San Diego Vacation Diving

[Dermochelys]

Hey ScubaBoard,
I'm planning a vacation to San Diego for September 26th - ???? (probably October 4th or 5th), my end date is still up in the air. Anyway, I'll be staying with a friend of mine and we'd like to do some diving in the area. I'd like to thank the Scubaboard members here for posting links to the divebums.com site and posting about some of the local dive boats which has been very helpful to me in planning my trip. I'm still a newbie to diving (20 dives with 2/3 warm water) and so is my friend, and we're mostly interested in shallower dives so we can stay down longer to enjoy the wildlife.

Anyway, I did have a few questions I was hoping to have answered.

1) I see that La Jolla Cove is supposed to be pretty crowded during the summer months on weekends. How's late September on a weekday for a shore dive?

2) Generally how are conditions during the late September / early October time frame?

3) My last dive trip was to Victoria, BC where I was able to hire a dive master at a local shop to take me out on some shore dives as a guide. This was an amazing experience at a ridiculously low price and it made for my best diving experience to date. Are there any local shops that offer this service? Not having dived this area before I'd feel better having someone who knows the area.

4) I'm thinking we'll do some boat dives on the weekend. I won't plug the boats going out, but there are a couple. It would be great to do some boat dives during the week, but it looks like all the operators are shutting down any sort of weekday service during this time period. Is this just because it's the end of the season, or because conditions are unsuitable for diving this time of year? Do the boats still go out to local sites on the days they have "blank" on their schedules?

I think that's it for now, if I think of any other questions I'll post them. Thank you in advance for any advice you have to offer in helping make my SD dive trip fun and memorable.

 

[Chiapet]

You've chosen a great time to visit. September and October usually bring the best conditions of the year. The water is at its warmest and the viz is likely to be good.

Parking at La Jolla Cove around 8 am in the morning on a weekday is reasonable. If you can't find a really close spot though, just drop off your gear and then park farther down the street.

Many of the local dive shops can arrange guided tours. IB divers La Jolla and Ocean Enterprises come to mind. Diving with Al (private instructor) is another good option.

Our local dive boats don't usually operate Mon-Thurs in the low season, I assume because of a lack of demand. You might want to consider doing a trip out to the dive park on Catalina. Hotel prices will be lower midweek and they probably won't require a minimum stay.

As a last thought, you might enjoy a day boat trip to the Coronado Islands to dive with the sea lions. In October the sea lion pups are old enough to be really playful and curious. There can be dozens of them swarming around you. Any other time of the year I would give the Coronados a pass though. The islands have been overfished. There's no kelp left there and lots of sea urchins.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[diversteve]

If you can stay till the 5th, Humbolt has a 3-tank to Coronado Islands on the 4th. Waterhorse Charters - Charter Boat Schedule

It's pretty easy shallow diving, I was certified there decades ago (when there was Kelp ) and did my 3rd dive with just my buddy - our instructor volunteered the option if we wanted to - technically I didn't finish my cert dives until the next day at LaJolla Shores.


If you can't find parking along the La Jolla cove, drive up the hill and double back into "downtown". There's a parking garage on the west side of the street (several story bank building) and steps that lead down to the Cove. Lots of red curbs so if you see an obviously overlooked space, maybe it's not...lol. Weekdays late Sept. LaJolla is pretty calm. One afternoon I drove down there after working nearby (I don't live there) and was able to find parking at the cove around 3PM. About a third of the spaces on the south end were empty. That's unheard of on a Saturday.

Get tanks at IB Divers or the Sport Chalet in University Town Center just east on La Jolla Village Dr. north of town. OEXpress no long rents gear/fills. Not to be confused with Ocean Encounters.

 

[Dermochelys]

Chiapet and diversteve: Thanks for all the great tips. My friend lives in San Diego, so I'll be crashing at his place. I do want to try Catalina sometime, but I don't think this is the trip for it.

I do have one question about the Coronado Islands and the sea lions. I see many of the local dive boats are doing their "Great White" dives during this time of the year. I'm not paranoid about this kind of thing, but diving with sea lions when the "landlord" is in town gives me some pause, though I know the chances of encountering a great white are probably pretty low. But, no reason to take an unnecessary risk if you don't have to.

Any thoughts? Staying until the 5th isn't a problem, and I can catch a late flight out back to Sacramento (around 6 or 7 PM), so I will certainly check out Waterhorse.

Thanks again!

 

[AZTinman]

If I'm not mistaken, the 'Great White' cage diving trips involve a trip to Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico not the Coronado Islands. A couple of San Diego-based dive charter boats make multi-day trips to Guadalupe Island in the fall. Guadalupe Island is farther south than the Coronados.

Just a suggestion if you're booking a dive boat charter or two... make sure to check with the operator about contacting you to let you know if they need to cancel the trip you've booked. Earlier this past summer, a dive partner and I ended-up waiting on the dock for a dive boat in San Diego which never showed due to mechanical issues. When I contacted the operator about the boat not showing up, the captain informed me that they had sent me an e-mail notification about the cancellation. I never received a cancellation e-mail from them. Next time I book a San Diego dive charter that involves a 5 1/2 hour drive, I'll ask the charter company to notify me by calling me about cancellations rather than attempting an e-mail notification. Live and learn...

-AZTinman

 

[diversteve]

What he said ^. It's not the same place. The 2 bigger San Diego boats - Horizon and Islander also make the run down to Guadalupe.

The Coronado Islands in Mexican waters are another nice dive destination. They are just 20 miles from our dock which is only a 1-1/2 hour boat ride to a full day of diving in blue water with visibility averaging 50 feet.

Isla Guadalupe is located 160 miles off the coast of Baja California.

Great White Shark Cage Diving :: Great White Adventures :: Dive Isla Guadalupe

 

[jhshrops]

Im san diego bound as well for a short week. hoping to sneak away from my conference for acouple tanks. if you are looking for a buddy or someone to add to a trip Sept 25 26 or 27 let me know. Have not experienced kelp forests or southern cal diving yet... so very pumped to get under water!
thanks
jim