Where to snorkel/scuba in Tampa area?

[DeepSeaBeauti]

Hello to all, Im heading down to Tampa Fl Oct 28th. Im planning on proposing to my girl friend of 4 years. The way i had planed was to fly to tampa to see her sister and husband(my best friend) and then drive to the keys. There we would go on a snorkel trip. On this trip I would pretend to find the ring on the sea floor, come up show her what i found, and ask for her hand in marriage. Well, seams that in the keys that week is Fantasy Fest. Everyone keeps telling me its going to be super crouded, and probley not worth the hassle. So now im thinking about trying this whole plan in the Tampa area. So im looking for places, trips, the best locations to try and pull off my plan. So any sugestion is welcome. And in advance, thank you.

 

[listen2bob]

Great idea, but yeah fantasy fest would prevent me from driving down into that madness. I live here in Tampa, and there is some diving to be done here, but it would be much better if you could head to the east coast from about Ft. Pierce down to Miami or west palm. Some really interesting dives over there, plus the water is clearer (depending on what the seas and hurricanes are doing). Lots of zoas and whatnot down there.

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

Thats a great idea. We had talked about going to Miami but was not sure on the dives there. I really want to use the dive to propose, but i also want to see some great marine life. Thanks for the tip listen2bob.

 

[listen2bob]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1863320

for an example of southeast florida