We are looking at making a trip to the Keys and Ft. Lauderdale to dive and will more than likely fly into Ft. Lauderdale. We will rent a car, and would like to have 4 or 5 days of diving. We have done about 70 dives and would like to dive some wrecks (for the first time) and good reefs as well. We would prefer wrecks that are accessible above 90 feet.
We have never been to the Keys or Ft. Lauderdale and thus, we would love some advice on the following:
1) Where to dive reefs and wrecks (Ft. Lauderdale area, Upper, Middle or Lower Keys?)
2) Who to dive with in that area of the Keys/ Ft Lauderdale?
3) Where to stay that is close to diving that is clean and has nice bed linens (no Motel 6 type places but it does not need to be the Four Seasons either)?
4) Any must see land diversions or places to eat?
Thanks for your help!
KeyLargoBrent
April 14th, 2007, 06:43 AM
In Key Largo, the Duane is a good 100' dive, as is the Spiegel Grove. The Benwood is a good shallow wreck, at 25-45'. In Islamorada, the Eagle is a good 100' dive. All but the Benwood require recent deep diving (over 80') experience, or accompaniment by a professional guide. Enjoy!
idive2
April 14th, 2007, 09:18 AM
Out of Pompano the wrecks regularly visited are the "Sea Emporer" and the
"Ancient Mariner". These are both medium depth wrecks and in a slightly
different category than the Spiegel, Duane, and Eagle which are deeper and can
involve more challanging conditions on a tough day, on a good day these
are great dives for skilled divers. I think the Ancient Mariner is a good wreck to get
the feel for wreck diving, it has enough character to be interesting yet is small
enough to navigate fairly easily. I just did the "Jay Scutti" wreck out of Lauderdale
and it was a good dive, this is in the same medium depth category. I recorded 73 ft.
on the "Jay Scutti".
pickens_46929
April 14th, 2007, 06:45 PM
Pick up a copy of Ned Deloaches' Guide to Underwater Florida. Lots of good info.
Lots of good diving in the Keys... Benwood, City of Washington, Speigel Grove are all decent dives... especially if you build up to do the Speigel towards the end of your trip (you'll be all tuned up on the shallower dives and comfortable in the water). As the post above says, Speigel, Duane, Bibb can get a little more challenging. On good days easy diving, on bad days.... bad.
Would recommend a night dive on the City of Washington or Benwood... see it during the daytime and come back at dusk to start your dive. Much different wildlife and a super dive!
ohmdiver
April 15th, 2007, 11:21 AM
We were there in Feb. We dove with Sea Dwellers in Key Largo, mostly reefs, and then went to Ft. L and dove with Parrot Island Scuba Adventures, Located in Pompano Beach Florida, North of Fort Lauderdale. Were we did both reefs and wrecks
Have fun
waynel
April 16th, 2007, 11:29 AM
Brent is right. You can get everything you want right in Key Largo and/or Islamorada (they are only 16 miles apart). Plenty of reef and wreck diving and very decent 3 star accomodations. It's just so easy to "get around" in the upper Keys. It's nice drive a mile or two from you hotel and there's the dive shop and boat. Not to take away anything from the other suggestions here but Key Largo fits your requirements exactly.
UTKnox
April 16th, 2007, 12:05 PM
Definitely cannot go wrong with Largo. As has been mentioned, everything is very close, so you won't waste your time driving from here to there. For a quick bite, try Hobo's, Atlantic side near MM#104.
As for the diving, all the wrecks listed are well worth the time, although the Spiegel, Duane & Eagle can be a bit challenging. My last time down there we finally got to do the Duane, which was a truly amazing experience. ~80ft depth, with a ~10k current. Good times!
del_mo
April 16th, 2007, 03:47 PM
10 knot current? And they let you dive?
kidsdream
April 16th, 2007, 05:10 PM
Definitely cannot go wrong with Largo. As has been mentioned, everything is very close, so you won't waste your time driving from here to there. For a quick bite, try Hobos, Atlantic side near MM#104.
As for the diving, all the wrecks listed are well worth the time, although the Spiegel, Duane & Eagle can be a bit challenging. My last time down there we finally got to do the Duane, which was a truly amazing experience. ~80ft depth, with a ~10k current. Good times!
Hobo's used to bel located bayside at MM104. Last Summer they move the place to 101.6 Oceanside. Same food, just a bigger place. Due to the wood paneling (including the ceiling) the place is very noisy.
motorcitydiver
April 16th, 2007, 05:29 PM
Ok, here it goes...IMHO: The best Keys diving for wrecks and reefs are the Key Largo area. Lots of big wrecks ranging in depth and good reefs to dive too. I would only recommend "Conch Republic Divers" in Tavernier. Thats only about 15 mins away from Key Largo. They even have an apartment you can rent from them. John Pennecampe state park is right there and the reefs are pretty nice.
Key West has some ok diving in my opinion. The few wrecks I've been on have been ok, nothing spectacular. The reefs are good but seem to be getting pretty washed out over the past few years. If you dive in Key West I recommend Captain's Corner. They are a great dive op and have the best prices in town.
If you stay in Key Largo, or even drive through on your way south, make sure you stop off at the "Fish House" for a fish sandwich and a cup of chowder :D
waynel
April 17th, 2007, 09:58 AM
Ok, here it goes...IMHO: The best Keys diving for wrecks and reefs are the Key Largo area. Lots of big wrecks ranging in depth and good reefs to dive too. I would only recommend "Conch Republic Divers" in Tavernier. Thats only about 15 mins away from Key Largo. They even have an apartment you can rent from them. John Pennecampe state park is right there and the reefs are pretty nice.
Key West has some ok diving in my opinion. The few wrecks I've been on have been ok, nothing spectacular. The reefs are good but seem to be getting pretty washed out over the past few years. If you dive in Key West I recommend Captain's Corner. They are a great dive op and have the best prices in town.
If you stay in Key Largo, or even drive through on your way south, make sure you stop off at the "Fish House" for a fish sandwich and a cup of chowder :D
I might be reading your post wrong, but John Pennekamp Park is in Key Largo, not Tavernier. I agree with you that Key Largo has better diving than Key West. It's been my expeience, and maybe KeyLargoBrent and chime in if he reads this, that as you move up the Keys (Key West to Key Largo) the water gets just a tad warmer and on good weather days the viz gets better. It was explained to me that the Gulf Stream is at it's closest point to the shoreline in Key Largo. In my personal experience the viz in all the upper Keys is more affected by the north winds than anything. On any day it beats the viz in Key West. How about it upper Keys DM's, is that totally wrong?
P.S. Yes, you will read all about The Fish House in every travel guide, etc. But I have never found (and I go twice a year) any locals who recommend it. I found it overpriced. The best place I found was Snappers oceanside. Tables right on the water, excellent food at lower prices and you can feed the Tarpon while waiting on your order.
RonFrank
April 17th, 2007, 10:59 AM
IMO Key Largo or just south is a great place to dive. I think it's rather underrated because it's easily accessible from anywhere in the US, but it has world class diving.
Two Ops I highly recommend are BlueWaterDivers (Brent, the individual who posted #2 on this thread is a co-owner) or Conch Republic divers.
http://www.bluewaterdiver.net/
If you want to dive near Lauderdale I like Splashdown divers in Boynton beach. Those are reef drift dives, but they do some wrecks as well.
http://www.splashdowndivers.com/
Out of Lauderdale American Dream is a great OP. They have some nice wrecks to dive on. I've only done one charter with them, but the boat, crew, and experience were top notch.
http://www.scubafortlauderdale.com/
IMO if you've never been to FL Everglades National park is a must to. You can drive 20~40 minutes out of Lauderdale, and do an air boat tour. Billies Swamp Safari is a cool place to spend a day. We did a Chickee hut one year, and it was very memorable.
Key West is a diversion of a different nature, but also very worth seeing.
In Key Largo the Fish house is our favorite restaurant, but there are many good places to dine. Others that come to mind are Coconuts, The Great Wall, and the Tiki Bar in Marathon.
Ocean Pointe Condos are nice. We've stayed also Marina Del Mar, and a couple others. It really depends on your budget, and saying you don't want hotel 6, but not the four seasons does not give much to go by as I've been in some nice Motel 6's, but price is really more of a guideline.
If you want to dive and stay in Key Largo I'd contact Blue Water divers. I believe he can get deals on some hotels, and he runs a great OP.
motorcitydiver
April 17th, 2007, 07:32 PM
Yes I did mean Pennekamp is in Key Largo, guess I could be a better writer. Anyway i'm sure if you dive in the Upper Keys you'll be happy.
vr24
April 17th, 2007, 09:18 PM
If you want to dive wrecks, stay in Fort Lauderdale, there are plenty of wrecks in 70 ft of water in the row of sand between the 2nd and 3rd reef, they also have quite a few amazing wrecks in 120 ft of water just off the 3rd reef... if you will dive 90, trust me, 120 isn't that big of a deal. The mercedes is pretty cool, and is basically attached to a reef too around 100ft deep.
I have been on the Spiegel Grove, I'd spare the trip, it's like swimming through a huge building with very few growth or fish life, the wrecks of Fort Lauderdale are immensely better, the Rodeo 25 is spectacular, and if you want to stay shallow, the scutti site is great too - here is a video of the scutti site that we shot a few months ago. The scutti would be an amazing first wreck dive for you, since it's actually a site with several wrecks, in my video, we did 3, the tracy/scutti/pride, all easily within swimming distance. Hog heaven is really cool too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoTD10kHD0E
The reefs in key largo are really cool, much better than you will find in fort lauderdale, i would personally suggest doing 2 days of wrecks in fort lauderdale, 2 days of reefs in largo, then finish off with a couple deeper wrecks in fort lauderdale.
