Any Water Dive Center

California, United States

The team at Any Water Dive Center are our go-to for diving in central California, especially if you’re keen to tackle the local cold water. They’ve been around for ages, genuinely know their stuff, and we always appreciate their practical, no-nonsense approach to training. We’d send any diver here who wants to get properly comfortable with dry suits and temperate diving before heading out to the kelp forests. What we love about Any Water is their commitment to getting divers ready for the specifics of California diving. You’ll spend time in the pool, often feeling the chill of the unheated water, which is a great primer for the Pacific. Then, for your open water dives, they often head to Monterey or Catalina. We’ve found their instructors are excellent at helping you get comfortable with thicker wetsuits or even dry suits, managing surge, and navigating through the giant kelp – something quite different from tropical reefs. Our favourite part has to be their emphasis on buoyancy in sometimes tricky conditions. They really drill it in, so you’ll leave feeling capable and ready to explore those swaying, sun-dappled kelp cathedrals, perhaps spotting a curious sea lion or a grumpy cabezon tucked into a rock crevice.