Recommendations: Near Monterey 4/03-06

[Caveeagle]

I have plans to be in Monterey for a few days in early April. I was thinking of trying to squeeze in a day of diving while I am there. Other than shore diving in Monterey Bay, what are your favorite spots and dive ops?

-Probably on a week day Tues or Wed that I would have available.
-Interested in wrecks or anything interesting.
-Want to rent steel DIN tanks w nitrox if possible
-What charters and local shops can you recommend?

 

[runsongas]

no wrecks nearby afaik unless you want to count the sailboat at del monte

if you can rustle up a buddy and the weather cooperates, pt lobos is great. else solo dive at butterfly house or monastery if the conditions are good, lovers pt or breakwater as a backup if the conditions are bad.

if you are renting in monterey, your choices are breakwater scuba, bamboo reef, and aquarius. aquarius has a limited number of hp100/hp120 for rental iirc.

 

[elgoog]

+1 to Pt Lobos - if you only have a day of diving, I think it's worth it to pay for a guide at the shops mentioned above if you don't find a buddy. Check conditions a week ahead of time here and look for the section "Point Pinos To Point Piedras Blancas To 10 nm" (NW and W swell, in addition to wind, is what you want to watch out for - for me, anything more than 6-8ft is not so great)

During the week, Beach Hopper does charters on Friday.

Are you going to be staying in Monterey or the Bay area? In case of the latter, Diver Dan's and Anywater both have steel tank rentals for sure.