Good places to go for easy, shallow diving with newbie Junior Open Water divers?

[tattooedjeeper]

I'm taking my daughter (12 year old) to Key Largo in June for her first ocean dives. I've done 10 dives there and for us it was an easy choice. The dives are shallow, very little current most of the time, nice reefs and interesting sea life for her to enjoy. Rainbow reef has very nice dive/hotel packages and offer dive guides for those of us not familiar with the reef. As others have said, coming from the UK, it could get pricey for you

 

[scubadada]

Just about any destination could be pricey from the UK I sometimes forget, and take it for granted, how lucky I am to have many fine diving destinations relatively close by and at a reasonable cost.

 

[The Chairman]

Wow... all the fans of Key Largo! I love it! Thanks to @scubadada for the nice words. Your commission check will be in the mail today!

The best part about the Keys for new and young divers is the plethora of shallow dive sites. Kids don't need deep, but they do want fun. We have wrecks that are at 40 ft and they're screamers (not fake)! The Benwood wrecked during WWII, Pickles shortly after the Civil war, and so forth. Lots of history in our waters so you get to teach your kids while they're having fun. Lots of fun on land as well, and we're a little over an hour from Everglades National Park where they get to pet wild alligators and crocodiles!. Just kidding about petting them, but Florida has a lot to see throughout the state both natural and man made.

Another option would be to join one of our invasions. We travel all over the place (next one at Anthony's Key) and you'll have a boat load of safe divers that will help keep an eye out on the kids.

 

[Marktan]

+1 for both. Grand Cayman I have taken my daughter. She was 15 when she went last. We dove with Divers Down right there in downtown Georgetown. The remains of the Cali (if memory serves) wreck is right in the harbour off their pier. Hardest part was helping her stand up with the tank on her back so we could walk her down the pier and throw her (giant stride) off the end. Easy dives.

Also +1 for Key Largo, however KL, at least the two years we have gone in January to get away from the Illinos cold, the water conditions (surface current and underwater current) can be unpredictable. This past January three of the five days (Duane snd Spiegel), dives were cancelled due to water being too rough. The two remaining days we hung out on Molasses reef, but even then, the afternoon dives of the 2nd day got cancelled. I had to get a tow into the boat after getting caught up and pulled away at the surface and one of the other ladies was knocked off the ladder coming back on when a 5' wave came randomly blasting through. Ive heard its smooth as glass other months though. Just my luck i suppose. Weve stayed at Amy Slates Amoray. Basic accomodations, but you Literally walk out of your apartment or room and step onto their boat. No messing about.

 

[The Chairman]

we have gone in January to get away from the Illinos cold, the water conditions (surface current and underwater current) can be unpredictable.

This is true for the entire Caribbean. We were just in Cayman Brac a few weeks ago and due to a sore ankle, I didn't feel like I could endure the waves. Lots of people bailed due to the roughness. We were told the week before was completely un-diveable.

The best time to Scuba the Keys is from late May through September. However, when you get a winter super calm day, it can be truly magical. But hey, like I posted before, there's so much to do in Florida that no vacation should be a complete bust if you get blown out.

 

[tep]

I'm surprised that the Med or Spain isn't on your destination list. Wouldn't that be easier? Just curious why the US/Caribbean?

 

[gr8jab]

I've been thinking about 'easy' diving for juniors. I haven't been to many of the places diversteve suggested, so maybe he's right on with my thinking.

I don't think that shore diving implies easy, or boat diving implies difficult. It all depends on the individual dive site.

I would probably prefer Cozumel or Keys boat diving as easier that Bonaire shore diving. Somewhat because I've never been to Bonaire, but also because I understand that they generally go 'alone'; truck, tanks, buddies, and a map. That would scare me the first time, especially with kids for whom I'm responsible.

As a corollary, diving Blue Heron Bridge was an amazingly easy shore dive with gentle and easy entry. As long as you time the tides correctly, not much is easier. I know that Cobalt Coast house reef would be great for kids, as my son dove there at Kids Sea Camp. I'm guessing that CoCo View house reef would be the same.

Maybe I'm just favoring the familiar.....

 

[RainPilot]

Flights to the UAE are pretty cheap from the UK and we have some lovely dive sites here, warm water and it's pretty cheap for accommodations etc. Might be nice if you use it as a stopover as well, we are a couple of hours from the Philippines and Thailand.

If you make it out here I'll hook you up with some lovely diving.

 

[MasterChief D]

You've had a number of recommendations heading west from the UK so I'll recommend heading south/east:

- Spain offers some good diving opportunities (predominantly around Murcia, the catalan coast as well as the Canary islands)
- Malta, a favourite destination for british divers tends to have deeper sites but there are still dives to keep JOW divers happy
- Croatia, Italy and Greece have tame Mediterranean clear waters (not much to see in sea-life terms - plenty of amphorae in Greek divesites)
- The Red Sea coast of Egypt -if you consider it safe for a land-based vacation with the family- has plenty to offer
- The UAE (and maybe Oman) may be more exotic and certainly offers a peek into sea life in the tail end of the Indian Ocean

 

[Newdiv]

I'm surprised that the Med or Spain isn't on your destination list. Wouldn't that be easier? Just curious why the US/Caribbean?

I was just looking into booking a trip in 2018 for my time share and stumbled upon Mallorca. Seems to have shallow dives, but a little colder water than the carribean.