Need advice on good dive location in South Florida.

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MKC

Registered
Messages
38
Reaction score
4
Location
Montréal, Québec, Canada
# of dives
50 - 99
I will be in South Florida this July; I know it will be very hot. Nonetheless, I will have a few days to scuba dive. I never dived in Florida before and would like some advice on good dive location.
 
I will be in South Florida this July; I know it will be very hot. Nonetheless, I will have a few days to scuba dive. I never dived in Florida before and would like some advice on good dive location.


Visit www.sfdj.com The purpose of the SFDJ site it to help people like yourself find the perfect dive for their interests--In South Florida. Lots of HD video of dive sites, and an enormous range of still photos showing you EXACTLY what the the sites you would like, will look and feel like.

Let me know what you think.
 
Its hot but not hot like Las Vegas or Arizona - normally 88 - 92 F (high 30's C) - but it can be real humid - its one of the best times to dive because the summer brings calm(er) sea conditions and warmer water (80's) as a rule - it is hurricane season so keep an eye on the weather, but you are normally better in that regard in July vs late August or Sep't.

Your profile suggests a new diver - the obvious 1st suggestion would be Key Largo - long, shallow dives are the norm. All S. FL has great diving - once you narrow down exactly where you want to stay we can give you more suggestions, because the diving is different in many S. FL locations.

For example my favorite is Jupiter - but it may not be appropriate for a new diver, yet Boynton in the same neck of the woods could be.
 
Its hot but not hot like Las Vegas or Arizona - normally 88 - 92 F (high 30's C) - but it can be real humid - its one of the best times to dive because the summer brings calm(er) sea conditions and warmer water (80's) as a rule - it is hurricane season so keep an eye on the weather, but you are normally better in that regard in July vs late August or Sep't.

Your profile suggests a new diver - the obvious 1st suggestion would be Key Largo - long, shallow dives are the norm. All S. FL has great diving - once you narrow down exactly where you want to stay we can give you more suggestions, because the diving is different in many S. FL locations.

For example my favorite is Jupiter - but it may not be appropriate for a new diver, yet Boynton in the same neck of the woods could be.
Thank you for your suggestions, they look very interesting. I will be staying at Fort Lauderdale.
 
Its hot but not hot like Las Vegas or Arizona - normally 88 - 92 F (high 30's C) - but it can be real humid - its one of the best times to dive because the summer brings calm(er) sea conditions and warmer water (80's) as a rule - it is hurricane season so keep an eye on the weather, but you are normally better in that regard in July vs late August or Sep't.

Your profile suggests a new diver - the obvious 1st suggestion would be Key Largo - long, shallow dives are the norm. All S. FL has great diving - once you narrow down exactly where you want to stay we can give you more suggestions, because the diving is different in many S. FL locations.

For example my favorite is Jupiter - but it may not be appropriate for a new diver, yet Boynton in the same neck of the woods could be.
I do like your web site and found it to be very helpful. Thank you. I have seen others like it, but what I would like to know is what sites divers personally like. If they recommend a site they enjoyed then I would probably try it out.
 
Thank you for your suggestions, they look very interesting. I will be staying at Fort Lauderdale.

Contact DanVolker. He organized some amazing dives, the most recent ones covered here and here and here on SB.

(While the recent dive catered to the GUE/DIR crowd, Dan is very open to other philosophies and experience levels. You can't go wrong there.)
 
I do like your web site and found it to be very helpful. Thank you. I have seen others like it, but what I would like to know is what sites divers personally like. If they recommend a site they enjoyed then I would probably try it out.
Kind of a broad question, no?

Also, from Lauderdale to the Keys for example its 2 hours + on a good day - S. FL is not like Cozumel, for example, where all the best sites are in a fairly concentrated area. Also, my 10 may be your 5.

You also need to take into consideration your experience and comfort, as well as drive time - S. Fl diving ranges from Jupiter in the north, to Islamorada in the south - for rough boundaries.

Not trying to be pedantic, or a jerk, just sayin'

You probably did not think I would, but my suggestion would be to either:

Change your plans and stay in Key Largo (dive w/ HMS Minnow, Rainbow Reef, Conch Republic, or Capt' Slates Atlantis Dive Center - they go to all the popular spots - my favorites are the wrecks Dwayne and Spiegal Grove - Molassas Reef in KL, Davis Reef in Islamorada - a great shallow spot north of Islamorada is the Snapper Hole.

