Hydro doesn't.

You can also reach the Kelp via boat off Point Loma. The standard practice in that area is the DM stays on the boat so if you want one you'll have to hire your own. Either way, the boat is going to stay clear of the kelp. It's pretty easy to get tangled in at the surface- if you do, just move slowly thru it, break it off as needed till you hit clear water.

Both Humboldt and Lois Ann rate their dive sites by skill level:

San Diego SCUBA Dive Sites
Lois Ann Dive Charters San Diego boat dives

This is why you dive the Kelp:

Appreciate all the great information. Now just need to pass along to the wife and let her pick who to roll the dice with. We'll definitely go with something shallow and fairly easy (for new divers).

Thanks again!!

I dive a day or two whenever I'm lucky enough to get to San Diego on business and have about 40 dives there. My favorite operator is Marissa San Diego Scuba Diving,San Diego Dive Boats,Dive Charters Home Page,San Diego California,san diego scuba diving boats,san diego boat dives,san diego scuba diving,san diego scuba diving charters,scuba diving san diego california. Waterhorse is also very good. I've not dived with Lois Ann but have heard good things about them. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these boats and all have their fans.

Enjoy San Diego!