Key Largo open water referral dives, recommendation ?

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ronscuba

ronscuba

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I want to get my girlfriend certified. She did the resort course in Aruba and enjoyed it.

I was planning on doing the classroom and pool work in NYC and heading down to Key Largo over Memorial weekend to do her open water dives via referral.

Any recommendations ? I was thinking of Horizon Divers. I've dove with them a while back and I think their big pontoon boat is good for beginners.
 
Any of the bigger shops would be perfect for what you are looking for, just rember that is a busy weekend in the Keys. Most boats will be full and the reefs will be covered with divers.
 
Horizon has good staff...so does Conch Republic...

-J.-
 
I've been out with Silent World in Key Largo 7 times this year and have enjoyed every trip. :D
 
Both Horizon Divers and Conch Republic have big boats. Both have wonderful instructors /DM's. As stated in an earlier post Memorial Day is really busy time here. You should try to make your plans early enough to make sure the dive op has the Istructor available and room on their boat.
Memorial Day is almost as busy as Mini Season here in the Keys.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What kind of water temps should I expect during Memorial weekend ?
 
Ron -

I was in the exact same boat as you last year. My girlfriend and I caught the scuba bug in St Kitts and decided to get certified in NYC and do the check out dives in South Florida. If you're not dead set on The Keys, we did our OW Dives with Sea Experience in Ft Lauderdale. I would very much recommend them. It was just me and my girlfriend doing the dives with our instructor. Good variety of dives too -- shallow reef, wreck, etc. Another positive about Lauderdale is that the reefs are right off the beach area, a few hundred yards or so. So if your girl is hesitant about getting in the water, sometimes it can alleviate any fears if she can clearly see back to land. Not that you can't in the Keys but you're more out in the open ocean down there. Just a thought.
 
Despite there being many good dive ops there my first choice is Quiescence, www.keylargodiving.com, hands down. They have the biggest 26' six-packs in the world. Lots of room; very conservative, thorough, and capable instructors; nice people and great prices. You might think about having only four other divers on the boat with you and your GF. If you decide to go with them contact them well in advance as they're in demand. I got my N2 ticket from them a few years ago.
 
BrianOrange:
Ron -

I was in the exact same boat as you last year. My girlfriend and I caught the scuba bug in St Kitts and decided to get certified in NYC and do the check out dives in South Florida. If you're not dead set on The Keys, we did our OW Dives with Sea Experience in Ft Lauderdale. I would very much recommend them. It was just me and my girlfriend doing the dives with our instructor. Good variety of dives too -- shallow reef, wreck, etc. Another positive about Lauderdale is that the reefs are right off the beach area, a few hundred yards or so. So if your girl is hesitant about getting in the water, sometimes it can alleviate any fears if she can clearly see back to land. Not that you can't in the Keys but you're more out in the open ocean down there. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

We are not dead set on Key Largo. Fort Lauderdale sounds interesting. Closer to the airports and a lot more to do after diving. Any diving in Miami ?
 
It's far more about which instructor you get to do her certification than about which specific operator you choose. The best instructor will choose the best operator for the type of dives you want/need. If you PM me, I can recommend a top-notch instructor down there who can go out with any of the operators. She's the only one to which I would send ALL of my referral students. Thanks!
 
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