Seattle or Vancouver - where to dive?

[Siggi80]

Hey folks, I am on vacation in Seattle (6 days) and Vancouver (10 days) in about a month. I am thinking to have a scuba dive day in that time.
So, my question is: Should I do it in Seattle or in Vancouver? Did you dive in that region already? Can you recommend a company where I could book a trip?

I am a beginner, made my dive certificate last year.
5 dives in german lakes and than 6 dives around malta.

Thanks for any help!

 

[decompression]

Seattle has some great sites and worth some dives. I would recommend Victoria over Vancouver as it's easy to get around and there are about 15 different sites within minutes of each other. Also, it's just a quick ferry (car or passenger) ride away. There are several Seattle locals on the board that will give you details there. My Victoria info is this;
Dive with Frank Whites Dive shop or Ogden Point
Dive sites;
Ogden point "breakwater"
Henderson point
Ten mile point
Willis point
Clover point
Charter to "race rocks"
Charter to "GB Church" or HMCS McKenzie

If you have anymore questions just ask. Safe diving.


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[Peter Guy]

Tough question in particular due to your low dive count. Lots of easy diving here in the Seattle area. I know there are "easy" dive sites around Vancouver but the only diving I've done there is a bit more advanced.

 

[TSandM]

There is good shore diving in both places.

I assume, since you say you did some diving in German lakes, that you did your course in cold water and a wetsuit? I would also assume that you are not bringing any dive gear with you. Any shop in the Seattle area will be able to rent you a wetsuit, BC and regulator. Some may also have masks and fins, although if you have them, it might be better to bring them with you (particularly the mask, since they need to fit). Shops will generally also have DMs or instructors who will do a day of local diving with you, although at a fee.

Another option in the Seattle area would be to post, closer to your trip, on the nwdiveclub.com forum, requesting a buddy. Be sure to state where you are based, because the Seattle area is big and traffic is a nightmare, so you will definitely want to dive sites that are close to where you are staying!

I know the Seattle area well, having dived here for ten years. There are definitely sites where you can see our iconic animals, and do so from shore. I have only done one shore dive from Vancouver, BC, but it was a lovely one. (I'm assuming you are vacationing in Seattle and BC, and not Seattle and Vancouver, WA -- there really isn't any diving from the latter.)

 

[Darnold9999]

If you are in Vancouver and don't want to come to Victoria which has better diving I would suggest two sites as a beginner. First and relatively easy to get to would be Whytecliff Park. Lots of divers learn to dive there and some easy diving. Second would be Porteau Cove a bit of a drive north of Vancouver toward Whistler along the coast. Also an easy dive site with three small wrecks and some other underwater features to explore and attract life. Lots of divers on a weekend as well. To rent gear and get together with a group or buddy try Ocean Quest in Burnaby or Edge Diving in North Vancouver. The diving close in to Vancouver is not that great as the city is on a flood plain for the Fraser River so all you get is sand and silt. You need to get a bit away from that and Whytecliff is the first of a string of dive sites up the coast.

A third choice would be to take the Ferry from Vancouver to Naniamo and dive one of the artificial reefs (ships) sunk nearby, a bit more advanced than I would recommend for your first PNW dive however.

Victoria has better diving, but as a beginner the two Vancouver sites would be just as nice. If you get to Victoria I would recommend Ogden Point breakwater as one of the best dive sites near the city. Easy diving and there are kelp forests along the breakwater that are well worth the dive no matter what level you are at. Some of the other sites mentioned for Victoria are a bit more advanced and I would at least do the Ogden Point dive first. Would agree with the recommendation of Ogden Point or Frank White as dive shops. The nice thing about the Ogden Point shop is that it is steps away from the dive site so you can rent gear there, walk to the dive site, dive and walk back and return the gear. Walking back to my truck is a longer walk. The Ferry ride between Vancouver and Victoria itself is worth doing to do an inexpensive tour of the Gulf islands.

 

[Siggi80]

Thanks for all the suggestions, really useful!
Will gathe as much info as I can before I decide. But I will book something in advance before the trip.

If you have any more suggestions, feel free to share them!

 

[LizSpinks]

Recent ex-Vancouverite here...

Ocean Quest in Burnaby is very highly rated. It's a 5 star IDC PADI centre. The owner, Greg, teaches a year long SCUBA course at a local college. So, tons of experience in this crew. Everyone there seems to know their stuff and be very helpful.
Welcome to Ocean Quest Dive Centre

When we certified (& didn't know much about the local scene) we went with Vancouver Diving Locker for the theory/pool part. They have a lot of fun in the store and with their dives. Paul was our instructor and was a really nice guy.
http://www.divinglocker.ca/

Hope you have a great trip, wherever you go.

 

[divingjd]

Both are worthwhile. I've managed to sneak in dive days on business trips to Seattle and Vancouver. Rented gear in Vancouver. Brought my own to Seattle. Both were shore dives. In Seattle, we went to Redondo Beach. It was very convent and easy to dive. It's just a sand slope, but there are some boats and other debris creating artificial reefs. Saw lots of critters, including several Giant Pacific Octopus. Dove with Richard Anderson of Seattle Dive Tours. He specializes in accommodating visitors and make it really easy. In Vancouver, we dove Whytecliff park, which was great. Lots of critters. I was nose-to-nose with a harbor seal as soon as I submerged. Unfortunately, I can't remember the shop I dove with. May have been international Dive Center in Kitsilano. Either would be great.


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