Where to go?

So a friend and I are looking to make a really fast run down to Florida, or the Keys, or Bahama's or something for a long weekend in a few weeks. Was going to go to JPK state park, but the don't do any shore dives. Basically we want to squeeze in as many shore dives as we can in a short amount of time. perhaps a boat dive and do it as cheaply as we can. (flight and room is going to be around $800 each). Anyone got any good suggestions for some decent shore dives?

LBTS.

Chug
Encourages Chris to come after March 31st to see tons and tons of lobster.

I hate to tell ya but their is no fast run to the Keys from MO!

But kinda of a long weekend would be like the Gulf cost or something like Vortex Springs.

It's not the Bahamas. There's basically no shore diving off either Nassau or Freeport.

I checked Expedia and Delta has a 7:20am flight to Ft. Lauderdale for $269 round trip out of St. Louis. I'm sure you will find shore diving around there. You can usually rent a car at Payless in the Cypress Parking garage for anywhere from $10-30 a day plus gas if you reserve it a few days ahead of your flight. I got a mid-size for $13 a day a couple weeks ago. I usually reserve a car with them at the going rate and then check it every couple days and watch for the price to fall. Check hotels.com for a cheap place to stay. Boat diving is anywhere from $50-70 for a two tank dive depending on who you dive with. You should be able to keep it around $800 if you split a room and share the car. By the way, there is no shore diving in the Upper Keys. It's all coral. Don't know about anything below Islamorada.

Go to Florida. Stay at Lauderdale by the Sea. Here is a cheap hotel.

Dee Jay Beach Resort

They have good/clean rooms but there are some bad sections of the hotel. We stayed there for a month and had one of the better rooms. Large with Dinning rm, Living rm, kitchen, mstr bedroom, bath, two walk-in closets, spacious but outdated.

You can shore dive from here. Walk across the Street, then accross the beach, jump in the Ocean and you will run into the first reef 75 yards out. There are three reefs you can explore. The water is 20' deep max on the first reef. There are beach showers on your way to/from the Beach.

The market is a two block walk. They have a Liquor store, groceries and a few other shops. There are a few decant restaurants within easy walking distance as well as a dive-shop. Basically everything you need is within walking distance, but some things are a longish walk.

If you want a better Hotel look online as they are easy to find. I would stay at LBTS regardless of what you do as you have good beach access and a reef right there.

There are dive boats in Lauderdale as well as Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach, etc. These are not within walking distance. Do a boat trip or two. Shore diving is fun but you see much more dramatic reefs and wrecks from a boat.

I think the Diving is better in the Keys, but there is no shore diving and the boats run $65-85 for a two tank trip. There is no Beach in the Key Largo area vs. a very nice beach at LBTS.

Have Fun!

Thanks for the input so far folks. I am forwarding all of this to my dive buddy and hopefully make a decision tonight.

Remember to plan your last dive so that you have enough no-fly time before you fly out the next day - and have some fun & safe dives!

+1 on ronfrank's & garrobo's posts. FLL is a bit cheaper and has plenty of shore diving opportunities. The Blue Heron Bridge north of FLL is a popular shallow shore dive.

Chris Horn:

So a friend and I are looking to make a really fast run down to Florida, or the Keys, or Bahama's or something for a long weekend in a few weeks. Was going to go to JPK state park, but the don't do any shore dives. Basically we want to squeeze in as many shore dives as we can in a short amount of time. perhaps a boat dive and do it as cheaply as we can. (flight and room is going to be around $800 each). Anyone got any good suggestions for some decent shore dives?

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I live just a few miles from Commercial Blvd and have gone shore diving by the pier. I've also done alot of diving in the keys. Boat diving here is comparable to the keys, a little deeper depending on the location and which of the 3 reefs your on. Suggestion, stay in Lauderdale by the sea which is a very small town on the beach, next to Fort Lauderdale. Look at a google map to see commercial blvd running into Lauderdale and into the ocean. There is a long fishing pier, restaurants, showers at the end of commercial. The advice of RonFrank was good however the hotel is about 3 blocks north of Commercial. I like to dive from the south side of the Pier which also has showers for a few blocks south of the pier. There are also motels on the beach. There is a dive shop one short block from the beach on Commercial that has showers and you can rent tanks from. them and they will also give you detailed shore diving instructions with arial maps. There are numerous stores, restaurants, in the area. I'd definately rent a car and make the trip up to Palm Beach and do the Blue Heron bridge, probably the best shallow shore dive you'll do. Force E dive shop in Palm Beach will have the tide tables and can give you instructions on the best plan for diving the bridge. You should do a boat dive if your able. Welcome to Miss Conduct Dive Charters This link is to Capt Conrad 954 815 9424 who runs a 6 pack but will still go out with only 2 people. After trying most of the dive boats around here, I only use Conrad. He will take you to any location or type of diving you want depending if the other divers agree. I think it's $70 for a two tank dive leaving from a park about a 7 minute car ride north of you. http://scubatyme.com/ is also 5 minutes north of you but takes around 20 divers for the same price. I hope this helps.