Question La Jolla vs Catalina

[turtlasim]

Hi,

We've been to Point Lobos in Monterey and enjoyed diving the kelp forests up there very much. As we're travelling South along the West coast we'd love to do a similar dive in Catalina or La Jolla.

We'd like to rent the equipment and probably do two shore dives ourselves. I also read that the visibility in La Jolla isn't comparable to the one you get at Catalina.

We're not sure if we should head to La Jolla or Catalina. Do you think it's worth paying the ferry (around $85 pp) just to get to Catalina or would we be able to get a similar diving experience in La Jolla?

Thank you for your help!

Simon

 

[GJC]

La Jolla Shores visibility is usually not that great and the dives involve a long swim to get deeper than 15 feet and see more than just sand. La Jolla Cove has less of a swim to see grass and some fish life, but it's still shallow unless you swim a long way out.

The Catalina Dive Park is literally steps away from where you can rent tanks, usually has pretty good visibility, drops off pretty fast from shore and has lots of kelp, sea bass and other critters to see.

Given the choice, I would pay for the ferry ride to Catalina and even consider staying at one of the hotels there for a night or 2.

 

[turtlasim]

La Jolla Shores visibility is usually not that great and the dives involve a long swim to get deeper than 15 feet and see more than just sand. La Jolla Cove has less of a swim to see grass and some fish life, but it's still shallow unless you swim a long way out.

The Catalina Dive Park is literally steps away from where you can rent tanks, usually has pretty good visibility, drops off pretty fast from shore and has lots of kelp, sea bass and other critters to see.

Given the choice, I would pay for the ferry ride to Catalina and even consider staying at one of the hotels there for a night or 2.

Hi GJC
Thank you very much for your help and opinion. It helped us deciding on going to Catalina
Have a great day!

 

[covediver]

If you want to maximize your likelihood of good vis and quality of the dive, given your short time horizon, I qould opt for the dive park at the Casino on Catalina. Gear is available just steps from the easy entry and exit point.

 

[Mrs. B]

Try and catch an incoming tide when you choose your dates

 

[Andrea1]

I was in Catalina a couple of years ago. Did just one dive - and this was very nice. We began going down some stairs, diving in you are immediately in the kelp, visibility was very good, we saw juvenile and adult Garibaldis and a small seal winding itself through the kelp. It was my only kelpdive and was fullfilling the expectations. Catalina was a nice place to be, we made a Jeeptour also to see the buffaloes.

 

[azstinger11]

As a local, go to Catalina. It has the best chance at giving you a great experience. If you have any questions about logistics or anything I’ll answer what I can

 

[fnfalman]

Go to Catalina and dive at Casino Point. For the first dive, take a right after descend from the stairs. Descend down to 40-ft, hug the reef and find Jacques Cousteau plaque then play in the kelp forest.

On second dive, take a left and play along the other reef.

On the third dive, see if you can find the sunken wreck.

If you stay overnight then squeeze in at least one night dive. Chances are you might just find the elusive Pacific torpedo ray - just don’t touch because it’ll shock the heck out of you.

 

[Greg Doyle]

As a local, go to Catalina. It has the best chance at giving you a great experience. If you have any questions about logistics or anything I’ll answer what I can

Hi there, jumping into the thread as I'll be down there tomorrow through next Saturday. We're shore diving La Jolla tomorrow and boat diving on Sunday. I'm on my own for the rest of the week. I've thought about heading out to Catalina on either Monday or Tuesday, can you catch a ferry or boat from San Diego? Any logistics you can share would be very helpful. Thx, Greg

 

[azstinger11]

Hi there, jumping into the thread as I'll be down there tomorrow through next Saturday. We're shore diving La Jolla tomorrow and boat diving on Sunday. I'm on my own for the rest of the week. I've thought about heading out to Catalina on either Monday or Tuesday, can you catch a ferry or boat from San Diego? Any logistics you can share would be very helpful. Thx, Greg

Hi Greg,

Nearest ferry to Avalon is from Dana Point, but the Long Beach ferry has more time slots available (I.e leaves earlier from Mainland, and has a later last boat back from Catalina).

You can reserve tanks/gear from Catalina Dive Supply and they will be right by the dive park. If you are bringing your own kit, you can either walk it or pay for a porter to haul it over. I’ve done both it’s a relatively short and flat walk but also nice to not deal with it. Porters will also usually store your gear at the end of the dive day for a reasonable fee so you can more easily grab a bite.

I normally use a rolling tool box type setup to transport gear on the ferry but whatever you have should work.

If possible try to time your dives so you don’t end at low tide. There can be a gap at the bottom of the stairs. It’s not a huge deal but it’s nicer when you swash onto the bottom platform.

Can’t think of anything else immediately but feel free to DM or whatever and can try and answer any other questions.