1. Catalina Casino Point Dive Park

The Casino Point Underwater Park is located next to the world-famous Casino Building. First established in 1962, this park is the first nonprofit underwater park in the country (and maybe the world), and offers the best shore diving in California! To make entry and exit in and out of the water as easy as possible, there are cement stairs with handrails. The Park is about 2.5 acres in size, which means it is large enough to do several dives without traversing over the same areas. The Park’s boundaries are clearly marked with a line of buoys to keep boats and divers away from one another. The diverse under-sea world at the Underwater Park offers both beginner and expert divers a dive experience like no other area

Let us be your guide as you plunge beneath the surface at Catalina Island. Whether you choose to explore the Casino Dive Park or one of Catalina's other fascinating dive sites, we'll be your guide into a world you'll never forget. Click the images below for more information.

Scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts who come to enjoy clear waters and abundant sea life find it free of mainland pollution and surf. The depth ranges from the rocky shoreline to 95 feet deep. Primarily the park consists of the fastest growing plant in the world, Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera).

The park's bottom contour reveals rock walls and outcroppings, boulders, pinnacles and a sandy seafloor on its outer edges, which is truly representative of Catalina Island's different characteristics.

Water temperature ranges from 70-74 degrees in the summer to 55-59 degrees in winter, with September to mid-October being the warmest. It’s not uncommon to enjoy 100’ visibility in the late summer to early fall.

Because of strict local laws prohibiting taking of game or salvaging artifacts, the park has become a home for a large variety of marine life. Plant life of all colors abounds, from the Giant kelp to the smallest algae. Living within the rocky reef are lobsters, abalone, octopus, small fish and moray eels, including our friendly 'Fang'. Numerous mollusks and nudibranchs also make their homes on the reef.

Swimming freely in the kelp forest are Kelp bass, Senorita fish, Sheephead, Opaleye, Blacksmith and our state marine fish, the Garibaldi. Where the rocky reef ends, the sandy bottom begins. Scuba divers may find angel sharks, bat rays, banded guitar fish and halibut. Numerous wrecks are also found in the sandy areas, which have become home to many types of marine life.

Casino Point has become a mecca to scuba divers and snorkelers worldwide.

Diving Catalina's scuba diving programs have something for everyone, from the experienced diver to the complete novice. Our professional Dive Instructors and Dive Guides will help you explore and discover the undersea beauty of Casino Point that diving in Catalina offers.

Diving Catalina offers a variety of services ranging from Introductory Dives for those who have never tried scuba diving, Guided Scuba Diving Tours of the Casino Point Dive Park, Refresher Dives for those who have not been diving within a year, Night Diving, and Power Scuba Diving using a Diver Propulsion Vehicle.

Whatever your skill level, we have a dive for you!

- NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY -

For those who have always wanted to try scuba diving but who do not have dive certification, this scuba dive adventure is for you!

An Introductory Scuba Dive is an orientation to scuba diving that allows those who don’t have dive certification to experience diving in the ocean. Enjoy the Introductory Scuba Dive in the Casino Point Dive Park, one of few underwater parks in the world, and marvel at the complex marine environment found in the kelp forests.

Participants must be at least 12 years of age and be medically cleared before being able to take the Introductory Scuba Dive.

What you will learn:

You learn the basic safety guidelines and skills needed to dive under the direct supervision of an Open Water Scuba Instructor.

• Basic safety guidelines and skills needed to scuba guide
• You will be briefed on the scuba equipment
• Skills that you’ll use on every dive
• Breathe underwater
• Swim around Casino Point
• How to become a certified scuba diver

About the Introductory Dive:

• The Introductory Dive includes a knowledgeable and experienced Open Water Scuba Instructor that is an expert on Catalina Island marine life
• If applicant signs yes to any of the medical history questions, you must consult your physician for approval. Click here to download the Medical Statement
• All scuba equipment, including a thick 7mm wet suit
• Please allow approximately 2 hours for this adventure
• No underwater photography is permitted on this dive
• Reservations are required

If you request your dives to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive and charge double the internet rate.

Pricing:

• $119.00 - per person.
• The price above includes all rental equipment except gloves.
• If you are the only participant on your dive, a $20 private dive fee will be applied. If you request your dive to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive(s) and charge double the internet rate.

Consider having your dive videotaped by a diving professional. $149

For Certified Open Water Scuba Divers

It's recommended that if you travel to a new location, or visit an unfamiliar dive environment, you should have someone familiar with the area orient you to the particular dive site. Scuba diving with an experienced local dive professional at Casino Point you relax and better enjoy the dive.

We supply a qualified, experienced Dive Guide, all scuba equipment and a 7mm wetsuit, for a personalized Guided Dive in the Casino Point Dive Park. Your dive may range in depth from 10 feet to 75 feet, depending on your skill level and experience, while exploring the shipwrecks and kelp forests, all teeming with marine life. Your Dive Guide will customize your dive depending on experience & comfort level.

