Nice selection of gear and reasonably friendly staff. Wonderful dive boats that are truly a couple steps from the shop. The down side? They don't seem to understand that divers have many, many choices in dive shops in the Keys. Boat trips are on a "pay your money and takes your chances" basis. Our boat stopped on 2 very shallow reefs in 5-6" seas. Students refused to enter water a second time and snorkelers had to be rescued. No refunds, no rain checks. You have many dive shops to chose from in the Keys. This would not be my first choice.

Alaska is the best kept diving experience secret on the planet. I gave it 3 stars for conditions because in the winter, topside conditions can be challenging.

Places like Seward, Whittier, Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan and Kodiak offers a different dive experience from what you are probably used to. Yes it is cold water diving year 'round and dry suit qualifications are a must. But if you would like to try some challenging and exciting diving you might give Alaska a try.

Yes we dive year round in Alaska and no it is not always under ice. Water temps are around 40F in the winter and can reach 60F in the summer. And if you want some under ice diving well that can be found year round also.

There are available trips around the state such as a challenging trip to Ketchikan in February of 2014, salmon shark adventures and trips to Prince William Sound and Sitka.

Look at the pictures to see the variety of diving experiences. Wrecks, caverns, octopus, sea lions, orcas and a broad spectrum of smaller sea life.

The easiest and least expensive way to try some Alaska diving is to come to Anchorage. Dive Alaska in Anchorage, The SCUBA Tank in Juneau and the Deep Six Dive Center in Ketchikan are fine shops. Be very careful at any others. Some cater to commercial divers and some only want to separate you from your money.

Diving in Alaska is worth the trip. You can see moose, elk, musk ox and bears when you are topside.

REVIEW OF CABO SAN LUCAS

Cabo San Lucas. It's Cabo. The topside activities and food is superb. If you are a geezer like me don't go at Christmas or Spring Break. But go to Cabo.

The diving ranges from very simple to fairly challenging. I want to rave about the easy snorkeling and diving less than 5 minutes by boat from the marina (the marina is the starting point for pretty much everything). Pack a small cooler, sun tan lotion and mask fins snorkel. Catch a Panga ($10 round trip) to Lover's Beach. Tell the panga driver when you want to be picked up and he will be there. As soon as you hit the water you see critters. Snorkel about 100 feet and you come to some rocks with one large primary rock.

Snorkel around this rock and the sea life changes every 20 feet or so laterally as well as vertically. Completely different sea life in each area. Sea horses, to turtles. Blinney's to Lumphead Parrot fish. The area is roped off so boats can't get any closer than about 30 feet. A beginer photographer's dream.

You can get out of the water and walk up to the "arch." From there you can walk from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean on a sand beach. Lots of caves and rock formations to look through too.

If you want the easiest dive of your life, visit Manta Dive Shop and have them take you to the Arch and pinnacle rock. (You can rent gear and hire a panga but then you have to lug every thing around). Pinnacle rock is much like the snorkel rock mentioned above just far less traffic. And the sea lions will check you out. The rock sits in about 80' with a sand bottom and the environment changes at every depth depending if you are on the Pacific side or the Cortez side. You can start at 60' and just corkscrew around and up the rock. When we were there a school of wahoo swam by and the sea lion pups followed us most of the dive. Saw barracuda and a small shark.

You can not ask for an easier dive. Manta is the shop in Cabo to do your open water dives after doing your classroom/pool stuff somewhere cold. I have been diving since the '70's (yes I am 60 years old) and I am very selective of my dive shop. Checked them all and Manta was the best. Not really a shop per se as a resort gear rental-trip shop. Though they do have a training pool upstairs over the shop.

I gave conditions only 4 stars and it has nothing to do with the diving. From the minute you set foot, and I mean literally, when you walk out of customs into the airport someone is trying to sell you something. Everywhere you go, everything you do, someone is trying to sell you some craft or hat or beads.

Most all hotels/resorts are an easy walk to the marina. All directions are based on "from the marina you go...."
I really like Cabo for a lot of reasons. Chief among them is the diverse diving options.