San Diego
Scuba Diving Guide

Everything you need to know before scuba diving in San Diego

San Diego Scuba Diving

Main Diving Areas

When to Go

Diveable Months: Year-round
Best Conditions: Fall & Winter

Access

Boat Diving: All dive sites
Shore Diving: La Jolla only

Cost

Boat Diving: avg. $170 - $350
Shore Diving: free - $180

Visibility

Average: 15 to 30 ft
Best: 50 ft - 100 ft

Surface Water Temp

Imperial: 58° to 70°F
Metric: 14° to 21°C

Bottom Water Temp

Imperial: 48° to 65°F
Metric: 8° to 18°C

Exposure Protection

Mandatory: 7mm wetsuit or drysuit
Recommended: Hood, booties, gloves

Marine Life

Red gorgonian, strawberry anemones
Sevengill, horn, swell, & angel sharks
Stingray, bat ray, guitarfish
Yellowtail, lingcod, halibut
Halfmoon, blacksmith
Garibaldi, sheephead
California spiny lobster
Giant spinned sea star
Sea lion, harbor seal
Giant sea bass
Nudibranch

Boat Diving

Waterhorse Charters (us!) ⭐️
Marissa Charters

All in one Mission Bay shop
Check-in, rental gear fitting, boat boarding

What to expect

San Diego scuba diving packs the whole punch of cold-water diving:

  • Kelp Forests: richer at Point Loma area, but also found in La Jolla
  • Canyons & Walls: prime spots are Scripps Canyon & Train Wheels
  • Wreck Diving: famous underwater collection at Wreck Alley
  • Sea Lion Diving: a day trip to Coronado Islands' local rookery
  • Specialty Diving: lobster, night, and shark diving are possible here
YouTube video

Dive conditions

Visibility changes hourly, from site to site. These are San Diego scuba diving averages:

  • Average: 15 to 30 ft
  • Best: 50 ft+ locally & 100 ft+ at the Coronado Islands (fall & winter)
  • Worst: 5 ft (usually during algae blooms)*

Surface temperatures vary with the seasons and range between:

  • May - October: 62° to 70°F
  • November - April: 58° to 61°F

Bottom temperatures don't ever get too high and range between:

  • May - October: 56° to 65°F
  • November - April: 48° to 55°F
san-diego-scuba-diving-exposure-protection

Brave birthday diver ventures out at the Coronado Islands without a wetsuit (Photo by Jon Schmitt)

san-diego-scuba-diving

Photo by Jon Schmitt

Coronado Islands, a day trip to Mexico away, tend to have 1 to 3°F higher surface and bottom temperatures. Every bit counts!

San Diego waters are nutrient-rich, which helps kelp forests and cold-water species like sea lions and some shark species to flourish.

Dive conditions here change hourly. We keep a running Conditions Report spreadsheet to better forecast future visibility for our boat charters.

Gear requirements

If you plan to scuba dive in San Diego, exposure protection is a must. 

An extra layer of neoprene is always helpful when diving in San Diego, which is why we recommend full 7mm wetsuits with hood, booties, and gloves.

If you are certified and comfortable with it, a drysuit is not a bad idea for an even-warmer dive.

✨ LOCAL TIP: Ocean Enterprises, Beyond Land Adventures, and San Diego Divers are some of the San Diego dive shops that rent drysuits (in select sizes), but only if you are certified for it.

Accessing dive sites

You can dive La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores by shore, but you'll need a private or commercial boat to access any other dive site in San Diego. 

Waterhorse Charters - us - and Marissa Charters have the only United States Coast Guard inspected commercial dive boats in town.

san-diego-dive-boat

Photo by Phil Colla

la-jolla-shore-diving

Shore diving in La Jolla is a strenuous, yet rewarding physical activity

Tanks and weights included
Closest commercial dock to the ocean

Main San Diego dive sites

The San Diego scuba diving map and list below includes our favorite dive sites from La Jolla, Wreck Alley, Point Loma, and Coronado Islands. Although not all of San Diego dive sites are represented here, these are the main local recreational dive sites.

Darker icons represent advanced sites (over 60 ft) and brighter icons represent open water dive sites (under 60 ft).

Scripps Canyon

  • Max. Depth: 130 ft+
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Canyon
  • Highlight: Deep Walls

La Jolla Pinnacles

  • Max. Depth: 90 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Rocky Pinnacle
  • Highlight: Nudibranchs

La Jolla Shores

  • Max. Depth: 130 ft+
  • Level: Open Water, Advanced
  • Formation: Sand, Canyon
  • Highlight: Night Diving

La Jolla Cove & Reefs

  • Max. Depth: 50 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Kelp Forest
  • Highlight: Shore Diving

HMCS Yukon

  • Max. Depth: 100 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Wreck
  • Highlight: large size (366 ft)

NOSC Tower

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Wreck
  • Highlight: Mini 'Oil-Rig'

Ruby E.

  • Max. Depth: 80 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Wreck
  • Highlight: Colorful Anemone

Old Ingraham St. Bridge

  • Max. Depth: 70 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Wreck
  • Highlight: Bridge Rubbles

El Rey

  • Max. Depth: 80 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Wreck
  • Highlight: Kelp Harvester

6 Fathoms

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Kelp Forest
  • Highlight: Sevengill Sharks

New Hope Rock

  • Depth: 35 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Kelp Forest
  • Highlight: Shallow Reef

Horsehead Reef

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Kelp Forest
  • Highlight: Walls

Dino Head

  • Max. Depth: 100 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Kelp Forest, Cliffs
  • Highlight: Dinosaur Rock

Train Wheels

  • Max. Depth: 100 ft
  • Level: Advanced
  • Formation: Kelp Forest, Cliffs
  • Highlight: Wrecked Wheels

Lobster Shack

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft+
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Rocky Reef
  • Highlight: Sea Lions

Middle Grounds

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft+
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Rocky Reef
  • Highlight: Archway

Keyhole

  • Max. Depth: 60 ft
  • Level: Open Water
  • Formation: Rocky Reef
  • Highlight: Rocky 'Fingers'

✨ LOCAL TIP: We didn't include Mission Bay as a main San Diego dive area because ocean conditions always triumph. Despite poor average visibility, Mission Bay is often used for scuba courses and lobster diving.

Tanks and weights included
Closest commercial dock to the ocean

Shark diving

Here is what you need to know about shark diving in San Diego:

  • Common Species: horn sharks, leopard sharks, sevengill sharks
  • Rare Species: swell sharks, tope sharks, smooth-hound sharks
  • Rarest Species: great white sharks, blue sharks, mako sharks, thresher sharks
  • Cage Diving: there is no great white shark cage diving in San Diego, but charters leave from San Diego to Mexican Guadalupe Islands
  • Dangers: Shark attacks are incredibly rare in San Diego, specially for scuba divers
  • Season: scuba diving in the Kelp Forests for sevengill sharks (spring), snorkeling at La Jolla Shores for leopard sharks (summer), looking under rocks and inside crevices on most dive sites for horn and swell sharks (year-round)

If you're interested in shark diving, see our San Diego Shark Diving guide.

san-diego-shark-diving

Photo by Charles Hobson

shark-diving-san-diego

Photo by Charles Hobson

Lobster diving

Here is what you need to know about lobster diving in San Diego:

  • Season: October through March (specific dates here)
  • Required Gear: Lobster game bag, gauge, dive light
  • Lobster Limit: Seven lobsters per person, per dive
  • Licenses: Lobster Report Card and Fishing License (buy them here)
  • Legal Size: 3 ¼ inch carapace (measured like this)
  • Location: Anywhere you don't see red (or some blue) on this map
  • Best Spots: Point Loma Kelp Beds & Mission Bay
lobster-diving-san-diego

Photo by Michael Wimmer

California Spiny Lobster

Photo by Michael Wimmer

Night diving

Here is what you need to know about night diving in San Diego:

  • Season: year-round
  • Gear: dive light, SMB, reel
  • Species: shrimps, octupus, crabs, horn sharks, guitar fishes, halibuts
  • Best Spots: Mission Bay & La Jolla Shores (from shore), Scripps Canyon & HMCS Yukon (by boat)

