West Palm versus Fort Lauderdale?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

E

esword

Registered
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
Arlington, VA
# of dives
100 - 199
Is there any difference in the quality of diving at West Palm versus Ft. Lauderdale? I've dove at WPB in years past and enjoyed it, but I happen to be flying into Ft. Lauderdale for a trip later this week. I am trying to decide whether it's worth it to drive the hour north to dive out of WPB or Jupiter versus just staying in Ft. Lauderdale. I have a couple of days to dive, so could do both.

Sorry if this is asked often. I found several threads comparing gulf diving versus east coast diving, but couldn't easily find a thread comparing different areas of the treasure coast.

e
 
Sort of apples and oranges. I live near Fort Lauderdale and I think it's the best diving. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy driving up to dive there a few times a year, but I think the diving here is more versatile. If you stay here, I highly recommend Sea Experience II, he's been diving/driving in these waters for three decades now and knows where EVERYTHING is.
 
esword:
Is there any difference in the quality of diving at West Palm versus Ft. Lauderdale? I've dove at WPB in years past and enjoyed it, but I happen to be flying into Ft. Lauderdale for a trip later this week. I am trying to decide whether it's worth it to drive the hour north to dive out of WPB or Jupiter versus just staying in Ft. Lauderdale. I have a couple of days to dive, so could do both.

Sorry if this is asked often. I found several threads comparing gulf diving versus east coast diving, but couldn't easily find a thread comparing different areas of the treasure coast.

e
Click to expand...

esword... You will not go wrong diving in Ft. Lauderdale. There are some great reefs and wrecks in that area. It really depends on what you are looking for. WPB and Jupiter have more current and tend to be deeper dives north of the Lake Worth Inlet. That being said... I think the chances for "Big Animal" sightings are better up this way. For example.... today there were several Bull Sharks, Lemon Sharks, big Loggerhead Turtles, and a Hammerhead Shark. We are fortunate to have the Gulf Stream close to our shore which tends to bring in the big animals. Either way you will enjoy the diving in South Florida. John
 
Thanks to both of you.

@DebbyDiver - What do you mean about more versatile? If you mean that there are more options to choose from, especially if the weather gets a bit rough as it may over the next few days, that's a big plus. Or did you mean something else?

@ScubaWorks - your comment about big animals and the Gulf Stream being closer in is sort of what I thought, but I hadn't been able to confirm. We definitely go in for the big stuff, especially since we only get to dive a couple of times a year. (Just waiting for the kids to be old enough to get certified! :wink:
 
in addition to what's been said above Ft. Lauderdale has some great beach diving, as far as I know WPB doesn't. For me personally I like to beach dive and not spend a fortune every dive I dive on a charter, tips, etc.
 
You basically can't go much further north than the Deerfield Ledge to beach dive. We boat dive the 20 miles or so of reef from the Seagate to the Horseshoe, with depths south of the Boynton inlet averaging around 65ft on the western ledges to around 50ft on the northern dive sites. Right now we are seeing a ton of nurse sharks and turtles, everywhere. The bug hunting isn't too shabby, either. You can't go wrong, north or south, but there isn't any sand to deal with on a boat and you can focus more on the diving and less on the other preparations on a boat. To each his own.
 
ft.lauderdale diver:
in addition to what's been said above Ft. Lauderdale has some great beach diving, as far as I know WPB doesn't. For me personally I like to beach dive and not spend a fortune every dive I dive on a charter, tips, etc.
Click to expand...

There are a few nice shore dives in Palm Beach County as well. Plus they have Blue Heron Bridge when the ocean is too rough. That being said, Fort Lauderdale has a huge variety of wreck dives and a good reef system. They are both good but different.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Dive Clubs Near Palm Beach?
Replies
2
Views
653
bluechub
B
mcf57
South Florida diving.... Miami, Ft Lauderdale or West Palm Beach?
2
Replies
10
Views
1,925
TylerG.
TylerG.
Pipehorse
Lauderdale by the Sea Dive Reports 2023
3 4 5
Replies
42
Views
4,742
Pipehorse
Pipehorse
Pipehorse
Trip Report Erojacks Artificial Reef at Dania Beach/ Mizell-Johnson State Park
2 3
Replies
24
Views
3,137
Scuba_Jenny
Scuba_Jenny
sunshower
Keys/PB/Jupiter Trip Report
2
Replies
16
Views
1,726
CosbySweater
CosbySweater
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

Back
Top Bottom