Question Caves Close to International Airports Florida

[Underwater Tourist]

Housing is cheap in cave country, so drive to High Springs, @Capt Jim Wyatt has a centrally located house to rent, and you'll have a number of caves close by to dive.

These are more challenging caves, deeper with more current, than you'll find in most of Mx.

Will reach out to him closer to the date, thank you for the suggestion

 

[rddvet]

So for diving purposes, they basically don't exist

It will be around 7-9pm. I will try to massage logistics to avoid arriving that late. Might just stay in Orlando/Tampa on the day I arrive, and then drive the next day. Anyhow, those details are to be figured out later..


I will be doing it with Protec starting october 27th, and right now i believe i am the only student in the group. So if it works for you, you are welcome to join and then perhaps we can do some dives in FL? Shot me a DM if you want

yes at your level, pretty much no cave in the tampa bay area is within your limits. If you're getting into tampa at 7 or later you will be fine with traffic. Protec are good guys. Which instructor and which shop (tulum or playa). If you can, always take a cave class with a buddy. I personally despise single student classes and feel they are a huge disservice to the student. The instructor becomes your buddy and there can be a hard line to determine when they're your buddy and when they're your instructor. Add to that the instructor is well trained but suddenly has to take part in your drills. When you're doing those drills with another person at your level you really get a very different experience. An instructor is unlikely to f up. Your buddy likely will. And lastly, an instructor can't observe you as well if they're your buddy because they'll be right on top of you while doing drills.
I despise single student cave classes and personally would like to see the practice written out of the standards.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

yes at your level, pretty much no cave in the tampa bay area is within your limits. If you're getting into tampa at 7 or later you will be fine with traffic. Protec are good guys. Which instructor and which shop (tulum or playa). If you can, always take a cave class with a buddy. I personally despise single student classes and feel they are a huge disservice to the student. The instructor becomes your buddy and there can be a hard line to determine when they're your buddy and when they're your instructor. Add to that the instructor is well trained but suddenly has to take part in your drills. When you're doing those drills with another person at your level you really get a very different experience. An instructor is unlikely to f up. Your buddy likely will. And lastly, an instructor can't observe you as well if they're your buddy because they'll be right on top of you while doing drills.
I despise single student cave classes and personally would like to see the practice written out of the standards.

Tulum shop, I got extra lucky and Kim will be my instructor

I know its always best to take cave courses with a buddy, but unless somebody else signs up, it will be just me and Kim (he did mention there will be somebody to assist/play buddy on some days, but not all).

 

[kensuf]

If you have done all of your training and cave diving in Mexico and have zero cave diving experience in Florida, you might consider hiring a local guide or instructor for your first couple of trips to learn how to deal with flow.

 

[rddvet]

Tulum shop, I got extra lucky and Kim will be my instructor

I know its always best to take cave courses with a buddy, but unless somebody else signs up, it will be just me and Kim (he did mention there will be somebody to assist/play buddy on some days, but not all).

Good choice, and you're in good hands. I've known Kim a long time. I think he's the best instructor at Protec. You definitely don't have to worry about being a single diver. Kim and his group are believers in avoiding solo cave classes when possible. Since they have a big collection of instructors and trainees, they can always typically grab somebody to play buddy.
Solo cave classes are popular in both Fl and Mx, but I do find more instructors in Mx recruiting to add someone as their buddy more than I do in Fl. In Fl I find it's mostly the GUE community that adds already trained divers into the class so the instructor doesn't have to be the buddy.
There's only a handful of instructors that I would freely trust to send my closest friends and relatives to for cave training. Kim is in that handful, so you'll have a great class.
I agree with Ken, if you have no Fl experience either hire a guide or find a mentor to show you the ropes.

 

[Six Feet Under]

The only place I'd say an intro or new full cave diver has reason to be, near Tampa, is Buford - and you won't make it to the cave section before you hit the 130ft mark. It's a cool dive, one of my favorites, but definitely more cavern than cave - plus you'd want a cart to drag all your stuff out there from where you park as I think it's about a 1/4 mile walk one-way.

Not to mention, last I saw it was tannic and black, top to bottom, or at least down to 70 feet - either way, no thanks. We're about to get a hurricane in a few days and it's rained regularly here the last few weeks, all of which came after that trip report I saw, meaning it's probably black black now.