Best Dive Destination For Wreck, Cave and Deep Tech Diving

[ScubaWithTurk]

I am searching around the world for the best dive locations to do wreck, cave and deep tech dives. I am not cave trained but it has been calling me lately and I now know I will get full cave. I have always had the lust for rust so wrecks are my thing and deep diving is what I have been focused on as far as personal and professional development.

So I ask you oh wise ones of the Scubaboard, what spots in the world (preferably not in the U.S) match these criteria and what dive centers do you recommend in those areas? FYI, I have already looked into Gozo.

 

[Marie13]

Great Lakes.

Presque Isle, MI and Harbor Beach, MI on Lake Huron. You can dive the Daniel J. Morrell wreck that went down in 1966. It’s in two halves, perhaps five miles apart. The stern kept going after the bow sank. The
Morrell is off Harbor Beach.

The wooden schooner Cornelia B. Windiate is off Presque Isle. She sank in 1875. She sits 200ft deep and her masts are still standing.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Great Lakes.

Presque Isle, MI and Harbor Beach, MI on Lake Huron. You can dive the Daniel J. Morrell wreck that went down in 1966. It’s in two halves, perhaps five miles apart. The stern kept going after the bow sank. The
Morrell is off Harbor Beach.

The wooden schooner Cornelia B. Windiate is off Presque Isle. She sank in 1875. She sits 200ft deep and her masts are still standing.

Diving the wrecks of the Great Lakes is on the list for sure but I am really looking for a spot where all three dive types can be done and a place I can call home for a few years. Also, preferably not in the states as I am in my "world travel" mode.

 

[Marie13]

Sorry. Just saw the non-US stipulation. Your loss.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Sorry. Just saw the non-US stipulation. Your loss.

No, I appreciate it and I WILL be diving the Great Lakes. There are far too many wrecks there that intrigue me.

 

[bamafan]

Maybe the Philippines? As far as caves go Mexico is hard to beat. Great deep diving too but limited wreck diving. For wreck diving I would say Truk or Bikini Atoll if you have the $$$. I would look.at Tulum / Playa or Cozumel and travel for my wreck diving. The dive training in that area is world class. Either Protec, Zero Gravity or the Go Sidemount group are all excellent.

 

[ReadyTo Dive]

Maybe the Philippines? As far as caves go Mexico is hard to beat. Great deep diving too but limited wreck diving. For wreck diving I would say Truk or Bikini Atoll if you have the $$$. I would look.at Tulum / Playa or Cozumel and travel for my wreck diving. The dive training in that area is world class. Either Protec, Zero Gravity or the Go Sidemount group are all excellent.

Agreed. If it were me:

Protec in Tulum (or Natalie at Under the Jungle) for caves no question. I’d spend likely 2 months here then:

Truk for the wrecks. I’d spend as long as my $ would allow here - If you’re buying then I’m flying!

Best of luck to you!

 

[kensuf]

If you want to be a well rounded cave diver, do half of your training in Mexico and the other half in Florida. There are nuances in both, such as navigation in Mexico and flow in Florida, that you will not find anywhere else.

Yeah, I saw the no-US thing, but I still stand by this.

 

[CptTightPants21]

The only place I know of that combines cave diving, wreck diving, and deep diving all in one flight destination would be Florida. North Florida for caves, then a depending on if you want Ft. Lauderdale or Key Largo, a 4-6 hour drive to South Florida.

There are lots of destinations that have deep and cave or deep and wreck, but lack any decent diving for the third requirement.

 

[bamafan]

If you want to be a well rounded cave diver, do half of your training in Mexico and the other half in Florida. There are nuances in both, such as navigation in Mexico and flow in Florida, that you will not find anywhere else.

Yeah, I saw the no-US thing, but I still stand by this.

If you are training in sidemount I would highly discourage going to Florida. There are only a couple of sidemount instructors in Florida that I would recommend. In Mexico there are numerous ones. The divers I have dived with over the years who were trained by Protec or the Go Sidemount group ( Bogaerts, HP, Natalie etc.)blew away the Florida divers I have met with similar training and experience. Honestly just hire a guide for a dive or 2 in a high flow cave and you can figure it out. Just watch water run down a ditch and picture that as a cave. It isn't complicated. Now if in bm the GUE crowd are good divers in Florida. With the other agencies it is hit or miss.