scuba in Florida

[ascvet]

where is the best place to go diving to look at Florida coral?

 

[Rockitmakr]

Try West Palm or the Keys....
:beer:

 

[roblack]

John Pennekamp Park in the upper keys, Loue Key, Grassy Key, Big Pine Key.

 

[NeveSSL]

The keys I think are definitely where its at.

But, you can do shore dives onto reefs starting at Pompano beach.

I recently did a dive in Panama City (not the Big O this time ) and it was ok.

They Keys are top on my to go list, though.

Brandon

 

[hotrodolds]

the keys all the way.

 

[livingstone]

IME, Key Largo, and the eastern keys, are better than Key West, particularly with regard to visibility. However, Looe Key has some gorgeous reefs/fish.

 

[Razor]

It all depends on how much time you have and how much you want to spend.

If you have the time and money, a boat off the Keys would be perfect and the boat captains know where to take you for a great dive.

If you prefer to save a little money you can do a shore dive, which I would recommend Lauderdale by the Sea, in Ft. Lauderdale or EroJacks in Dania Beach. I just dove Erojacks this past weekend with some out of town guest and everyone had a great time. Visibility off Erojacks can be an issue, so check with the local dive shops before you hit the water, but as far as cost you can't beat a reef 50 yards off shore in 15 feet of water.

Have fun.

 

[Irie Mon]

I agree with the lauderdale by the sea post.... call some local dive boats they can drop you on some great reefs at 30-40 ft

 

[mbscuba]

Key largo is great. My wife and I go every year. Rainbow Reef is a great company to use. If you want to go more south, Looe Key is a good reef too. We use Looe Key Dive and resort for their charters. Actually, their the company who Im certified with. As for Kew West, it's ok. Not nearly as many sites as the uppe keys. But a great company we use when we do dive there is South Point divers. Anyways, have a blast. I'll be in Key West for New Years.

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Big fan of Sombrero (out of Marathon Key) and the Dry Tortugas.

 

[Kenmx10]

Key Largo, molasses reef. Some of the best Ive seen in the Keys.

 

[scottallert]

sombrero
hands down the best.

 

[ataller]

I was surprised with how good Boynton Beach was. South of West Palm, and north of Boca.

Reefs are about 50-60 feet, you drift dive in the 'current'.

Lots of life, fishes, inverts, soft corals, tonnes of sponge, easy dive if you are local.

Check out underwater explorers they are a quality op and only take out a max of 6 divers at a time.


Adam

 

[SugarFox03]

I just did a dive with Key Dives, the boat "The Giant Stride" out of Islamorada for my bday in Oct and had a great time. They do two trips a day, morning & afternoon, and two dives on each trip. That was my first time diving Islamorada, and really enjoyed it. We went to Alligator Reef & Barracude Ally the first day and Islamorada Fingers and Captain Grumpy's the next day. My fave was Alligator though, lots of really neat ledges and overhangs. Tons of fish and a couple big nurse sharks. I'm fascinated by sharks, so I really enjoyed this one.

Palm Beach had some pretty good dive spots as well, all the way from Jupiter to Boca Raton. Before you go out, stop by a local dive shop or two and see what they recommend. What is your dive experience, thats another thing to keep in mind...some places aren't particularly novice-friendly.

Good luck, have fun! If you come to Palm Beach, lemme know...I'm always looking to go diving!

 

[Avgou]

Last April I made it down to John Pennecamp National Park, it's great for a snorkel or diving.

They take you out for 2 hours. You are not guaranteed which reefs they will bring you too. They took us to Banana Reef because some of the other major spots were riddled with Jelly Fish, I really wanted to see Christ of the Abyss.

Saw amazing Brain Corals the size of VW Bugs, hundreds of sea fans, French and Gray Angelfish, Parrotfish, huge Star Corals, by free diving saw tons of christmas tree worms in the star corals.

 

[blizzardscout2]

How does the diving in the Florida Keys compare to Cozumel? I have been to Cozumel and would like to vacation to the Keys in the next year possibly?

 

[jdhuyvetter]

Pennekamp Pics

Pennekamp Pics

One of our club members (Southwest Florida Marine Aquarium Society, SWFMAS) went diving in Pennekamp over Thanksgiving. Pennekamp is Key Largo. He posted some pics on our club website. Link is below.

www.swfmas.com/node/702

 

[kdvorak]

Last August I did my open water dives for certification in Pompano Beach. I used South Florida Diving Headquarters. They were great. After my certification I did four more dives with them. I thought the reefs in Pompano were great, I wasn't expecting them to be so nice. Visibility was real good also. I did 2 more dives later in the week in Key Largo and wasn't as impressed as I was with Pompano. I hope to go back to Pompano this spring or summer.