Won't go wrong this time of year. The premiere event this time of year is goliath grouper diving in the West Palm/Jupiter area. 200 tp 800 pound fish congregate by the dozens on the offshore wrecks for spawning. This is not to be missed big animal diving and in my experience one of the best big animal dives anywhere. This is not really a Fort Lauderdale thing and is focused on (from north to south) Jupiter, Palm Beach, and Boynton Beach. See my thread on EPIC start to Goliath Season. We are blessed with many good operators in this area. The ones I use for these trips are:
Jupiter Area: ScubaWorks and its boat the Blue Tang (small boat 12 max, great crew): Jupiter Dive Center (bigger boats, more people, very safety-conscious and strict about proofs of certification for deeper dives).
West Palm Area: Jim Abernethy Scuba Adventures (bigger boat 20 max), or Pura Vida Dive shop on Singer Island (smaller boat 12 max).
Boynton Beach (for the Castor wreck): Underwater Explorers (Kevin owns and runs a 6-pack boat and is great) .
There are several other very well regarded boats and operators (Narcosis dive boat, Emerald Dive, Bill Walker's boat Wetter the Better) but I have not dove with them so have no personal experience.
In addition to Goliaths on the wrecks, there are turtles out on the reefs this time of year.
When you are exhausted with the big stuff, or just want a day of offgassing, the "must do" dive is the Blue Heron Bridge, probably one of the best macro spots in the country. It is a beach dive from a park in protected waters, max depth 16 feet and full of the most interesting small critters you can imagine. There is an entire thread here on the bridge (BHB Bridge Trolls). The shops close by to rent tanks from are Force-E on Blue Heron Boulevard and Pura Vida on Singer Island.
Also, if you are going to stay in this area, the Hilton on Singer Island offers rates around 100 or so for divers depending on availability. You can find a link on
www.sfdj.com, which is a website run by a local diver with links to hotels and to boats in the area. Also has great articles on the Bridge and on goliath diving.
Also, in the Ft. Lauderdale area, there is an excellent beach dive called Lauderdale by the Sea (LBTS). It is a 100 yard or so swim out to a very nice shallow (10-18 foot) coral reef with lots of colorful hard corals, tropical fishes, and macro life. It is not tide-dependent and can be done day or night. The shop to contact for this is called Gold Coast Scuba and they can also hook you up with all the boat and wreck dives you could want, and they also know of several other excellent beach dives including a 750 yard swim out to a wreck. lFrom boats, there are lots of nice wrecks in Lauderdale.
With the amount of time you have, you could also get from Ft. Lauderdale to Key Largo for a day trip to the wonderful shallow reefs (the best in the state) and great wrecks like the Duane or Spiegel Grove. Our shops down there are Quiesence (6 pack boats) or Conch Republic Divers, and I have heard good things about Rainbow Dive and Silent World but have not dove with them, yet.
Water temps are in the 80s now, with an occasional thermocline. Very pleasant diving and, usually, very calm and clear as well.
For the palm beach/jupiter/boynton wrecks, you might get ripping current that requires to crawl around on the sand to move around, that is very common.
Have a great trip! I am sure you will get many more recommendations on this thread.
