Catalina or San Diego?

[cid90]

My dive buddy and I are heading to L.A. for a convention in November. We are going to try to hold one or two days out for diving. Should I stick to the L.A. area and dive Catalina or should we take the drive to San Diego. I am open to any other recommendations also.
If you have a favorite dive operation please advise also.
Thanks!:mean:
NOTE: I am AOW but my buddy just got his C card. However he has solid skills and taken Stress and Rescue course.

 

[lragsac]

Catalina gets my vote. Don't bother driving to San Diego, unless you really want to dive a wreck (say, the Yukon). Viz is generally better at Catalina and water temps tend to be a bit warmer at depth. And, if you've never been to the island, it's worth seeing, as it's quite beautiful.

 

[Dryglove]

lragsac once bubbled...
Catalina gets my vote. Don't bother driving to San Diego, unless you really want to dive a wreck (say, the Yukon). Viz is generally better at Catalina and water temps tend to be a bit warmer at depth. And, if you've never been to the island, it's worth seeing, as it's quite beautiful.

I'll second that

 

[cid90]

Thanks for the feedback. I have never been to Cali.

Any dive operator recommendations?

 

[kelpmermaid]

be based on the mainland, or were you going to spend time on the island itself? You could take boats from the mainland or get a transportation/dive/hotel package from either Catalina Scuba Luv or Catalina Divers Supply - the two dive shops in Avalon.

 

[scubasean]

I'm diving Catalina the first week in July....Scuba Luv operates the boat I'll be on....

I've never dived there and really hope it meets my grand expectations!

 

[Birdman]

to see the possibilities for boats check out:
http://CaliforniaDiveBoats.com/

Which boat is best is hard to say since no small part of the equation is who is doing the chartering, IMO.

Some suggestions:
Great Escape
Sand Dollar (has nitrox)
Sun Diver
Bottom Scratcher

 

[drbill]

Living on the island I'd have to vote for Catalina (even though conditions haven't been the greatest the past few weeks).

Water is warmer and clearer than San Diego which I've never dived but have buddies from there. In fact I noted that occasional buddy lragsac from San Diego voted in favor of "my" island above.

I should add that I'm so spoiled by the diving out here that I haven't done a dive on the mainland coast since Laguna Beach in 1969.

Dr. Bill

 

[lragsac]

drbill once bubbled...
Living on the island I'd have to vote for Catalina (even though conditions haven't been the greatest the past few weeks).

Water is warmer and clearer than San Diego which I've never dived but have buddies from there. In fact I noted that occasional buddy lragsac from San Diego voted in favor of "my" island above.

Dr. Bill

Really, Dr. Bill, you ought to get out more. Just because I think Catalina is great, doesn't mean SD has nothing to offer. As your occasional dive buddy, I think you oughta come dive my neck of the woods one of these days.

 

[Arnaud]

If you have 2 full days, you may want to get on a liveaboard. It would give you a chance to see more than one island.