Looking for South Florida dive sites variety (wrecks, reefs, sharks, etc)

[BrianOrange]

I want to "design" a week long diving trip to South Florida with the goal being to experience as many different types of diving. What I want to avoid is doing the same old 2-tank dives in Key Largo for 5 straight days. Don't get me wrong. These are fun and they will be part of my week. But I want a little variety. Without trying to sound like a snob, I want to branch out from the same 30 foot reef dives (insert "You always see something new when you dive" speech here.).

I'm looking for more challenging dives. Walls (if there are any in South Florida). Sharks -- I wanna see sharks. I am going to do a few wrecks in the Largo area. Deeper dives. Sharks - did I mention that?

What would you advise to do? I was going to head up north to the Palm Beach area in hopes of some more challenging dives and to see sharks. Is that where I should head?
What about for walls? How are the wrecks off Ft. Lauderdale (they're reefs didn't do much for me).

Any advice on places to see and go are appeciated.


Brian

 

[Jupiter31]

I want to "design" a week long diving trip to South Florida with the goal being to experience as many different types of diving. What I want to avoid is doing the same old 2-tank dives in Key Largo for 5 straight days. Don't get me wrong. These are fun and they will be part of my week. But I want a little variety. Without trying to sound like a snob, I want to branch out from the same 30 foot reef dives (insert "You always see something new when you dive" speech here.).

I'm looking for more challenging dives. Walls (if there are any in South Florida). Sharks -- I wanna see sharks. I am going to do a few wrecks in the Largo area. Deeper dives. Sharks - did I mention that?

What would you advise to do? I was going to head up north to the Palm Beach area in hopes of some more challenging dives and to see sharks. Is that where I should head?
What about for walls? How are the wrecks off Ft. Lauderdale (they're reefs didn't do much for me).

Any advice on places to see and go are appeciated.


Brian

I'll try to answer your post best as I can - while we all like different things, its just my opinion - but I'm a 31 year S. FL local (and I'm going to answer your post, but it would really be helpful if you could have posted your experience, number of dives, etc, b/c what I'll post is not necessarly aimed a new or inexperienced, or rusty diver).

I tend to agree with you about the Keys - especially if you dive with the better known operators - if you do head down to KL, try HMS Minnow (www.hmsminnow.com).

There is a "wall" dive called Conch Reef Wall in the Islamorada area - but its NOT like Cayman, Bay Islands, or Cozumel - for all purposes, you need a volcanic formed land mass to have true walls, and that land mass is not FL.

To me the best diving in S. FL is found in Palm Beach county - hands down - However.....Miami has excellent wreck dives - RJ Diving out of Miami Beach Marina is an excellent op.

I'm not a huge fan of Ft Lauderdale diving ( I'm in the minority on this board! ), however they do have some excellent wrecks. Every time I do the reefs, I see the old tires (many thousands) that were dumped in the '70's as part of a failed experiment to build reef and had the exact opposite effect.

I'd recommend 2 areas - Boynton/Delray - they have the best reefs in FL IMO - Scuba Kevin - on this board - runs a fantastic operation - the reefs are great, and there are some wrecks.

My favorite place is Jupiter - to me, Jupiter has it all - beautiful reefs (although not as nice as Boynton), wrecks (although not as many or as good as Miami), but above all, certain sites you are almost assured of seeing sharks - sites like "Tunnels", or "Area 51" which are dived (dove??) regularly. You stand the best chance of seeing large animals in Jupiter - the Gulf Stream comes in close, and brings all sorts of big stuff in close. Recommend (highly) Jupiter Dive Center.

If you are new, or rusty, either hire a DM to dive w/ you in Jupiter, or do Boynton - little easier diving, but both are drift diving, and Jupiter tends to be 70 - 90' - to avoid 25 min dives, you need to be NITROX certified - most of your fellow divers in Jupiter will be.

You have dove the upper Keys - try Palm Beach county - plus its a haul from PB to KL.

Have a great trip!

 

[BrianOrange]

Jupiter, thanks so much for the knowledge. Much appreciated.

Anyone else have any insights?

 

[sportxlh]

my thoughts: plan a multi site, multi stop trip. All you'll need is your gear and a car......

Start in Jupiter: you'll see big things like Goliath Grouper, sharks, turtles, large rays, cobia and of course tropical fish. Reefs are quite a bit deeper than Key Largo: 80-100 feet. I like Jupiter Diver Center: Scuba Diving Jupiter with Jupiter Dive Center, Scuba diving lessons at a PADI 5 Star facility, daily scuba diving trips in Jupiter, Florida.

Next day WPB: the Breakers is a beautiful reef filled with tropical fish. You'll see an occasional goliath grouper, plenty of nurse sharks, occasional reef shark, turtles, morays etc. Double ledges is another great reef, though it is a bit deeper at 85 feet or so. There are a couple of interesting wrecks in the area too. Possible ops include:
Welcome to The Scuba Club, America's Only Country Club For Scuba Divers in West Palm Beach, FL
Bahamas & Palm Beach, Florida Scuba Diving :: Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures
Scuba Diving in the Palm Beach area - Walkers Dive Charters

Or skip WPB and go to Boynton Beach: slightly shallower reefs but very pretty: possible ops
https://securec7.ezhostingserver.com/diveboyntonbeach-com/indexs.cfm
Pelican Dive Charters of Boynton Beach, Florida Home Page

