Visiting from the Southland

[Arnaud]

I'm going to be visiting and spending a decent amount of time in the bay area in a couple of months. I would love to get in the water while I'm there.

Where should I go diving, knowing that I'll be on my own and don't plan to convert to solo diving any time soon?

Is Monterey considered the best in Northern Cal?

Are there any dive boats leaving out of SF or nearby?

What should I expect compared to SoCal and the Channel Islands?

Thanks for the pointers! All the tips will be appreciated!

 

[scuberd]

I think that Carmel and Pacific Grove (both small towns just south of Monterey) have the best diving around, but they can be tricky dives if you are not careful so try to find a buddy who has been there. I don't know about SF, but there are one or two boats leaving from Monterey, but the water is so deep so quickly that most of the boat diving is close enough to shore that you might as well do a shore dive.

The couple of days I spent in the channel islands had slightly better vis than what is common here, also we have no sea hares nor garibaldi, other than that it is very similar.

PM me if you are looking for a buddy sometime, I'm always looking to go diving. I live on the north side of the Monterey bay, about 40 minutes away from Monterey and good diving.

 

[Arnaud]

As soon as I figure my schedule, I'll PM you. I just don't know if I'll have time to drive down to Monterey.

Does anyone else have information about diving North of SF?