2 replies to this topic

[Merrie]

I'm going to be in New Orleans the weekend of July 24 and was wondering if there are any good places to dive or snorkel around that area?

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

I'm going to be in New Orleans the weekend of July 24 and was wondering if there are any good places to dive or snorkel around that area?

I don't think there would be any good diving or snorkeling around New Orleans.....inland it's a swamp, with the Mississippi river delta spreading muck far and wide into the Gulf. Unless you like diving in the mud with alligators, I'd give it a pass!

Lake Ponchatrain (sp?) used to be fairly clear many years ago, but I've seen reports that it's bad vis now.

[dive_sail_etc]

Hello Merrie, Tammy is quite right, the logistics of hauling divers far enough out from the delta for decent visibility (plus it is something like 60 miles from NO to the acutal Gulf) means there are practically no dive operators in the Big easy. In fact, even as far east as Mobile one must go way out past Dauphin Island, run time over 2 hours one way on most dive charters, to reach decent diving on some of the offshore oilrigs.

The closest city to NO that offers good water reasonably close in for diving is Pensacola. Perhaps with a little planning you could drive over early to make the usual 8AM castoff time, or avoid the super early wake up call and just grab a room there the night before. I offer this shameless plug and endorsement, Debbie aka Diverdeb is a Pensacola local and very well connected there, you should PM her for ideas and suggestions should you decide to head over that way. Good luck!