Vancouver Island Diving from Vancouver (city)

[large_diver]

Hi all,

Sorry for the double post (I originally posted this in the PNW Orca Bait forum)-- this board has so many forums now I hardly know where to put questions...

I am going on an Alaska cruise this summer (1st week of July 2006) for a family reunion -- cruise starts and finishes in Vancouver. Would love to get in some Vancouver-area diving before boarding the cruise. As I won't have a ton of time (1-2 days), based on other posts I've read, a good option seems to be to take the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo and use one of the area charter operators such as Ocean Explorers. I would bring my drysuit and own gear with me (ex tanks/weights). A couple of questions:

• Is it feasible to get back and forth on the ferry from Vancouver and do some diving in 1 day or would I need to overnight in Nanaimo before/after? Approx. how long is the ferry trip?

• I will have non-divers with me (wife and kids 9 & 11) -- is there much for them to do in the Nanaimo area? They are outdoors-oriented...hiking/kayaking, etc. Trying to decide whether to let them tour Vancouver (we've never been there) or come over to the Island with me.

• I am doing a Sat-Sat cruise...so my diving would be Wed-Friday before the cruise. Do charter operators generally operate on weekdays during the summer months?

Thanks for your help!

-Chris

 

[MarkH]

Hi all,

Sorry for the double post (I originally posted this in the PNW Orca Bait forum)-- this board has so many forums now I hardly know where to put questions...

I am going on an Alaska cruise this summer (1st week of July 2006) for a family reunion -- cruise starts and finishes in Vancouver. Would love to get in some Vancouver-area diving before boarding the cruise. As I won't have a ton of time (1-2 days), based on other posts I've read, a good option seems to be to take the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo and use one of the area charter operators such as Ocean Explorers. I would bring my drysuit and own gear with me (ex tanks/weights). A couple of questions:

• Is it feasible to get back and forth on the ferry from Vancouver and do some diving in 1 day or would I need to overnight in Nanaimo before/after? Approx. how long is the ferry trip?

• I will have non-divers with me (wife and kids 9 & 11) -- is there much for them to do in the Nanaimo area? They are outdoors-oriented...hiking/kayaking, etc. Trying to decide whether to let them tour Vancouver (we've never been there) or come over to the Island with me.

• I am doing a Sat-Sat cruise...so my diving would be Wed-Friday before the cruise. Do charter operators generally operate on weekdays during the summer months?

Thanks for your help!

-Chris

First off, I don't know of any Island charters (or mainland charters) that do weekday dives unless they can get a minimum # of divers (usually 4+). I hope I'm wrong. If you do find one in Nanaimo, it will be an all-day trip. You will have to find some way of getting to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal (B.C. ferries doesn't leave from Canada Place where the cruise ships dock). There might be some "catamaran-style" ferries leaving from downtown Vancouver (at least I saw some in Nanaimo and don't know where else they would come from). There is plenty of shore diving in Vancouver though. For non-diving family members, they would probably be better off staying in Vancouver as there is much more to do. They should definetly see the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park (you should too). It has great displays of local and tropical life (I find the local section much more interesting).

 

[large_diver]

Thanks for the details. I'll contact some of the charter operators directly and see what I can set up.

Chris

 

[wedivebc]

Thanks for the details. I'll contact some of the charter operators directly and see what I can set up.

Chris

Hey Chris,
I would like to put in a plug for my good friends, Ken and Carolyne at Divers Choice http://www.divingbccanada.com/ I am pretty sure they do mid week charters and if you need a buddy please contact me closer to the date you arrive.You can get a bus from downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo and Ken will pick you up at the ferry and drop you off after the dive. There is a nice park at Newcasle Island if your family wants to do the hiking trails while you dive. It is within sight of the dive sites as well.

 

[large_diver]

Thanks a lot, Dave. I sent Ken an e-mail asking him about mid-week charters.

I may take you up on the buddy offer, as I will be buddy-less. My wife does dive, but only in warm water...

Looking forward to exploring Vancouver above and under the water -- our first trip there.

-Chris

 

[large_diver]

In case there are others interested in this info....here is the reply I received back from Nanaimo-based Ocean Explorers:

"...Thank you for your enquiry. Yes, we do run dive charters on a daily basis
throughout the year, especially in the summer. We will conduct a charter
with a two person minimum (we have to have a buddy team in the water) and at
that time of year there are usually a lot of traveling single divers looking
for someone to buddy up with.

All of our charters include tanks and weightbelts and we can even look after
accommodation arrangements if you wish.

Once you have a better idea of your dates please call us at 1-800-233-4145
and we can discuss all the details..."

I have a message into Divers Choice, and will post that info here as well.

http://www.oceanexplorersdiving.com/

 

[Hyper-limits]

First let me say that I have never dove with Ocean Explorers, they do have a pretty good reputation. However I have made numerous dives from Ken's Boat (Divers Choice) The main reasons I keep going back to them is that between dive I can comfortably seat inside the boat and have a warm meal, also the service is always top notch and he only take 6 divers max. IMHO best charter in Nanaimo.

Cheers

Al

 

[large_diver]

Thanks for the post Al -- as I've seen from your and numerous other posts, Ken certainly seems to have a loyal following. I will definitely look into diving with them.

Chris

 

[large_diver]

Reply from Ken at Divers' Choice:

"...We run lots of weekday charters. When you know the dates you want to dive we will set it up. We can most of the time find a buddy for you to dive with. On a one day charter I can pick you up at the ferry and if you stay two days we can arrange rooms and we can shuttle you back and forth.

Thanks
Ken Adrian
Divers Choice Charters
1-866-716-8867 Toll Free North America"

http://www.divingbccanada.com/

 

[Hyper-limits]

Thanks for the post Al -- as I've seen from your and numerous other posts, Ken certainly seems to have a loyal following. I will definitely look into diving with them.

Chris

You welcome, doesn't matter which charter you choice. You will enjoys your diving here.

Cheers