All the above are drift dives

Next, do some wrecks in Pompano or Ft Lauderdale. All sorts of very worthwhile wrecks to dive: some are drift dives, some you'll moor to. I like the Capt' Dan wreck the best. Possible ops
Pompano Dive Center
or Force-E can hook you up with a boat.
South Florida Scuba Diving Center - Dive stores in South Florida

I don't know much about Miami

But don't completely blow off Key Largo: there are some great wrecks like the Eagle, Duane, Speigle Grove, etc. These are anywhere from modest depths of 70 feet to 140 in the sand. Quite different from the reefs. These ops can take you there
CONCH REPUBLIC DIVERS " COME SEE WHY WE'RE NOT JUST ANOTHER DIVE SHOP"
Silent World Dive Center This op does a double dip on the S. Grove
Quiescence Diving Services , Inc., One of Key Largo's Finest Diving Operations

By the way, Conch Wall, noted above, is a unique reef in the Keys: deeper than most, but not super deep. Not exactly a wall, but not a low relief reef either. It is worth diving and Conch Republic goes there frequently.

Then go to Key West to see the Vandenberg. I dove it a few weeks ago with this op: they do a double dip which is really nice.
Home | Subtropic

Don't forget on a few beach dives along the way

Blue Heron Bridge
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...4-continuing-sagas-blue-heron-bridge-348.html
Jammin' Beach Presents Florida Shore Diving

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

Or if you really want to do something different, try a live aboard. I went out with the op last year for a 3 day trip to the Dry Tortugas. I am considering going again this year.
Dry Tortugas Scuba Diving liveaboard, The Ultimate Getaway. Scuba Dive the Dry Tortugas out of Ft. Myers Florida.

Or blow off Florida completely and do a Bahamas live aboard. I have not been out with the op, but plan to do so this year. Blackbeard's Cruises Liveaboards, Bahamas scuba diving You can get plane tickets from Miami for about $100 on Bahamair

 

[Beiji]

In Miami go with RJ Diving Ventures. Big, comfortable boat, great friendly captain and crew. They go out to the more challenging deep wrecks as well as the shallower reefs.

In the Keys, I too recommend Conch Republic.

 

[Wookie]

Well, I wouldn't think an adventure trip to South Florida would be complete without taking one of the short liveaboards to the Dry Tortugas, on either the Spree, Ultimate Getaway, Juliet, or Playmate. Dry Tortugas has a wall, although I don't dive it because it gets fished pretty hard, and I like to go where the big fish are. The wrecks in the keys are pretty cool, including the artificial reefs that everyone goes to, but if you do a little research, there are some historically significant wrecks that few go to. Partly because they are little more than a pile of ballast stones with a few anchors, but you can still find a silver coin on them. Mel Fischer's company offers a week of diving on the Atocha site, and I think that must be arranged exclusively through SingleDivers.com. Sharks are hit or miss down here in the lower keys unless you are either very deep, or in closed areas, or doing research. Sport operators just don't go to the shark sites due to distance. For sharks, plan on Jupiter or West Palm. The Blue Heron Bridge is a do-not-miss for muck diving, and I'm told it's as good there as any muck I've dove anywhere else in the world. PM me if you want specific advice about something, but if that's what you're looking for, that's my best advice.

 

[seascan]

You can see a huge amount of artificial reefs and wrecks at www.downwindrun.com. Zoom in on the map and they will pop up with names and coordinates. There are about 1000 locations around Florida (including the keys) and the gulf of mexico.

 

[sheeper]

Sharks = Dive Jupiter. nuff said. Jupiter diving is well known for lots of BIG animals. Did I mention SHARKS?
check out www.jupiterscubadiving.com. Sharks, turtles, Goliath Grouper and even the occasional whaleshark are all part of the Jupiter memu. Most of the dives will be in 70'-90' depths

 

[UforSCUBA?]

Day 1 - Jupiter - Sharks! Goliath Grouper! Check out Cap't Sl8r Charters.
Day 2 - West Palm - I love the Governor's Riverwalk dive. 3 wrecks in one dive! Check out Jim Abernathy. Don't forget to squeeze in a shore dive at Blue Heron Bridge. Do a search here or call Force-E in Riviera Beach to find out how to do this tide dependent dive.
Day 3 - Boynton Beach - Pretty reefs. Check out Underwater Explorers. On your way to Key Largo, stop at Lauderdale By The Sea and check out that shore dive.
Day 4 - Key Largo - Skip the reefs. Go to the Eagle, Duane or Speigel Grove as mentioned above.
Day 5 - Islamorada - Deeper reefs. Check out Islamorada Dive Center.

It's quite amazing how quickly the topography changes. Most of the places I've mentioned above (with the exception being LBTS to Key Largo) are about a 30 minute drive between each other.

Have a great trip!

 

[acteg]

I just did a similar trip to what you are looking for:

1. Jupiter ( Capt. SL8TR, JDC, Emerald) - Tunnels, Shark Canyon, Wreck Trek (avg depth will be 60-90')
2. Pompano (SFDHQ, JASA) - Rodeo Wreck, Various reefs (You'll hit 111' or so in the sand on the Rodeo, then 60' avg on the next reef dive).
3. Lauderdale by the sea , Pompano drop off, Yellow Brick Road - nice shore dives... if you do LBTS dive south side of the pier, the north side is covered with sand
4. Key Largo (Ocean Divers, Silent World, Quiescence) - Spiegel Grove, Eagle, Duane
5. Key West (Captain's Corner) - Vandenberg

I forgot to mention... when you are in Jupiter, stop at "The Food Shack" for some excellent fresh seafood. I recently ate their based on recommendations in another SB thread... and wow... tandoori Cobia....delicious