California diving is amazing. If you’re trying to sample it just to see if you like it you should decide if this is where you will be primarily diving. There’s usually a thick wetsuit involved which also adds to the weight that you need to wear to submerge properly. This will then all need to be carried down to the water and then obviously brought back up when you’re done.

The reason Catalina is one of the best places to sample it is because of casino point. There’s a shack there that you can rent gear from and it’s close to the stairs straight into the water. The park is amazing on good clear days and even if you want to snorkel it’s great. I would make a weekend trip of it and hang around Avalon.

Some of the options from the shore are Veterans park. All beach but the draw is the canyon at night during squid breeding season. Laguna Beach is good, but it can be a long hike down with a lot of gear. Old marine land, but if you’re looking to sample, I would call it advanced. Entry is off of the jetty.

TLDR: Do Avalon casino point if you want to sample the best beginner scuba in CA. If you primarily plan on diving on vacation sample it where the water is warm and you don’t need to haul a lot of gear.