Must Dive in Florida Keys?

I am going to be going to the Flordia Keys from July 1 to July 11. I am trying to plan the trip right now. I am wanting to know what the best dives and "have to do" dives in the Keys. I am wanting to do the Vandenburg and the Spiegel Grove so far. What other dives do you recommend and with what dive boat, if you have a preference or recommendation?

Thanks
Alex

For the Vandenburg I would go with Dive Key West for the Key Largo Dives Ocean Divers is great.

The Speigel Grove is awesome...

i like conch divers ( located in the NORTHern keys) for a shop they are a close trip to the wrecks

I like the Duane, maybe you can fit it in while you're in Key Largo doing the Spiegel Grove. It's a great dive.

Good diving, Craig

I would go dive the Bentwood . A great shallow dive 25' to 30' lots of wreckage , The ship was used as target practice by the US Navy. The Spiegle Grove is realy cool . I wrecamend to do a night dive on Divas reef . I injoyed all the night life that was about . The full moon was out it lit up the reef you could see 10' to 15' with out a light . If you like a GOOD Restrant try the Islamorada Fish Co. Great evening atmosphere. and Great food It is in southern end of Islamorada (81532 Overseas Hwy. Islamorada Fl. 305-664-9271 )
Hope You injoy the Key asmuch as I did .

DIVE SAFE KEN

For Key West, I used Sub Tropic several years ago and was happy.

However, for the Vandenberg, several dive op's have "jacked the price up" for the Vandenberg trip. They say because it's farther out or other excuses. It's just as far out as the other wrecks and reefs. So several of the shops haven't raised their prices for "vandenberg only trips". No sense supporting a shop that's trying to screw the diver by raising it's prices for the same trip. So choose your shop wisely.


As for what dives.

The Spiegel Grove is great. I've dove it multiple times and see something different each time.

The Duane and Bibb are great dives. Sister ships, but one is on her side, so makes it a different dive. Still good.

The Eagle is a good wreck also. Freighter that is split into to.


The Benwood is a good wreck, but not much of a wreck now as it's falling apart. but 60+ years of coral growth have left it a great site to dive. makes a good "2nd tanker" after the Spiegal Grove as it's sorta on the way back in.

The City of Washington is similar in that it's an old wreck that's falling apart. It's shallow with a large debris field and lots coral heads around it.

Alopholas Busch is a good wreck, further down in the keys.

The other wrecks around Key West didn't excite me as much as the ones in the upper/middle keys.



For Reefs, the popular spots in Key Largo and Molasses reef, French Reef, Christ of the Abyss, etc. some folks like diving Christ of the Abyss, some don't. It's got some HUGE coral heads around it. but it's also shallow and a popular snorkel boat destination also.

several other reefs up and down the keeps and they all have great things to offer.


Islamorada FIsh Company as noted above was a favorite of mine. the food was good, but I mostly liked the atmosphere of sitting on the dock, eating a basket of fish, drinking a cold beer and watching the sun set... it was good and relaxing.


I highly suggest before going picking up Ned DeLoach's (or other guides). Lots of good info in the book about dive sites there.

Amazon.com: Diving Guide to Underwater Florida, 11th Edition (9781878348395): Ned DeLoach: Books

My personal opinion is I enjoy the Duanne and the Eagle much more than the Spiegal, some times you can get dropped off at the bow and picked up at the stern ball (which I thought was cool) when the current is right.

The spiegal, which is a cool dive, is alot like a traffic jam, lots of boats, divers, etc.. I just like being able to see most of the ship. but thats just my two cents..

We really enjoy conch republic divers, not the cheapest in tavernier but very well organzied and "squared away" compared to the others we have used (Fla keys Dive Center & Ocean Divers) both good outfits but I just liked conch republic a good bit better.

& the book mentioned above is very good and gives great info on the dive sites (depth, typical current, etc)

enjoy your trip! were going down in may and cant wait!

One of my favorite wrecks to dive in the Keys is the Eagle. With it being split in half it offers a great experience and great dive.

Silent World the shop I work at offers trips to all the wrecks your hearing about: Duane, Bibb, Spiegel, and Eagle. We even do a weekly night deep wreck dive on Saturday nights. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about the wrecks or diving them.

The shallow wreck referenced above is going to be found as the Benwood not the Bentwood. Other good options include the City of Washington if your looking for shallow sites.

I see a lot of great recommendations on here! One other "can't miss" is Capt. Spencer Slate's "Creature Feature". It is just about the most fun I've ever had underwater!