Southern California SCUBA Diving Classes

Home to hundreds of miles of coastline, it’s no wonder California is a popular scuba diving destination. Oceans off the Pacific shores of southern California host giant kelp forests, deep-water pinnacles, reefs and hundreds of varieties of local plant and animal life. Before taking in these underwater sights, divers must obtain certification via scuba diving classes. Southern California offers no shortage of willing instructors.

  1. Eco Dive Center

    • Eco Dive Center in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Culver City offers educational scuba courses with a focus on environmental awareness and conservation. At the top of its class list, Eco Dive Center features a three-step, two-weekend scuba certification course. Others types of classes include advanced diver certification, specialty diver courses, rescue diver certification, divemaster certification, scuba instructor certification and technical diver courses. Classes include equipment rental, online class sessions, pool sessions, boat trips, meals, ocean dives and scuba gear tune-ups. PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, certifies Eco Dive Center. Interested divers may sign up for classes at Eco Dive over the phone.

      Eco Dive Center

      4027 Sepulveda Blvd.

      Culver City, CA 90230

      310-398-5759

      ecodivecenter.com

    Elmesie Scuba

    • Huntington Beach hosts Elmesie Scuba.

      For budding scuba divers looking for an education south of Los Angeles, Elmesie Scuba finds its home on the shores of Huntington Beach in southern California. According to this training facility’s official website, Elmesie Scuba teaches diving in private or group format at the diver’s personal pace, beginning with basic skills and reaching all the way to full professional diving level. Instruction and certification courses include subjects such as night diving, underwater environments, underwater photography, search and recovery, hunting and collecting, cavern and cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving, deep diving, rescue diving and more. Course commitments range from 12 to 24 hours. Each course features between two and five dives. Elmesie Scuba accepts reservations for courses and certification dives via phone.

      Elmesie Scuba

      15231 Victoria Ln.

      Huntington Beach, CA 92647

      714-892-7206

      elmesiescuba.com

    Santa Barbara Aquatics

    • Santa Barbara Aquatics in Goleta provides scuba education for those on the northern end of southern California. Since the early 1980s, Santa Barbara Aquatics has offered hands-on scuba courses with master-level teachers. Classes include open water, advanced open water, scuba skills update and stress and rescue. These courses encompass pool dives, boat trips, Divers’ Alert Network Insurance, college credit, island dives, night dives and specialty lectures; some end with receipt of a certification card. Interested learners may contact Santa Barbara Aquatics by phone.

      Santa Barbara Aquatics Inc.

      5822 Hollister Ave.

      Goleta, CA 93117

      805-967-4456

      sbaquatics.com