Planning trip to Florida need advice

[Al G Blenny]

So my wife and I want to put our rebate check towards a vacation. We decided it wouldn't be in line with the reason for economic stimulus if we went outside of the US. I want to go somewhere that I can do a little diving (I have only done it once before and that was with an instructor). I want to try for the certification while we are there. We narrowed it down to some place in Florida but I don't know anything about the area. Any suggestions on where to go would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Matt

 

[roblack]

Hello Matt! Rob here in Miami Beach. Key Largo would be a great place to do check out dives. Shallow reefs with lots of coral. Check out John Pennekamp Park. There are some great sites here in Miami as well. Let me know if you want to do a dive together, my wife dives too. PM me!

 

[reefmaster30]

hey al i just got back from west palm beach diving there is pretty good. my girlfriend got certified while we were down there at the scuba club. i must admit they were awesome. rob is also right while we were in wpb we drove to john pennekemp park it was great. just thought i would put my 2 cents in and hope this helps out.

 

[Al G Blenny]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for the advise. I think we are set on Key Largo now. I love that it's so close the the Everglades as well. We are looking at going around the end of September through the beginning of October. Do you think we should worry at all about the Hurricane season? My biggest concern is that we will be bringing our 1 1/2 year old with us. I know that dampens our diving time but I am trying to talk my Mom into going with us as a baby sitter. We just don't want to leaver the baby behind for that long.

 

[Grunt]

Jupiter Drift diving is awesome. West Palm also

 

[Al G Blenny]

Anyone know if my travel dates would be bad? Storms or just bad diving in general.

 

[roblack]

Honestly it is a little bit of a gamble, but I wouldn't let that stop me! Summer 05' my wife and I got married and did all of our checkout dives here and in the Keys before doing our honeymoon in St Lucia where we did several dives. That was the summer of Katrina and all those crazy storms. We actually got married on the beach across the street from our condo. Hard to believe we pulled all that off with so many storms kicking through. Twice we started a dive under clear skies and came up to find a storm had arrived. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summer and fall, so you might want to schedule your dives in the morning and early afternoon.

Make sure you have traveler's insurance so you aren't charged if your trip gets cancelled due to a storm. Many credit cards have it when you book your trip on your card. As far as the dates go, chances are you will be okay. Not sure what the numbers work out to be, but far better chance that there will not be a hurricane here than otherwise. Summer is great here! Hot, but the best time to dive IMO. The water temp is great.

The Marriott in Key Largo is surprisingly nice and recently renovated. PM me and I will give you some ideas on getting a good rate. Fish House in Largo is awesome for great fresh seafood. LMK if you want more info! Hope we can do a dive or 2 with you and that you can stop by South Beach and take a look at the reef you helped me build!

 

[twoodall]

Key largo is great! Spent Thanksgiving 2006 there, rented a boat one day at John Pennekamp, my buddy and I spent the day diving, picked the wives and children up for lunch on the boat. There are dive sites everywhere. The next two days we took the charter at the hotel. It was a great weekend. I think you can let a dive shop know your travel plans and they will accomodate you with certification, in those areas they do it everyday. Best of luck!