Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Well hold on now, there are a lot of cold water locations that offer topside attractions in many locations for the non diving members of the family.Someone skirted around it a little but if the partner/family are not into diving they will enjoy the warm water destinations more. Most of them would prefer enjoying the sun and swimming on a tropical beach more than what is offered in the colder locations. Easier to get your dives in if the family is happy with the destination too.
Monterey, CA has a whole town of shops, wharfs, scenery, great restaurants, beaches.
Mendocino, CA has art galleries, restaurants, shops, boutiques, beaches, and unbelievable scenery.
Depending on where you leave from for the Channel islands, Santa Barbara, CA has a whole beach side town they call the Riviera of California, with tons to see and do and world class beaches.
Ventura, CA is OK topside for a day and also has beaches but things are broken apart geographically.
L.A. and San Diego are big metropolises with lots to do and see and both have beaches but geographical logistics can be a challenge (nothing is close).
I heard about Scapa Flow so I did a search and saw there is a very quaint town there and showed my wife who is about as non diving as it gets. She was all over it because she loves to explore and walk around old European villages with windy cobblestone streets better than laying out by a pool or on a beach at some isolated resort. But at the time we didn't have the money but now we do so we might go there.
I have a feeling Norway would be worth checking out too because she would love to go to Norway. I have relatives in Sweden so we could swing by there and see them too. I'm the type that would befriend someone somehow through SB or some other venue and set up some diving with locals at their favorite local spots. This to me would be preferable over going to the tropics and diving on a routine cattle boat.