dive in orlando?

[Blake]

i will be in orlando, this weekend, till the 19th, is there anything close to orlando worth bringing my gear down to dive?

 

[Fox-Cousteau]

i will be in orlando, this weekend, till the 19th, is there anything close to orlando worth bringing my gear down to dive?

Several Fresh water dives:
Blue Springs in Orange City is on I-4 East of Orlando about 1/2 way between Orlando and Daytona. Max depth for OW divers is apx. 60 ffw, if you are cavern or cave, then you will be allowed to bring a light(s) and can penetrate the spring to apx 110 ffw. price $5.00
Alexander Spring is in the Ocala National forest and is N of Orlando this is a shallow dive (max 25 ffw) with lots of bream and perch, perhaps some small bass. price $7.50.
North West of Orlando are two sights about 5 miles from each other in Williston, FL.
Blue Grotto ($40) and Devil's Den ($37). Blue Grotto is a cavern that allows OW divers to dive. max depth is 60 ffw for basic level divers, Adv. divers may penetrate to 98 ffw.
Devil's Den is arguably one of the most unique dives available to OW divers. :cool2: It is a "lake" inside of a cavern. Divers descend to the lake via a stair case to a platform where they can enter the water. you will need lights for this location and Blue Grotto, although both sites have ambient light.

I hope you have an enjoyable time here and get a chance to dive. Be safe!

 

[Aeropl]

Fox-C. covered the fresh water dives pretty well. Blue Springs is about 45 minutes away, while the the Den and Grotto are about 2 hrs drive. If you are willing to drive a little further there's also ocean diving on the east coast. There is good shore diving from Sebastian to Ft. Pierce (1.5 to 2 hr. drive from Orlando), but conditions have to be perfect for days in order to get decent visibility. There are good charter boat dives in Jupiter (maybe 2.5 hr drive) and the Palm Beach area (3 hrs) with better visibility and reefs.

If you've never done freshwater spring/cavern dives, I would recommend going north of Orlando to experience the sites that Fox-C mentioned, as it's a different experience.

 

[DMDavid]

You can always dive at Walt Disney World.
There are two daily afternoon dives at the Living Seas in EPCOT.
It's a bit on the costly side but a very unique and enjoyable dive, plus the only gear you'll need is your mask.

 

[Blake]

thanks for the replies and the recommendations, i have never dove in saltwater so i might venture down to Jupiter if i can. again thanks