Diving Key Largo with Rainbow Reef Dive Center

[mikeb21072]

My wife and I will be there over Christmas as well. We have been diving with them exclusively when we are in Key Largo, and they are awesome. They train most of the DM and instructors in the area. The free dive guide is a real plus, and if you get to go to snapper's ledge, you will be pushing school's of grunts out of your way.
They are very professional and take safety seriously. If you are going to dive with them, make your reservations now and check the prices for the hotels on their website. Hotels can be pricey at the holidays and most of them look like 1960's hotels in need of a makeover. Not a big deal for divers with wet smelly gear, but nondivers might not like it.
We are doing the afternoon dive on Christmas Day for the second year in a row. Actually, we have four trips planned with them for the rest of the year and we are counting the days.

 

[Katch]

Don't forget to compare hotel prices on Rainbow Reef's website to others before making reservations. They have killer discounts, not just for the Marriott, but Holiday Inn and a couple local places. Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc can't seem to beat the discounts offered on the Rainbow Reef website.


Who needs WalMart when you have a Divers Direct a short walk away

 

[sportxlh]

Thanks for the report. I see reef sharks frequently in Jupiter & WPB, but never seem to see them in the Keys: nice sightings. Great photos: thanks again for posting.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thanks for the report. I see reef sharks frequently in Jupiter & WPB, but never seem to see them in the Keys: nice sightings. Great phots: thanks again for posting.

Almost every dive at MO we are seeing 1 or 2 reef sharks consistently

 

[iluvtheocean]

Don't forget to compare hotel prices on Rainbow Reef's website to others before making reservations. They have killer discounts, not just for the Marriott, but Holiday Inn and a couple local places. Kayak, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc can't seem to beat the discounts offered on the Rainbow Reef website.


Who needs WalMart when you have a Divers Direct a short walk away

Divers Direct Doesn't sell food & alcohol for after the dive

will consider doing an afternoon dive with them sometime soon since it's not that far.... no diving right now for me - caught FLU & lower back is acting up again

 

[reefman]

Almost every dive at MO we are seeing 1 or 2 reef sharks consistently

we have also been observing reef sharks and a few blacktips on nearly every dive @ deep and shallow molasses for the past 6 months or so. can't always get close enough for a photo. 1st photo, silkies on the SG. daily reports from the local dive ops are also showing an substantial increase in reef, blacktip, hammerhead and bull shark sightings(lets not forget the GW video from the duane) throughout the upper keys reefs and wrecks. a few from recent dives

reefman
key largo

 

[mikeb21072]

Divers Direct Doesn't sell food & alcohol for after the dive

will consider doing an afternoon dive with them sometime soon since it's not that far.... no diving right now for me - caught FLU & lower back is acting up again

I know the back issues all too well, kept me out of several dives last fall. I guess its a good thing mine has been surgically corrected, twice. The ride out to Molasses Reef in the fall can be a real back cruncher, especially if the winds have been blowing from the east.

Hope the back improves, it is a bummer to be out of the water.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I dove with Rainbow Reef for the first time last weekend. They were actually pretty darn good.

I do have a few complaints, and some general comments.

First, the dive boat you showed is one of two. Their other one has a great covering over the back deck area. I would never willingly choose a boat without that back shade, and was glad to go out on their boat with that shade...my concern with going out with RR again is, what if they put me on the boat without shade? I could survive but, there are lots of operators with shade, why risk it?

Second, they were oddly strict about their no-walking-to-enter-without-guide-holding-your-valve rule. I understand the reasons for it, but it's not a universal rule, and it's one I've never encountered. Given that, I would have expected a simple "hold on, we'll help you" rather than a somewhat stern order to sit back down.

Third, it's not a complaint, because I understand their schedule, but they were very strict about 60 minute dives-the DM's were getting back on board after about 45. It might sound bad but, I was ok with the rule because after an hour, I was a little bored. I did enjoy the dives, but since you are moored to one spot, and you don't want to be rude and overstay your bottom time, so you stay close to the boat, and there just wasn't as much to see as I'm used to on drift dives in Palm Beach, or at BHB. Of course, I've had really boring drift dives in Palm Beach before, every dive everywhere can be a little based on luck.

I think Rainbow Reef is a pretty solid dive operation. They also offer some features like rinse bins at the dock, and getting on and off the boats was pretty easy too. I also appreciated that their staff had store shirts on, which made them seem a little more professional than some operations. And, while only one of their boats has the shade I prefer, both are the nice size of boat that rides very well making slightly rough seas feel like calm seas. And, the exhaust fumes aren't bad at all. We had a brand new diver with us, and he had a great time.

 

[JesperS]

You say "no walmart" like that's a bad thing. :yelclap:

 

[drrich2]

For me, it is. Without too much derailment into the 'big box vs. Mom & Pop stores' and the 'familiarity breeds contempt' effect some have when they travel & see the same stores they saw back home, I like the fact that when I travel, if I forget or need almost anything besides specialty scuba equipment, I can probably get it at Wal-mart, and at a good price.

Years ago on an unrelated Florida trip for a reptile convention, I realized I hadn't packed underwear! Went to Wal-mart & no problem. Wanted some CD-R cases, if memory serves, and got varied other odds & ends. So easy.

Whatever other effects Wal-mart has, if there's one around, then it's almost like that Travelocity commercial where the gnome tells us 'Never roam alone.'

Richard.