San Juan Islands Scuba Diving Guide
The San Juan Islands have some of the best diving around! The area is very tide and weather dependent and can have poor visibility, but when the conditions are right, the diving is outstanding. Shore access is limited, so it is best if you can go by boat. A community of local divers often meets for shore dives .
Getting started
- 🆕 New to diving? See our getting started guide.
- 🥶 New to cold water? See what to expect.
- 🗺️ Map of dive sites in the San Juan Islands
- 🏪 Dive shops near Friday Harbor, Anacortes, and Bellingham
San Juan Islands Dive Sites
Diving near Friday Harbor, Anacortes, and Bellingham.
Top sites
Nearby dive shops
🏪 Choosing a dive shop? Read our guide to choosing a dive shop in the Pacific Northwest.
Current/Tide Stations
Many dive sites in the San Juan Islands are current-sensitive and best dived around slack water — the brief windows when currents drop near zero between tide changes. The charts below combine the major tide and current stations in the region. Watch our currents, tides, wind, and waves guide for help reading these charts. See individual dive site pages for site-specific timing.
Friday Harbor (tide)
San Juan Channel, south entrance Search
Rosario Strait Search
Haro Strait, 1.2 nm west of Kellett Bluff
Charters
No charters are currently known to be running in the area. If you hear of any, let us know!
Dive Clubs
Dive clubs are a great way to get to know the area. Many dive shops offer group outings or charter trips (see our shop listings). There are also various diving meetups you can join. Some focus on specialties like underwater photography or tech diving; others on site maintenance and conservation. If you're new to local diving, many club members are happy to meet up for a casual shore dive or help you get oriented at a site—just reach out and ask. Here are some of the known dive clubs in the area:Restaurants
To find diver-recommended eateries near a dive site, use the 🍔 Nearby food link on that site's page.
Resources
Additional region overview
The San Juan Islands are a prime boat-diving destination with sites like Long Island West Wall ; private boat or rare charters are the main access.
Skyline is the a shore dive near the Islands with similar marine life without the hassle of getting out there.
Pacific Northwest scuba diving regions
🗺️ see on mapMetro areas
- SeattleCentral Puget Sound
- BellevueEastside · Central Puget Sound
- TacomaSouth Puget Sound
- OlympiaSouth Puget Sound
- EverettNorth Puget Sound
- AnacortesNorth Puget Sound
- BellinghamBellingham Area
- Port AngelesStrait of Juan de Fuca
- VancouverHowe Sound
- VictoriaVictoria Area
- SidneyVictoria Area
- NanaimoNanaimo Area
- Courtenay / ComoxNanaimo Area
- Campbell RiverDiscovery Passage
- PortlandOregon region
- SalemOregon region
- EugeneOregon region
- HillsboroOregon region
- BendOregon region
- Coos BayOregon region
Help your fellow diver!
- ✏️ to share visibility, conditions, or diving tips.
- 🍔 after your next dive.
- 👥 This page is maintained by divers. Contact us to suggest a dive shop, charter, top site, dive club, or other useful resource.