Pompano or Key Largo

[Sharknado4]

If you are looking for wrecks and don't want to drive to the keys, there are many wrecks off the cost of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, both at the OW and AOW levels. I would recommend looking into American Dream Dive Charters in FLL, Divers Paradise in Miami/Key Biscayne and Tarpoon Lagoon in Miami Beach. If you want to head to Key Largo (1 hour south of Miami when there isn't traffic - which means you need to go early), I'd recommend Horizon Divers, which specializes in daily deep double-dip dives to Spiegel Grove or Duane for AOW and Tech divers. If you want to hit up the locations that you've mentioned, base yourself in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, as both Palm Beach, FLL/Miami and Key Largo are much more accessible fi you want to mix it up vs. staying in Palm Beach.

The lower keys are beautiful, but they are a trek and, while there is some good diving, the FLL/Miami area will give you more variety in a smaller, more accessible areas. You'll also have a larger choice of dive charters to choose from. Of course, maybe diving isn't your only priority on the trip and you wish to have a true Keys experience, in which case the lower keys will scratch your diving itch for nice reefs and warm, clear water.

Thanks so much @chrisjur for the details!

Eventually I'll be spliting my stay between Miami/FLL (so I can dive there and also explore the area) and the Keys hoping to do a few 4-dive full days!

It seems that Horizon Divers are being endorsed by quite a few people here so it will deffinitely be my reference point when in the Keys.

Cheers!

 

[chrisjur]

I used them quite a few times without any hiccups last year though, nothing at all like you mentioned in 2021. Maybe just my luck?

I’ve used Aqualife a few times. Never had a problem. I think if you’re an experienced diver, no issues. If you’re a tourist looking for white glove treatment, it’s not the best boat for you. As noted earlier, the location of the boat is amazing.

 

[CuriousMike13]

I agree with @Catito. The better dive charter operators are up in Jupiter & Palm Beach IMO. I used to dive Pompano regularly until Pompano Dive Center closed. Since then I’ve done two dives in Pompano and don’t plan to return until they get better charter options. Instead I dive up in Palm Beach County one weekend a month.

What are the issues with Pompano charters? I love SFLDHQ.

 

[CuriousMike13]

I have heard terrible things about Aqualife Divers out of Pompano. Thoughts?

 

[Green Frog]

I dove with South FL Diving HQ last month. We went down knowing that weather in January can be iffy in FL, so cool, rainy weather was no surprise. They have 3 boats, a smaller one that carries 10-12 and two larger ones. We tried to get the smaller boat but even though there were six of us we were put on one of the larger ones with about 7-8 more people. I’m used to “diver friendly” boats since diving in the Bahamas, but other than having an open deck and tank racks, this one didn’t have much to offer in the way of amenities for divers. Entry was by way of a giant stride with a fairly long drop and getting back aboard was by a longer ladder than I like to do in dive gear. There was no rinse tank for cameras, and only a water jug and an ice chest for comfort between the dives. Price wasn’t that bad for FL, but not a bargain for what we got. We paid for fills for a shore dive at BHB the next day, and even though the steel tanks had big old green and yellow Nitox stripes around them and we were charged accordingly, they gave us a regular compressed air fill “by accident”. They refilled them without argument when the “mistake” was discovered, but we lost a bunch of time.

My verdict? I’ll go elsewhere, either there at Pompano or up or down the coast. There are a lot of dive ops down that way, and I’m sure I can do better.



PS As much as I like getting away from the mtns of VA in January for a little diving, a 13 hour drive to take a chance on the weather is more of a gamble than I want to take next year. JMHO, YMMV!

 

[chrisjur]

I dove with South FL Diving HQ last month. We went down knowing that weather in January can be iffy in FL, so cool, rainy weather was no surprise. They have 3 boats, a smaller one that carries 10-12 and two larger ones. We tried to get the smaller boat but even though there were six of us we were put on one of the larger ones with about 7-8 more people. I’m used to “diver friendly” boats since diving in the Bahamas, but other than having an open deck and tank racks, this one didn’t have much to offer in the way of amenities for divers. Entry was by way of a giant stride with a fairly long drop and getting back aboard was by a longer ladder than I like to do in dive gear. There was no rinse tank for cameras, and only a water jug and an ice chest for comfort between the dives. Price wasn’t that bad for FL, but not a bargain for what we got. We paid for fills for a shore dive at BHB the next day, and even though the steel tanks had big old green and yellow Nitox stripes around them and we were charged accordingly, they gave us a regular compressed air fill “by accident”. They refilled them without argument when the “mistake” was discovered, but we lost a bunch of time.

My verdict? I’ll go elsewhere, either there at Pompano or up or down the coast. There are a lot of dive ops down that way, and I’m sure I can do better.

I would say that your assessment of SFDH is fair and accurate. Their main benefit, IMO, is that they have a lot of trips leaving daily, they hit a wide variety of sites, and they are also very tec diver / solo diver-friendly (of which I'm both). Those are the good things, IMO.

I could list what I think are the downsides in more detail, but I think you've hit on them. I would also add that when the bigger boats are full, they are FULL. I think my last dive with them in December had 35+ divers on board, with many tec divers. It was very, very tight with all of that equipment on board.

 

[chrisjur]

I have heard terrible things about Aqualife Divers out of Pompano. Thoughts?

I have dove many times with Aqualife, never had a problem, and always enjoyed my dives.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, it's not a "white glove" boat, so if you're looking for more, it may not be the best for you. However, I find that the owner does a good job finding a balance between accommodating the more experienced local divers, as well as the tourists, both of which seem to be his bread and butter. I solo dive a lot, and they have no problem with it. They know the waters and the sites very well and tend to be good at making last-minute changes when it comes to dive sites if conditions have changed rapidly. Their location at the inlet bridge also helps cut down on a lot of travel time. All in all, I have no problem with them and continue to use them (was supposed to dive with them on Sunday, actually, but got a bit of a flu bug and had to cancel).

 

[FreqFlier]

I have dove many times with Aqualife, never had a problem, and always enjoyed my dives.

+1