If you are coming here from Virginia, I would recommend neither Washington nor Oregon ... the very best Pacific Northwest diving is found off the coast of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy ... on the northeast coast of VI, offers what many believe to be some of the best cold water diving on the planet.
I agree, although Neah Bay and Cape Flattery (Northwesternmost point in the continental US, at the tip of Washington) are absolutely breathtaking for diving. It's very rough, and you need a good boat and captain to get you out to the best spots...There are a few nice charter companies that operate out that way that I trust and have used for several years, and we've been lucky to hit Dillon Rock and Tattoosh Island a few times.
There are some almost-as-good shore diving sites along the northern coast of the WA peninsula, too - Salt Creek County Park comes to mind, and I've even found some good stuff out at the Sekiu Jetty now and again, although it pales to what's offshore a bit. Do yourself a favor, and order Northwest Shore Dives (
Amazon.com: Northwest Shore Dives, Third Edition: Books: Stephen Fischnaller,Steve Fischnaller) and have a look for yourself as to what's available. It's very handy, although sometimes a little dated.
If you want truly first-class diving in this part of the world, you could always do a liveaboard with the Nautilus Explorer guys (
Nautilus Explorer Scuba Diving Liveaboard and destination adventures -) For what you get, they have unbelievably reasonable prices for their trips, and one of the nicest boats and crews you'll find anywhere. They're well set up for everyone from the AL80 splash-n-crash crowd to the serious rebreather expedition diving types, and you'll sample everything from Vancouver to Port Hardy and back along the Canadian coast. You'll get fat from the good food and always homemade baked goods, too!
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