Diving in Key Largo

[fstiff]

We've been diving off of Key Largo and Key West and recommend both. However, Key Largo from a dive standpoint is your better site. Quiessence in Key Largo (adjacent to the marriott) is where my daughter and I just finished three days of diving. They were great (nice people, 6 person boats) and we had our best dives on Molasses and French reefs but there are a ton of good sites. Key largo is also pretty convenient, about an hour from Miami airport (in times of low traffic.) In Key West, the non-diving activities are better (some really top notch restaurants) but there is a great wreck here and some good reefs. I've gone out with a few shops in Key West but would recommend Southpointe Divers dive shop. I think our next trip will include a few days of diving in Key Largo followed by a drive down to Key West to finish up.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Diver Kat]

Thanks for the great information, Kat. When you drove up to KL, were you still using your timeshare in Marathon? I looks to me like the drive takes a little less than an hour....correct? We don't want to change lodging so if we stay in Marathon and the drive time to KL is reasonable, then we'll probably do some dives up there.

Thanks, too, for the links to the dive ops websites....very helpful!

islanddream

Last trip we just drove up to KL each day from Marathon. Both days the drive was less than an hour, and since it was early, we caught a couple of great sunrises. The drive would have been a bit faster but school was in and we hit the school zone in Tavernier. Blue Water lets you leave your gear in their locker if you're diving with them on consecutive days, so we didn't need to lug everything back & forth the next morning. On other trips where we flew into Ft Lauderdale or Miami, we might extend our trip by doing a stopover in KL on the way down to Marathon, or a couple days on the way back to Ft Lauderdale to fly out.

 

[islanddream]

Thanks for the link to the Florida Keys Guide....it's much appreciated. The more information about Key Largo I get on Scubaboard, the more excited I am to experience it. I'll definitely look your dive shop up when we are in KL. Thanks!

 

[islanddream]

Thanks, Kat, for the good information. Since we're going in November, we'll hit school traffic, too. We'll just have to plan for it and leave a bit early. Seeing sunrises isn't a bad way to start a good day of diving!

 

[NeptunusRex]

Just purchased tickets and lodging for Sep. Great to hear all the positive feedback about the diving out there. With all the stuff going on in Mexico wasn't sure about bringing my family down to Cancun or Cozumel. Besides, with the economy the way it is I'd rather support the US. I'm not sure how bad tourism was hit after the Gulf catastrophe but a sour economy doesn't help either.

 

[Streetdoc432]

I enjoyed diving with Quiescence last year. There are many good dive ops in the Keys and plenty of dive sites, many that are less than 40' deep.

Quiescence Diving Services , Inc., One of Key Largo's Finest Diving Operations
Key Largo Scuba Diving Locations - Dive Spots

+1. I love this shop. Very accommodating. One of the owners is Rob, he if also the Key Largo fire chief. Nice boats that can take you places the bigger cattle boats can't go. .