Southern California

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DIVE TRIP · SAN DIEGO & CATALINA

Kelp forests, Wreck Alley, and Catalina Island in one trip. Boat dive San Diego with Marissa Charters, then add a day on Catalina for Casino Point Marine Park. Nitrox included, and you can earn an SDI specialty on the water. Any certified diver welcome, only 10 spots.

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Southern California Dive Trip: Kelp, Wrecks & Catalina

TWO PACKAGES · MARISSA CHARTERS · CATALINA ISLAND · SDI SPECIALTIES

Southern California has kelp forests, wrecks, and Catalina Island, and this trip puts you in all of it. You're on the water with Marissa Charters out of San Diego, diving some of the best water California has to offer. Run it as a three-day boat-diving trip, or add a fourth day on Catalina for Casino Point Marine Park. Boat fees, tank fills, and nitrox are included, and you can even come home with a new SDI certification.

🚚 Two package options 🕳 Wreck Alley 🌴 Kelp forests & Catalina 🧭 Nitrox included 🎓 Add an SDI specialty Only 10 spots

A giant sea bass in the kelp off Southern California

A clown nudibranch on a Southern California reef

An orange tube anemone on the sand off Southern California

Encrusted reef pilings silhouetted in the California blue

Dive Arizona divers aboard the Marissa Charters boat in San Diego

On the Water with Marissa Charters

We dive with Marissa Charters, one of San Diego's best boat operations, for a three-tank day along the coast. Their sites split between Wreck Alley and the kelp reefs:

Wreck Alley: the HMCS Yukon, a 366-foot Canadian destroyer at ~100 feet, and the USCGC Ruby-E cutter
Kelp & reef: the Point Loma and La Jolla reefs, walls, and pinnacles
Nitrox fills and weights included

See her full dive-site list →

A wreck in San Diego's Wreck Alley draped with an American flag

Catalina Island: Casino Point

Add the fourth-day package and Saturday takes you on the Catalina Express to Casino Point Marine Park, one of California's most protected and beginner-friendly dive parks.

Up to 4 nitrox dives at Casino Point
Kelp, garibaldi, and easy entries in a protected park
Catalina Express roundtrip ticket included

An encrusted wreck in San Diego's Wreck Alley

A giant sea bass cruising the California kelp

A colorful nudibranch on a California reef

Optional shore diving. When conditions allow, we add shore dives at classic Southern California spots, the Marine Room in La Jolla, and Shaw's Cove and Divers Cove up in Laguna Beach. Additional cost, conditions dependent.

Package 1: Boat Diving

Thursday – Saturday · 2 nights lodging

Caravan out Thursday, a three-tank boat dive with Marissa Charters on Friday, optional shore diving, and home Saturday afternoon.

Included:

Three-tank boat dive with Marissa Charters
Nitrox fills and weight rentals

Package 2: + Catalina Island

Thursday – Sunday · 3 nights lodging

Everything in Package 1, plus Saturday on Catalina for Casino Point. Sunday is flexible: optional shore diving, or the beach before the drive home.

Included:

Friday three-tank boat dive (nitrox & weights)
Catalina Express roundtrip ticket
Up to four nitrox dives at Casino Point

Not included in either package: food, gas/travel, lodging, gratuities, and gear rentals.

🎓 Add a Certification: SDI Specialty Courses

Any certified diver can join, and if you want to come home with more than memories, complete an SDI specialty on the water. Sign up when you book.

SDI Deep Diver: open up dives to 130 feet, walls, and wrecks.
SDI Underwater Navigation: compass and natural navigation for relaxed, confident dives.
SDI Dry Suit Diver: the course to take first if California's thermocline is on your radar.
SDI Wreck Diver: put it to use the same day, with a wreck dive already in the itinerary.

Each specialty counts toward the SDI Advanced Diver Development Program. Course details →

Who this trip is for

Any certified diver. Whether you have 10 dives or 500, Southern California and Catalina deliver. If you're working toward your SDI Advanced Diver certification, this is a smart place to knock out a specialty or two in real open-water conditions, not a pool or a lake.