Stay and Dive Ft Lauderdale - Lots of Op's; others will have to suggest (or you could try a "Board search") their favorites - I have dove FLL and prefer other places.

Stay in Ft Lauderdale, and dive Boynton/Delray with Kevin (posts under scuba kevin) - great guy and great operation - you will also see the best reefs in S. FL - Below is a link to his operation:


Underwater Explorers - SCUBA Diving Boynton Beach, Delray, Palm ...
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Scuba dive the reefs and wrecks of Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach, Florida scuba dive boat. Serving West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, ...
www.diveboyntonbeach.com/ - Cached - Similar-


You don't want to be driving all over S. FL (trust me on this one....) Pick an area and dive it - good luck!
 
This is a great shore dive not too far from where you will be located

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/290550-lauderdale-sea-beach-dive.html

This one is a bit over an hour north without rush hour traffic. Just make sure you dive at slack high tide and have a dive flag on the surface.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/279974-continuing-sagas-blue-heron-bridge.html

Blue Heron Bridge

here's the tide tables
Tide Tables


Any of the wrecks off of Ft Lauderdale and Pompano are interesting. The reefs are nice, but not as interesting as Boynton, West Palm Beach or Jupiter (or the Keys). I've been out with this op a couple of times. Given your experience level, you might want to hire a guide if you are diving a wreck. Pompano Dive Center

Underwater Explorers is a great suggestion above: the Boynton reefs are pretty, have lots of tropical fish, some turtles and other interesting animals but the reefs are not too deep. The drive is 30-40 minutes north of Ft Lauderdale without rush hour traffic.

West Palm Beach is also excellent but tends to be deeper than Boynton and is another 20 minutes north. There are many excellent operators in WPB but I have found this op to be a good choice with new divers since they send several DM's down with the diving group. They visit Double Ledges quite often and that is a reef I really like: always interesting stuff. They also go to Breaker's reef which is a bit shallower and crammed with tropical fish.
Welcome to The Scuba Club, America's Only Country Club For Scuba Divers in West Palm Beach, FL

The northern keys have all sorts of wonderful reefs: none are really bad. Just choose the operator and that op will take you to some good sites. I have used the following:

CONCH REPUBLIC DIVERS " COME SEE WHY WE'RE NOT JUST ANOTHER DIVE SHOP"
Quiescence Diving Services , Inc., One of Key Largo's Finest Diving Operations
Silent World Dive Center

The weather will feel a bit hot while you are here. However, you'll appreciate it when you get out of the water and are sitting on the boat.
 
Its hot but not hot like Las Vegas or Arizona - normally 88 - 92 F (high 30's C) - but it can be real humid - its one of the best times to dive because the summer brings calm(er) sea conditions and warmer water (80's) as a rule - it is hurricane season so keep an eye on the weather, but you are normally better in that regard in July vs late August or Sep't.

Your profile suggests a new diver - the obvious 1st suggestion would be Key Largo - long, shallow dives are the norm. All S. FL has great diving - once you narrow down exactly where you want to stay we can give you more suggestions, because the diving is different in many S. FL locations.

For example my favorite is Jupiter - but it may not be appropriate for a new diver, yet Boynton in the same neck of the woods could be.
I just updated my profile. I'm still a beginner, but I now have over 80 dives. I signed up for the PADI Rescue Diver Course that will take place in April. By July I will have my MSD card and 14 PADI specialties under my belt. I just though I'd mention it. :)
 
I just updated my profile. I'm still a beginner, but I now have over 80 dives. I signed up for the PADI Rescue Diver Course that will take place in April. By July I will have my MSD card and 14 PADI specialties under my belt. I just though I'd mention it. :)

You might enjoy Jupiter then: its a great dive and you're bound to see big stuff like Goliath Grouper, sharks, turtles, big green moray eels along with tropicals. I don't think the reef is quite as pretty as WPB or Boynton though. Its about a 90 drive from Ft Lauderdale with no rush hour traffic but worth the trip in my opinion

Scuba Diving Jupiter with Jupiter Dive Center, Scuba diving lessons at a PADI 5 Star facility, daily scuba diving trips in Jupiter, Florida.

You'll be able to easily dive most of the dives in Pompano and Ft Lauderdale too. You probably won't need a guide as long as you buddy up with a decent diver on the boat. If you are not Nitrox certified, think about doing that with your Rescue class. It's worth it in this area given the very common reef depths of 60-100 feet.
 
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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