Diving in Tofino, on the West Coast of Vancouver Island
Andy is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, as well as a commercial diver / instructor who has been diving Clayoquot Sound and the waters around Vancouver Island for many years. And Christine is a Divemaster, born and raised on Vancouver Island which is conveniently perched on top of some of the best cold water diving in the world. Their friendly service, along with abundant wildlife, rich bio-diversity, unique culture, and beautiful scenery of Tofino and Clayoquot Sound will all be part of your great diving in Tofino experience. It is one of the most popular areas to visit on Vancouver Island, and is only recently being discovered as a great place to scuba dive and snorkel as well.
Ocean Planet Adventures in Tofino The Ocean Planet Adventures scuba diving company is located at 564 Campbell St. along the main drag just before the
first 4 way stop.
They are now affiliated with the Weigh West Marine Resort, are open year-round, and offer full service scuba diving charters, PADI certified scuba lessons from beginner to professional levels, and rental and sale of quality scuba diving equipment and accessories. (Some of their retail and equipment providers include Oceanic, Scuba-Pro, Force Fin, Bare, Cressi-Sub, Dive-Rite and Innovative Scuba.) PADI certified Discover Scuba classes and Open Water dive lessons are offered regularly, and they are flexible to fit most schedules. Ask about their referral program where you can take your theory portion of your scuba certification at home and complete your course for open water diving in Tofino. Their classes include gear rentals and discounts on future scuba training with them. Their recreational diving in Tofino charters are typically 4 hours long and are 2 dive adventures. Ocean Planet offers these charters for groups, individuals and private trips. And to make it even more exciting, they often experience whales, eagles, sea lions, seals, otters and bears enroute to the local Tofino dive sites!
They also have a 30 foot house boat called The Haven that is moored at the Grice Road Dock. It houses their tank compressor / bank system, and can be used as a mobile staging unit. She is a comfortable vessel that is true to her name. Nitrox is also now available.
Their boats are moored less than 100 feet from their front door, and you could literally fish for crab, cod and perch right out the window! They have a comfortable and well equipped classrooom for dive students, and a large, very well stocked retail shop that can meet your diving and snorkeling requirements. There are bathroom, laundry and shower facilities also available. There is also a variety of Tofino accommodations nearby that we can help you with.
Not a Diver? Try Snorkeling in Tofino Ocean Planet Adventures is also offering snorkeling adventure trips as a fun and safe way to interact with the amazing and diverse tidal and sub-tidal wildlife of Clayoquot Sound.
Their experienced Divemasters take guests by boat to a protected group of islets and reefs to experience a real life Westcoast aquarium full of colour and diversity. These trips are typically about 3 hours long and include a wet suit rental and a snorkeling kit. They are great for adults, kids and the whole family. Their Divemasters will take many photos for you and will bring up samples from the sea floor to introduce you to a whole new undersea world.
More About Diving in Tofino Diving in Tofino is great year-round.
The visibility averages 50 feet, and some days it can reach 100ft. The best time of year for visibility is in spring and winter as the water temperatures change with the seasons, as the warmer water brings the potential of algae blooms and additional nutrients which can impede visibility. This being said, diving in the summer months is also fantastic as the bull-kelp beds provide refuge for a huge amount of life. The dive sites around Tofino and Clayoquot Sound receive minimal pressure as Ocean Planet Adventures take no more than 6 divers or 8 snorkelers per trip and have a variety of dive sites nearby so that no site is dived more than once a day. They are very environmentally conscious and this allows them to maintain the integrity of growth on the sites and minimize impact by divers and snorkelers.
Popular Tofino Dive Sites One of the most popular diving in Tofino sites is at Eagle Island, which is named appropriately after a very old bald-eagle that has guarded the island for his long life.
This island has two very different dive sites that are only 200 ft apart. The first is an inter-tidal reef dive and at its deepest sits at 90ft. The site is best dived at slack tide and is a great site for beginners and photographers. The second is a deep wall dive with little to no current. This site is great for all levels of divers. It is blanketed in plumose anemones and inhabited by a large school of black rock cod who like to tag along for the duration of the dives. Due to the tidal interchange in the area, sea life is very abundant. One of the favorite creatures at these Tofino dive sites is the plethora of nudibranches. Another site that they frequently dive is Tonquin Island, where a world class dive awaits. A thick bed of bull kelp provides great habitat for an amazing variety of life, and well worn rock formations are wall-papered with invertabraes, dorids and crab species as well as a stunning array of macro life. For diving in Tofino, they have a multitude of sites that can accommodate virtually all styles and levels of diving including great drift dives, walls and reefs. For those with a love of wreck dives, the shipwreck of the SS Hera, now a National Heritage Site, is just a stone’s throw away from their front door and holds an intriguing glimpse into the past. The ship sunk in 1899 with a load of 1 litre bottles of beer! We're not sure that you'll want to try one of these 'cold-ones' now though?
There are also several smaller wreck sites of tug-boats and barges that are easily accessible by Ocean Planet Adventures.
Be sure to ask for CoolDives Tofino group pricing.
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For 
Their main dive boat, the Javelynn 2, is a 21 foot fiberglass dive boat that is safe, fast, good looking, and very well equipped.
Their dive shop is located in a fantastic location on the Grice Road Pier, at the north end of Main Street in downtown Tofino.
The wreck sits in 60 feet of water and has plaques placed on it by the Historical Society that tell the tale of her demise.
