Monterey diving

[Randy g]

I am planning a trip back home to Nor Cal (Manteca) in the near future and was going to stay in Monterey for a couple of days. I was wondering who the best LDS is for rentals in Monterey? We will need a drysuit/thick wet suit, BP/W, tanks (big steels preferably)and 2 ponys, we will bring our reg sets. We are hitting the aquarium and want to do a shore dive or 2 before flying back to Virginia Beach via Las Vegas.

 

[fisheater]

There are now four shops in Monterey, itself.

Glenn's Aquarius II, Bamboo Reef, Aquarius Dive Shop and Monterey Bay Dive Company (Seven Seas Scuba - Monterey.)

They can be found through your friendly search engine.

I suggest you call them and reserve what you'll need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[aquaregia]

I've had great experiences at all of those four. Glenn's Aquarius II is right on the breakwater, so the convenience is hard to beat. Aquarius is on the way out of town, so it's not too bad. Bamboo Reef I like, but parking isn't great and it's way too close to Hula's, so I spend an extra $20 on cocktails after every dive. The guys at Monterey Bay Dive are extremely personable and helpful, but it's away from the main drag.

I usually do Aquarius II if I'm diving Breakwater, Bamboo Reef otherwise. Both of them bank 32% and charge by the cubic foot, which is important to me (I dive small tanks).

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Given what you want, let your fingers do the walking to make sure they have it.

 

[Randy g]

Thanks Aquaregia that's the kind of info I was looking for. I had planned on calling ahead to see if they have everything I need for my girl and I. I know not all shops are the same but it sounds like you guys are pretty lucky to have 4 good shops in the city. We are both really excited about being able to dive there.

 

[eelnoraa]

I doubt bp/w is available for rent in Monterey shops. If that is what you need to use, you should bring your own.

 

[ScubaVideo]

Also, if you need a DS, bring a cert with you. I'm not sure about the other shops, but Aquarius is not going to rent one without it. I'm not sure they will rent it at all as I think they just keep some on hand for classes. At least that is what the owner told both me and my roommate on two different occasions when we were looking to buy them. Since your coming from Manteca, you could come through the San Jose area and check out Any Water Sports. They sell BP/W and may even rent it. I know they have DS's for classes and customer tryouts but I don't think they rent them either.

You might just consider paying the extra baggage fees - might be a wash for cost of renting.

 

[eelnoraa]

I highly double Anywater Sport rents drysuits. Last time I asked, they don't offer a drysuit certification class. I also doubt any shops in SanJose area rents bp/w, but I can be wrong. Regardless, AWS is a good shop. I highly recommend it.

 

[mathauck0814]

We have rented tanks from Aquarius II in the past, but always brought the rest of our gear. I don't recall anything other than Cressi jacket BCs in their rental fleet.

 

[aquaregia]

How near future? I'm in Germany until October, but I could help out with a BP/W if I'm back. If 80s count as ponies, perhaps those too.