monterey bay area,best shore diving park

[Chuck Tribolet]

When you talk beach diving Monterey, the three most commonly dived spots are:

The Breakwater (aka San Carlos Beach, aka the Coast Guard Pier). Lots of diver activity,
two dive shops within a block.

Pt. Lobos State Reserve. Probably the best beach dive in Northern California. Limit
15 buddy teams per day. Reservations mandatory 2 months ahead on weekends,
generally not required during the week.

Monastery Beach (North and South). A great dive, but local knowledge of entry and
exit procedures is mandatory.

There's an index to the California Diving News dive site reviews at
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/CDNDiveSites.html. MMMMM, they've NEVER
reviewed Pt. Lobos, at least as far back as their online archives go. That's a glaring
omission.

The Pt. Lobos website has lots of info on diving.
http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/scuba/scuba.shtml

And more info about NorCal Diving: http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/

 

[chewslife2]

just been checking out those sites thank you so much,say is there anyplace close to point lobos to get air I'm only a single tank diver so far?
thx
Robert

 

[RoyN]

Robert, would renting an extra tank be an option for you?

 

[Twiddles]

Monastary is a dangerous entry/exit? Should not be attempted without someone very familiar with the site?? Unless your refering to the North Side of the beach, follow beach all the way right till you reach northern end of cove then enter. South end is much different, at least it was for me, although Im sure on any given day things change.

Any dive shop located in the Monterey area carries dive maps of the area, there are literally dozens of spots to dive from. Your gonna be miserable in a 5MM wetsuit.

In regards to Monastary beach this is an awesome spot for diving beach entry, and IMHO easy entry as you approach the water from the parking area move to the far left, watch the surf you can see what the poster above is talking about without entering the water. The surge here is strong and the beach has steep entry that can definately knock you over if your not paying attention. Personally I find the term dangerous way out of place in this location. Myself and my 5'5" 130lb wife entered the water without moving to left with little problem but coming out I chose left side (right side from the water )because its an easy walk out with no surf issue. Theres no rocks, no entaglement issues, no silt in the water because of the surge and bottom material in this cove. Focus on the left side of the beach and follow the rock wall out, it leads to kelp beds and reef and is a very nice dive spot. If you do not enter the kelp or reef but remain skirting the edge keeping the open white sand to your right you should have no issue getting lost or disoriented inside the kelp. NOTE: I am using Left / Right and instead of North / South here because the length of the cove is north south but you enter the water at the SE end and swim out along a reef running NE so its pretty easy to confuse somebody who hasnt been there before.

Breakwater is where every instructor in N. Cal takes his students (at least it seems that way) and the area is literally crawling with divers and vis is usually affected by the same crowd. Way out along the jedi theres some nice diving but its a bit of a swim.

 

[reefugee]

Like Roy said - rent a second (and maybe third tank). AFAIK - there is no place close by to rent tanks. Oh - also at Pt. Lobos, you have to go a dive pairs.

(Roy - I am a weird vietnamese diver too. LOL. Ever thought about doing a dive trip in VN?)

 

[yangnome]

closest spot I'm aware of that rents tanksand does fills is Aquarius in Monterey, which is about 8 miles or so up Hwy 1. You definately don't want to come in and out to get refills. I'd suggest renting an extra tank or two, then heading down for the day. The only problem with this is that none of the Monterey Dive Shops open before 9 on weekdays, so you won't get to Lobos until about 9:30 (park opens at 9 iirc.) Weekends are a bit different though as the dive shops open early.

 

[MontereyCADiver]

Lover's Cove is a relatively easy entry /exit dive location that's close to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Since you're coming in July, you have plenty of time to do some research.

Enjoy!

 

[Ben_ca]

Monastary is a dangerous entry/exit? Should not be attempted without someone very familiar with the site??

Monastery is very dangerous.... I wouldn't take it lightly...

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=75187&highlight=monastery

Edit: Pt Lobos is #1... try to get reservations right now....

 

[cdreamer]

I would suggest the the Monterey breakwater for your first dive. It's very easy and a nice introduction to California diving.
The weekends are packed but not as many during the week. You can only get a permit for Pt. Lobos for weekdays. Weekends are booked. Reserve ahead of time for a weekday as they only let I think 10 buddy teams in a day. I was just there last week and would highly recommend Pt. Lobos. Out of the cove we had 60-70 feet of visibility. The shore dives are shallower and a little warmer. The boat dives we did
were deeper and colder. I wore a 7mm one piece and my husband wore a semi-dry.
We were OK for the shore dives, but we froze on the boat dives.
Terri

 

[Jim Ernst]

Monastary is a dangerous entry/exit? Should not be attempted without someone very familiar with the site?? Unless your refering to the North Side of the beach, follow beach all the way right till you reach northern end of cove then enter. South end is much different, at least it was for me, although Im sure on any given day things change.

Any dive shop located in the Monterey area carries dive maps of the area, there are literally dozens of spots to dive from. Your gonna be miserable in a 5MM wetsuit.

In regards to Monastary beach this is an awesome spot for diving beach entry, and IMHO easy entry as you approach the water from the parking area move to the far left, watch the surf you can see what the poster above is talking about without entering the water. The surge here is strong and the beach has steep entry that can definately knock you over if your not paying attention. Personally I find the term dangerous way out of place in this location. Myself and my 5'5" 130lb wife entered the water without moving to left with little problem but coming out I chose left side (right side from the water )because its an easy walk out with no surf issue. Theres no rocks, no entaglement issues, no silt in the water because of the surge and bottom material in this cove. Focus on the left side of the beach and follow the rock wall out, it leads to kelp beds and reef and is a very nice dive spot. If you do not enter the kelp or reef but remain skirting the edge keeping the open white sand to your right you should have no issue getting lost or disoriented inside the kelp. NOTE: I am using Left / Right and instead of North / South here because the length of the cove is north south but you enter the water at the SE end and swim out along a reef running NE so its pretty easy to confuse somebody who hasnt been there before.

Breakwater is where every instructor in N. Cal takes his students (at least it seems that way) and the area is literally crawling with divers and vis is usually affected by the same crowd. Way out along the jedi theres some nice diving but its a bit of a swim.

Twiddles . you got lucky!!!

If you dont know monastary It can be DANGEROUS!! Many divers have been badly injured there on entry and exit!!