Traveling to FL Keys in April - must see dive spots?

My hubby and I are traveling to the FL keys in the later half of next month (April 2011). We relatively newbies - were certified over a year ago and have done 10 or so dives, some as deep as 110 ft. Could you Florida conch divers help us out with these questions:

1. Would you recommend any dives that we should definitely not miss? We're very excited about diving and are willing to try new dives - we've done cave dives, night dives but haven't yet done wreck dives and hoping to do atleast a couple in FL this time. Dive spots and/or a dive master to go with?

2. Wondering if we should stay at Key largo for the length of our stay or split our time between 2 or more places in the keys? We arrive at FLL and have heard that there are some great spots there in addition to the ones at Key largo. Wondering if we should spend a couple days at FLL and then drive down to the Keys?

3. Besides the Keys, what are the other great or must-see diving spots in South Florida? We're there for nearly 10 days so want to get the best diving possible!

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Key Largo is awesome...

Inexperienced and cave diver at the same time?

That aside, Key Largo has good set of reefs as well as wrecks (including USS Spiegel Grove). Some require some experience (SG for example is AOW dive).

iztok:

Inexperienced and cave diver at the same time?

That aside, Key Largo has good set of reefs as well as wrecks (including USS Spiegel Grove). Some require some experience (SG for example is AOW dive).

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Hello Iztok, maybe I misguided readers with my earlier statement. When I said cave dives, I meant the lava tube dives. We did those in Hawaii and it was a great experience. It was a tube about 15-20 ft long. From what I've learned, we can do the wrecks you mentioned with an instructor. (I'm hoping we can do the Spiegel with one.) I've also come across some good wrecks in Key West in my research - Vanderberg, Cayman Salvage and Joe's tug. I wonder if the key largo and the key west wrecks are very different from each other or spending more time at Key largo would be advisable?

From what I've seen I doubt there is a bad place to start diving in the keys. Just go.

Since your dive experience is limited and it has been a year since you last dove, I would go to the Keys first - Key Largo to Tavernier (mm106 to 85 or so). You can start off with some shallower dives with a chance of better conditions (less current and more viz). I would suggest Silent World (www.silentworldkeylargo) in Key Largo or Conch Republic (CONCH REPUBLIC DIVERS " COME SEE WHY WE'RE NOT JUST ANOTHER DIVE SHOP") in Tavernier. There are other good shops too but these are the ones I use. Tell them your experience so you can dive to your experience level. Some sites to dive are Molasses, French, Carysfort, and North North Dry Rocks Reefs and the City of Washington and Benwood wrecks in Key Largo. In Tavernier, you have Davis, Crocker, and Davy Crocker Reefs. These are off the top of my head.

You may want to consider an AOW course while there. This would also give you a chance to make a night dive and a wreck dive on the Spiegel Grove, Duane, or Eagle. Do a night dive anyway.

After some time in the keys, you could end your trip with some dives in FL, Pompano, or West Palm. In my experience here the deeper(60 to 100) dives have better viz. Also, the reef dives in West Palm may be drift dives which is a nice way to dive - no fighting the current with the boat following your flag and bubbles.

You guys are awesome! Its extremely helpful to get tips from people who've been to the site and are not touting their dive shop/services. I didn't know scuba board would be so helpful in planning my dive trips! Keep the suggestions coming, they're proving very useful.

All is good there. I enjoyed the wrecks more than the reef. The Duane, The Speigel, Have not made it to the Vandenberg but many friends say it rocks too. maybe do a warm up day or two then hit the shipwreck Duane. Good Barracuda action.

rashfash:

You guys are awesome! Its extremely helpful to get tips from people who've been to the site and are not touting their dive shop/services. I didn't know scuba board would be so helpful in planning my dive trips! Keep the suggestions coming, they're proving very useful.

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I've dove the Eagle, the Speigle Grove and the Vandenberg. If you are going to hire a guide, which you should probably do if you plan to dive these wrecks given their depth and your experience level at less than 25 dives, I'd stay in Key Largo: there are quite a few wrecks in the area.

However, I'd suggest you stick to the shallower reefs to gain experience. There are probalby 30 different reef dive sites in Key Largo and Islamorada and most are spectacular and are well worth diving. Plus, you'll get longer dives on the reefs as well.

The suggestion of Conch Republic is good as is Silent World. Another option is Quiescence
Quiescence Diving Services , Inc., One of Key Largo's Finest Diving Operations I have been out with all three and they are all good.

Other suggestions: Blue Heron Bridge

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...4-continuing-sagas-blue-heron-bridge-344.html
Blue Heron Bridge

WPB and Boynton also have beautiful reefs.

Scuba Kevin of Under Water Explorers in Boynton is good with new divers: https://securec7.ezhostingserver.com/diveboyntonbeach-com/indexs.cfm

Scuba Club in WPB is also good with new divers. They send multiple dive masters down with each group. Welcome to The Scuba Club, America's Only Country Club For Scuba Divers in West Palm Beach, FL

Hey rashfash,

Given your experience you are wise to get a instructor or dive master to go with you on a wreck. As a matter of fact most operators here in the Keys require an Advanced Open Water or above or proof in a log book that you've dove 3 dives down to 80' in the last 6 months to dive them. Either way having an experienced guide will better your chances of seeing the interesting parts of a wreck and having an experienced diver to watch your gas consumption.

There are 9 artificial reefs or ships that were sunk in the Keys over the years. Here's a link for more information about the Florida Keys Wreck Trek Challenge with the wrecks and the dive shops that visit them.

You asked are there any differences between the wrecks. Yes some of them can have very poor visibility and strong currents, but any of them can be great dives given good conditions. My suggestion would be to call around to some of the operators and see what dive conditions are looking like when you get here. Then if you want to set up a dive on one of the wrecks, book the dive and hire a guide. The operator should be able to give you a good idea of what the conditions have been over the past few days, but you'll never know the actual condition until you get on site.

We do daily dive conditions of wrecks and reefs we dive on our calendar(see link below in my signature). Check it out and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask....even if you don't dive with us. We just want you to have a great time while visiting the Florida Keys.

Good Diving,