Intro Dive Recommendations?

[McPhreak]

Hello all,

I will be in San Diego in 2 weeks and would like to introduce my girlfriend to scuba diving. Does anyone have any recommendations for shops in the San Diego area that offer intro dives for the non-certified? The only one I can find on the net is Seaclypse and they don't seem to be responding to my emails.

Thanks in advance.

 

[McPhreak]

anyone?

 

[JMdiver]

You can try Sport Chalet they have Discover Scuba or something like that.

Happy Diving
John

 

[touf]

Try scuba san diego. www.scubasandiego.com
Mo affiliation.

 

[McPhreak]

thanks for the recommendations guys. If anyone else has any more, please keep them coming.

 

[scottfiji]

I really think you should go Catalina island for a day or night. many shops there do intro dives, and she will enjoy the dives much more than in san diego.

don't get me wrong, san diego diving is nice, but for an intro-dive, catalina is by far the better choice.

you can take a ferry out of dana point, which is about an hour drive.

scott

 

[LAJim]

Beach dives can have pretty bad visibility and other factors such as a surge, surf, and surface swim that can be stressors for a first-time diver. I would try to use the Marine Park at Casino Point Avalon Catalina in a discover scuba run by one of the two dive shops in Avalon to show off the potential of scuba in a high-viz environment with abundant fish and kelp to swim past.

Jim

 

[Red Vette]

I agree with Jim. You can't beat the Dive Park for a great beach dive (avoid the summer weekend if you can).

 

[JMdiver]

I didn't even think of the park at Catalina that's a great idea. I've heard the vis has been pretty good lately.

Happy Diving
John

 

[McPhreak]

Thanks for all the responses!

Unfortunately, Catalina isn't a viable option for me right now. I don't have enough time to travel there, and need to stick to the San Diego area. The next time I'm in the area, I will definitely take her there though.

For now, I will contact Scuba San Diego and book a intro dive with them. My girlfriend is an excellent swimmer (did competitive swimming in high school and synchro swimming in college) and loves to surf so hopefully the conditions don't freak her out. Thanks again for the recs.