San Diego Dive Shops

Waterhorse Charters

Ocean Enterprises

  • Dive Shop
  • Dive Courses
  • Dive Travel
  • Guided Shore Diving

Beyond Land Adventures

  • Dive Shop
  • Dive Courses
  • Dive Travel
  • Guided Shore Diving

Zach Scuba Shack

  • Scuba Courses
  • Guided Shore Dives

North County Scuba Center

  • Dive Shop
  • Dive Courses

San Diego Divers

  • Dive Shop
  • Dive Courses

Scuba San Diego

  • Scuba Courses
  • Guided Shore Dives

House of Scuba

  • Dive Shop
  • Dive Courses
  • Dive Travel

Marissa Charters

  • Boat Diving

Odyssea by Fletcher

  • Dive Courses
  • Boat Diving (6-pack)
  • Guided Shore Diving

San Diego Scuba Guide

  • Scuba Courses
  • Guided Shore Dives

La Jolla Dive

  • Scuba Courses
  • Guided Shore Dives

scuba diver girls

  • Guided Shore Dives

Weekly trips on two dive boats
Friendly crew and creature comforts

Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Hands down the best scuba charter I've ever experienced (and have dove in Florida, Panama, Brazil, Hawaii, Cozumel). Zach and the crew are incredibly skilled, safe, and kind. The captain even made homemade bluefin ceviche in addition to ensuring hot soup and hot shower water between cold November dives. I can't recommend their dive charter to Coronado Mexico enough, and can't wait to dive with Waterhorse again already!
Serena Zheng
Serena Zheng
Took a dive trip out to Coronado Islands. Impressive dive company with a phenomenal team. They have top tier service getting into your gear and into the water. They try to get you as much time with the sea lions as possible! By popular demand, we got to do the sea lion dive twice!! Even got to do some whale watching on the way back. 1000% recommend!!
Jake Baker
Jake Baker
I’ve done a couple dives with Waterhorse and they have been great. Dive master Brennan is the man and very knowledgeable.
CAPT R.T. Rushton, USN, ret.
CAPT R.T. Rushton, USN, ret.
Two good dives yesterday on Orion. First was in the kelp off of PT Loma. Vis was 20-25 ft. Second was on the Rube-E. Had to work through a green layer, but vis opened to 15 ft at the hull. The crew was great as usual. This dive was to test a new backplate and bladder + wt check.
William Alton
William Alton
I’ve booked three boat dives with Waterhorse and my California dive experience has been excellent . I did chose the option to hire a dive guide. The guides were very helpful assisting with weight checks. A big thanks to Ben and Hunter for guiding me through kelp forest and wrecks. I still have another dive left with this company as im writing this review. I’m usually a warm water diver with a 3 mm suit on. I would hope that all cold water dive operators operate like Waterhorse. If diving in San Diego do chose this company. Oh they actually have warm soup and snacks after the first dive. So far all the heads (toilets) are functional. Warm water showers as well. 👌
Markus Sturkey
Markus Sturkey
Waterhorse Charters truly exceeded my expectations and provided the best dive charter experience I’ve ever had. From the owners to the crew, everyone is top-tier. I had the pleasure of meeting Zach, one of the owners, at the Scuba Show, and I corresponded with his wife Karina over email to make changes. The entire booking process was seamless and professional. My girlfriend, who often accompanies me on dive trips, mentioned that Captain Charles was the nicest captain she’s ever met. The divemasters I had, Brandon and Jon, are probably the best dive guides I’ve ever had. I can confidently say they gave me my favorite dives of all time so far. I initially heard about Waterhorse Charters from an instructor in Hawaii and the Azul Unlimited YouTube channel, so my expectations were high—and they met or exceeded every one of them. If you’re looking to dive cold water in the San Diego area, Waterhorse Charters is the way to go.
Kristian Marquez
Kristian Marquez
I recently had an incredible experience with Waterhorse Charters on a trip to the Coronado Islands! The crew made the entire day exceptional from start to finish. Gaby was attentive and ensured that everyone felt welcome and prepared, offering all the support we needed throughout the trip. Ben was incredibly knowledgeable about the islands and their marine life, making every stop interesting and educational. Brandon’s professionalism and friendly attitude added to the overall comfort and enjoyment of the journey. And a big shout out to Charles, who kept everything running smoothly and made sure we had a safe and memorable adventure. Thank you, Waterhorse Charters, for a wonderful day on the water. I highly recommend this experience to anyone looking to explore the beauty of the Coronado Islands with a top-notch crew!
Brendan
Brendan
Why go somewhere else? The location of the boat means you get in and out of the harbor quickly. Thorough safety and dive briefing. The hot shower ensures you're warm and comfortable for second and third dive. Don't underestimate the wonder of the hot soups. They convert surface intervals from a mere necessity to something to look forward to and warm you up for the next dive
jonathan cummins
jonathan cummins
Zach and the Waterhorse crew are outstanding and safety conscious dive professionals! When I want to go boat diving I go to Waterhorse first. They take us to the best sites and offer in depth dive site briefings and always have the best interest of the divers! If you only have one day to dive go to Waterhorse!
John George
John George
This is the best dive company in San Diego hands down. I have been diving with Waterhorse charters for almost three years now and every trip it never ceases to amaze me how helpful, kind, and attentive the crew is. Zack helped out last week to get lobster season rolling and I came home with four of them! Don’t look anywhere else if you are wanting to dive in San Diego.