Kelp forest
down to 12 m
Otter Cove
A shallow, calm Pacific Grove kelp dive (most of it 8-11 m) under one of Monterey Bay's thickest kelp beds, named for its resident sea otter raft.
- Open Water
- Sea otters
Monterey & Carmel
Diving in United States
12 documented dive sites, 7 of them for Open Water divers. Known for sea lions, sea otters and seals.
- Best months
- Sep–Nov
- Water
- 7–14 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced
- Nearest airport
- MRY
- One dive
- €45–269
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Monterey & Carmel in November
Best season- Sea
- 14 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 17 °C
- 10 °C at night
- Rain
- 70 mm
- average for the year
- Wind
- 10 km/h
- on average
Exposure suit: 7 mm full suit or 8/7 mm semi-dry · if you feel the cold: 8/7 mm semi-dry or drysuit. How we choose
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Diving is year-round; PADI names Sep–Nov as ideal. Dec–May is colder but the kelp thrives and seals, sea lions and gray whales are seen more often; Jun–Aug may bring plankton blooms that reduce visibility. Winter storms can temporarily close exposed sites, while sheltered sites like the Breakwater are dived almost every day.
Dive sites in Monterey & Carmel
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m7 sitesPinnacle
down to 17 m
Eric's Pinnacle
A calm boat dive on a pinnacle from 6 to 17 m in Monterey Bay, often circled by large schools of blue rockfish.
- Open Water
- Rockfish
Kelp forest
down to 12 m
McAbee Beach
A calm, protected sand-beach entry on Cannery Row leading to a giant kelp bed where sea otters are common and old sardine pipes shelter rockfish.
- Open Water
- Sea otters
Reef
down to 21 m
Lovers Point
- Open Water
- Rockfish
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m5 sitesKelp forest
down to 30 m
Bluefish Cove (Point Lobos)
- Advanced
- Rockfish
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
Reported here, season not documented yet:
- Sea lions
- Sea otters
- Seals
- Rockfish
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus
- Lingcod
- Anemones
- Sharks
- Dolphins
- Rays
- Mola mola (sunfish)
- Wolffish
- Jellyfish
What diving costs here
Here a dive costs between €45 and €269, a try dive €269 and an Open Water course between €824 and €1182, depending on the dive centres we checked.
- One dive (certified diver)packages counted per dive
- €45–2693 centres
- Try dive
- €2691 centre
- Open Water course
- €824–11821 centre
- Marine park feeofficial amount · per dive team (2 divers) per day reservation
- €1820 USD
The cheapest and the most expensive of the dive centres we checked, from the prices on their own websites in October 2026. Prices change: confirm with the centre before booking.
Converted to euros at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026; for currencies the ECB does not publish, the official rate of the country's central bank.
Where is Monterey & Carmel?
- Nearest airport
- MRY
Monterey & Carmel: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Monterey & Carmel?
- The best months to dive Monterey & Carmel are Sep–Nov. Diving is year-round; PADI names Sep–Nov as ideal. Dec–May is colder but the kelp thrives and seals, sea lions and gray whales are seen more often; Jun–Aug may bring plankton blooms that reduce visibility. Winter storms can temporarily close exposed sites, while sheltered sites like the Breakwater are dived almost every day.
- Is Monterey & Carmel good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 7 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Otter Cove, San Carlos Beach (Breakwater) and Eric's Pinnacle. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Monterey & Carmel?
- The water is usually between 7 °C and 14 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Monterey & Carmel?
- Divers regularly see sea lions, sea otters, seals, rockfish, nudibranchs and octopus.
- How do you dive Monterey & Carmel?
- The nearest airport is MRY.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash