Anyone dive with Jupiter Dive Center?

[grey2112]

Will be in Jupiter the first week of April and am considering bringing my dive gear and chartering with Jupiter Dive Center - just wanted to get the "skinny".

Thanks!

PS - any recommendations on things to do, restaurants to eat at in that area?

 

[djtimmy77]

JDC is great. Should be some decent shark action, and keep an eye out for a lucky encounter for a Leatherback (I haven't seen one but March and early April is the best time of year.) Plan on nitrox if you are certified.

Eat at The Food Shack. Go there for lunch. Much better prices and shorter wait for a table if any.

A lot of people will also say go to Hog Snappers. Pretty good food there too. Guanabanas has a fun atmosphere and good food. Both places generally have a wait for a table for dinner.

 

[Steve_C]

Did a couple of drift dives with them. Dives went fine. The usual northward high viz current was slow and going south. Viz was ok, say 30-40 ft but not awesome. Had fun. Lots of turtles laying on the bottom.

Bring a large smb and know how to use it. The theory was there was a guide in the water with a flag. I and my instabuddy splashed last. He had a large camera. As soon as he was settled I looked around and it was the two of us. So we did our drift dive.

Point is to be prepared for a two buddy drift and bring a good large smb. We came up probably half a mile from the boat. They quickly saw our smb and picked us up.

Would dive with them again.

 

[mcgowman]

+1 for JDC.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I go to Jupiter to specifically dive with those guys. It is one of the best operations I have ever been on. The skippers always know where the best conditions would be and the DMs on the boat are over-accommodating. Very nice folks.

 

[grey2112]

Awesome - thanks for the opinions. I emailed them to ask about bubble-watcher rates as my wife doesn't dive, though I don't know if they take you anywhere that a snorkeler could see anything.

 

[djtimmy77]

Definitely not snorkel friendly on the local reefs.

 

[grey2112]

Roger that, thanks - looks like she'll have to either bubble watch or hang out back in Jupiter for a half day.

Definitely not snorkel friendly on the local reefs.

 

[sportxlh]

I dive with JDC often: I probably have 200+ dives off of their boats. I've also done some training through the shop too. I think the world of the personnel and the operation. Their trip cards can bring down the costs of diving if you plan to dive for several days.

Jupiter dive sites are deep so your wife will be a bubble watcher at best. She might enjoy the beach more especially if the ocean conditions are not flat.

A nearby restaurant is Guanababas: very fun outdoor Tiki themed place sitting on a spur of the intracoastal waterway. Dune Dog is a much cheaper place to grab a burger, dog, fish sandwich or brew after a dive.

Enjoy your trip

 

[kelemvor]

Roger that, thanks - looks like she'll have to either bubble watch or hang out back in Jupiter for a half day.

If you end up on shore and have a car, drive down to Juno beach. It's just maybe 10 minutes south and absolutely fantastic to see. I was really blown away.

Personally, I found the restaurant/bar scene in that area to be lackluster the few times I've been over. Hopefully I just missed something.