Included with your Guest Dive Experience:
- One dive in 26 ft deep Halibut Flats Exhibit surrounded by rockfish, halibut, and sturgeon
- One dive in our Open Sea exhibit with sharks, including our
Broadnose Sevengill sharks up to 10 feet in length!
- Aquarium Admission Entry Pass which you may use for yourself or give away
- Behind the Scenes Tour of Passages of the Deep
- Fish ID training session
- Cylinder and weights
Basic Itinerary:
9:00am arrival/unload gear –dive guides will escort you to the check-in.
9:00am - 10:00am check-in (proof of certification, completion of waivers) / Tunnel: fish ID experience
10:30am target splash time
12:00 - 12:15pm clean up and debrief
Program Cost:
$249 Deluxe Program ($239 Aquarium Members)
Details, Details, Details (Please Read Carefully!)
To dive you MUST:
- Present a valid SCUBA Certification card from a recognized agency at check-in
- Be 12 years of age and older. Guests under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a participating adult (and waivers must be signed by parent/guardian)
- Have NO medical contraindications to SCUBA diving
- Be of sound body and mind and able to able to handle the inherent risks involved in SCUBA
- Complete a Liability Release Agreement/Waiver
- One dive in 26 ft deep Halibut Flats Exhibit surrounded by rockfish, halibut, skates and sturgeon
- One dive in our Open Sea exhibit, swimming with hundreds of sharks, including our Broadnose Sevengill sharks up to 10 feet in length!
- Aquarium Admission Entry Pass which you may use for yourself or give away
- Behind the Scenes Tour of Passages of the Deep
- Fish ID training session
- Cylinder and weights
- Camera usage is permitted
- Hand feeding the sturgeon in the Halibut Flats Exhibit
- Free swimming with sharks in the Open Sea Exhibit
Checklist of Personal Items to Bring:
- Certification Card (Required)
- Bathing Suit and towel
- Closed toe solid footwear (preferably water resistant)
- All dive gear except cylinder and weights (for equipment rental, contact your local dive store!)
- Mask and Fins (snorkel not required)
- Buoyancy Compensator
- Regulator with Submersible Pressure Gauge (minimally) or dive computer
Note: if using DIN, you must either convert your regulator to a yoke fitting, or call us to reserve a cylinder as we have limited availability of DIN cylinders. - Adequate thermal protection (drysuit, semi-dry or cold-water wetsuit)
- DAN (Divers Alert Network) membership (strongly recommended)
NOTE: this is a “shore diving” type location with no access to private changing facilities or locker rooms. You will need to dress and change accordingly (e.g. wear a bathing suit). There is a warm fresh water shower on the dive deck, and we can provide access to a toilet as required.
What You CANNOT bring:- Exposed jewelry (The Aquarium, staff, and volunteers are not responsible for any lost or stolen items)
- Extra people that are not participating (The Aquarium, staff, and volunteers are not responsible the safety of extra guests)
- Other guests behind the scenes
- Cylinders (we provide steel cylinders in a variety of sizes – if you have special needs, please ask)
- Non-standard scuba gear is not permitted during the GDP, including, but not limited to: Full Face Masks, Dual Tank Mounts, Side-Mount configurations, Long octopus hoses, and Cave diving configurations.(Please contact us in advance if you have any questions – if you have special needs, please ask)
- Full wetsuit or drysuit. The water temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and a warm 7mm suit or drysuit is required, as well as 5mm or warmer full boots, hood, and gloves.
We realize that plans can sometimes change, and will provide a date change with no penalty if made more than 14 days in advance. Program no-shows or cancellations made with less than 14 days notification cannot be refunded but may be rescheduled at our discretion. To change your reservation, contact us at Diana.hollingshead@aquarium.org or call
Eugene Skin Divers Supply at 541 342-2351.
Parking & Arrival Instructions:
Do Not go to the main admissions area!
When you arrive at the Oregon Coast Aquarium:
- Park in the staff parking lot adjacent to the corner of Ferry Slip Road and 29th Street in South Beach.
- Look for the Guest Diver sign, and wait for your dive guides to escort you and your gear to check-in.
- Driving Directions:
Go South through Newport on Hwy 101 over Yaquina Bay Bridge, left at traffic light, go to end of street, left on Ferry Slip Rd.
Destination on your right.