Where do the Beginners Dive?

[stevensamler]

You can try any of the above mentioned sites my suggestion is to don your wetsuit and get in the surf to gauge how strong it is. Evaluate the conditions and keep in mind the weight of all the gear at the end of the dive when you will be a little tired , diving an hour before high tide can help also. Deeper water can mean smaller surf and shorter surf zone with about 45 min of slack tide after high tide , easier to exit .

 

[blue steal]

would have to agree with others about boat diving. Easy, get 3-4 dives in, air fills, meals, bunks, others divers to chat with.
I did my first 100 dives by boat and love it, but if funds are tight or you just want a single tank dive and be back home before lunch then shore diving is the way to go.
Laguna Beach is good, divers cove, hiesler park (shower), shaws, are pretty easy if the surf is down.
Shaws has some free parking and a dive shop is about a block away for fills.
divers cove has metered parking $2 hour takes visa and you can park very close with the stairs not to bad.
I like to enter at divers and exit at hiesler as there is a shower at the ottom of the ramp and restroom at the top.
Casino point at catalina would be ideal, but costs pretty close to what a boat trip would be.
Okay have fun.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Yep if you are in Orange County Shaw's Cove is a good bet. Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar have good diving but you do have to be aware of the conditions. A often better option is the dive park at Casino Point in Avalon. That means taking the Catalina Express over to Avalon from Dana Point or Long Beach. And of course the added expense of the boat.

 

[Hatul]

Everyone is recommending Shaw's Cove which is usually sheltered entry/exit and easy for swimming around the reef, but I would not recommend a beginner enter the reef unless you go with someone familiar with it.

 

[dwaters]

yup, boat and/or Casino Point(Avalon) would be the best starting point but we understand keeping it low budget, so I agree with the Laguna area...(Shaw's, Diver's cove, Heisler, etc.)....check out this site for nearly daily conditions: Laguna Sea Sports | Beach Cities Scuba Centers – Your premier Orange County Scuba Diving experience
For San Diego are..... LJS (la Jolla Shores) is the best for starting out.... I would take up the offer to work with Power Scuba...great group of divers helping divers getting wet.
Hope to see you in the water one of these days...enjoy!

 

[Jeff Shaw]

Shaws is the most forgiving and has a lot of great reefs and caves and a very easy entry.

Vets is best as a night dive, as there is a lot of sand in the day. Also vets has a tricky slope that makes the last step something that humbles some of the best divers (you get used to it).

 

[H2Ocean]

Everyone is recommending Shaw's Cove which is usually sheltered entry/exit and easy for swimming around the reef, but I would not recommend a beginner enter the reef unless you go with someone familiar with it.

Exactly!! Stay in the sand for a few dives! If you can't find any divers that's been there that will go with you, there's normally divers there during the weekends, classes etc. If you go to Redondo Beach Vet's Park, there's no reef there in a surf (surge) zone to worry about....and if it's a Saturday at Vets, go to Starboard Attutude after dark right across from El Torito on the Pier. It's a pretty cool place!

 

[fnfalman]

Save up some money and go to Casino Point in Catalina. Easy entry & exit. Good viz to great viz. Calm condition for the majority of the time and nice scenery.

A couple of beginners with zero ocean much less beach entry/exit experience going off on their own is a recipe for disaster.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Of my first three hundred dives, more than 290 of them were beach dives, mostly in Laguna Beach and Palos Verdes. Other than parking, Laguna Beach offers some of the easiest diving in California. La Jolla Shores has a bigger parking problem, but the entry and exit are even easier than O.C. There is that surface swim out to the edge of the canyon, though.
If you already have your own gear, you can get a lot of dive experience for the cost of air fills. If you arrive before dawn, you can even find parking close to the sites.

 

[keithbt]

I would say Shaws, and Divers are two of the easiest entries for beach dives in O.C. , but as everyone said parking is hard so get there early. Shore dives are great to gain experience and confidence. Another easy entry is Corona del mar, but you have to pay $15 to park....