Key Largo in late November dive

[scubastingray]

Ocean pointe is okay, but they have soured in my mind. They have a no jet boat rule, and refused to let us leave our boat even parked in the parking lot. We ended up leaving it parked across the street and trailered it every night after diving. Sort of silly, given that the boat is quieter and churns up far less than most prop boats.

 

[CajunDiva]

We have had VERY good success renting private homes in the Key Largo/Tavernier areas. You might want to check out vrbo.com or homeaway.com and see what listings match your criteria. For us, it comes out MUCH cheaper to rent a house for a week than a hotel room.

Alternatively, Rainbow Reef Dive Center is a great dive op right at the head of the Marina at MM100. They have cooperative agreements with several of the area hotels and you can get diving/accomodation packages with them. Just give them a call and it will all be booked for you. The newer divers in your group might appreciate the fact that they provide dive guides at no additional charge.

Scuba Diving Florida Keys | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, FL

We were there the last week of November in 2013. A cold front came through and the temperature dropped into the 50's at night! Thankfully the water temperature was still fine, so we toughed it out. I brought a big thermal mug filled with hot cocoa on the dive boat - it was worth every shiver

 

[NoogaD]

CajunDiva

Thanks for info. We'll keep the hot cocoa in mind as well. Jackets on the packing list as well.

NoogaD

 

[PittCaleb]

I'll be in Key Largo Nov 5-8 with plans to dive on the 6th & 7th. Plan is 1 day shallow with my Jr Diver son and 1 day at the Spiegel.

I already had a recommendation for Rainbow Reef and got all their info. I notice they're on the ocean side of things. Are there any outfits on the north side of the keys that I should consider? Is Rainbow and their dive schedule good and I should just go for it?

Anyone want to join me on the Spiegel? AOW/Rescue, would rather a random buddy from SB than a boat-buddy...

TIA,
PittCaleb

 

[CajunDiva]

There are lots of great dive ops in the Keys, and many locations to choose from. Rainbow Reef is in a prime location with easy access to the great dive sites. All you have to do is reserve a spot on the boat and show up. You don't have to worry about having enough divers to make the trip - there is ALWAYS a boat running at Rainbow Reef - unless the weather creates dangerous conditions.

Their schedule shows they will be running to the Spiegel Grove on Thursday the 6th and the Duane on Friday the 7th:
Diving Charter Schedule | Rainbow Reef Dive Center | Key Largo, Florida Keys

Just give them a call - I'm sure they'd be happy to answer any questions for you..

 

[Lorenzoid]

Any thoughts on Rainbow Reef versus Conch Republic down in Tavernier? I seem to be seeing Rainbow Reef mentioned more and more frequently here.

 

[CajunDiva]

I haven't had the opportunity to dive with Conch Republic yet, but I would love to. Capt. Gary is very helpful here on ScubaBoard and seems like a really great guy

 

[rockinrebel]

here is a link to Conch Republic's dive calendar. Just go to November and you can see typical conditions and water temps. logged.

Dive Portal - Dive Calendar

 

[Capt Gary]

Here are the last 6 years of dive logs for November, in case you wanted too much information. Once in the calendar just click on the dive for any day and you will get the dive conditions for that days dive.

November 2008
November 2009
November 2010
November 2011
November 2012
November 2013

Good Diving,
Capt Gary

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Ocean pointe is okay, but they have soured in my mind. They have a no jet boat rule, and refused to let us leave our boat even parked in the parking lot. We ended up leaving it parked across the street and trailered it every night after diving. Sort of silly, given that the boat is quieter and churns up far less than most prop boats.

I don't have a jet boat, but I don't understand the haters. They're certainly more environmentally friendly than a boat with a spinning prop chopping up everything in it's path.