Socal to Texas

[k374]

I am contemplating a move from Los Angeles to Austin, TX. I am just trying to see how it will affect my diving opportunities. If one would live in Austin then I am expecting Houston area to be the closest which is a 3hr drive from Austin. how is the diving around Houston and what is there to see? what are the water temps?

 

[Teller]

Hello fresh water!

 

[k374]

fresh water diving? Is there anything to see in fresh water? Sorry if it's a stupid question....

 

[NAM001]

I lost the post so i will try again.

here is a link for lake travis that is local to austin. Current LTTS Weather Readings water full is 680 ft above sea level. around lake travis is several pay entry parks 20 per hoead and air is available at some onf them like at windy point. I usually dive at dam and there is a park at mansfield dam or something like that. 20 per head for campng, no air, youare on your own. just no diving at around 0100 when they open the flood gates to make power at the dam wall face suctions. I take my own compressor to fill tanks cause it is a 5-10 mile drive to get a fill.
We have a lot of scuba parks in texas to dive as salt diving needs a boat to get to them. our gulf shelf exptends quite far out.. ie is southpadre you go 20 miles out to get to 130 ft water. more loval to houston area you have boats to flower gardens. 100 mi south of tx la state line and the stetson banks perhaps 60 east of free port. south perhaps 30 minutes of houston is mammoth lake. 55 acres of scuba lake disneyland you ewill have to google it. most of our lakes are spring fed. winter temps are high 50's and summer which is 6 months or so can be 85 or so. gulf vis at depth is probably 100>150+.

Congrats on plans for leaving CAL and coming to the USA.

I am contemplating a move from Los Angeles to Austin, TX. I am just trying to see how it will affect my diving opportunities. If one would live in Austin then I am expecting Houston area to be the closest which is a 3hr drive from Austin. how is the diving around Houston and what is there to see? what are the water temps?

 

[driftwood]

First, your trips to Cozumel just got easier since there is a direct flight (<3hrs) from AUS to CUN. A lot of us consider Coz to be local diving. American has a big hub at DFW and United has a hub at IAH. That puts most Carib destinations within reasonable reach.

Second, your best/closest saltwater dives are going to be at the Flower Gardens off the coast. There are some boats that go out to the oil rigs (not bad for spearfishing) but you get more bang for your buck at the FG.

Third, Lake Travis has already been mentioned and it is the best lake to practice deep/technical diving. Additional freshwater dives are the Comal and San Marcos Rivers. Both are within a hour of Austin.

Fourth, with a bit of luck and a prayer, the Diving for Science program at Spring Lake will be restarted this year. No admission fees and on a very bad day 50' vis and more fish than you can count. The biggest problem is that you have to get permission to dive and the lake is shallow (28' max). The biggest plus is that the temp is 72F year round.

There are other lakes/quarries open to divers but they don't offer much more than Lake Travis does given the travel time.

Here are some links that may help,

Best Deals on Flights, Air Tickets, and Travel Offers | AirTran Airways
Fling Charters
Welcome to Lake Travis Scuba
Diving for Science : Aquarena Center : Texas State University

These are the dive shops in the area. I like Oak Hill Scuba (if you dive a lot, their dive club is one hell of a deal), but the other two are very good as well. Never liked the vibe at Dive World and it happens to be the furthest from where I live.

Welcome to Oak Hill SCUBA
Tom's Dive & Swim - Central Texas Source for Scuba Vacations, Gear and Lessons
Scubaland Adventures, Austin Texas Premier PADI Five Star Dive Shops & SCUBA Gear and Travel Headquarters

 

[Earl Grey]

Diving lakes around Houston is going to be about the same as Austin. As others mentioned the best part about being in Houston is the Gulf and IAH airport. The M/V Fling operates most of the year out of Freeport, TX and does trips to the Flower Gardens and Stetson Bank. There are local boat operators who will do day trips out of the Freeport area for rig diving. Both are good diving. Shore diving in/near Houston is non-existent as the water is brown/green from MS River and the channels.

 

[k374]

fantastic info driftwood.... is the flower garden banks usually by liveaboard or do they do 1 day trips as well?

Diving here in SoCal is good but it's cold water diving (low 60s water usually), I prefer warm water diving as I get cold really easy

 

[driftwood]

The Fling is a liveaboard. Leave Friday night and get back Sunday. Too far out for day trips. For our time and money, we go to Coz.

As an example, Tom's has a group trip to Coz that runs $1100 for five days with 6 dives (three of us are going in March). The diving is better, you have a better place to sleep, and while the food on the Fling is good, Coz has much better options. On a final note, you are a ferry ride and a hours drive from the cenotes.

Your best option for one day is with Robert at Lake Travis Scuba. There actually are some interesting places to dive in the lake. During the summer, there are large party boats that anchor around Starnes Island. Lot of good treasure dives for goodies dropped by the drunks. Both the Comal and San Marcos Rivers are spring fed and maintain an essentially constant temp in the low 70's. Between the two, Comal is the better dive. Drift diving and it works best with a group of two or more. You do not want to walk back to your car at the end of the dive.

 

[James R]

............

 

[Earl Grey]

There are some day trips out of Freeport (Captain Beard Charters and Ultra Dive come to mind) which will go to offshore platforms. These are long days, usually 8am-6pm and the small boat sizes can be uncomfortable for some divers. The good diving typically starts 35-40 miles out, though in the summer the blue water can come in much closer to the coast. I go out 2-3 times a year and really enjoy it, but then again Houston is a lot closer than Austin. The cost is usually around $250.