2 weeks in Vancouver, where to dive?

[alaxias]

Hi, I will be in Vancouver from july 29th to august 12th. Any suggestion on where I should dive? Organized trip from local diving school would be perfect as I most likely won't have a diving buddy.

thanks!

 

[mikeyjoe]

Hi There,

There is decent shore diving to be had in the Vancouver area and a number of local shops that organize local dives - usually on the weekends.

The Sea Dragon is a dive boat that runs out of Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) and the boat dives here are a bit nicer.

The very best diving is to be found on the East Coast of Vancouver Island (Naniamo, Port Hardy - God's Pocket, Victoria). Easy enough to get to on the ferry if you have a vehicle and a number of active dive shops over there to help you out.

Beware - I dive dry all year, even in the summer, but most people are relatively comfy in a 7mm farmer john this time of year.

 

[cooldives]

Hey Alaxias,

We list some of British Columbia's best dive sites at Best Dive Sites - British Columbia

It's hard to recommend the best spot because it depends on your experience and your personal preferences.

There are loads of great dive buddies that visit this forum, so list where and when you would like to dive and see if the regulars can join you!

We'd love it if you could send a dive review to cooldives@shaw.ca after your trip too in order to help other divers such as yourself.

Have a great trip and dive safe!

 

[vjanelle]

Shops I've had dealings with:

IDC Dive Centre (Scuba Diving Vancouver | Scuba Equipment | Dive Community - International Diving Centre)
Ocean Quest Dive Centre (Ocean Quest Dive Centre - Dive Vancouver! Learn to Dive with Vancouver's most Accredited PADI Dive Centre!)
Edge Diving Centre (Edge Diving Centre)

IDC frequently does boat trips with the seadragon, they're awesome, as well as some planned dives during the week, but it gets really busy around there during the summer.

Ocean Quest and Edge both have fun dives in the morning of saturday and sunday (Ocean saturday, edge sunday... I think at 9am for both, call to check) where you meet up at the shop and everyone picks a place to go.

Victoria and Nanaimo have interesting dive sites too, but I haven't checked them out yet.