You also asked for "experiences" so I have to suggest the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach. This is a world-class shore dive, in protected waters, from a public park with plenty of free parking and a sandy beach entry. I call it "drive in" diving. The depths are 10' average with spots to 18' and, yes, this scuba and not free diving. You need to stay down to really see the critters. There are lots of interesting critters: all sorts of odd and colorful invertebrates, seahorses, octopi, lots of fish variety and colorful tropicals, etc. It is really amazing and on any given weekend you can find divers from Europe and all over the U.S. at the site. It is world famous as an underwater photography site.
The bridge is right next to an inlet, so at high tide (1 hour before to 1 hour after) the water is very clear. You really should dive during this window before and after high tide because that is when the current is manageable (and in fact not a problem at all from 30 min before high to 30 min after). because of the depth you can get 90 mins to 2 hours off of a single tank. I have had vis from 30' to 100'. There is an entire thread on this site (The Continuing saga of the Blue Heron Bridge) of over 300 pages, which should give you an idea of how great this site is.
Because of the shallow depth, good bouyancy control is vital so as not to disturb the bottom. Also, you need to have a floating dive flag to pull with you (about $15.00 at the shops).
there are 3 shops (Force E, Pura Vida, Brownies) within a few blocks of the bridge that can rent you tanks or supply any other gear you might need.
I would rate this as a "MUST DO" if you have not done it before.
The bridge is right next to an inlet, so at high tide (1 hour before to 1 hour after) the water is very clear. You really should dive during this window before and after high tide because that is when the current is manageable (and in fact not a problem at all from 30 min before high to 30 min after). because of the depth you can get 90 mins to 2 hours off of a single tank. I have had vis from 30' to 100'. There is an entire thread on this site (The Continuing saga of the Blue Heron Bridge) of over 300 pages, which should give you an idea of how great this site is.
Because of the shallow depth, good bouyancy control is vital so as not to disturb the bottom. Also, you need to have a floating dive flag to pull with you (about $15.00 at the shops).
there are 3 shops (Force E, Pura Vida, Brownies) within a few blocks of the bridge that can rent you tanks or supply any other gear you might need.
I would rate this as a "MUST DO" if you have not done it before.