What you will learn:

• Your diving professional will brief you on the dive site.
• Talk about conditions and hazards
• Points of interest, plus describe the aquatic life you’ll see.

If you feel the need to renew your diving skills before the dive, ask about doing a Refresher Dive.

About the Guided Dive:

• The Guided Dive includes a knowledgeable and experienced scuba instructor that is an expert on Catalina Island marine life
• All scuba gear (except for dive gloves), including a thick 7mm wet suit
• Participants must show proof of certification
• Please allow approximately 2 hours of your time for this tour
• Second tank dives are available
• Reservations are required

If you request your dives to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive and charge double the internet rate.

Pricing:

• $109.00 - per person for a 1-tank dive.
• $209.00 - per person for a 2-tank dive.
• The price above includes all rental equipment except gloves.
• If you are the only participant on your dive, a $20 private dive fee will be applied. If you request your dive to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive(s) and charge double the internet rate.

Recapture that feeling of total confidence by updating the diving skills you learned in your Open Water Diver course.

The Refresher Dive gives you the opportunity to practice and review the scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver class, and learn techniques that may have changed since you took your class. You will have the opportunity to refresh your memory and motor coordination, re-learn your current equipment, or learn about and adjust your new equipment with the guidance of a Dive Instructor.

Refresher Dives are recommended after taking a year off from diving.

What you will learn:

In the water, your scuba instructor will help you regain comfort and confidence in scuba diving. You’ll practice a few safety-related skills and then go over anything you specifically want to review, including buoyancy control.

• The Guided Dive includes a knowledgeable and experienced scuba instructor that is an expert on Catalina Island marine life
• All scuba gear (except for dive gloves), including a thick 7mm wet suit
• Participants must show proof of certification
• Please allow approximately 2 hours of your time for this tour
• Second tank dives are available
• Reservations are required

If you request your dives to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive and charge double the internet rate.

Pricing:

• $119.00 - per person.
• The price above includes all rental equipment except gloves.
• If you are the only participant on your dive, a $20 private dive fee will be applied. If you request your dive to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive(s) and charge double the internet rate.

When you go night diving you'll see a whole new world. The Casino Point Dive Park takes on a new personality at night, as many underwater creatures and plant life (different from those you see during the day) are active at night. Once the sun goes down, what you may see changes as the day sea creatures retire for the night and the nocturnal sea creatures emerge from their day-time hiding spots.

You'll learn night dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problems. You'll also learn how to control your buoyancy, navigate and communicate at night. Since many of the plants and animals you'll see are different, you'll also get an introduction to nocturnal aquatic life.

Junior Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 12 years old, can participant in the Night Dive.

What you will learn:

Diving at night teaches you to focus on what you can see in your light’s beam, on controlling your buoyancy by feel, on staying with your buddy and on paying attention to details you may overlook during the day. You’ll practice:

• Light handling and communication techniques.
• Entering, exiting and navigating in the dark.
• Identifying how plants and animals differ or change behavior at night.
• Night dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and potential problem
• You'll learn how to control your buoyancy, navigate and communicate at night
• Since many of the plants and animals you'll see are different, you'll also get an introduction to nocturnal aquatic life.

About the Night Dive:

• The Night Dive includes a knowledgeable and experienced Dive Guide that is an expert on Catalina Island marine life
• All scuba gear (except dive gloves), including a thick 7mm wet, is included
• A very bright LED light is also included
• Participants must show proof of certification.
• Please allow approximately 2 hours of your time for this tour.
• Reservations are required

If you request your dives to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive and charge double the internet rate.

Pricing:

• $139.00 - per person.
• The price above includes all rental equipment except gloves.
• If you are the only participant on your dive, a $20 private dive fee will be applied. If you request your dive to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive(s) and charge double the internet rate.

Using a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) during a scuba dive is a thrilling new way for scuba divers to see a lot of underwater territory in a short amount of time. The DPV is held in your hands and pulls you through the water allowing you to glide over the underwater terrain, buzz around a dive wreck, or weave effortlessly through a kelp forest.

Junior Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 12 years old, can take the Power Scuba Dive.

What you will learn:

• How to plan dives, including procedures for staying with your buddy.
• DPV-handling skills, such as making proper descents and ascents.
• Potential problems and ways to deal with them.

Using a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) during a scuba dive is a thrilling new way for scuba divers to see a lot of underwater territory in a short amount of time. The DPV is held in your hands and pulls you through the water allowing you to glide over the underwater terrain, buzz around a dive wreck, or weave effortlessly through a kelp forest.

Junior Open Water Divers or higher, who are at least 12 years old, can take the Power Scuba Dive.

If you request your dives to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive and charge double the internet rate.

Pricing:

Catalina Casino Point Dive Park

• $149.00 - per person.
• The price above includes all rental equipment except gloves.
• If you are the only participant on your dive, a $20 private dive fee will be applied. If you request your dive to be private with no other guests joining you, we will close off all bookings for that dive(s) and charge double the internet rate.