South Florida Diving

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mccabejc

Contributor
Messages
1,326
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3
Location
Upland, CA
# of dives
100 - 199
I love planning future dive trips. Never been to Miami, and never dove in Florida. I'm thinking that since the airfare from LA is real cheap to Miami it might be a nice quick dive vacation. Could someone help me with some questions?

First, since they're predicting a worse hurricane season this year than last, I probably wouldn't go until after October or so, or maybe spring of '06. Any thoughts on when I should shoot for? I assume that prices probably skyrocket in the winter.

Second, the kind of diving I'm looking for is easy, shallow reefs (< 60ft.), no wrecks, and beach diving if possible. Does that match what's available in south Florida or the Keys?

Third, could someone give a general comparison of the diving sites in south Florida, in terms of what to expect, how long are the boat rides, how's the visibility, etc.

I'd sure appreciate any info. Thanks.
 
mccabejc:
I love planning future dive trips. Never been to Miami, and never dove in Florida. I'm thinking that since the airfare from LA is real cheap to Miami it might be a nice quick dive vacation. Could someone help me with some questions?

First, since they're predicting a worse hurricane season this year than last, I probably wouldn't go until after October or so, or maybe spring of '06. Any thoughts on when I should shoot for? I assume that prices probably skyrocket in the winter.

Second, the kind of diving I'm looking for is easy, shallow reefs (< 60ft.), no wrecks, and beach diving if possible. Does that match what's available in south Florida or the Keys?

Third, could someone give a general comparison of the diving sites in south Florida, in terms of what to expect, how long are the boat rides, how's the visibility, etc.

I'd sure appreciate any info. Thanks.


havent done alot of diving here yet but i moved in feb this year from manhattan beach , ca to homestead, fl. most people are north of miami, i am just above key largo.
not alot of shore diving down here unless you want to do it from a canoe or kayak or around mucky mangroves. lots of weedy areas until you get a few miles out by boat.

< 60 ft is easy, you have a hard time finding deep areas cuz its pretty flat VERY FAR OUT. you see people in the keys in the water a mile or more out standing.

miami isnt like LA, the high culture part is restricted to a very small area. very low density population compared to LA. take a look at the google maps images of both places below:

area i live in Homestead, FL
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=25.444379,-80.458117&spn=0.023603,0.037165&z=2&t=k&hl=en

area i live in California
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1826+...9,-118.380003&spn=0.011212,0.017653&t=k&hl=en

if you come here in the winter the water temp will be about as high as southern california is in the summer. in the summer here (right now) its in the mid 80s, im told it gets to the low 90s in august.

prices out here will probably go up in the winter. you want a cheaper fare try jetblue from long beach to fort lauderdale, rent a car and drive to your dive sites.

as i said i havent done much diving yet just some snorkeling so ill leave it to someone else to tell you about dive boats
 
You are describing the Keys to a "T". In Key Largo, about one hour (plus) south of Miami at John Pennekamp State Park are LOT'S of shallow dives.

I dove right out of John Pennekamp and it was about a 20 minute boat ride (pontoon boat with an outboard....comfortable). Our viz was about 30-40 and the DM said that was the lower end of what to expect. Temps in late October were still in the mid 70's.

Don't know about shore diving.
 
mccabejc:
I love planning future dive trips. Never been to Miami, and never dove in Florida. I'm thinking that since the airfare from LA is real cheap to Miami it might be a nice quick dive vacation. Could someone help me with some questions?

First, since they're predicting a worse hurricane season this year than last, I probably wouldn't go until after October or so, or maybe spring of '06. Any thoughts on when I should shoot for? I assume that prices probably skyrocket in the winter.

Second, the kind of diving I'm looking for is easy, shallow reefs (< 60ft.), no wrecks, and beach diving if possible. Does that match what's available in south Florida or the Keys?

Third, could someone give a general comparison of the diving sites in south Florida, in terms of what to expect, how long are the boat rides, how's the visibility, etc.

I'd sure appreciate any info. Thanks.
Key Largo is cheap (relatively speaking) from October through December (holidays excluded), and features lots of shallow coral reefs, along with average visibility in the 40-60' range. The reef is about 5 miles offshore (30-45 minute boat ride in most cases). For beach diving, check out Lauderdale By The Sea, just north of Fort Lauderdale. Expect to see lots of tropical fishes, along with a few sharks, eels, rays, turtles, and bugs. Spiny Lobster season opens August 6th, and continues through March 31st. Enjoy!
 
If you're into shallow reefs, the keys are perfect. There's a reef line that runs from west of Key West to West Palm Beach about 4 miles offshore. The boat rides are pretty painless but there really isn't good shore diving.

Whatever you do, don't plan to come down the last week of July, it's mini-season and the keys are a total disaster, ask Brent if you don't believe me.

My boat runs out of Ramrod Key at MM 27.5 and we run to Looe Key Marine Sanctuary with a maximum depth of about 27'. By all accounts it's the healthiest reef in the keys.

If you have any other questions, just ask!

R
 
Talk to Marvel, ScubaJenny, ReneC and MikeJacobs. They are our resident dive tour guides experts. They can point you to the right beach dives and shallow reefs in the area. Heck, you might even get invited to a barbeque on the beach. :)

Since you don't like wrecks, I'll stay out of it. :)
 
Beach diving in Broward County, which is Ft. Lauderdale area.
Oh, and I think you have the pics backwards. :)
 
We dove with Conch Republic Divers in Tavernier. They are a terrific operation and there are lots of shallow reef dives in the 20 foot range and some deeper as well. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Julie
 
I agree, Conch Republic Divers is a fantastic operation. In fact, that's where I was certified when 7 years ago when I was 12. Super friendly and always know the best reefs.
 
There is no beach diving in Miami. There are some nice reefs that are somewhat south of here that local operators frequent, perhaps 30 to 45 minutes by boat. If you are looking for a combo of South Beach happenings and good diving, Miami is great. All dives will be boat dives.

If you are looking for beach dives, go to Fort Lauderdale. To come all this way and then do dives like this would be crazy in my opinion, but that is just my opinion. There are much nicer reefs just a few miles out by boat.

Palm Beach County has reefs that I would say are even nicer than in the Keys. If you like drift diving and seeing about five turtles on every dive, this is the place for it. I don't know about beach diving there.

The Keys are nice, and have some really nice reef dives. I find that the reefs are nicer in Palm Beach. Unless you know where you are going, you can easily wind up on a boat that is packed, anchored next to a hundred other boats, all on the same reef. With the right operator, there are still great places that less operators frequent.

I dive up and down the coast in all of these places regularly. Depending on the kind of diving I want to do, i.e, wreck, tech, drift reef, I go to one or the other. I have nothing against any of these locations. Each place is good for something more than the others. How bad can it be when the surface water temps are 85 or more at this time of the year? :D
 
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https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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