Dive location choices

[ZzzKing]

I haven't done the Flower Gardens, but it may be too deep (>100 ft or more) for a newer diver and you might not have much flexibility on your dive profiles (all/most dive sites are deep). Also, weather conditions can be very erratic in the gulf - one moment it's sunny and calm and half hour later stormy and turbulent.
Good luck and dive safely.

The folks I know who have dove there say the maximum depth w/o using a shovel is about 100' with the average being in the 70'-80' range. Ideal for Nitrox if you have the certification. They also confirm the comment about the weather.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

I am a fairly new diver (AOW, but with only 25 dives) and have a VERY limited budget. The reason I say this is because I finally convinced my wife to allow me to do a blue water dive (this will be my first). Due to costs and time and everything, I have 2 choices and am not sure which is the better choice. The first is to go out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL on a boat ride to Bimini Bahamas for 3 days (approx. 7 dives). We would be staying in a house or cabin. The other choice is to go to the Flower Gardens on the Spree. It is a 2 day, but is also about 7 dives. I am not sure which one is better suited to my abilities, but also which one offers more to see. Any insight or suggestions from any of you is greatly appreciated.

The Flower Gardens are deeper dives for the most part in the 100 foot range. You will have to contend with waves most of the times and maybe some current and surge.

Florida will give you more botttom time and be a good place to start your ocean diving.

We dive in Cozumel a lot and own a home there. Consider burning some air miles after you get a little more experience. World class diving and a very safe and friendly enviroment.

 

[bentex]

Ive never been to Bonaire or Florida for diving, but have been to the Flower Gardens. I was on the Spree in August 2005. At that time I had only made a dozen dives, all blue water and nothing really challenging, other than some 3-4 foot swells in La Paz.

I went to the FG with 3 friends...one had about 100 dives logged, and the rest of us in the 10-15 range. I would call the diving medium advanced. The current was strong and swells were usually 2-6ft. We didnt have a designated dive master and were on our own as far as underwater exploration which we knew prior to the trip. There was always a very extensive dive briefing, tons of information and safety regulations, and personal attention while exiting the boat and getting back on the boat. It never felt unsafe to me, but I was glad to have had an experienced diver in my group who was familiar with this type of diving.

Also consider that you will be diving with around 30 divers getting on and off the boat at the same time. We did 7 dives (5 Saturday and 2 Sunday). Aside from being seasick for half the trip I really did enjoy the diving. Clear warm water, Im told the food was ok, and the staff and other divers were super. However, I would like to have had 10-15 more dives on my log before doing this dive.

If this is your first blue water dive trip, I would go with the Bahamas. I did my first dive there while on my honeymoon in Nassau. It was a resort course, but got me hooked for life.

I also have tons of pictures from the Flower Garden trip including interior shots of the boat if you would like to see them.

I hope this helps!

 

[barebones]

Unless you are planning your trip in the summer, I would not want to take a boat across the Gulf Stream. It can be very uncomfortable for up to 6 hours. Its a great ride when its nice (about 30% of the time) but why gambol.

Fly Chalks Stay at the Big Game Cub and dive with Keefe's Bimini Undersea

Barebones
http://www.biminibiggame.com/

 

[trigfunctions]

There is a lot of good diving in the Fort Lauderdale area, and the Keys are just a few hours away.
http://www.fillexpress.com/boats.shtml

 

[LuvWarmH2O]

It would take a few more ff miles, but Mexico is pretty inexpensive with great diving. The water is a bit warmer than Florida/Bahamas this time of year too. We took a dive trip to PlayaDelCarmen last summer using ff miles on the cheap. 2 tank boat dives for $50, $60/night hotel (nice, clean, free Wifi, walking dist. to everything), and great inexpensive food on 5th Ave. ($8 for a huge yummy pizza and two beers, $3 for a huge fruit plate breakfast, etc.) Only downside is that the shuttle from the airport is as much/more than a 2-tank dive. You could prob still come in under your $400 budget. msg/email me if you are interested on where we stayed and who we dove with for these prices.

Have fun wherever you end up going!

 

[underachiever]

If you can get to FL with ff miles. Rent a car and check out Silent World in Key Largo. Check their 5 trip package and they can help arrange hotel.

 

[fisherdvm]

You can stay at inexpensive hotels in Key Largo and dive at Pennenkamp state park. In the off season, I think they do 2 morning dives. In the busier seasons, they include night dives. There are at least a dozen dive shops in Key Largo all within a 1 hour drive of Ft Lauderdale or Miami.

 

[fisherdvm]

Cozumel has great dive deals... They are very slow right now and would do anything to bring divers to the resorts.