Monterey Bay Scuba

Step aboard the California Explorer and plunge into the world-famous Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary — kelp forests, rockfish, nudibranchs, and playful sea lions are all waiting just offshore from Cannery Row.

Monterey Bay Scuba is positioned on historic Cannery Row in Monterey, California, billing itself as the only full-service dive shop and dive charter in Northern California. Their vessel, the California Explorer, departs Thursday through Sunday at 7:00am and 11:30am — with private charters available any day — carrying divers out into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the most celebrated cold-water dive environments in the world. The shop sits steps from Breakwater Beach (San Carlos Beach), making gear-up and shore access unusually convenient. Guided charters explore a range of underwater terrain, from lush kelp forests and shale reefs to granite reef pinnacles teeming with rockfish, nudibranchs, sea stars, and sea lions. The biodiversity of the Sanctuary draws visitors from around the world, and the operator emphasizes both new and experienced diver experiences — pairing attentive customer service with access to exceptional dive sites close to shore. Beyond charters, the facility offers PADI certification courses from Discover Scuba introductions through Open Water, Advanced Open Water, and Drysuit specialty training, all with ocean dives conducted from the beach directly across the parking lot. A full gear rental inventory — tanks, weights, wetsuits, drysuits, and complete scuba kits — is maintained to DAN disinfection standards and available for divers who prefer not to travel with their own equipment.

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