diving near San Antonio

[mcf57]

I'm from the Atlanta area & am gonna possibly be in the San Antonio area in late July. This might be a long shot, but am looking to see if there is any diving that is relatively close by. I am certified with about 30-40 logged dives, will be solo (so will need a partner), & will also need to rent ALL my gear. Going there (Wed-Tues) with family for a weekend conference my wife is attending so will probably only be free during the week. I saw how this forum is titled "Texas Swamp divers", but was hoping to maybe get something clearer than a "swamp". I've dove quarries so that could be an option. Just trying to see what is in the area worth noting. Any suggestions?

 

[DandyDon]

You'll see the Comal river mentioned some in this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/texas-swamp-divers/409678-texas-dive-location-help-please.html but that's about all I can think of. I've got a few days planned there on the river, but only taking my snorkel gear.

San Antonio is a wonderful, old city with a lot of heritage and history if you can ignore the modern hype and dig it out. Have a good visit.

 

[electrix]

Lake Travis in Austin is where most of the diving is done, get in touch with Lake Travis Scuba and go out on the Giant Stride dive boat with them and you will have a good time. laketravisscuba.com

 

[halocline]

Other than the San Antonio river, (a true hazmat dive site) the closest places are the Comal (about 40 minutes from downtown) and Medina lake, about the same. The comal is pleasant enough, although avoid it on a weekend and the max depth is about 12 ft. Lake Travis is a good two hour drive and IMHO not really worth it. Others will certainly disagree...but they're mostly from Austin which is much closer to the lake. You'd be better off just driving an extra couple of hours and getting on a rig trip from Port Aransas or down to South Padre for the Texas Clipper. There's also Lake Amistad out west, it's a bit more of a drive but supposedly pretty nice. If you can manage leaving in the evening, coming back the next evening, I'd go for the clipper. Or, the really best option would be to blow off a whole weekend and go to the Flower Gardens.

The local dive shops are Dive World and Duggans. I'm sure you'll be able to rent from either, and they might even have some local trips going on during your stay so you could jump on one of those.

 

[driftwood]

Lake Travis in Austin is where most of the diving is done, get in touch with Lake Travis Scuba and go out on the Giant Stride dive boat with them and you will have a good time. laketravisscuba.com

Robert is a great guy, fantastic relationships with the dive shops in Austin. If you go that route, see if he can get your rental gear for you. Best guess is that it will be from Scubaland's lake store (quality operation with rental gear you can trust). The Comal River and Duggan Dives have already been mentioned. John's shop used to do "club dives" on the Comal. I would contact them to see if they still do the dives and if the date matches up with your schedule. Duggan runs another quality shop that you can put your trust in.

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

There's also Blue Lagoon in Huntsville. E of San Antonio a ways. It's a quarry and almost always has decent viz.
The Blue Lagoon - Huntsville, Texas