Best diving spot in Western Canada

[renpirate]

My wife and I are considering a trip to Western Canada. Where would you recommend we go for the best diving and at what time of the year? I did some searching and Naniamo looks pretty good.

Thanks!

 

[Hyper-limits]

My wife and I are considering a trip to Western Canada. Where would you recommend we go for the best diving and at what time of the year? I did some searching and Naniamo looks pretty good.

Thanks!

Nanaimo is definitely a great diving destination, you got some great wall dive. Also a lot of divers go there for the wrecks like the Cape Breton and Saskatchewan. The viz is usually better in the winter than the summer. You can't go wrong diving Nanaimo.

 

[SeanQ]

That depends on what sort of diving you are interested. For (artificial) wrecks, Nanaimo is the place to be. There is also good shore diving in Victoria. Swankenstien's website, www.victoriadiving.50megs.com is a good resource. I would also check out Shorediving.com and www.dive.bc.ca

If you're a little more adventurous, I recommend Port Hardy

 

[Diver0001]

My wife and I are considering a trip to Western Canada. Where would you recommend we go for the best diving and at what time of the year? I did some searching and Naniamo looks pretty good.

Thanks!

Top of my list is the Schelt inlet. Anywhere you get in the water along the whole inlet is a great dive. There are deep and shallow bits, wrecks, drift, lots of life, good viz....the list goes on.

R..

 

[renpirate]

I think the title I chose for the thread was a bit too broad. We would be flying into Vancouver and taking the ferry to Vancouver Island. The question would be where to go from there. We are trying to keep the expenses down and a package deal would be great. I think we would be looking for boat diving, since we wouldn't be bringing tanks and weights with us. Nanaimo looks good because of its easy access from the main airport using the ferry. We do shore dives all the time where we live, but I am thinking that will require a car to get to good spots and I don't like diving new, possibly challenging areas, without a guide the first time or two. So, let me refine my questions.

1. Which areas have diving the has good life, formations, walls etc?
2. Which dive ops would you recommend for that area?
3. What accommodations do you recommend? Under $120CN a night
3. We were thinking of going in April is this ok, or is November better?

Thanks again

 

[renpirate]

That depends on what sort of diving you are interested. For (artificial) wrecks, Nanaimo is the place to be. There is also good shore diving in Victoria. Swankenstien's website, www.victoriadiving.50megs.com is a good resource. I would also check out Shorediving.com and www.dive.bc.ca

If you're a little more adventurous, I recommend Port Hardy

Great resources, thanks!

 

[wedivebc]

I think the title I chose for the thread was a bit too broad. We would be flying into Vancouver and taking the ferry to Vancouver Island. The question would be where to go from there. We are trying to keep the expenses down and a package deal would be great. I think we would be looking for boat diving, since we wouldn't be bringing tanks and weights with us. Nanaimo looks good because of its easy access from the main airport using the ferry. We do shore dives all the time where we live, but I am thinking that will require a car to get to good spots and I don't like diving new, possibly challenging areas, without a guide the first time or two. So, let me refine my questions.

1. Which areas have diving the has good life, formations, walls etc?
2. Which dive ops would you recommend for that area?
3. What accommodations do you recommend? Under $120CN a night
3. We were thinking of going in April is this ok, or is November better?

Thanks again

Check this link http://www.divingbccanada.com/ and I think you will find a dive stay package for not much more than you have budgeted for hotel. These guys are great to deal with and Carolyne is an excellent cook. To my knowledge this is the only day boat on the Island that has a full home cooked meal included in the price.
Let me know when you are going because I often tag along when he has room on the boat.

 

[renpirate]

Check this link http://www.divingbccanada.com/ and I think you will find a dive stay package for not much more than you have budgeted for hotel. These guys are great to deal with and Carolyne is an excellent cook. To my knowledge this is the only day boat on the Island that has a full home cooked meal included in the price.
Let me know when you are going because I often tag along when he has room on the boat.

Thanks Dave! I will check this out and let you know. We always enjoy meeting fellow scubaboardians.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think the title I chose for the thread was a bit too broad. We would be flying into Vancouver and taking the ferry to Vancouver Island. The question would be where to go from there. We are trying to keep the expenses down and a package deal would be great. I think we would be looking for boat diving, since we wouldn't be bringing tanks and weights with us. Nanaimo looks good because of its easy access from the main airport using the ferry. We do shore dives all the time where we live, but I am thinking that will require a car to get to good spots and I don't like diving new, possibly challenging areas, without a guide the first time or two. So, let me refine my questions.

1. Which areas have diving the has good life, formations, walls etc?
2. Which dive ops would you recommend for that area?
3. What accommodations do you recommend? Under $120CN a night
3. We were thinking of going in April is this ok, or is November better?

Thanks again

Nanaimo is a good choice given what you describe. To answer your questions ...

1. Besides the wrecks (obvious choices), there are two dives I highly recommend. Snake Island Wall, and Jesse Island. The former is a deep wall with an overhang starting at about 85 fsw and going deeper than I care to explore. Life formations on the wall are outstanding, and you can blow off your shallow time by coming in close to the island and swimming with the resident harbor seals. Jesse Island is a diver's playground ... the attraction is as much the topography as the life you're likely to see there. You get walls, ledges, overhangs, and swim-throughs ... all on one dive. The marine life here is mostly inverterbrates ... and if you've a fan of nudibranchs (as I am), you're sure to have a satisfying time here. Another big advantage to Jesse Island is that if the prevailing winds are kicking up to the point where you can't dive the wrecks, that means the island will be sheltered and diveable.

2. For dive operations there are several good ones to choose from. Diver's Choice charters is the one I prefer. Ken and Carolyn run a fine operation, and the boat is spacious. Technically Speaking is a good choice for smaller groups ... but I think Cap'n Harry is only working part-time these days. And, of course, Ocean Explorers is the big operation in town. I like them ... my only complaint with these guys is that just about everyone on the staff smokes, and sometimes on the boat it gets to be a bother.

3. Accommodations ... I highly recommend The Buccaneer. It's close to the marinas, has easy access to restaurants (and the ferry if you come in at Departure Bay), is reasonably inexpensive, and has drying rooms for divers to hang their gear. This place is FOR divers.

4. April or November ... pretty much a wash. Either way you'll be off-season, which means better vis, lower crowds, and cheaper prices.

Have fun ... this is a great place to spend a few days diving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[AtomicWalrus]

If you really want to get the ultimate BC diving experience, head up to Port Hardy. Accomodation isn't expensive, and the diving is among the best in the world. I'd recommend reserving dive charters ahead of time, though - it's pretty popular. You'd also see some fantastic scenery. The last time I was up there, I saw 12 black bears along the side of the road, several deer, and many eagles.