Some of the world’s most varied and spectacular cold-water diving lies off the coast of British Columbia. Diving is best in winter, when you can expect up to 40 meters of visibility. The diverse marinelife includes sponges, anemones, soft corals, rockfish (china, vermilion, and canary), rock scallops, and cukes. Plenty of shipwrecks also dot the underwater terrain. The most popular dive sites are off the Southern Gulf Islands, Ogden Point in Victoria, Nanaimo (for wreck diving), Telegraph Cove, Port Hardy, and Powell River (the scuba diving capital of Canada). Many of the coastal communities along Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast have dive shops with gear rentals and air tanks, and many can put you in touch with charter dive boats and guides.

A quick flip through the Vancouver Yellow Pages lets you know that scuba diving is alive and well north of the 49th parallel. The city’s many scuba shops have everything you need, and they’re excellent sources of information on all the best local spots. Coming highly recommended is Rowand’s Reef Scuba Shop (1512 Duranleau St., Granville Island, 604/669-3483, www.rowandsreef.com; daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m.), a full-service dive shop offering rentals, sales, organized diving trips, and PADI dive- certification courses throughout the year. The local Diver magazine (www.divermag.com) is another good source of information; its scuba directory lists retail stores, resorts, charter boats, and other services.