Diving near Ft Lauderdale

[maremd50]

I just booked a trip to West Ft Lauderdale from Mar 22 to Mar 28 with my family - nondivers. The hotel is supposed to be about 20 min from the ocean. Anyway, I am looking for suggestions for a dive op and places that would be appropriate for a beginner - and will need to hook up with a buddy. I achieved my PADI Open Water at the end of Nov and am going to take the Advanced the end of this month in Puerto Vallarta when I am there, but will still have only about maybe 15 dives when I go to FL. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Divergirl4U]

Be sure to let us know when you get here we have a very active group of divers in our area.
Parrot Island Scuba
Americian Dream
Are both great boats but we also have great shore dives here
Kim P

 

[DivingPrincessE]

I used Pro Dive when I was in Fort Lauderdale, and it was my first ocean dive. Be aware that DMs do not join you in the water in most FL Dive ops, like they do the in the caribbean. One shop was going to charge $75 per person that wanted a DM guide. Pro Dive gave me a DM to be my buddy for only $30 extra ($15 per dive). They also took us to two very cool dives. I saw more fish in Fort Lauderdale than I did in Cozumel and Belize.

Pro Dive - Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Scuba Instructor Training

Enjoy the trip and tell us about it when you get back!

 

[ONESPEED]

For someone with your experience level I would strongly recommend American Dream II. Great boat, great crew and most of their dives are perfect for novice divers. You can check out their info and schedule here....

ScubaFortLauderdale.com - Home of the American Dream II

 

[sarita75]

I used Lighthouse Dive Shop out of Pompano, I believe. I have also used the American Dream. I found the Operators that Lighthouse put us on (Corral Princess, I believe) had quite a # of divers on it (Cattle call), but we both really enjoyed them. The crew were very friendly, explained process and sites very well. I wasn't as impressed with the American Dream - I found the captain and crew to be rather unfriendly. Note, that was 2+ years ago though.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

For someone with your experience level I would strongly recommend American Dream II. Great boat, great crew and most of their dives are perfect for novice divers. You can check out their info and schedule here....

ScubaFortLauderdale.com - Home of the American Dream II

Does the American Dream provide a DM guide if most of their divers are novices?

 

[sarita75]

We did not have a DM onboard or available (maybe had we asked we could have "rented one"). Our dive on the American Dream was considered an advanced dive though.

 

[ONESPEED]

Does the American Dream provide a DM guide if most of their divers are novices?

Honestly I do not know, never having needed one. I have seen their DM's dive with customers but I do not know if they charge for this service. I would suggest calling them although most of the dives they do are pretty cut and dry and I could not imagine needing a DM for them.

 

[ONESPEED]

I used Lighthouse Dive Shop out of Pompano, I believe. I have also used the American Dream. I found the Operators that Lighthouse put us on (Corral Princess, I believe) had quite a # of divers on it (Cattle call), but we both really enjoyed them. The crew were very friendly, explained process and sites very well. I wasn't as impressed with the American Dream - I found the captain and crew to be rather unfriendly. Note, that was 2+ years ago though.

I find that shocking, I can honestly say I have never heard a negative remark about the captain or crew on American Dream. I have done 20+ trips with them and always found them to be more than friendly and accomodating.

 

[IaDiverJ&L]

Great Dive shop for beginners. They usually have a class going on, but the class, does their thing and you can do your thing. But only an hour for the dives. Of course less time for the deeper divers. Here is the link Pro Dive Dive Trips