Scuba Diving in the USA

Popular Places to go Scuba Diving in the United States

There are dive sites located all around the country and also liveaboard dive excursions available which take you to the very best locations like the Dry Tortugas National Park located around 70 miles from Key West, Florida.

You can expect to see spectacular coral reefs, shipwrecks and hundreds of species of fish, invertebrates, sea bass, dolphins, sea lions, sharks, rays, eels and sea turtles.

These are places to consider:

• Flordia, specifically The Florida Keys are one of the best places to go diving on the East Coast USA. There is a warm climate, warm ocean waters and a spectacular barrier reef. 
• California has a spectacular coast and a lot of great sites are located close to Santa Barbara
• Alabama
• Hawaii
• Michigan
• North Carolina

Do not worry if you do not live near the coast, there are lots of dive centers offering courses inland which usually use indoor pools. You will be able to earn a scuba certification that will identify you as a trained diver all over the world. The key to enjoying diving is to become very comfortable with the underwater environment. For that reason centers offer extensive classroom and pool training and then usually dive expeditions out. Most dive centers have an excellent ratio of instructional staff to students.

Best Dive Sites in the United States

Best Dive Sites in Florida

• The Thunderbolt
• Looe Key Reef
• Florida Reef
• Pennekemp
• Duane
• Spiegel Grove
• Sombrero Reef
• The Christ of Abyss in Key Largo
• Alligator reef
• Blue Parrot
• Eagle Wreck

Best Dive Sites in California

• La Jolla Cove
• Casino Point, Catalina

Best Dive Sites in North Carolina

• U-352, a sunken German submarine

Best Dive Sites in Alabama

• Dive Land Quarry

Best Dive Sites in Michigan

• Straits Underwater Preserve

Best Dive Sites in Hawaii

• Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona
• Sheraton Caverns, Kauai 
• Nonu Cleaning Station, Kauai
• Keyhole Drift
• YO-257
• Molokini Crater Wall, Maui
• 5 Caves (AKA 5 Graves or Nahuna Point), Maui
• Hanama Bay, Oahu
• Corsair, Oahu
• Fish Rain, Molokai

Wreck Diving in the USA

The USA has a huge amount of wrecks and sunken ships to visit.

Best Time to Go Diving in the USA

• We highly recommend the summer, from May to September.

Average water temperatures

• Atlantic, East Coast range from 18-26C
• Pacific & West Coast range from 12-19C (The Pacific Ocean has a cool temperature all year round and so you will need either a wet or dry suit)

Water Visibility

• Atlantic is between 12-18 meters
• Pacific is between 9-15 meters