British Columbia, September 2015

[Kokeldil]

Hey guys,

I am planning to go to BC in September (1st two weeks of September to be exact) and it is going to be the Vancouver / Vancouver Island area - but this is actually all I know ....
Can someone help me to make a choice? Where should I go?

Needs:
- not just diving, but diving should be possible somewhere near, preferrably a larger dive shop so there´s a chance of being flexible as in: they´re going to go dive each and every day anyway, so I can easily choose at which days I join in and at which I let it be
- the possibility to go White water Rafting should be within reach (3-4 hours by car would be okay still)

Can someone tell me which place exactly I am looking for?
Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany.

 

[Slamfire]

This is regarding Vancouver, not Vancouver Island. I'm not sure about the diving each and every day but the closest dive shop to the most popular dives will be Edge Diving in North Vancouver: The Edge Diving Centre | PADI 5 Star Scuba Diving Centre. There are several other dive shops that you could also consider. I know there is white water rafting in Chilliwack River, less than 2hrs east of edge diving. In not very familiar with white water rafting, so there's a possibility there could be something closer heading north towards Squamish or Whistler.

 

[decompression]

Guten tag! You will be torn between good diving (Vancouver Island) and white water rafting (Vancouver based). There are amazing shore dives all around Victoria and Nanaimo as well as some great charter wreck dives. There are only 2 shore dives from Vancouver (white cliff and porteau cove.). You could do a day trip to either Victoria or Vancouver as the ferry is 2 hrs and sail almost every hour. The dive shops I recommend are frank whites in Victoria and ocean quest in Vancouver. Excellent shops and can provide you with tons of info.


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[Slamfire]

There are only 2 shore dives from Vancouver (white cliff and porteau cove.)...

I think a visit to our lower mainland shores is in order so that we can correct your mistaken impression that there are only 2 shore dives here. Shorediving dot com lists 25 shore dives for Vancouver Island and 18 for the Lower Mainland (16 if you take away the Zebalous and the Malahat). And that is not including several more that I can still think of like Oliver's Landing, Furry Creek golf course, The Wreck of the Ready, Buntzen lake, Britannia Pipe, several in Cultus Lake (this one is just by the white water rafting), etc.

In short, there are many, many more than just 2 shore dives in Vancouver.

 

[decompression]

I think a visit to our lower mainland shores is in order so that we can correct your mistaken impression that there are only 2 shore dives here. Shorediving dot com lists 25 shore dives for Vancouver Island and 18 for the Lower Mainland (16 if you take away the Zebalous and the Malahat). And that is not including several more that I can still think of like Oliver's Landing, Furry Creek golf course, The Wreck of the Ready, Buntzen lake, Britannia Pipe, several in Cultus Lake (this one is just by the white water rafting), etc.

In short, there are many, many more than just 2 shore dives in Vancouver.

No insult meant, yes, there are more, the 2 most often talked about are white cliff and porteau. They are also the only ones I've dove. Are they worth a trip from Germany?


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[Slamfire]

No insult taken. Just saying that next time you're around our neighborhood, let us know so that we can take you some place other than Whytecliff or Porteau. If you like wrecks, I can recommend a dive to Coast Guard Cutter Ready. You can do three fairly shallow wrecks in one dive -- all of them real wrecks, not artificial reefs.

Kokeldil, IMO, visibility is generally better in the Island. That said, September is usually a month of good visibility in the lower mainland. If you are open to boat dives I would recommend a bioherm dive. It is a unique environment that was previously thought extinct a long, long time ago.

 

[Darnold9999]

+1 for decompression's comments. Vancouver Island diving is significantly better than Vancouver diving. Lived and dove in both places. Vis in September is a bit of a crap shoot. Could be excellent could be awful. You are just on the edge - October/November is usually better. Vancouver Island usually is a bit better on the vis side than Vancouver. However I don't believe there is any white water rafting anywhere on the Island while there are several options within your time limit on the mainland. Edge is a good shop, Ocean Quest was my favourite when I was in Vancouver. I don't think you are going to find a dive shop that does daily dives around here. Mostly weekends and sometimes late afternoon and night dives. You might look at Ogden Point dive in Victoria. With enough tourists around they may be doing daily dives during the summer and into fall on the breakwater.

Post here and check with the local shops a little closer to your visit and you are likely to find someone willing to take you out.