Catalina Island on a budget?

[Smit]

Hi all

I may be heading to California in mid september for a business trip and if that happens I'm going to leave a few days early and try to catch a diving trip, probably on Catalina Island. I've heard that's a good dive location, with great visibility.

Can anybody provide any advice on any dive providers, hotels, etc.?

I'm traveling alone, unfortunately, and don't require much in the way of lodging.

I'm going to get qualified for my advanced open water next weekend so I'm really getting pumped up for this trip!

Also, if anybody with experience can point me to another dive site that in the vicinity of Laguna Beach that is just about as good as Catalina I'd be happy to investigate that also!

TIA for any input!

 

[merxlin]

Welcome to :sblogo: You might start here Catalina Island Sticky and I've moved you post into our local forum for Southern California Divers So Cal as you would get more specific feedback from the local divers.

Catalina is a great place to dive. Depending on when in September you are coming, on a budget may not be possible as right after labor Day there are consecutive weekend events (Jazz Festival etc). Is is possible you can dive midweek? That will get you the greatest chance of discounted lodging.

Check out the sticky and I am sure more locals will chime in here. You may even get offers from them to dive with you as well.

 

[ligersandtions]

Unfortunately, staying on Catalina is not cheap. And, like merxlin mentioned, with Labor Day and other weekend events, it will likely be less cheap than normal (and also likely require at least two nights stay).

Something to consider might be to stay on the main land and do a day trip to the dive park one day, and then hit up a charter the next day (possibly the Northern Channel Islands as they're definitely a different "flavor" of socal diving than Catalina). Or maybe you'll luck out and be in town on a weekend when one of the local dive operators is running a two day charter and then you can skip the hotel altogether.

Just a couple other ideas for you to toss around. Diving socal is definitely worth it, so hopefully you can find something that works for you!

 

[Smit]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I guess a better title for this thread might have been "Best value for your diving dollar in Southern California."

I know I'm going to be spending some dollars when diving Catalina Island. And since I'm coming from Kansas I want to get into a high quality dive.

 

[Rainer]

"Best value for your diving dollar in Southern California." = Spectre (dive boat) or Catalina Underwater Park (not staying the night)*

*Assuming you want easy, beautiful diving. For true value, shore diving on the mainland can't be beat. It's what the locals do for most dives. That said, the Channel Islands offer consistently better diving (more life, better vis).

 

[ligersandtions]

"Best value for your diving dollar in Southern California." = Spectre (dive boat) or Catalina Underwater Park (not staying the night)*

*Assuming you want easy, beautiful diving. For true value, shore diving on the mainland can't be beat. It's what the locals do for most dives. That said, the Channel Islands offer consistently better diving (more life, better vis).

More life is debatable

You may be more likely to see more life diving the Channel Islands than local shore diving simply because the visibility will be better. But the abundance of life in PV is tough to beat!

That said, I'd definitely check out the Spectre ($120 for four Anacapa / Santa Cruz dives plus fills and food).

 

[Rainer]

More life is debatable

I'll await your retraction late Sunday.

 

[Codyjp]

I'll await your retraction late Sunday.

:rofl:

 

[Ashmai]

I believe its about 60'ish bucks round trip to get to Catalina from Long Beach, look at 50'ish for rentals, and if you are staying near Casino Point there look at 120 (average, what I paid this time last year) a night for lodging.

I'm not sure if thinks is too much or more than you were thinking, but for the diving experience you get in Catalina, the 220 bucks or so it takes to make it happen is soooooo worth it...

If you are thinking a 3 tank boat dive, look around $125 to do that instead of Casino Point.

I dove with ScubaLuv 3 times, and really love those guys...

 

[liuk3]

I actually think that hitting a dive boat you can sleep on the night before is the best value. These would include the Peace, Spectre, and Sundiver. For one price, you can sleep on the boat the night before, air fills, dives, and have meals included for the day of diving.

While the diving at the Casino Point dive park on Catalina Island is nice as well, it's become expensive in my opinion to do. You have to pay for parking the whole day, ferry ride to get there, meals and drinks for the day, taxi (potentially), air fills, as well as all the work to haul all your gear out there. The expenses seem to add up whenever I dive the park.

Dive boats just seem easier logistically and better value if you only have a limited time in the area to dive the best conditions you can find. If you can manage to get on a dive boat during the weekday, it's even cheaper. I used to just take the day off from work and hop on a dive boat during the weekday since they were much cheaper than on the weekends.