Diving the Keys on a budget

[Buc Chick]

You're not so "rude"...you said "please" on your post!

 

[Divergirl4U]

Becky is your girl .... nice rooms cheap Key Largo area 305-587-1925 call her with all your needs she will get you set up ... tell her Kim Porter said Hi
I was there last weekend here are some pics
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/... II 7-14-07/?action=view&current=e5e0967f.pbw
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/... II 7-14-07/?action=view&current=564ebf17.pbw
Let me tell you ... water temp 89 omg loved it
Kim P

 

[ce4jesus]

Well since I live in Colorado I feel your pain. Florida on a budget depends upon a lot of things. Here's what we've faced the last 4 years.

Rental Car - we usually do Alamo for a week and get it for under $200. I think the sites name is myvisarewards or something along those lines and they have great coupons on there if you own a VISA card.
Airfare - Usually Tampa or Orlando are the cheapest to fly into.
Ft. Lauderdale - Generally has some cheap stays. There are a few shore dive sites there as well that are decent and relaxing. Deerfield beach comes to mind. Shore diving is the cheapest way to dive. Tanks aren't that expensive but you have to search for entry points and usually lug your gear a ways. www.dixiedivers.com Pack a dive buoy if you plan on shore diving. They're like $15 a day to rent and you could pick up an inflatable one for that price on Ebay.
Diver operators - I've usually found that very few places in the keys offer a package deal on diving. If you find one, its usually the best thing to do because purchasing individual dives for you and your son would be about $150 for each 2-tank excursion.
Key Largo is a little over an hour and a half from Fort Lauderdale. So if you dived with John Pennekamp or another key largo operator you could commute. Just a thought, but have you checked out any deals lately on Funjet? I just ran across a 4 day, with air, hotel and diving for $500 per person. That's tough to beat.

 

[Rudebob]

Thanks for all your replies. I guess by my idea of "budget" would to be find a clean, safe, motel room for $100.00 or so per day (less would always be better). Florida car rentals are pretty cheap, even after all the taxes and fees. I would plan to keep meals minimal as in DIY for breakfast and fast food/dinner type restaurants for other meals. I would plan on boat diving each day. All the rates from the websites I have check on seem comparable so I know what I am looking at there.

What got me started on this whole deal was I had planned to book a charter trip to San Carlos, Mexico for 3 days of diving. The rates for diving are pretty comparable to Florida. It is an 8 hour drive which I prefer not to take my vehicle that far into Mexico. The bus charters add $175.00 to the trip cost. For ~75 bucks more I can fly to Florida and the trip time is comparable. So if I can get a reasonable place to stay the night and know that there are cheap meals options I would rather dive south Florida than the Sea of Cortez. I figures with a rental car it will cost a little more but I think it would be worth the difference. I’m I missing any other significant costs?

Thanks again for the feedback,

‘Bob

 

[deepstops]

Looks like you can do what you want, plenty of hotels in the Upper Keys available for $100/night in the summer. Silent World already has a lock on dive packages IMO. IIRC it's $225/5trips ($45 a trip) and if they can hook you up w/ $60/night accommodations at Hungry Pelican, this looks like a no-brainer to me.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

Rudebob--

Come on down to the Keys--the water is great! Right now the water temps are 85-88 degrees, so no wetsuit is needed, just something for skin protection (rash guard, skin) if you want it.

Hungry Pelican has some rooms as cheap as $60 a night. and there are loads of restauratnts around that are affordable that the locals can recommend. I second what Brent said, Alabama Jack's is AWESOME!

Look for a dive shop that has a package deal (x number of dives for $x), check out their websites and find one that not only fits your pocketbook but your personality!

Pat

No it isnt (Alabama Jacks). They wont let Roxy in

 

[Speargirl]

Thanks for all your replies. I guess by my idea of "budget" would to be find a clean, safe, motel room for $100.00 or so per day (less would always be better). Florida car rentals are pretty cheap, even after all the taxes and fees. I would plan to keep meals minimal as in DIY for breakfast and fast food/dinner type restaurants for other meals. I would plan on boat diving each day. All the rates from the websites I have check on seem comparable so I know what I am looking at there.

What got me started on this whole deal was I had planned to book a charter trip to San Carlos, Mexico for 3 days of diving. The rates for diving are pretty comparable to Florida. It is an 8 hour drive which I prefer not to take my vehicle that far into Mexico. The bus charters add $175.00 to the trip cost. For ~75 bucks more I can fly to Florida and the trip time is comparable. So if I can get a reasonable place to stay the night and know that there are cheap meals options I would rather dive south Florida than the Sea of Cortez. I figures with a rental car it will cost a little more but I think it would be worth the difference. I’m I missing any other significant costs?

Thanks again for the feedback,

‘Bob

Well not to toot my own horn but I guess I will:blinking: for $125 a night you get a 2/2 fully furnished in a very nice Yacht Club in Key Largo. The kitchen is fully furnished so all you have to do is go buy some food. Which is always cheaper than going out to fast food places. By a box of cereal some milk (Breakfast) lunch meat for sandwiches some chips and soda and some waters. For dinner heck cook out on the grill. Now that's a low cost vacation. Just wanted to toot my horn
Becky

 

[AZ Desert Diver]

Hungry Pelican + Silent World 10 Dive Package = one heck of a deal

I'm a repeat customer several times over of both places and tend to have a limited budget. Hungry Pelican has some units with kitchens, so you can even keep food costs down a bit by stocking up cereal, bagels or pasta.

I did this package a few times last year and I should be doing it again this year. The price of the dives and the motel won't be beat.

 

[MsParamedic]

Chris...

If Roxy can't go, then I'm not going in either!!!

Pat

 

[KeyLargoBrent]

No it isnt (Alabama Jacks). They wont let Roxy in

In? I didn't realize that AJ's had an "in"! Roxy's probably got too much pedigree for the joint. Try mussing her up a bit and tieing a dirty bandana around her neck... she'll fit right in. Oh yeah, and teach her to walk with an awful limp... that oughta do the trick!